Advice needed? were am I going wrong with you guys ?

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

So.......I need some advice....it seems im getting no response when i make enquiries to seek permission to metal detect, can i ask whats wrong? Im quite new to the hobby, but definitely not new to the countryside, and the dos and donts that go with it....do metal detectorists in general have a bad reputation with farmers for not treating the land properly? , trampling standing crops , leaving unfilled holes in pasture , gates left open etc ? It appears from what i have read some detectorists see it as a " get rich quick" scheme, instead of the love of history it should be... I just wish someone would give me a chance...I realise countryside communities can be a bit " closed" , when I was first introduced into the keeping/beating team at the local shoot when i was younger it took a while to be accepted in, but once there it was a great place to be and the best few years of my life... any advice appreciated .all the best

Yale · Jan 18, 2019

Always be aware of livestock.

Few years ago the guys who detect on our place manage to spook a bunch of heifers which burst out of the field and ended up 1/2 a mile away .

It took a couple of weeks to calm them and get them back.

And the national organisation who run the insurance with IIRC Sun Life or Norwich Union,the insurance is not worth the paper it’s written on.They refused to pay out for the damage and put the detectorists in a very awkward position.

Sonoftheheir · Jan 18, 2019

I’ve been asked a few times by friends of friends. But there really is nothing to be found on our type of land, except old horse shoes and rusty bolts. I think there is a perception that all land has “hidden treasures”.

Warp Land Farmer · Jan 18, 2019

I would hazard a guess that most see anyone on their land as an invasion of privacy. Would you let Mr R A Ndom spend all afternoon ferreting about in your front garden? I don’t think your doing anything wrong, your just not wanted or needed to most land owners.

Sonoftheheir · Jan 18, 2019

^this^ spot on!

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Hi both , thanks for getting back so quickly.
I have seen a few metal detectors on videos making an awful racket, both the machines and the people! Shouting across the field to each and metal detectors howling squeaking tones with no heaphones on, clearly not people 'in tune'. Thats good to know about the insurance, i think i know the one your talking about....£8 per year does seem cheap....
And Sonoftheheir, yes i agree , i think a lot of detectorists think theres a buried hoard in each field! i honestly find anything i dig up interesting ( its more for history than profit on my part)
Thanks again

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Just saw warplandfarmer's post, very fair comment but like i said, it was the same when i got introduced to the shooting community.until I was accepted.but thanks for the candid honesty

Warp Land Farmer · Jan 18, 2019

Ng20Detector said:
Just saw warplandfarmer's post, very fair comment but like i said, it was the same when i got introduced to the shooting community.until I was accepted.but thanks for the candid honesty

Please don’t be offended, it’s the same with ‘the hunt’ and ‘the local shoot’. Not wanted nor needed.

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Im not offended, honestly...its just nice to get your guys true feelings about the matter

melted welly · Jan 18, 2019

Ng20Detector said:
So.......I need some advice....it seems im getting no response when i make enquiries to seek permission to metal detect, can i ask whats wrong? Im quite new to the hobby, but definitely not new to the countryside, and the dos and donts that go with it....do metal detectorists in general have a bad reputation with farmers for not treating the land properly? , trampling standing crops , leaving unfilled holes in pasture , gates left open etc ? It appears from what i have read some detectorists see it as a " get rich quick" scheme, instead of the love of history it should be... I just wish someone would give me a chance...I realise countryside communities can be a bit " closed" , when I was first introduced into the keeping/beating team at the local shoot when i was younger it took a while to be accepted in, but once there it was a great place to be and the best few years of my life... any advice appreciated .all the best

Don’t take it personally, I think sometimes it’s a case of once bitten twice shy..

Had a young keen chap come asking, he seemed genuine enough, enthusiastic so I said yes to a couple of fields. He said thanks very much, how much do you charge, I said I might need a favour sometime. Went very well first one or two times, then a dog came along too, then a mate, then the mate on his own with a different dog, then him and his mate plus his old man and 2 dogs off the lead......they started turning up 9/10pm, felt like taking a bit of a liberty.

Then we lost a bit off a machine, couldn’t find it, called him as we knew the general area and it’s a big lump of metal. They found nothing, the field was left looking like it’d been infested with monster moles and I’ve never seen or heard of him since.

Personally, I was quite excited, a fine chance for us both to learn a bit of the history of the land, connect with people who walked it before us. Reality was a bit different tho.

Only my experience, but made me wary of agreeing to others. As for advice, I dunno, are you in a club? Registered with the detectorist council or whatever it’s called? That’d be things that’d make me reconsider, that and references, but that’s a catch22 I suppose.

If you look like Lance or Andy off detectorists, that would probably swing it too, but if you look like one of the other 2, you’re fecked!

Best of luck

kfpben · Jan 18, 2019

Why don’t you join a club? They will have access to land and you will meet like minded people. We allow a club to detect on our farm.

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Melted welly, thanks very much for your reply...and a lot of the things you mention are issues i imagined they might be..especially the issue of people " getting their foot in the door" and turning up with others without asking, and bringing dogs too...
Yes he shouldve found the machine part easily, my detector goes nuts at a bottle cap ! and as for the holes, i cant see any excuse for that, its just not on, just plain irresponsible.
Its seeming like i thought, bad experiences leading landowners to think its not worth the risk...
Thanks again for replying
Ps im more like Lance than Andy lol

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

kfpben said:
Why don’t you join a club? They will have access to land and you will meet like minded people. We allow a club to detect on our farm.

Hiya thanks for replying, im in the process of joining a club all the best

Werzle · Jan 18, 2019

If only there were people as keen to get permission for mole catching as there is shooting, ferreting and metal detecting. Im sure more would get let on if they could promise to clear the b#stard things and take a few days sport as payment.

Dry Rot · Jan 18, 2019

I saw an advert on Facebook, someone looking for detecting, so I sent him a PM that he could come here if he wanted. Decent enough lad who works as a lorry driver and keep racing pigeons. We got on fine and he spent a few hours in the wind and rain and found a few metal objects of no great impirtance. As I say, he seemed delighted and says he will come back and will let me know when. I am a 'hire and fire' type of guy and have laid it out in plain language that he will continue to be welcome, unless he starts to mess me about. No problem, he accepts that.

I have a rabbit problem and have occasionally advertised ferretting. One made big promises, but I was warned he would not turn up. He didn't! The next one made an appointment so I moved stock, turned off electric fencing. He didn't turn up either. Another said he would come and turned up at 4pm. If that's all he knows about ferretting, I don't want him. Probably wouldn't bother in the future. As others have said.

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Werzle said:
If only there were people as keen to get permission for mole catching as there is shooting, ferreting and metal detecting. Im sure more would get let on if they could promise to clear the b#stard things and take a few days sport as payment.

Haha i have a little spade i carry, i could whack them over the head if they popped up

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

Dry Rot said:
I saw an advert on Facebook, someone looking for detecting, so I sent him a PM that he could come here if he wanted. Decent enough lad who works as a lorry driver and keep racing pigeons. We got on fine and he spent a few hours in the wind and rain and found a few metal objects of no great impirtance. As I say, he seemed delighted and says he will come back and will let me know when. I am a 'hire and fire' type of guy and have laid it out in plain language that he will continue to be welcome, unless he starts to mess me about. No problem, he accepts that.

I have a rabbit problem and have occasionally advertised ferretting. One made big promises, but I was warned he would not turn up. He didn't! The next one made an appointment so I moved stock, turned off electric fencing. He didn't turn up either. Another said he would come and turned up at 4pm. If that's all he knows about ferretting, I don't want him. Probably wouldn't bother in the future. As others have said.

Thats seems perfect in my opinion, I would be just the same, Im excited about whwtever i dig up! Its not about getting rich for me , its the interest that appeals to me,
Sorry to hear about the ferreting guys though,and i guess it will just make you take the next , and maybe genuine, guy with a pinch of salt..
Thanks for replying.
All the best

borderterribles · Jan 18, 2019

Ng20Detector said:
So.......I need some advice....it seems im getting no response when i make enquiries to seek permission to metal detect, can i ask whats wrong? Im quite new to the hobby, but definitely not new to the countryside, and the dos and donts that go with it....do metal detectorists in general have a bad reputation with farmers for not treating the land properly? , trampling standing crops , leaving unfilled holes in pasture , gates left open etc ? It appears from what i have read some detectorists see it as a " get rich quick" scheme, instead of the love of history it should be... I just wish someone would give me a chance...I realise countryside communities can be a bit " closed" , when I was first introduced into the keeping/beating team at the local shoot when i was younger it took a while to be accepted in, but once there it was a great place to be and the best few years of my life... any advice appreciated .all the best

I doubt if it's anything personal to you. I always used to let detectorists onto our ground, as I had a metal detector in my younger days and was always curious as to what they might find. At the time , we farmed close to a Roman settlement , and maybe a mile from the A5. One day a couple of lads came and asked for permission, which I agreed to, with the usual caveat, You've got to show me everything that you find!
Later in the day, they came to me with half a dozen silver coins, which they had uncovered and asked if they could come again the day after, to search more carefully. I agreed ( of course), but they didn't show up the next morning. When I went to the field in question, it was instantly obvious that they had been back overnight, presumably mob handed , and trashed the area completely. That kind of trick made me more cautious in future.

Ng20Detector · Jan 18, 2019

borderterribles said:
I doubt if it's anything personal to you. I always used to let detectorists onto our ground, as I had a metal detector in my younger days and was always curious as to what they might find. At the time , we farmed close to a Roman settlement , and maybe a mile from the A5. One day a couple of lads came and asked for permission, which I agreed to, with the usual caveat, You've got to show me everything that you find!
Later in the day, they came to me with half a dozen silver coins, which they had uncovered and asked if they could come again the day after, to search more carefully. I agreed ( of course), but they didn't show up the next morning. When I went to the field in question, it was instantly obvious that they had been back overnight, presumably mob handed , and trashed the area completely. That kind of trick made me more cautious in future.

Hi thanks for replying, thats shocking to hear ..theres no wonder landowners are reluctant to let people on their property with these types of bad experiences.I guess its just a matter of trust , which is an easy thing to say , harder to prove without actually knowing someone beforehand
All the best

nelly55 · Jan 19, 2019

Last year we received a polite letter asking if we would allow one person to metal detect,they had all the correct paper work.I answered the letter in the supplied envelope we say maybe if they would contact me.A gentleman Came to see me,we discussed the rules ,where to dig and how any find would be treated.(I lived in hope he might find the highways mans treasure)anyway he always telephones before arrival only goes where he is told and hands over all finds.We have lead bullets from Cromwell period ,Roman coins all in the same field.I think about all those who walked across my fields years passed and what else remains to be found.He said we were the only ones who answered .

Advice needed? were am I going wrong with you guys ?

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