I thought it would be a great idea to get a metal detector, then I thought again.
When I saw the ad it looked really appealing because I have a crappy low wage job. I thought if I got one of those things I could go treasure hunting and get rich.
That would be a great idea if I had thousand of my own acres of land to "treasure-hunt." Really, do you think anyone would be stupid enough to give me permission to go treasure hunting on their property?
There are alternatives to getting arrested from trespassing and burglary.
One might be able to set up a business on public beaches perhaps, to help visitors find items they lost buried in the sand. That would be the ethical thing to do. If you were caught by police or someone else "buzzing" over an area that was just occupied by someone else, you could be charged with stealing someone elses property if you didn't turn the item in first and allow at least a week for someone to claim the property.
So, if you see someone on the beach with a metal detector, are they being ethical? Are they being legal?