Asking permission

[lumacurve]

Hello all, Just wanted to share a experiance that happened to me the other day. I have been hunting the neighborhood yards lately (with permmision of course) and decided to ask another home owner if he would care if I hunted his yard. He was out in his yard so I went over and ask him, I was fast to point out that all holes are small and completely filled and my goal was to make it look as though I was never there, I even pointed to the yard across the road that I hunt as a referance . This guy proceeded to tell me that he didn"t want his yard butchard up with holes and couldn't understand why anybody would ??? A simple no would have done. And no this is not a highly manicured lawn. I wasnt mad that he didn"t want me there, I was just the fact that he assumed that I "Butchered up" all the yards that I had permission to hunt. Should I have approced this guy differently?? or maybe better explained my methods for hunting? I realize some people don"t want you on their property and I respect that . But to make it sound like I'm the neighborhood ground hog really ticked me off !

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

Some people are just like that and will not give you permission no matter what you tell them. The only thing that I would change in your approach is not saying the word "holes" as that is the word that makes them think "Butchered up". You should say that you dig plugs with the root system still intact so the grass is not damaged and you may have to remove some more dirt (that you put on a towel) if the target is deep and that you replace the dirt before putting the plug back. Also, seeing just a tiny bit of dirt still in the grass around the plug is a "Butchered up" offense as well. We all know that tiny little bit of dirt will wash away in the next rain, however, the homeowner sees it and it looks messy. Using a towel for the fill dirt keeps that from happening. Anyway, I would not worry about it unless it becomes a repeating issue, then you may want to examine why it's happening. What is your success rate?

 

[xwyokid]

Maybe the, 'hole' word shouldn't have been used. Oh well. You never know how things are going to go when asking permission. If you lived in New Mexico your skin would be like flint by now. I've been told NO so many times it just slides off my back without a thought. People out here do not mince their words when saying no.

 

[jyt2017]

Dude, he just didn't want you finding coin on his property. Some home owners get all bent outa shape about people they don't know asking to be there. Think about religous people knocking on your door...My dad chased a few of them off out property with a garden hose. Its all personality. Some folks don't care. Okay, hunt for a few, share what you find. Some think otherwise. Maybe ask if you can "look for some silver coins" in their lawn and offer them 50 bucks and say "I won't leave a trace". Its tough. HH an GL. -Joe

 

[Mike T]

I know theres $ all over town under them lawns, but I'd rather not deal with the BS involved with it. I concentrate on ANYTHING else I can buzz over w/o any hassles, which means I spend alot more time RESEARCHING for good productive sites where I can do my own thing instead of having to be Mr Goodwill Ambassador to gain permission, I can feel their eyes watching every move I make, trying to replace every dirt/crumb in place.
I could just hit the strip along the curb its public property in my burg, but try an explain to the guy who lives there.

 

[Ism]

I had similar "confrontations". Some people go overboard in their response to your request.
(They think a NO will get a WHY. So they give the answers in one reply).
Poetry by Ism

Hehe

Don't worry about it, you probably wouldn't have been able to ask it any other way and gotten a different response.

 

[Critterhunter]

I haven't asked to hunt a person's yard in years. Not that I'm afraid to, it's just I got plenty of other places to go. Usually I find enough old houses being torn down here and there to keep my belly full on yard hunting. The rest of my hunting is in the woods, old parks, or at the beach, so I'm not too pressed to ask for permission to hunt yards. They seem to come my way enough by torn down houses, or just word of mouth where one of my hunting buddies or I secures a friends house to hunt or something.

I figure years from now when my usual spots are really burnt out I'll start doing more random asking to hunt yards. I have hunted yards recently, but usually it's when a person sees me hunting in a park and we strike up a conversation. I like to say "My favorite spots to hunt are yards if they house was made before 1965." I figure if they are going to offer then that's the moment they will, and in the past I've got a few hunts that way. Last year I was hunting a school building that is sitting on old fair grounds land that took place back in the 1800's for years. The school wasn't that old but I knew through research there was potential for old coins due to the prior fair for years on that land. Anyway, I was hunting along a fence that separated the school from a house. Struck up a conversation with the home owner who came out to watch me hunt. Showed him a silver dime I dug. He thought that was cool and so then I asked...Would you mind me hunting your yard? I only ask if they seem very receptive to the idea of detecting. That's how I gage people. He said sure go ahead.

Now, what I do though is I then make sure to tell them how I dig a plug, what size, and how I put the plug back. And that I try to use a screwdriver instead of digging plugs whenever I can (which I always try to use in yards for sure). I make darn sure they know what they are in for, because I don't want them being offended when they start seeing me dig plugs in their yard. I feel that's important to make them well aware of, because I've heard of people being kicked out of yards when the home owner saw them dig their first plug. If you tell them what they are in for then I think they might not care, but some people will get very mad if they feel you didn't explain things to them and are trying to take advantage....Or to "take privileges" without asking is the way I think about it.

All that said, I won't ever hunt a yard in hot/dry weather. You're just asking for complaints if the plugs die and they end up with brown spots all over their yard. I know of one guy who was forced to re-seed all those spots in a yard and show up every few days to water them. That's what I worry about most, so if I do hunt a yard it's when it's spring or fall. Only time I'll hunt a yard during the summer is when I know the person just doesn't care about their lawn. If they have weeds and don't manicure their lawn, if it looks like the flower garden isn't kept up with, then those are the kinds of yards where people just don't care.

If you plan to hunt a yard during hot or dry times and that yard looks pristinely taken care of then IMO you are asking for a lawsuit if they find brown spots all over their yard a week or two later. Just not worth the hassle to me, so if I feel they are the "uppity type" I won't risk hunting their yard. Or, I'll ONLY use a screwdriver and not dig any plugs. And a screwdriver should be used as much as possible even if you don't feel any risk with upsetting somebody by digging. Also a good idea to use a screwdriver in parks and other public places as much as possible. Better image for the hobby, and makes for quick recoveries when you get some practice at it. I like to use my Pro Pointer super tuned to pin point the target and then pop it right out. Works great.