Attending Rally's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

[Dave8472]

Attending Rally's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

Hi all, I have been meaning to compile something for ages for any new detectorists or would be Rally goers. Although I have only been detecting since June 2010 I have attended 11 Rally's in total and have detected on about another 30 different farm locations via our club, so this is my own personal take on digging such places. This is based on my own findings, observations and what people have told me on the days at site. I have tried to avoid internet gossip as that can't be verified.

My guide brakes down in to three sections, and I will try my best to state both sides of the debate to be fair "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

The Good:

Many people do not have access to land or are new and want to gain experience from the veterans out there. When I first got into detecting like many I had no where or very little land to go on, Rally's seemed like the answer. I found my first Hammered Coin and Roman Coin at a Rally, I spoke to many, made some friends and generally had a great time, it also gave me access to different land/soil types, so was a great detector training bed, saw some funny sites (people) as well, for a few it was all about meeting up with old friends and having a good drink up! A chance to find things and enjoy the hobby. PS Try and car share to cut down on costs

The Bad:

The weather, empty fields, the cost. Some things can't be avoided, an event can be spoiled by the weather and there is the dilemma of whether to cancel an event or not, but even heavy rain fall may not be an issue if the land is well drained or pasture, but some land can turn into a bog very quickly, I only attended one event where this was an issue and I retired early, my choice. Now finds, pulling all my detecting history, land is a funny old thing, I have been to sites that are barren of finds, and others (club land) that keep producing many great finds, so there isn't such a thing as cleared out fields, ploughing will also bring up new items, I will cover this further in next section. The cost of a typical event is now between £10-20 a day, not much but when you figure in petrol costs, food drink etc, things start mounting up, I normally end up spending £40-50, now you pay your money and take you chances, if all is fair but again I will get to this Next. Possibly night hawked land that may be an unknown factor. Also green waste could be an issue if the farmer hasn't disclosed this or may not even know there is an issue with contamination.

The Ugly:

I will try here and be as accurate as possible to what can go on at some events, I have seen some of this first hand.... lets be honest where money is involved things can go bad. A common problem, I don't have issues with this as long as it is said up front! Land that has been detected on in the past, this falls in to several categories. Firstly pre-detected land and land that has since been ploughed, the small advantage is some idea of what is there, the downside is how much detecting has been done there and when. Events often say things like 5 fields, 3 detected on before by club and 2 new fields, fine, no issues with that if true. Or even detected before but been deep ploughed. What I have issues with is turning up on so called virgin land, and someone saying I was here with my club last week detecting on this same spot !!!!! O and that is where I found a florin etc.... Having said that there were a lot of finds found on the fields by others including Celtic at that event. Another trick by clubs is to approach a farmer and organise a Rally in the future, so the farmer knows money is coming his way, the club then spends the next six months clearing it out for free, then holds the event there, I know 100 % this goes on. The next bit is in two sections, the first can't be avoided, "The Glory Hunters" people take finds with them to brag about what they have found !! Shame as it spoils it for all and distorts the history of the site and makes others think they are doing something wrong by not finding anything, I would happily name and shame anyone I found doing this if I had 100% proof. This is also an organiser trick, where there seems to be a pattern of the rally organisers and there mates always finding the good stuff, always looks good to show people and sets up the next event "we found 4 gold rings last time" etc... Planting finds, I have not personally seen this but been told it goes on, especially for events that have visiting Americans.

To Summarise :

I DO NOT wish to tar all events with the above as that would be unfair, I am glad to say that I think the majority are run for the right reasons, but you all need to be aware this goes on, my other gripe is what happens to the money? These events can cost a lot of time to set up and things like porter loos are very expensive, off course there are running costs, I don't have an issue with an event being run as a business, it is still my choice to go or not. But they should be up front on where the money is going; now we come on to charity events.... I am VERY happy to see some worthy charities being supported, but it concerns me at times that organisers hide behind this, no matter what bad things go on or any accusations levied at them they seem to hide behind " The money went to charity " that is not good enough if people have been mislead.

Would I have gone to the same events again if I did it all again, YES, will I still go the Rally's, YES, but I would be much more selective and drawn more to events that I can trust. But if I could recommend one thing that is 100 times better.... JOIN A CLUB!!!!

This is my own personal take on Rally's, I hope this is of some help to anyone thinking of going to an event, If you feel the need to reply to my thread, please make sure your comments are in compliance with the forum rules, I would prefer not to have any actual organisers or specific events named as I don't want to be drawn in to past events and what has happened, if you are thinking of going to an event, don't be afraid to ask the organisers about the land etc. At the end of the day you are paying for it!!

If you have concerns about an event in the future please feel free to PM Forum staff and we will look into it, as people are only allowed to list events here if they follow the forum rules, but it is difficult to act on just gossip, so please keep any PM traffic to facts, we are not interested in becoming "Rally Police" but will do our best to protect the members here from exposure to unscrupulous people . I would also like to remind people that we have NO connection with any Rally organisers that list here, with the exception of any forum lead event.

I may edit/remove or lock this topic at any time

Dave &*(

[alfaowner]

I haven't been detecting that long either and rallies were certainly a good way off getting out when I had no where else to go

If they are well organised , limited to numbers and run well then I think they are worth paying the entrance fee . Especially when its in aid of a local charity

I've witnessed the bad and ugly side as well people moaning off lack off finds ( we all have bad days but because there's a fee people expect to find stuff ) ... Holes left unfilled ( why do that ? ) ... Ive heard people say ... " this is crap , lets go to one my permission " ( they seem to have 1000,s off acres ) then post on forums what a terrible day it was , stayed an hour .. Didn't find the hammereds I was expecting so went to my permission two minutes away and found this ".... Pats on the back please

Fair play to anyone that takes the time to organise the rallies .. They do a good job as far as I'm concerned

If i had 500 acres of land ..Would I let a load off people I didn't know turn up and run riot , complain and ruin the fields ... Not a chance ..

Detecting is a excellent hobby spoilt by a minority off detectorists most off which I have seen on rallies

[liamnolan]

Good post Dave and you have touched on many of the issues that members mention from time to time. Any event, detecting, pop festival, car boot or whatever, takes a fair bit of organising and I discovered that when the Forum Dig was taking shape!
If you invite your mate onto your land fort a day and you both walk off at the end with tired legs and very little finds, then thats still ok. But when you invite 300 people along and take their money, then you are providing a service and there are expectations from those who have paid a fair amount of money and given up their day to attend.
I suppose there should be a sort of Tick Box that any organiser could fill in and that would at least give an easy to understand description of what to expect and for the organisers to be liable if there is clear misinformation that can be proved.
I attended on rally and met you there Dave, boiling hot day, at least 300 people turned up, think we paid £12? The land looked ideal, right next to a medieval church, near the village, three very large fields, but it soon became clear that the land had been "done to death" over many years by a local club. When myself and jacetheace wandered back for a cuppa and a sandwich, the Finds Tent had a nice selection of hammmies and other goodies. When you looked closely, they were all cleaned up and packaged. I suppose nobody actually SAID that these were found that day, perhaps thats how people can be misled? Most of the people left by lunchtime, including us.
On the plus side, it was a lovely day, people met up and had a good natter, made some friends and there must have been some finds made due to the numbers. If I remember right, you found a nice coin right on the starting line?
On that subject of start times .... as we were all waiting, machines poised and ready to go, there were people already out on the fields, detecting away and completely ignoring us! Nobody challenged them and they just did their own thing. It certainly upset some before we even got going. Liam

[kopparberg]

what a very good post and a lot of it very true .i have'nt been detecting long but it has'nt taken long to realise that rallies are good meeting places ,to have a chat and a laugh with like minded people . but what i hate is when you turn up expecting undetected fields to find like you say they have been done to death and finds are very few, or what have been found have been brought by said folk, it does go on when you are detecting on wet clay etc and you struggle to clean your finds only to see in the finds cabinet hammies sitting there clean as a whistle not a speck of mud on them now come on thats just not cricket ,all its is doing is hoping to sow the seed for the next rally . you do get some genuine rallys that are very well run and fields that are a pleasure to detect on and some good finds are made . then you get the fields that are an absolute disgrace deep plough that you need to be a mountain goat to walk on let alone detect.

[PDAquinas]

Very useful info for a newbie (me). Thanks.

You've answered quite a few questions I have been wondering about with rallies.

I have joined a local club and it is turning out to be great. Been on 3 of their digs and found things each time that have been fascinating to me.

I think what I would take from your post is what I already suspected- I would go to a rally partly as a social event and would make sure that any nice finds were a bonus. I guess when i think about it that there can't be too many rallies held on ground that hasn't had a lot of previous work done on it. That doesn't mean I couldn't have a damn nice day on it but I wouldn't necessarily expect to pad out my list of wishlist finds.

Thanks again

Phil

[hihosilver]

A good post there. Well done. If I hadn't joined a club, and instead just gone to rallies to get me 'into' detecting, then I think I'd have been put off this great hobby to be honest.

It seems that lots of people have a different mindset at these events about the basic 'rules' of MD'ing. I'm fed up with people who dig a target, only to find it wasn't anything worth their while, which they either leave in the hole, or just dump around the area. The way I see it, if you decide to dig, the least you can do is pocket it afterwards so others don't make the same 'mistake'. Surely it's common courtesy. I can understand that objects can quite large, usually deeper iron, and therefore impractical to carry, but the least you could do is move it to the side of a field or something, so not a danger to others or animals.

I've been told this is common at rallies unfortunately.

It's not all bad though of course. It's nice to meet other similarly minded people who are friendly and happy to chat about all sorts of things. The stories that others tell, which usually sound like urban legends when they say such and such was found just over the next hill, always makes me chuckle inside. Always nice to see other people's finds as well, especially items you have no clue about. It's a good way to learn, either wishing it was you who found it, or just one to add to the finds 'wish-list'.

Anyways it's an eye opener, just makes me appreciate the efforts people from our club go to to get us the land for our club digs that much more.

[Dave8472]

Hi all, some good points raised, well brought up about detectorists leaving holes and rubbish left on site or back in the same hole re-filled ! I have seen this at every event, and a few club digs
Also seen people trying to avoid paying at events as well

@Liam, I remember that Rally now that we met Yes my first Roman, was 10 foot away from my car on the detecting start line found at lunch time

Dave &*(

[plegmond]

you have hit the nail on the head i attended a large rally this weekend and couldnt believe how many k---bheads where there i wont do any more rallys you cant turn up and expect to find staters and hammered coins ???

[liamnolan]

The more experienced detectorists will know whats likely to come up and structure their expectations accordingly, for them its the social side as much as anything, always news & gossip to catch up on and even meet others friends and families, its all part of the wonderful detecting "family atmosphere"
Those without permissions or new to the hobby will not have realised that the post about someone digging up a few hammies on a rally represents 1% of the total crowd. They may not have learned any digging etiquette as they will not have been out before?
This will make you laugh ... I was invited out on someones land, lots of pasture. We wandered about for maybe 10 mins when he suddenly cried out that he thought he had found a roman. I sauntered over and right enough, there in his hand was a very clean Constantine. Hmmm I thought .... we set off again, not much coming up at all but a beautiful day and the GMP was working nicely, a few viccies, buckle and so on. Then he cried out again but even more excited, "Come and have a look, see what you think" The coin was half covered in soil but the image of a radiate showing clearly. I congratulated him on his second roman, he seemed a LOT more excited than before, I asked him to compare the two coins and he instinctively reached back into his jacket and out came the first coin ... inside a little plastic wallet, the kind you get when you buy a coin rl;
He probably thought he would never actually find a roman, Liam

[alun]

Cant even add to any of the comments, came across all of them
I now solely detect with my 8 year old son, who pulls the best finds rl; but the fun is in getting out there and making the odd good find from time to time. I have noticed that photos of "todays finds" on many sites seem to re occur over the months with the same things found. WHY?
My finds would consist of a fine spattering of scrap metal, the odd harness mount and possibly a hammered (possibly is the word), but after all said and done a great day out.
I will attend rallies for the social side, and always make friends along the way. Deciding whos who is the easy bit lol
Brilliant post

[Ironside]

Useful post, thanks for the heads up as I was just looking at going to a rally so it's nice to be forewarned!

Funny, I've seen that sort of bad behaviour in other sports/hobbies I'm involved with but thought md'ing might be different.....

There's nowt so quare as folk!

[Daniel o' Beirnes]

i go on some rally's and club digs. and people say what you doing here you have better site's yes but then i don't get to talk to you.some times it nice to get out with a crowd

[janner53]

A very interesting topic and glad I'm not alone in thinking that some rallies are 'set up' or not what they seem. I've only been to 3 rallies and found I am not keen on them. For a start I got the impression the land was well dug out and any good finds were, how can i say it...brought in. On one rally it was a two day affair. I did both days sleeping in my car overnight. We had 5 fields to detect on the Saturday and on the Sunday there were the same 5 fields plus another 3. No one was allowed to detect the extra 3 fields on the Saturday, they were only for Sunday. Well, on Sunday morning I was eager to get on them as I had found nothing on the other 5 on the Saturday.

At 9am after the briefing I headed straight for the 3 new fields, I was one of the first to head for them. As I approached them there must have been around 10 detectorists already swinging away on them. What got me was I had been waiting since i woke up, something like 3 hours to get to them. My heart sank and I knew there and then this was all Micky Mouse. Since, I have read stuff on the net about 'seeded rallies'. I read that some buy in loads of roman grots from Ebay sellers for a couple of quid and plant them before the rally, a little investment for a future rally if you know what I mean. If i find a roman grot i want to find one that's not been touched for hundreds of years, its not the same as a planted one.
The only rallies I will go to now are local charity rallies for the day.

[JBM]

Brilliant thread and a crash course for newbies to the hobby.

At the end of the day you cant beat getting your own land to research and detect.

Having said what I have, I like going to rallies for the banter and meeting folks of like mind.

Believe it or not some detectorists that I meet up with I only see once a year at the big rallies.

That in mind rallies do serve a purpose for us all in various ways. Jerry.

[dizzy1]

As a novice could anyone tell me how you find out about were rally's are held please ?
I'm in Manchester
Thanks in advance