Is anyone else having the same problem as me?

[gcollins]

I live in a very rural area, the town I live in doesn't have that many older homes any more and most people won't let you detect, so I do my research and find older places to hunt, then when I do, 2 out of 3 people say no. The main excuse is that they have grand chrildren and they might want to hunt someday. These old people in kansas think that you are going to find some thing worth a lot of money and that they won't get any thing from it. How do you folks get places to hunt?
Thanks Greg

[bugguy]

ninja clothing and night vision goggles. and hope they dont have dogs. works every time ...except the time you get caught!

[blitz]

A level 3 cloaking device.Phasers set on stun as a last approach...............Blitz

No, call Keith up; he is the perfect "heathen."

[trobaughokc]

I'm in a urban area so I have parks and schools aplenty. I'm planning my first rural hunt next week, but it's on family property. You wouldn't happen to have a County fair grounds in the area would you? When the kiddie parks are too full for comfortable hunting, I head for our state fair park. I could detect there year round and never cover the entire area before it was re-seeded by people attending some event. In the small town I grew up in we had cinder/gravel alley's. I used to find all kinds of neat stuff in them as a kid, and that was not only pre-detector, but perhaps pre-historic. Probably pretty junky as thats where everyone set out there trash cans (remember when we burnt trash in 55 gal. drums?), but as kids we regularly treked the alleys to avoid traffic and adult eyes.

[BOB VALDEZ]

Originally Posted by gcollins

I live in a very rural area, the town I live in doesn't have that many older homes any more and most people won't let you detect, so I do my research and find older places to hunt, then when I do, 2 out of 3 people say no. The main excuse is that they have grand chrildren and they might want to hunt someday. These old people in kansas think that you are going to find some thing worth a lot of money and that they won't get any thing from it. How do you folks get places to hunt?
Thanks Greg

Now let me see... 2 out of 3 people say no. Have !you ever been selling insurances ? 9 Out of 10 say no. And still, at some time in my life, I was able to earn very good money bye selling (life) insurances "door-to-door".

Let me help you a little : if 2 out of 3 say "no" that means very simply that 1 out of 3 says.... YES !! Imagine you visit 30 people and you'll have 10 x YES ! That doesn't seem so bad anymore, is it ?

I have been selling ALL MY LIFE and believe me : it is hard work. That is the reason why a good sales person is paid very well.

And this selling is very easy because it is simple to explain what you want and there are no other things involved.

Good luck, Greg !

BOB VALDEZ, Belgium

[strack350]

BOB, you just put a whole new perspective to things now that I look at it your way :!:

[Krom]

First off, Greg, before you ask them land owners the "ground rape" question, you gotta ask yourself a question:
"If the situation were reversed, would I let a stranger come on my land and reap the spoils of what's technically mine?"
THAT'S why you get so many "no's". People simply don't want to give a stranger what's belongs to them.
When you first get the message to them that you want to dig up their treasures and walk away with them, they get very "posessive" of what you want... which really belongs to them.
I think you might do a little better if you put a flyer together and either post some on public bulletin boards (supermarket, maybe town offices), put them in mailboxes, or even do a house-to-house thing putting a flyer directly in their hands.
Once you start talking about what you want to do, people will reach a time during your initional "sales pitch" (first sentence), and will have already decided before you're done talking, that they're gonna say "NO WAY"...! Whereas, if they can sit down with a morning cup of coffee, for instance, and read all about how you plan to dig, fill holes, take trash with you, maybe even split the "treasure" you find with them, etc., they might be more "tolerant" of your plan and call the number you put on the flyer... possibly even search for an old family heirloom for them.
(This reminds me... I gotta up-date/grade my "flyers" I have in my town... four of 'em... big deal! :P)
Happy people hunting... and happy hunting, people!

Krom

[~Alan~]

When you go to ask people, dress reasonably smart. If you go dressed as an urban terrorist wearing camoflage gear, that might put people off.
Take the wife along, people can react differently when there's a woman present. Learn something of the local history, and show them items you've found elsewhere. Not just money you've found, as that could count against you.

[ACANTHUS]

I personally like to kidnapp them untill I have ravaged and pillaged their land then release them to survey the devastation that I have brought upon their lands










pssssttt

Only joking

Luckily I am a gardener and just ask my clients who generally all have big old houses

[gcollins]

Thanks for all the replies, and I do understand the rights of property owners! I do not and will not tresspass!I have tried several different ways to get permissions, and i will keep knocking on the doors!
Thanks Greg

[~Alan~]

Originally Posted by epi-hunter

Just curious (from a woman's perspective)... how do you think people react differently to a woman being there? (an honest question)

Human nature I expect ?. Where a man could be told to "go away", a woman (in some circumstances) is more likely to get a positive response, and less likely to be the target of abuse.

[YARDBYRD]

In my case taking my wife would be a good idea..... I've seen her talk a salesman down from $4500 to $2150 out the door for a used minivan ...i'm thinking there was quite a markup there At $3000 the salesman says.. OH your killing me here..........She must have went ahead and buried him too I almost felt sorry for him then i thought about how much it saved me..... 8)

[trobaughokc]

Here's what I've posted on the bulletin boards at my work place.

No takers yet, but the seed is planted.

HAS A RING BEEN LOST IN YOUR YARD?

DID GRANDPA BURY A SACK OF COINS DURING THE DEPRESSION, BUT NO ONE CAN REMEMBER WHERE?

HAVE THE KIDS BEEN USING YOUR GOOD
SILVERWARE IN THE SANDBOX?

THE SEARCH IS FREE.

Contact Bob in Information Systems
(Rings & Heirlooms returned free of charge, Treasure is negotiable, loose change is mine.)

[OkieDigger]

Rule # 6 in OkieDigger's rule book:

Never trust a pretty girl who wants something

But seriously, I would see it a little differently, but I'd still say no. Only because I want to detect my own land and would actually detect it. I get no answers every now and then, but I've been amazed at how many yes answers I get. I look like a terrorist so I have no idea why people let me detect their property unless they're just scared to say no

[OkieDigger]

Well, typically when I ask permission I just go and knock on their door. When they answer I introduce myself by telling them who I am, where I live (not my address, lol) and how I noticed their place (some small talk). Then I tell them why I'm interested (history) and what I'd like to do (metal detect). I explain it if they know nothing about it and offer a demonstration if they'd like or show them some old coins or artifacts I've found.

One guy actually asked me if I'd let him pick whatever finds he wanted. I thought about it a second (realizing I'd probably only find some wheats) and said OK. He still said no But because I offered, he told me about a place from the 1930's that had been unavailable to the public for years.

[OkieDigger]

Because he thought for sure I was greedy and would say no, thus giving him a "good" reason to say no. It's just the way some people think. Lot's of screwballs out there.

[YARDBYRD]

epi hunter..... When asking permisson try to speak with the man....If his wife is not jealous your chances will be much better......From my experiences(and watching Judge Judy) ..... it seems like women are alot more critical of other women then men are.............

One thing to remember is.. the no's that you get would have been no anyway 90% of the time no mater what you wanted to do on their land. Some people will just never alow strangers on their land......The 10% catergory would be the people that maybe would have said no but atleast took the time to listen to the md'er and seen how things would be done.

If anything this is a time to you every rescource you have to get that golden spot to hunt.....If you don't know what they will say ask around to friends, neighbors and family members to see if anyone knows them and if so try to use that to get your foot in the door...... My guess is once your in and they see that you will respect their property you will have a place to go for what we hope is a long time. Yardbyrd out

[b-boop]

trobaughokc,
That's a fantastic flyer! Can't believe no one's hit on it yet.
And Epi, I find that, as a woman, people are more receptive (perhaps less threatened). Of course, if they really knew me . . . My sensei has a saying: "Beware of petite women; they're viscious!"
gcollins, I am also in sales and whenever I hear "no" I say "thank you!" because that means I'm that much closer to a "yes"!

[Len]

Perspective from another (ex)salesman: I look at it this way: in the Major Leagues 1 for 3 gets you into the Hall of Fame! You're already a success.