Hunting Schools?

[In2Deep]

Is hunting on school property generally legal? Or is every state / city different?

Like today when I went down to one of our local parks, there was an officer there sitting on the table talking to another guy. I walked by with etrac in hand and my diggin tool in the other. He could of cared less. I just assumed it was legal to hunt in the city parks because I hear everyone talking about it.

So where do you guys go to find the laws? heh.. thinking about it, i been here a few years and I cant say that we even have a city hall

I give the property all the respect in the world and believe in leaving in cleaner then I found it. When we go fishing I make my kids pick up a few pieces of trash before we leave. I just think its good practice to teach the young ones.

Lets say you were hunting on school grounds in the summer when there was no kids around to speak of. Assuming I was being a true sportsmen and putting the plugs back perfect and doing it all the right way, could they run me off legally speaking? I dont want to cause trouble for anyone, but I honestly have no idea where to find out about this. We live in a really small town and I dont want to tick anyone off when I am just beginning.

 

[Magicman]

Check out the local ordinances for the area. I like doing that so I can talk intelligently if approached about detecting. I will tell you this, cover your holes, act as though you are a professional, doing a job. One thing about the school, if it is fenced and chained, then ask permission.

I have had more people come up to me, after watching me, and make a positive comment. I remember being at one place and the official came up to me to get a general feel from me. He mentioned that he had been watching me and I explain how the detector works and how I recover the item. He said he wish everyone else would do the same thing. I have been asked to come recover items for the official on occasion. I was at the high school the other day and near the football field looking for targets. After a couple holes and I covered them, he came up to me and asked not to dig on the football field itself. I told him I wouldn't and that the field is not an area of interest because it was all fill in dirt and that I was more interested in the older area of the school grounds. He told me to have a nice day.

 

[big-ears]

Be courteous, friendly, as we should be on any occasion, but as the old saying goes.....you get more with sugar than with salt. Strange as it seems, I have hunted areas for years and no one said a thing, and then inquire about the area and then be told not to come back.....go figure. Digging a hole in a park lawn can be made an art in its own right. Be good at it. I will use a razor sharp knife that leaves an invisible cut once replaced. Remember in Kung Fu when he walked across the rice paper Use your head, don't walk out there with a shovel, with people everywhere watching. I hunt busy parks in the fall on cool or cold days early or late when areas are virtually abandoned. The last time I was approached by the police, it was to warn me of local trash who might decide to rob if given the chance. I didn't say a word about what was strapped to my ankle. I just said thanks and went on my way. I always try to think my trip out, we have a very old area here, very isolated, wet, lots of timber, I was armed, and I taped magazines inside my pants around my ankles, why..........cheap snake chaps..........what did I encounter.........one snake, and a pack of dogs, two of which were ragged looking pit-bulls. That little snub nose gave me the warmest, coziest feeling I have had since I first laid eyes on my wife! Be it parks or what-ever, just think about it before you take off, what will you encounter, what will you need etc I wish I had taken my own advice one november day, I was about 3 miles down some railroad tracks and I realized I was freezing. My coat was about 30 miles away. It was a long walk back to the truck I will never forget.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

One thing you need to be carefull about is using a digging tool that is even remotely similar to a knife while on school property.Acording to the law you could be arrested and charged with a felony weapons charge.I know some will say a lesche trowel/knife is fine but they are wrong according to the law.Just a word of caution that could save you from a very bad experience,Ray.