Big Boys Hobbies

Detecting the Courthouse

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cody174

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Jun 1, 2014
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I would like to detect the yard around the Courthouse in my city. It's in a small city in Indiana. Are there any laws against this? Should I just try it and see if the cops run me off?

I'm having a hard time researching it because I always get articles about the metal detectors inside the Courthouses.

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cody174 said:
I would like to detect the yard around the Courthouse in my city. It's in a small city in Indiana. Are there any laws against this? Should I just try it and see if the cops run me off?

I'm having a hard time researching it because I always get articles about the metal detectors inside the Courthouses.

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Any time there's parks incorporated into the grounds surrounding court-houses, they're usually just city or county parks. Right? In which case, they'd be no different than any other city or county park. So if you can detect city and/or county parks in your area, then so-too would this be the same. Sure, maybe a bit more uppity up.

Naturally, like ANY park, school-yard, etc.... : Sure, someone could gripe. Because md'ing carries connotations. So like any park or school turf: Don't stick out like a sore thumb begging attention. But this isn't d/t court-house lawn parks are somehow different. This is just protocol for ANY turf hunting, that you can always find someone to gripe.

I've hunted court-house lawns in various cities during travel , and found them to be no different than any other turfed lawn, once you apply the proper discretion due to any parks & turf.
 
Yeah...you gotta time it just right...like early Sunday morning in overcast weather...and you sure dont want to be there diddling around during business hours...give it a fast once over to see if its worth your while...Not saying theres anything wrong with what you want to do, but you know how people are, the fewer that see you the better...I just got back from hunting a big local college, nobody saw me, and I didnt see anybody else either...:D
Mud
 
mud puppy is correct, timing is everything with alot of sites you may want to hunt, during certain hours nobody cares, other times they will be calling homeland security,lol
 
Check to see if it has been registered as a state or national historical site or not, you don't want to violate the registry, that could lead you inside the court house where you don't want to be!
 
Crackerjack said:
Check to see if it has been registered as a state or national historical site or not, you don't want to violate the registry, that could lead you inside the court house where you don't want to be!
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I didn't think this registry carried any weight?
 
Seems to me, if you got that feeling that you need to ask on a forum, or be sneaky, and try to avoid being seen (caught), you probably already know that there is something wrong with just going for it. As child, we got away with it, mostly the grown ups didn't care, unless we did damage. Even if we did get into trouble, mom and dad would smooth things over, and maybe we catch it when we got home. Guess the past generation, just lost the use of their XBOX for a few days, which was okay, since the neighbor kid had Playstation, and his dad bought all the really cool, adult rated games... As grown ups ourselves, we have to face harsher consequences, for some of the things we do, maybe not so cheap or easy to smooth things over either, we aren't considered ignorant children, who just need to be taught better.

The courthouse isn't a recreational facility, almost nobody goes there to have fun, deserves a little respect. The grounds and landscaping is usually well taken care of, so you can pretty much figure somebody isn't going to be happy seeing you digging holes in the lawn, or trampling the shrubbery. Plenty of places to hunt, without taking risks. Get permission, or move on. Consider it's a small town, if you get popped for something, slow week for news, you could be on the front page... Sure, at the end of the day, you only get a warning, or a cheap citation, which probably gets dismissed if you go to court, but likely cost you more, than you are likely to dig up.
 
HarveyH48 said:
Seems to me, if you got that feeling that you need to ask on a forum, or be sneaky, and try to avoid being seen (caught), you probably already know that there is something wrong with just going for it. .....
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Harvey, I sympathize with what you are saying. And I truly do wish that everyone would roll out the red carpets for me at each park I come to. But you've got realize that md'ing carries connotations. So you HAVE to use a little discretion. If you want to call that being "sneaky", Ok, then, FINE: Be "sneaky".

You've got to realize that you simply aren't going to please every last person when it comes to md'ing. You simply can not get every last person to "sign off" on you.

But I don't equate that, like you do here, with being "illegal". Instead, it's called "don't swat hornet's nests". Or like nose-picking, not illegal, but you be "sneaky" in your timing so as not to offend certain folks.
 
HarveyH48 said:
Seems to me, if you got that feeling that you need to ask on a forum, or be sneaky, and try to avoid being seen (caught), you probably already know that there is something wrong with just going for it.
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All you need to know...:yes: (Of course our resident sneaker will argue with you lol)
 
ha, well why is it then, that the general consensus is to pick low traffic times then ? Even someone skittish will agree to that. Why isn't that deemed "being sneaky and illegal" ? Why not waltz over beach blankets at high noon in heavy park use times ? Afterall, you're "legal", so what's there to worry about ?

On the contrary, this DOES take a little presence of mind so as not to swat hornet's nests. Or another way of putting it: "Don't spit in people's holy water" (doesn't mean you have to agree that the water is actually holy). If that's called "sneaking around", fine then: I'll sneak around. :cool:
 
Find out if your town has any restrictions on detecting their city/town parks. If there are none, you should be fine. However, never argue with a police officer. If they tell you to leave, say thank you, gather your stuff and leave. Police aren't always correct, but it can cost you to prove them wrong.

Good Luck!
 
j_h_smith said:
Find out if your town has any restrictions on detecting their city/town parks. If there are none, you should be fine. However, never argue with a police officer. If they tell you to leave, say thank you, gather your stuff and leave. Police aren't always correct, but it can cost you to prove them wrong.

Good Luck!
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Arguing with any armed person, especially one with heavily armed friends a radio call away, is just a very, very bad idea. :no:
 
Seen many places I wanted to detect.

The wife says go ahead, you'll get to meet the owner that way......a video of a guy digging up folks front lawns comes to mind. I usually detect to get away from people unless Im in a group of detectorist. The property in question is a high visibility area. I avoid those areas during normal business or high traffic areas as suggested before. I remember a group of gas powered model airplane clubs calling the university police on us once. You may still get the boot but jst be yourself and o what you are comfortable doing. Good Luck.
 
The yard around a courthouse ? Anyone who was allowed to do that had to be EXTREMELY lucky. But it may just depend on the particular courthouse I guess. The courthouse in my town takes great pride in their building and surroundings , and there is a huge law enforcement presence , it wouldn't matter what the time of day or night you tried it you are likely to be wearing handcuffs really quick if you were caught digging , or just met with attitude and warned just for having a metal detector there. My wife works at the courthouse and she agrees. Not all areas or courthouses are the same but I think all the advice given here to just go do it at an off time is not given with your best interest in mind. Official permission is not likely to be given unless you know the right person but I wouldn't try a courthouse without it. A courthouse is not designated for recreational use and they usually are something the county or city takes a great deal of pride in/care of.....not a good idea.
 
ohiochris said:
... The courthouse in my town takes great pride in their building and surroundings .... city takes a great deal of pride in/care of......
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I consider md'ing to be within the bounds of that objective. It's non-harmful, non-evil, etc... If someone is leaving holes/marks (the implied premise of your post), then that person needs to re-visit target-recovery-101 class.
 
Like Harvey stated, "Being sneaky is best learned young" I wholeheartedly agree!

In your youth, you begin to learn when and where based upon the feedback you get from authority figures. Generally just 'runnoft' with a firm warning, which adds to your practice and understanding of the base lines required as you master the skill. Not all people had the opportunity to develop into World Class Sneakers. Anybody that would wade in to hunt a Courthouse yard in the middle of the day dressed in full battle gear for a typical hunt would get the old 'Heave Ho' rather quickly I would think...

Yet, a well dressed old duffer with a screwdriver certainly could go in there early of a Sunday on a cool foggy morning and pull 50 targets in 15 minutes and be gone without a person ever seeing them...You just time it right, watch the shift change Popo rollout, and have it...It is a good skill to have, avoiding confrontation even if you are in the right...marriage also teaches this.

Heck, most veteran posters here will not post an honest pic of a place they hunt, instead they make up a story with false information and post a pic of someplace else! :laughing: Lying deceptive scoundrels! Its just good sense when engaged in a pursuit oriented Sport to be a little sneaky and deceptive...Nothing at all wrong with it! Its not prudent for people to know where you are all the time, even if you are 100% legal!.

The biggest factor is avoiding being seen...It takes some practice and a sense of timing, if you didnt develop the skill early in Life, its probably too late for you anyway, the learning curve demands decades of real world practice and cannot be mastered with simple class room theory...Courthouse yards are best left to the Professionals!:laughing:
Mud

ps: All Pros carry a mental rollodex of believable excuses.."The Wife lost her Ring" is a good one...Its probably half true, which is all that is required!
 
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