Metal Detecting Tips
Tips from Fellow MD's cont.
CACHE HUNTING
One series of caches was located by noting a small difference in fence posts. Many
times old tin cans are nailed over the top of wooden fence posts to prevent splitting.
One alert TH'er noticed in a certain fence row that a few cans were nailed in place,
then the nails were sealed with tar. Beneath each can treated this way, a roll of bills
was discovered! It pays to notice the small details!!
In addition to burying a cache outside, there are many good Inside areas to check. In
the floor of barn stalls and chicken houses is a great place to look for caches, as the
animals made a great warning system, alerting their owners to trespassers. Beneath
the floorboards in a doorway was another popular hiding spot. Also check under and
behind any stairways, especially those in basements and cellars. Caches were also
marked/protected by piles of barbed wire inside barns or grain silos. Just a few spots
to check that have been proven in the past!
SMALL GESTURE
Whenever I am granted permission to hunt a site, I ALWAYS leave an old coin or two
with the landowner, even if they tell me I can keep everything I find. This has never
failed to secure future permission, as well as jarring the owner's memory about other
sites I may try. Even if I have to return later with an old wheatie or mercury dime, I like
to leave them with a coin from the year their old house was built. It's a small gesture
on MY part, but it means a LOT to them.
FINDING PROPERTY OWNER
In the past I've found sites that I had researched the history on and finally located in
the field but was often unable to find the owner of the property by asking neighbors
in the area. I discovered by going the Tax Assessors office located at the county seat
of the county the site is in, that finding the owner is easily done. Just tell the clerk the
approximate area it's located in and they can show you on their property maps who
the owner is. Copies of the maps can also be purchased for under a dollar.
NOT VERY ETHICAL, BUT!!
Like some of you, I carry a spare detector along and suggest that the land owner
hunt with me. This really works great - well, almost great. On one trip, when we had
hunted for a couple of hours, I found a lot and he found nothing. He was one sad
puppy. I did not get a return engagement. I suspect he thought I passed off a sorry
detector on him. Well, I solved that problem. Now I take along a Mercury dime and
plant it so he will find it. May not be ethical, but it really works wonders. You should
see the land owners face when he uncovers that dime. I always get a invitation to
come back. Just hope my supply of Merc's holds out.
45 DEGREE ANGLE
When searching around old trees and foundations, try this one. Tip your search coil
up to a 45 degree angle, to "fire" the signal under these obstacles. Many times, trees
have covered targets with roots, and you cannot get the coil close enough to pass
over these targets. Also, many good finds have been made under old foundation
stones. Using this method, you can hunt under the foundation, without constantly
bumping your coil against it. You will lose a lot of depth, but targets in these areas
will usually be shallow, since they have been protected from surface traffic.
TARGET ID
When I get a "mixed signal" on my Target ID machine, such as "Penny" + "Half
dollar", I use the following method to narrow the ID down. Once the target has been
pinpointed, I hold the coil motionless on the ground until my machine goes back to
search mode. I wait a second or two, then quickly sweep the coil off center from the
target. This will cause the machine to respond only one ID, and it is invariably closer
to the target's actual identity. This is very useful for telling dimes from pennies!
CLEANING OUT JUNK
On sites where I have standing permission to search, I use the following method of
clearing out the junk. I will start with my 8 1/2" coil, and dig all the pinpointable
signals. Then I switch to the 4 1/2" coil, and focus on the mixed signals and tight
places. Once I have dug all I can get, I will switch to the 12 1/2" deep seeking coil,
and pick up all the signals that had been masked by shallower targets. It's time
consuming, but it works!
Once again, when hunting where others have hunted, watch for obvious pieces of
iron or other junk on the surface. Whenever possible, pick it up,move it, pack it out.
What happens is nobody has hunted under or near the junk. When it can be seen, it
has been given a wide berth by other hunters due to the sensitivity of the modern
gold machines. The ground under it is essentially virgin ground.
UNDER HEDGES
Don't overlook the areas UNDER old hedges and bushes. On old home sites these
can be quite large, and difficult to search under/around. If it's hard for you to get to, it
probably discouraged others as well, and they went on to easier pickings. I have
even crawled on my stomach to hunt under old blackberry bushes, and made many
good finds in hard hit areas. As an added bonus, these targets will usually be
shallower, due to reduced surface traffic. CACHE HUNTING
One series of caches was located by noting a small difference in fence posts. Many
times old tin cans are nailed over the top of wooden fence posts to prevent splitting.
One alert TH'er noticed in a certain fence row that a few cans were nailed in place,
then the nails were sealed with tar. Beneath each can treated this way, a roll of bills
was discovered! It pays to notice the small details!!
In addition to burying a cache outside, there are many good Inside areas to check. In
the floor of barn stalls and chicken houses is a great place to look for caches, as the
animals made a great warning system, alerting their owners to trespassers. Beneath
the floorboards in a doorway was another popular hiding spot. Also check under and
behind any stairways, especially those in basements and cellars. Caches were also
marked/protected by piles of barbed wire inside barns or grain silos. Just a few spots
to check that have been proven in the past!
SMALL GESTURE
Whenever I am granted permission to hunt a site, I ALWAYS leave an old coin or two
with the landowner, even if they tell me I can keep everything I find. This has never
failed to secure future permission, as well as jarring the owner's memory about other
sites I may try. Even if I have to return later with an old wheatie or mercury dime, I like
to leave them with a coin from the year their old house was built. It's a small gesture
on MY part, but it means a LOT to them.
BACK
times old tin cans are nailed over the top of wooden fence posts to prevent splitting.
One alert TH'er noticed in a certain fence row that a few cans were nailed in place,
then the nails were sealed with tar. Beneath each can treated this way, a roll of bills
was discovered! It pays to notice the small details!!
In addition to burying a cache outside, there are many good Inside areas to check. In
the floor of barn stalls and chicken houses is a great place to look for caches, as the
animals made a great warning system, alerting their owners to trespassers. Beneath
the floorboards in a doorway was another popular hiding spot. Also check under and
behind any stairways, especially those in basements and cellars. Caches were also
marked/protected by piles of barbed wire inside barns or grain silos. Just a few spots
to check that have been proven in the past!
SMALL GESTURE
Whenever I am granted permission to hunt a site, I ALWAYS leave an old coin or two
with the landowner, even if they tell me I can keep everything I find. This has never
failed to secure future permission, as well as jarring the owner's memory about other
sites I may try. Even if I have to return later with an old wheatie or mercury dime, I like
to leave them with a coin from the year their old house was built. It's a small gesture
on MY part, but it means a LOT to them.
FINDING PROPERTY OWNER
In the past I've found sites that I had researched the history on and finally located in
the field but was often unable to find the owner of the property by asking neighbors
in the area. I discovered by going the Tax Assessors office located at the county seat
of the county the site is in, that finding the owner is easily done. Just tell the clerk the
approximate area it's located in and they can show you on their property maps who
the owner is. Copies of the maps can also be purchased for under a dollar.
NOT VERY ETHICAL, BUT!!
Like some of you, I carry a spare detector along and suggest that the land owner
hunt with me. This really works great - well, almost great. On one trip, when we had
hunted for a couple of hours, I found a lot and he found nothing. He was one sad
puppy. I did not get a return engagement. I suspect he thought I passed off a sorry
detector on him. Well, I solved that problem. Now I take along a Mercury dime and
plant it so he will find it. May not be ethical, but it really works wonders. You should
see the land owners face when he uncovers that dime. I always get a invitation to
come back. Just hope my supply of Merc's holds out.
45 DEGREE ANGLE
When searching around old trees and foundations, try this one. Tip your search coil
up to a 45 degree angle, to "fire" the signal under these obstacles. Many times, trees
have covered targets with roots, and you cannot get the coil close enough to pass
over these targets. Also, many good finds have been made under old foundation
stones. Using this method, you can hunt under the foundation, without constantly
bumping your coil against it. You will lose a lot of depth, but targets in these areas
will usually be shallow, since they have been protected from surface traffic.
TARGET ID
When I get a "mixed signal" on my Target ID machine, such as "Penny" + "Half
dollar", I use the following method to narrow the ID down. Once the target has been
pinpointed, I hold the coil motionless on the ground until my machine goes back to
search mode. I wait a second or two, then quickly sweep the coil off center from the
target. This will cause the machine to respond only one ID, and it is invariably closer
to the target's actual identity. This is very useful for telling dimes from pennies!
CLEANING OUT JUNK
On sites where I have standing permission to search, I use the following method of
clearing out the junk. I will start with my 8 1/2" coil, and dig all the pinpointable
signals. Then I switch to the 4 1/2" coil, and focus on the mixed signals and tight
places. Once I have dug all I can get, I will switch to the 12 1/2" deep seeking coil,
and pick up all the signals that had been masked by shallower targets. It's time
consuming, but it works!
Once again, when hunting where others have hunted, watch for obvious pieces of
iron or other junk on the surface. Whenever possible, pick it up,move it, pack it out.
What happens is nobody has hunted under or near the junk. When it can be seen, it
has been given a wide berth by other hunters due to the sensitivity of the modern
gold machines. The ground under it is essentially virgin ground.
UNDER HEDGES
Don't overlook the areas UNDER old hedges and bushes. On old home sites these
can be quite large, and difficult to search under/around. If it's hard for you to get to, it
probably discouraged others as well, and they went on to easier pickings. I have
even crawled on my stomach to hunt under old blackberry bushes, and made many
good finds in hard hit areas. As an added bonus, these targets will usually be
shallower, due to reduced surface traffic. CACHE HUNTING
One series of caches was located by noting a small difference in fence posts. Many
times old tin cans are nailed over the top of wooden fence posts to prevent splitting.
One alert TH'er noticed in a certain fence row that a few cans were nailed in place,
then the nails were sealed with tar. Beneath each can treated this way, a roll of bills
was discovered! It pays to notice the small details!!
In addition to burying a cache outside, there are many good Inside areas to check. In
the floor of barn stalls and chicken houses is a great place to look for caches, as the
animals made a great warning system, alerting their owners to trespassers. Beneath
the floorboards in a doorway was another popular hiding spot. Also check under and
behind any stairways, especially those in basements and cellars. Caches were also
marked/protected by piles of barbed wire inside barns or grain silos. Just a few spots
to check that have been proven in the past!
SMALL GESTURE
Whenever I am granted permission to hunt a site, I ALWAYS leave an old coin or two
with the landowner, even if they tell me I can keep everything I find. This has never
failed to secure future permission, as well as jarring the owner's memory about other
sites I may try. Even if I have to return later with an old wheatie or mercury dime, I like
to leave them with a coin from the year their old house was built. It's a small gesture
on MY part, but it means a LOT to them.
BACK
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