Some harsh metal detecting regs in one of my nearby counties

The digger has nothing to do with it. The Karens of the world will harass you even if you're digging with a teaspoon. I just ignore them and tell them to call the cops if they think I'm doing something wrong. Only someone in law enforcement has a right to tell you to leave. Everyone else is just full of baloney and I tell them that in no uncertain terms.

FreeBirdTim said:

The digger has nothing to do with it. The Karens of the world will harass you even if you're digging with a teaspoon. I just ignore them and tell them to call the cops if they think I'm doing something wrong. Only someone in law enforcement has a right to tell you to leave. Everyone else is just full of baloney and I tell them that in no uncertain terms.

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Very true.
Many years ago we were told to leave a sports complex and we did not have any type of digging tool. We were just using a detector to make it easier to locate surface finds. There had been a huge concert on the field with vendors the night before and we were even finding paper money blowing around.

Yep polite and professional goes a long ways

I’m going to speculate a lot of people asked the people in the Dekalb County if they could metal detect in the park. By bothering the government officials with these questions, they voted to ban such an activity. I would bet if the drug dealers, pimps, & prostitutes asked if they could conduct their business in the park, the government officials would get tired of the questions and vote to ban such activities. Basically, by asking permission, you are limiting your activities. Do you think the drug dealers, pimps, & prostitutes asked permission?

TripWire said:

I’m going to speculate a lot of people asked the people in the Dekalb County if they could metal detect in the park. By bothering the government officials with these questions, they voted to ban such an activity. I would bet if the drug dealers, pimps, & prostitutes asked if they could conduct their business in the park, the government officials would get tired of the questions and vote to ban such activities. Basically, by asking permission, you are limiting your activities. Do you think the drug dealers, pimps, & prostitutes asked permission?

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I like this post ^ ^ (that went without saying, doh ! )

I am old enough in this hobby (45+ yrs now), to remember when the very first pledges and codes-of-ethics began to appear in md'ing circles. Eg.: Printed on the back page of the owners manual of metal detector booklets. Listed in md'ing treasure mags, etc.... That was the very late 1970s and early '80s. All very well intentioned.

And of course it was obvious stuff like : Md'rs shouldn't litter. Md'rs should close gates behind them. Mdrs shouldn't trespass. Md'rs should fill their holes, blah blah . Ok, that's all great solidarity stuff.

But when it came to the lines about: "know and obey all laws", I noticed that a lot of md'rs interpreted that to mean go ask "Can I?". Or go ask "Is this legal ?" And at first blush, that makes perfect sense. Because, gee ... HOW ELSE are you going to know if something were against the law, unless (drumroll) you went and asked ? And who-better-to-ask, than the very people who administer the place you're thinking of going ?

And then the self-fulfilling vicious-loop nature of this "pressing question" takes hold. I am convinced that in the last 45 yrs. that that's been the cause of a lot of what is now dire language against us. We have been our own worst enemy.

No one seemed to interpret that as "look up potential laws for yourself" (which, yes, was difficult in pre internet days, granted). Instead, it was seen as: "Go ask Can I"

And then a snow-ball effect happens: If ever someone fetched a whimsical "no" at any various singular place, then other md'rs around them thought : "Gee, that never occurred to me, so I guess I better do likewise in every other city and county around here". Ie.: the more "dire sounding stories" arise, then it simply leads to more & more hornet's nest swatting. A Self-fulfilling vicious circle

FreeBirdTim said:

The digger has nothing to do with it. The Karens of the world will harass you even if you're digging with a teaspoon......

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Yes. MD'rs are quick to think "durned those past md'rs that must have left holes". But I always say: "Not so fast" and "not necessarily". Because : Let's be honest: What's the connotation and implication of a "man with a metal detector" ? HOLES ! Of course ! Even if he didn't have a digger on him. Even if he never stooped down to dig. Even if the passerby had never seen an md'r dig before. It's simply the obvious connotation that : "Gee, he might dig"

And mind you, I'm convinced that 99.9% of passerbys don't even notice us, and could care less. But just sayin' that when the occasional karen *does* gripe, that .... even then it has nothing to do with us digging, or a past md'r having dug.

JMHO