geof_junk Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 On the right holes dug by shovels back in the 1800s On the left mining by machines recently. I always fill in my holes mainly to prevent others from knowing it has been productive. As far as detector holes go they pale into insignificant compared to the damage done by mining. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Aureous Posted January 12, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 12, 2023 I've done both. I've been a mining lease holder twice. But what I've never done is leave my detector holes unfilled. After all these years, I find it astounding that d*ckheads still leave holes open. Mostly they are 'newbies' who are unaware or purely ignorant of common sense or haven't got the brainpower to see the ugliness of what they leave behind. Sure, we don't want others to know what we're finding, but surely common sense etiquette means you try to leave the site as you found it? Many a time, I've spent more effort back filling morons open detector holes than digging my own..... 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman4 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 I always fill my holes also and even put my first scrape layer of gravel/rocks back on top so after some weathering you can barely tell there was a dig hole there. I create a GPS waypoint for every nugget I have found and sometimes I go back to detect the same area and I have a hard time finding the original dig hole. The other thing is TRASH. I pick up trash that others leave behind as long as it is not too big. I was also raised with the same etiquette to leave leave a place the same or better than you found it. The beauty of metal detecting is the surgical removal of gold or other targets with low impact. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Steve Herschbach Posted January 12, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 12, 2023 A certain reality is that what some people consider insignificant, other people seize on as a reason to restrict or prohibit metal detecting. Leaving holes or leaving trash on the surface is the number one reason used to make sites off limits to detecting. If for no other reason, fill holes and properly dispose of trash to protect your privilege of being able to metal detect on public land. Or that privilege will be taken away. It’s happened in countless locations, and don’t think it can’t happen in yours. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAU? Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Drywashers, particularly the ones who are high graders, are one of the worse. I’d think that the clubs here in the So. cal deserts are at risk of having their claim status slapped by BLM for what is happening on their claims. Hopefully BLM sees what members are trying to fix, but it’s hard for them to keep up with the restoration of all the holes and trash dumped on their claims by the low life’s. Given this, club members should always report back to the club claim administrator whenever they do any work on the claim, even if it’s picking up some trash, so it’s documented. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchman4 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said: A certain reality is that what some people consider insignificant, other people seize on as a reason to restrict or prohibit metal detecting. Leaving holes or leaving trash on the surface is the number one reason used to make sites off limits to detecting. If for no other reason, fill holes and properly dispose of trash to protect your privilege of being able to metal detect on public land. Or that privilege will be taken away. It’s happened in countless locations, and don’t think it can’t happen in yours. Couldn't agree more. When I lived in SoCal there were many outdoor target shooting areas on BLM land that were shut down due to huge amounts of trash left behind including old TV's and appliances that were shot up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjack Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 On 1/13/2023 at 6:20 AM, Dutchman4 said: Couldn't agree more. When I lived in SoCal there were many outdoor target shooting areas on BLM land that were shut down due to huge amounts of trash left behind including old TV's and appliances that were shot up. A bumper sticker I recently saw sums it up for me " I love shooting deer and drinking beer " a dangerous mix that can only end one way, in my opinion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhaseTech Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 8:32 PM, Aureous said: I've done both. I've been a mining lease holder twice. But what I've never done is leave my detector holes unfilled. After all these years, I find it astounding that d*ckheads still leave holes open. Mostly they are 'newbies' who are unaware or purely ignorant of common sense or haven't got the brainpower to see the ugliness of what they leave behind. Sure, we don't want others to know what we're finding, but surely common sense etiquette means you try to leave the site as you found it? Many a time, I've spent more effort back filling morons open detector holes than digging my own..... Many times I have been alerted to an area seeing unfilled detector holes, and I check out the spot that I otherwise would have walked straight past. Also many times I have found gold in and around these holes. Fill in and check again, and often more signals under where the dirt was piled up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flakmagnet Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 I'd be lying if I said I have filled in every hole…there are times I have left them unfilled so I can see where I have been, and then go back and fill them in all at once. There have also been times when I just didn't fill the hole in and I am not proud of it. But, most times I fill them in and always feel better when I do. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valens Legacy Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 I saw that episode about those mines, the guy that has the mine next to it said what they were and how far down they went. Almost each one of those holes were a separate claim, I just not see how so many people could dig that close together and not get into fights. I have seen several people digging in parks and on school property and not fill their holes back in and it just makes me mad. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now