Know the laws to Hunt in the state of Georgia
We periodically get asked by people visiting or moving to the state of George what the rules for relic hunting in the state are.. The answer to this question is on the useful website:
http://www.mdhtalk.org/cf/city-regulation.cfm?st=GA It does describe the laws pretty well but not how they might be applied. For example they state “keep in mind that the actual practice for any given area may not represent the actual regulation that exist” but keep in mind if you get stopped by an official the law (or as stated on the website: regulation) is what matters. You take a chance hunting in a park that everyone says is ok even though the regulations say you can’t. So here are the rules in general. There are no Federal metal detecting laws other than the ARPA laws which protect ALL Federal Government owned lands. This law doesn’t address private property. But this law is far reaching and severe. This includes national historical parks, national seashores, national forests, military bases or any land considered US government property. Note that it is a felony to dig on Federal property and they are pretty committed to enforcing it. You don’t want to be caught there so I suggest you stay far enough away from any federal property lines that there is no question about where you are hunting. All private or state owned property is governed by the state laws. These governing laws are described on the right side of the above web site. Bottom line is don’t hunt state or Federal property and you can hunt any private property as long as you have the land owner’s permission. The above link states you must have written permission from the landowner. The exception to the state laws is when cities or counties pass local laws that restrict state laws even more. An example of this is the Jekyll Island law shown on the above link stating no metal detecting is allowed on that island. So in general you can hunt anywhere in the state other than Jekyll Island, State of Georgia property, Federal property or burial grounds with the land owner’s written permission. For the written permission, I suggest taking a copy of the web page above to show the land owner why you need it and then carrying a form permission sheet that you can fill out on site with the land owner’s name, address, date and signature stating they give you permission. That makes it faster and easier than having to explain things and draw up a document. Good luck and happy hunting! There is plenty of private property that with a little effort you can get permission to hunt. |