No where to go In Wisconsin!!!!

[cjspearsdog]

I am new to detedting, and jumped the gun a little and bought a Ace 250 without doing my research first. I have come to find out that all state parks and DNR land is off limits, I checked local municipal codes in all my neighboring towns and they say city parks are off limits. So am I stuck with private property? I have done my own yard, some clad nothing old, I have tried a family owened property nothing good yet but I think it should have somthing (Early 1900's farm house) I found one wheat and a couple clad. Long story short is I am scared that by mid summer next year I will be out of spots to go. Not fair for a fun harmless hobby, guess I will be selling my detedtor while it is still new. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Cory

[Epi-hunter]

I am new to detedting, and jumped the gun a little and bought a Ace 250 without doing my research first. I have come to find out that all state parks and DNR land is off limits, I checked local municipal codes in all my neighboring towns and they say city parks are off limits. So am I stuck with private property? I have done my own yard, some clad nothing old, I have tried a family owened property nothing good yet but I think it should have somthing (Early 1900's farm house) I found one wheat and a couple clad. Long story short is I am scared that by mid summer next year I will be out of spots to go. Not fair for a fun harmless hobby, guess I will be selling my detedtor while it is still new. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Cory

Welcome to the forum Cory :)

It's not at all unusual for state parks and DNR land to be off limits. That's the case in the state I live in now, as well as the one I lived in before this.

It's also not unusual for some city ordinances to prohibit detecting, but it seems somewhat unusual for every single individual city/municipality in your driving distance to have rules against it. Actually I have found it to be somewhat unusual for individual smaller towns/municipalities to have rules about detecting on file at all. But, it could be that in your particular area previous problems with detectorists led these places to place rules against it.

I know several people on this forum who detect in public areas in Wisconsin, although not necessarily close to you. You may need to be prepared to drive a bit to detect public areas - that's what I do.

Don't discount the opportunities of private properties. They may be your best bet. Most parks where detecting is allowed are very hard hit, and it's tricky to find what others have missed - it's part of the challenge of increasing skills as a detectorist.

Good luck and welcome once again! By the way, I grew up not too far from you in the midwest.

By the way, you said you detected your own yard - how old is it? How new are you to detecting? It takes a really long time to thoroughly detect a yard.

The 100 year old farm sounds like a great opportunity - if you found a wheat, that is a great sign that more is probably there to find.

[Fire Fighter 43]

I've been detecting in WI since the mid seventies and have never had a lack of places to hunt. Public parks for the most part have been hunted to death and I try to avoid them but there are still finds to be made if you are patient. State owned land has always been off limits but most municipal parks are open for detecting. In your local area I would ask where you can find the municipal code that states no detecting, odds are there isn't any. You might just be asking the wrong person. Check with the maintenance supervisor or the local PD.
As I mentioned above I avoid public parks and concentrate of private property. You need to do research if you want to find the old stuff with this hobby. Get some old plat maps for your area and look for the churches, schools and home sites that are no longer there. They might be farm fields, vacant lots or wooded areas now. You do not need to travel far to find quality spots to hunt. I've lived in the county I'm in for about 11 years and 90% of my finds have been within 20 minutes of my house and 95% on private property. As an example I've found over 300 old coins pre 1964 in the last 5 years. Get your self some metal detecting books that have information on sites to hunt and doing research. One of the newer books that is one of my favorites is TheTreasure Hunters Handbook by Andy Sabisch. Here is a link to his books
http://sabischbooks.com/ Spend the winter doing some research so your ready to hit the ground swinging in the spring. Good Luck and Happy Hunting.

[cjspearsdog]

By the way, you said you detected your own yard - how old is it? How new are you to detecting? It takes a really long time to thoroughly detect a yard.

My house was built in '56. I have gone out detecting 6 times for a total of around 15 hrs. I have spent about 8 hrs at my house.

I ordered the book The Treasure Hunters Handbook by Andy Sabisch can't hurt.

Thanks for your help!!! any other info would be appreciated

Happy Holidays
Cory

[milco]

Cory, welcome from Milwaukee! All DNR state owned land and parks have been off limits since 2008 after a MDer found a piece of copper culture at a state park. He knew it was significantly historic so he contacted the state and donated it to a museum. The reward for his generosity was a statewide ban on MDing.

Many county parks, township parks, and village parks are open to MDing or just require obtaining permission or getting a permit.

By far, however, your best finds will come from researching old sites on private lands and getting permission. I will never run out of places to go MDing, the only thing holding me back from getting to all the of spots is the lack of time!

Good luck!

[Wisconsin Lockman]

Cory

What part of Wisconsin are you in? I live in Chippewa Falls and never have a problem finding places to hunt. The last few years a bunch of our club members have been hitting road construction when the workers are done for the day. I have been to our local park more times than you could imagine. We still find coins and jewelry. I know the parks in Stanley, and Thorp are off limits to hunting. We travel around west central Wisconsin hitting old schools, homesteads, parks, ect, ect. If you get up my way, look me up.

Kenny (Wisconsin Lockman)

[Rob L]

Cory. Here is something that you can do. Buy some topographical maps, there not expensive. Then get some old maps. You can usually copy them in the library. Topographical maps have the houses on them. So do the old maps,(I'm talking 100 to 200 years old) ;). Take the old and compare with the new. The topo maps that don't have the old houses on them are where the celar holes are. A lot of them are on dirt roads way out in the woods. As far as permission is, thats up to you. But I've never ben refused to detect on old roads or celar holes in the woods. Who would care? Sporting goods stores have topographical maps. Good luck. ;)

[396nova]

Wisconsin is not the best State for detecting, but you should be able to find plenty of places to hunt. Most local parks and beaches are open to MD. Your friends might have a place to MD. When driving around, look for places to MD. Practice in you own yard, or a neighbors yard, with permission. Practice digging your holes and back filling so that it is hard to notice you were digging. Place targets (coins, rings, pull tabs, bolts, etc...) in your yard to see how your detector reacts to these items. It takes lots of time and practice to get as good as some of the members on this site. Good luck and keep working at it. thumbsup01