cladcanada said:
I'm planning a trip to Washington (Sumas and south ) and would like to detect some schools along the way if possible . I live in Canada and its ok to hunt them here , when schools are closed . Don't wanna get in hot water ! Thx for any info
Sounds like your trip will encompass multiple cities along a travel corridor. Right ? If so, then that's too general. Because each city school district could have it's own rules. So you'd need to be specific.
HOWEVER: Let me save you some time: It's going to be extremely rare that any school had a specific "no md'ing" rule. Almost unheard of. Instead, it would fall under :
a) is the public allowed there in the first place, for ANY type of activity ? (eg.: jog the track, shoot hoops, fly a kite, play ball, etc..) ? Because a lot of schools on the west coast (so I would assume Washington too) started getting their school yards fenced several decades back. NOTHING TO DO with metal detecting. But only to do with the litigious age in which we live. Eg.: someone going to sue the school if they fall off the swing set. Does that stop persons from going through wide spots in the fence to walk their dog, play ball, etc... ? No. So could you probably likewise detect , as long as you're not being a big bullseye nuisance ? Probably.
b) But you will perhaps get answers of "no" from other md'rs. Because of the obligatory signs on the gate opening. Eg.: "school use only" or "visitors check in at the office" blah blah. The signs that someone who walks their dog or shoots hoops ignores.
c) Does this guarantee you that you'll likewise "be ignored" ? No. Because of course md'ing has connotations. (that you might be about to leave a hole). Thus you go at low traffic times to avoid such kill-joys. But some skittish md'rs will consider that lawless. Because they wait for red-carpets to be rolled out for them. Hence the debate continues: If you're waiting for express "yes's" from pencil pushers, and if obligatory signage bothers you, then assume: No you can't.
d) But if you're tough skinned, just choose low traffic times and go.
e) But as I say, you will frequently find a lot of md'rs to say "no", because they got scrammed (and took it as gospel law going forward, instead of seeing that as 'flukes'). Or they called, got the "safe answer" (when in fact perhaps no one cared less), and have now put it out in the grapevine that "such & such schools are off-limits".
Our schools got the obligatory fences and obligatory signs back in the 1980s. We still hunt them all the time. Provided you're not wearing neon yellow, waltzing through ballgames, or being in the middle of deep retrievals when lookie-lous might be around.
