Respect or Not ?

[lon]

OK you spent your time on the forums and the Internet now you are out in the field you have a good ideal what to look for what to stay far from meaning someones claims you take off up the hill you see that someone has been here a lot they re cover all the dig holes. do you look for a new spot out of respect or clean up what was left behind if any ? now you are out you see a old boy working a hill side you know that a patch is there do you find your own or gets what left for i already know now you must watch what you say or do for some guys this is way more than the hunt and hobby its gold

THX and good luck all

LON

[FlakMagnet]

Lon,

That's a question we all have to ask ourselves.

Usually, if the ground is claimed, it's important to leave and not hunt.

If the ground is not claimed...and sometimes you have to look for the corner

posts, they aren't always easy to spot...I would say it's probably ok to hunt.

If it's private property, same thing, leave and don't hunt.

Respect is key in my book, you can't go wrong that way.

All the best,

Flak

[Uncle Ron]

Yo Lon...The issue is if some prospecting buddy takes you to his patch then it's not cool to go back without him if he hasn't told you it's ok, regardless of whether it's his claim or open ground...Even if your bud dosn't claim the ground, if he turns you on to it, it's just not cool to go back to your friend's patch without him in person or his permission...Just some beepin' ediquet...Cheers, Yer Unc in the Dubyah

[frank c]

I agree with Unc Ron, ABSOLUTELY. I have been in that same situation for over a year and would NOT go to the patch without my buddy taking me there because it was he that brought me there and its his claim. INTEGRITY Keeps things on track otherwise you deserve this

[FlakMagnet]

I agree with Ron too, great point Unc

Flak

[lon]

Flak Magnet

you are right you must know where you are at all times new or old just running no someones claim is very disrespectful THX

LON

Uncle Ron

there is no call for someone to take the time to help someone in this hobby and that person do something like that for it would be wrong for me i will stick with the wife and learn as we go with no Buddy's makes life a lot easier that way thank you for the maps and good luck to you

LON

[shep]

Agree with Uncle Ron and all above totally. If someone takes you to their spot, claimed or not, you need to respect, they brought you in. I've been told in one case, no problem, you can go anytime. I still asked.

There is another side of this tho. when you're out looking on open ground and nothings been found prior. be very weary of you hunt with. Nuff said!

Shep

[Dutchman]

Everybody knows what is right and wrong in a given situation. A principled person will do the right thing, unless he chooses to compromise his principles/charactor. An unprincipled person will do the selfish thing automatically when given the choice. Only you can decide which person you want to be, (no one else can do this for you). Gold is way down the list of values to an honest, principled man. Most honest Nuggethunters find enough gold to satisfy themselves. Most dishonest/unprincipled Nuggethunters never find enough to satisfy themselves. Would you rather be satisfied or not satisfied?

[oakwoodcutter]

OK you spent your time on the forums and the Internet now you are out in the field you have a good ideal what to look for what to stay far from meaning someones claims you take off up the hill you see that someone has been here a lot they re cover all the dig holes. do you look for a new spot out of respect or clean up what was left behind if any ? now you are out you see a old boy working a hill side you know that a patch is there do you find your own or gets what left for i already know now you must watch what you say or do for some guys this is way more than the hunt and hobby its gold

THX and good luck all

[dave wiseman]

Oakwoodcutter,people are out detecting,they come to a site where obvious digging is going on in a quartz vein.They beep the area anyway as it's not a claim.Now,there are no visable tools or buckets around,because they will be stolen by beepers.This has happened on many occasions over thirty years.I'm not a miner,perhaps a half assed prospector and don't appreciate full grown men robbing someone's tools(some extremely hard to replace) and beeping in their diggings after spending years and years sweating,freezing and breaking my ass so some newby who learned to turn a few knobs on a detector can highgrade some quartz gold specie.As another post by Sawmill on another forum,but similar example.....if your kid leaves a bike on the sidewalk,is it alright to steal it because the owner is not around and his name,address etc. isn't inscibed on the bike?A few of these fellows post on Arizona forums and a California forum..lot's of fellows know who these guys are!....there are fewer and fewer spots to beep,prospect on each year,and more hunters of the yellow..but have a little common decency and leave what's not yours alone as there will soon be nowhere to hunt or trust..........Dave

[oakwoodcutter]

Oakwoodcutter,people are out detecting,they come to a site where obvious digging is going on in a quartz vein.They beep the area anyway as it's not a claim.Now,there are no visable tools or buckets around,because they will be stolen by beepers.This has happened on many occasions over thirty years.I'm not a miner,perhaps a half assed prospector and don't appreciate full grown men robbing someone's tools(some extremely hard to replace) and beeping in their diggings after spending years and years sweating,freezing and breaking my ass so some newby who learned to turn a few knobs on a detector can highgrade some quartz gold specie.As another post by Sawmill on another forum,but similar example.....if your kid leaves a bike on the sidewalk,is it alright to steal it because the owner is not around and his name,address etc. isn't inscibed on the bike?A few of these fellows post on Arizona forums and a California forum..lot's of fellows know who these guys are!....there are fewer and fewer spots to beep,prospect on each year,and more hunters of the yellow..but have a little common decency and leave what's not yours alone as there will soon be nowhere to hunt or trust..........Dave

[/quote..........dave your 100% right..i was just stating how i felt about who,s a miner and whos not..but do you really think a beeper would steel someones mining tools..i would never imagine that one would...anyways right from the get go i was blacballed by basically everyone for posting on that other forum..the damag was done imidiatly ....and yes ive made some way out there post,s i will admit that but ijust say it like i see it..good day and good hunting

[dave wiseman]

How about three sets of tools .......and many five gallon buckets....leave open holes.....leave garbage.When one day there's no parks,BLM ground,national forests to beep on these fellows can raise their cans of beer and be proud to proclaim I was a big part this fiasco.....these tools were drifting picks,shovels,double jacks and very hard to come by long hand steels..........Dave

[nuggethunting]

Hey Lon,

I tried to dodge this post, since it's such a touchy subject as you seen. I think it comes down to "what is right, or doing the right thing." If I knew someone was working a big area and went home every weekend, but knew the person was actively working the area I wouldn't hunt it without his permission. If the area is obviously claimed, I would stay clear without permission. If the area is not claims and there is not activity, then I would assume that is open game!

It's almost impossible to stop someone from hunting an area without being there 24-7. It's the claim owners responsibility to properly mark (make visible) the four corners and location monument. However, even with these five stakes, someone can still sneak onto the claim without seeing a marker.

I also agree with Uncle Ron. If you take someone to a place they should respect that spot and not return without permission. I've set up several people in the past and told them to not return and they did with several other people. Funny, the spot wasn't even a real patch, just to challenge their honestly!

Honesty is the best virtue. I've gained access to hundreds, if not thousands of acres of land by simply just asking for permission.

Not sure if this answered your question or not.

Rob Allison

[The Shadow]

Hey Lon,

It's almost impossible to stop someone from hunting an area without being there 24-7. It's the claim owners responsibility to properly mark (make visible) the four corners and location monument. However, even with these five stakes, someone can still sneak onto the claim without seeing a marker.

Rob Allison

"someone can still sneak onto the claim without seeing a marker."

DING DING DING DING... They do this on purpose often.

For many years its much more than making sure all corners are marked as well as the discovery and signing the crud out of the claim. In fact those things have recently taken a far backseat to remote hidden cameras shooting motion capture video and hi res stills then spending the time to run the offender down and discuss resolutions prior to court. This all reads great but in real life the facts say that most (I'll say 51% for purpose of this discussion) are happy to detect or prospect by dredge or drywasher any spot they think is worthy by ignoring all markers, signs and easily re-searchable legal claim info under the guise of "well since I had driven that far" or "I was only hunting space rocks" or the infamous "I was only looking for coins" with this GPX4500 and 20 different coils on my back.

Choose your friends wisely, trust them yet also pay attention to the knife they carry lest ya end up with it in the back someday.

[oakwoodcutter]

How about three sets of tools .......and many five gallon buckets....leave open holes.....leave garbage.When one day there's no parks,BLM ground,national forests to beep on these fellows can raise their cans of beer and be proud to proclaim I was a big part this fiasco.....these tools were drifting picks,shovels,double jacks and very hard to come by long hand steels..........Dave

sounds to me like someone stoleyour stuff...thats not good...i noticed when hunting up in clear creek area redding...they ripdown the fences to get there quads in...dig holls all over the place unfilled and trash galore..it apesrs to me that everyone just goes back to the same spots over and over again..probably find more gold exploring outside the box..what if find funny is when i first posted i was fairwarned about assotiating with certain individuals..i laughed at it..but boy was i wrong..anyways sometimes when i make a comment it may be taking the wrong way..whitch iam trully sorry...anyways a quick question i was at rye patch was taken there...is that open ground to hunt..ive seen manny there but no signs of any claims..and also is it legal to take tracors out there and move ground

[dave wiseman]

Can't help you with the Rye patch stuff,though just because it's not posted don't mean much.From what I've read on the various gold forums over the years there are many claims there......Heavy equipment usually requires a plan of operation report,perhaps an enviro report.......Getting back to tool thiefs,I've been to the some of the worst drug dealing parts of Stockton,California where they steal spare tires for drug money and yet no one ever stole my number 2 shovel out of my truck bed

[grubstake]

Dave my uncle owns a roofing company in Monterey Ca. and never lock his stuff up in his truck, he had a pickup load of roofing tools, ladders included, never once had them stolen from his truck, only his cell phone. No one wants to steal tools, they might have to work with. thats why they steal, there lazy. Grubstake

[whats4supper]

about everyone posting here has made good points. Following Shadow's comments, it's not likely that anything will improve anytime soon due to quads, and other means to get in and out. Many times, it's even tough to stand your ground because a guy can be outnumbered, and miles from somebody to step in. even if you get the goods on someone, there is plausible retaliation down the road.

I carry papers to show what claim belongs to me, as people take out claim markers and make new roads and bring along a few pals, but on BLM areas, a person cannot legally live on their claim; only on patents whcih are no longer fed land. I have had times when I was run off of my own claims.

At the most, the law would cite for a misdemeanor, and tie up countless hours in defending the case in a court a hundred or so miles from the house, and for everyone taken down, there are myriad more encroaching and working someone else's claim.

Another problem is that a lot of markers are placed without any legitimacy whatsoever, or before or after any sort of legal claim filing, and some have a paper in the post, that never becomes a legal document.

The best thing is to develop local knowledge, and contacts that know the neighbors. Sometimes it takes a beer bribe or some other contribution or gift, but it's a lot cheaper than funeral and family costs if for some reason, through a mixup, you don't make it back home in one piece.