I was just readin Bigfoots posts..Guess I sparked something in him too. When you know what your doing metal detecting does not have an impact on anyone. You dig your whole with a small serrated digger in a plug shape. Carefully pull the plug out trying to keep it whole onto a cloth. When the object is found the plug is replaced. I have been on many private properties with nice grass and you would never know I was there. Largo mentioned he drives his QUAD in the woods. I love quads but cmon whos being hypocritical. That is way more illegal. If you have to hide anything from rangers in the pines its wrong. As for all of us. We drive our trucks through the trails. This footprint we leave is far more detrimental to the ground then digging a small plug and returning to the ground as it was. People need more education on this hobby and then they would fully understand our goals. There is a small percentage of people who do go out with gaint shovels and complete disregard but that is why our hobby is looked down on.