Is it weird to ask someone to use your metal detector on their land?
Gam3rBlake
Posts: 165 ✭✭✭
I’m getting a new metal detector in a couple of weeks and there isn’t much land to search in my neighborhood..so I’m wondering if it’s considered weird to go ask (say a farmer) if I can use my metal detector on his land.
Maybe if I offered to split the proceeds of anything I might find? I know in England with the PAS they give 1/2 to the finder & 1/2 to the land owner.
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Not weird at all. You should also get permission if it’s not your property
Lafayette Grading Set
Well I mean the idea of getting permission was obvious. I would never trespass on someone else’s land.
I guess a better way to ask the question would be: “Is it weird to go metal detecting on someone else’s private land? (With permission)”.
I do not find that weird.... However, years ago, when I asked and received permission to hunt some land, the owner then accompanied me the entire time... I did not find anything of significance (just pull tabs, random scrap metal), but I know he was there to be sure anything of value would be his....Never went back. Cheers, RickO
Oh wow that’s kinda messed up for him to follow you around.
I mean sure it’s his land and all but if he gives you permission he shouldn’t follow you around. He should just deny permission as is his right.
If I could find any sort of silver coin...just once I would be thrilled. I don’t care what kind or date or condition.
I've done it literally hundreds of times (mostly hunt house yards) Just takes some getting used to. Probably successful 70% of the time. Haven't tried since the Covid nightmare began.
Definitely worth asking. Here, most public places have been beaten to death by detectorists, so private properties are great for finding untouched (of less detected) land.
I live in California so aside from some Native American Post-Columbus era stuff I don’t think there’s much to find out here. Maybe some gold?
I would love to go to the East Coast, or better yet England, and go detecting there. Just because there is so much more history ranging from the Iron Age to the Romans to the Anglo Saxons to the Vikings to the Early Modern 14th to 19th century stuff.
But if I can’t do that I think the best chances of good finds is on the East Coast. Places like Boston and New York.
I always ask for permission. It beats talking to the cops
Gam3rBlake,
You mean** Pre**-Columbus era artifacts can be found in California. If you find those, you have to leave them alone or call the state/feds to report it. There are laws in place to protect artifacts that are Pre-Columbian. They belong to the lineal descendants of the culture that made them and cannot go into private hands.
It would be kind of strange to ask a total stranger if you can metal search on their property unless one had some kind of rapport with them. It really depends on the person and how they take it. I mean, from one perspective, what is in it for them? They take a risk by allowing you to wander on their property, even if it is an empty lot. What if you get injured while searching? are they going to be liable? These are just some thoughts they may have. However, it is always better to ask in these cases as you do not want to beg for forgiveness. They may ask you to sign a waiver of liability, which is not that unreasonable as they really do not want any problems with something that does not benefit them unless there is an agreement to split the proceeds, but even then, they don't want it to backfire.
Good Luck searching.
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
That’s not what I was implying. I was asking if I should ask permission to detect on someone else’s land or if that’s weird and I should stay off other people’s land altogether.
Neither would get you arrested.
We have a couple guys in our club that do this all the time. They call it "Door knocking". They have found some great stuff doing this.
Get permission.
You must ask permission or you'd be trespassing. With permission, I always show the property owner my finds for the day and offer them up. That being said, I can count on one hand, the number of times they picked out something to keep. Often, explaining what a shard or piece of an item is, is the gift of knowledge which is priceless. Also, I always ask the property owner if I should be looking for something previously lost. Have a good day. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
@Namvet69.... Roy, that is an excellent suggestion about 'looking for something previously lost'. I began using that after I asked a landowner permission to search his property, and he said "Sure, and I would really appreciate it if you could search the garden, my wife thinks she lost a ring there, a gift from her grandmother." I said OK, and headed for the garden.... Found the ring and gave it to him.... He told me "come search my land anytime"... Wanted to reward me, I said no.... Cheers, RickO
I would never go on someone’s land without permission.
I guess a better way to put it would be if I should detect on someone elses’ land with permission or just stay on public lands.
So detecting on public land also means you might need to obtain a permit from a municipal entity. You might have to pay a fee, and other strings attached. There are land use regulations for public land. Some public land with historical designation forbids detecting or digging holes, period. work on your people skills and ask for permission on private property. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
Hmm 🤔 I don’t think that’s how it works where I live because I see people down by the beach and in the woods metal detecting all the time.
I’ll definitely check it out though thanks!
I agree, all land use laws or regulations are not the same. One of the nice things about asking permission from a property owner is the ability to find out how long they've lived there and the provenance. They might know where previous buildings stood and other prior usages. I've had some great finds in backyards of houses that once had an early butcher shop, blacksmith, livery stable, pub, tollhouse, etc. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
@1630Boston... Wow... That landowner must have had a really bad experience with some MD'rs. Cheers, RickO
I could see a guy with time on his hands being truly interested in the process and curious to see if there was cool stuff under his land. Might have been socially awkward and not as chatty as you would have hoped... or like you suggest, to make sure you didn't pocket anything good...
It would be weirder to ask someone if they have a metal detector that you can use on their property.
The thought of someone digging holes all over my land would put me off, even if they filled them back in. Now if they wanted to also seed and come back to water that would be something else, but there would still be weird patches everywhere.
I do some research about the property I want to hunt .. In most cases the property had old foundations. I bring a map of the farm site, with old houses that are no longer visible. I get the owners attention and I show him the map and the locations of the old houses .. IN most cases they know about one but in my findings they did not know about the others.. I make conversation, and ask the farmer if I can hunt their property and look for the other houses. Tell them I will show them what I find .. (and I do) I offer items to him . In most cases they don't want anything but I leave him a musket ball or two, IH cent, ect.. And In most cases I have made a friend for life. On major property like I have about 14,000 acers along the historic xxxxxxxx River ,, I bring my farmer friends things they don't normally get. I bring home made bread, smoked Sausage, and if they have kids I send them a X mas card with some cash, The sites I hunt on, have been active sites for the last 15 years. I like it because they tell me that people want to detect the property and my farmer friend tells them NO !! Then he laughs !! They are just people , just, look good, ask questions about crops, pricing ect.. Good Luck
@HiBucky.... Much like any time we interface with others, attitude, conduct, character all count. Hunting old foundations is fun and often artifacts are found. If you can determine the orientation of the old house, then check the visible property lines for significant points like a large rock, corner of border walls, large old tree etc., one might find buried valuables - a common practice in the old days... Cheers, RickO
My uncle once got a chance to search the old farmhouse for the farmer who had built a new house on the property. Seems that his dad was a notoriouos skinflint, but when he died he forgot to tell anyone where he stashed all the money since he didn't like banks. The kids had searched the house numerable times with no luck. Uncle Bruce went through the house checking walls, floors etc and got a big hit under the bottom step of the stairs. They couldn't figure out how to get to it without demo'ing the stairs until they found a hole on the side of the stairs and stuck a 16 penny nail into it and pushed and the stair popped up. He said he had to leave because it wasn't his cache but was full of stuff including lots of coins, mainly silver dollars, and a bunch of old paper money, and the farmer was going nuts. He came back and searched the rest of the property many times after that and while he found quite a few coins and other itemsthat the farmer let him keep,, there wasn't anything like the cache under the stairs.
Later when I was remodeling an old Mansion in Alameda, CA, I remembered the story and used my Minelab on the stairs inside the empty house. I found a few old coins and lots of paperwork, mainly receipts and some Stock shares in a failed mine in Idaho, but nothing like what my namesake found. So if you ever get to check an old 2 story house, be sure to check the stairs. Good luck!
@Bruce7789.... Great story and a super tip.... I will remember that one.... Ingenious lock and release method there. Cheers, RickO
So.Cal here my family came up, in the Anza Expedition,traveling from Spain to florida..texas med up w/cortez mexico city than up to Cali......My dream would be to find"The Treasure Of Guarrazar"
@JoeMama.... Welcome aboard, and welcome to the group of treasure hunters. "The Treasure Of Guarrazar" was found many years ago (though some pieces have subsequently 'disappeared')... So I assume you want to find an equivalent treasure.... Ambitious goal, but a good one. Cheers, RickO
Permission from all land owners is a must elsewise you is breaking laws. Fields can be great especially if you locate nearby old foundations. Me, I get permission to hunt yards and find oodles of good stuff all the time. Most people just want to see what I've dug up. I promise nothing except I fill all my holes and replace all grass plugs. Yards are filled with coin spills, under old clothes lines, base of big old trees, edge of walkways. Good luck. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
I have asked and been granted permission on over 7200 acers in NY. _must say I have never been turned down.....When I have a place I take care of the farmer. They want for little but I bring them Smoked Sausage, Fresh Rye Bread, Tub Butter and I send them a thank You care for the self enjoyment detecting on their property. Farmers are the best ... I also leave copies of maps with them of their property. Funny Story ,,,,I am showing a farmer a satellite map and you could just make out the old race track. He looks at the map and said the barns were over there the track was there and the fair grounds were there...... !%$#$#^ Still digging it .. Seated and Indians Galore ,,,, So asked and make a friend,
I have had very good luck asking permission over the years. I have even purchased several collections from the interactions. Good luck.
Had a longtime friend pass away.
Their old house had a closet furnace in the hallway behind a door.
After they remodeled moving the furnace outside he drywalled over the door opening and made access to the room from a closet.
if you didn't know any better, you wouldn't even know the connecting room was 3 foot shorter.