untouched civil war camp site

[chopper]

It's my first time on this site. I just started metal detecting. I have 13 acres in an old civil war town that had many soldiers from both sides camp here throughout the war. 10 of these acres have been unaccessible for the last 100 years. I have recently found one 3 ringer
(federal) and one floral pattern confederate button, along with a multitude of iron nails and misc. crap. Every foot I walk I get a ring , a buzz, the whole place is covered and I have no idea where to start. I have a cheapie detector and little skill so I've been digging craters, loading dirt in buckets and sifting at night- yikes. So heres my question -what machine do I buy?- I want to keep it as close to $500 as possible. I want to hunt primarily relics but I also want something thats good at finding silver so I can take an occasional break from digging up nails and iron fragments.

 

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[Born2Dtect]

For your price range, the Fisher ID Excel. Or a little more $759 the Fisher CZ-3D. Check out prices at www.kellycodetectors.com .

Ed D.

 

[shortz]

It's my first time on this site. I just started metal detecting. I have 13 acres in an old civil war town that had many soldiers from both sides camp here throughout the war. 10 of these acres have been unaccessible for the last 100 years. I have recently found one 3 ringer
(federal) and one floral pattern confederate button, along with a multitude of iron nails and misc. crap. Every foot I walk I get a ring , a buzz, the whole place is covered and I have no idea where to start. I have a cheapie detector and little skill so I've been digging craters, loading dirt in buckets and sifting at night- yikes. So heres my question -what machine do I buy?- I want to keep it as close to $500 as possible. I want to hunt primarily relics but I also want something thats good at finding silver so I can take an occasional break from digging up nails and iron fragments.

Lets see some pics.

 

[drdave]

White's MXT -- I have had good luck finding relics with mine -- about 20 various CW bullets and several uniform buttons.

 

[d2]

Tesoro Cibola. Easy to learn how to use, more or less turn on and go...d2

 

[BuckleBoy]

Tesoro Cibola. Easy to learn how to use, more or less turn on and go...d2

Fisher 1266-X. Found hundreds of CW bullets with it, a spur, bridle rosette, buttons, etc. The machine has taken a beating since I bought it in 1992 and never needed a repair... of course, Fisher is now owned by Bounty Hunter so you're on your own with that one

Buckleboy

 

[Old Dog]

Chopper,

Welcome to TN,
Pinpointing comes with experience.
Everything in it's time.

Meanwile enjoy,
OD

 

[chopper]

I found this ax and a couple more bullets yesterday. I wish I could hear a difference between the nails and the bullets. I never find silver when my BH 505 says silver. Everyone seems to suggest a different detector, any of you have more than one and can tell me how- one out performs the other? Also, anyone able to identify any of the circular objects or date the ax? thanks

 

[Old Dog]

I have no clue about how to discriminate between bullets and nails.
But that seems to be a common problem. I hear about a whole lot of nails being dug up.

If you figure it out, you could be famous!

LOL
OD

 

[stevesno]

On my detector, a nail will give a double blip and will not give a solid signal from all four directions. But all detectors are different. You just have to give it time and get to know your machine. In such a good spot it may not be a bad thing to dig all signals. A lot of times iron will be directly over a keeper. I know that it is slow and tedious work but it should pay off in the long run....Steve

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Doesnt the sound of your tone give you an indication if its silver or iron? On my old BH the iron would sound like a deeper lower tone and the silver a higher pitch .

 

[chopper]

I'm going to bury some silver, nails, bullets, etc. and try to get an ear for different pitches. I know that when I put my gold ring to the detector it will ring as silver, gold and everything else when in disc mode. Maybe I need to just use all metal mode and learn to recognize the tones. How much will using headphones aid in recognizing the variation in pitches?

 

[BuckleBoy]

Don't worry about digging up some iron when you're relic hunting. If you want to dig cannister shot and shell frags, you gotta dig some iron. I dig occasional larger nails when I'm relic hunting, cause they sound real close to deep lead on my Fisher, especially when the ground is moist. Oh, and do try to use headphones when you relic hunt. Hate to miss a nice button in a bed of nails cause you didn't hear the signal.

Regards,

Buckleboy

 

[kindafoundabuckle]

For your price range, the Fisher ID Excel. Or a little more $759 the Fisher CZ-3D. Check out prices at www.kellycodetectors.com .

Ed D.

I would check prices at Kellyco but would recommend buying from a local dealer. Why? Customer service. Its worth paying a little extra from a local dealer but he or she will be there to help you through your learning curve with a new machine. They might even take you on a hunt to give you a lesson on the different sounds and pinpointing. Kellyco can not do that over the phone. Thats the big thing I really dislike about someone new getting into the hobby and buying on the phone or on the net. Paying big bucks for the machine, getting it in the mail, and when you want to ask what does this button do there is not much help. A GOOD local dealer will spend a little time with you helping you through the ends and outs of a new machine. Like I said you can not get that over the phone so does it really pay to save a few dollars at Kellyco or another on line site? I hope this helps.

Tom

 

[diggerfororo]

Here is a little tech. info on nails. If a nail has more rust than iron present, it will give you a pos. signal. On a tone I.D. machine usually a high tone. The reason is because the rust is iron oxide, which is nonferrous (not iron anymore) Most machines will I.D. this as a coin.
The comment was made in an earlier post that you should be digging everything anyway
I agree 100%. If you skip those iron signals you miss alot of good relics. I dug a one dol. gold love token in a cw camp site, with several nails. It was a day maker for me so dig that iron. I relic hunt with an old CZ6 and love it to death. I never look at the meter, just listen to the tones but I still dig it all.

Les

 

[BuckleBoy]

Here is a little tech. info on nails. If a nail has more rust than iron present, it will give you a pos. signal. On a tone I.D. machine usually a high tone. The reason is because the rust is iron oxide, which is nonferrous (not iron anymore) Most machines will I.D. this as a coin.
The comment was made in an earlier post that you should be digging everything anyway
I agree 100%. If you skip those iron signals you miss alot of good relics. I dug a one dol. gold love token in a cw camp site, with several nails. It was a day maker for me so dig that iron. I relic hunt with an old CZ6 and love it to death. I never look at the meter, just listen to the tones but I still dig it all.

Les

Well said.

 

[chopper]

Thanks for all the tips, I will eventually dig all signals but I've found a way to avoid nails when I'm fed up- today I put the 4 inch coil on and tweaked the disc/notch, I was able to avoid iron completely and could still pick up bullets, silver, gold, etc.- I'll go back and hunt those nail covered treasures later when I get better at pinpointing and my patience returns.
As much as I want to upgrade I should probably spend another 6 months learning this machine and reading before I make the leap.

 

[diggerfororo]

Here is another point on iron signals! This statment is true for most tone I.D. machines. I use an original CZ6. This machine was one of the first 12 prototypes. I field tested it for fisher about 15 years ago and haven't used a machine that can beat it even today. There are multiple factors that determine how your machine classifies your target. The most important is conductivity. Those machines that have a digital readout have an assigned number for each metal. This number will only be correct if your sweep speed and depth of target allow for proper classification. If your target is at your machine's max depth and your sweep speed is to fast, you will get an iron signal(most of the time) on objects that should read higher. If you desc. out iron you will not here any of these signals. On my machine I hear a slightly different iron signal than regular iron. If I slow down my sweep I can usually bring this signal up to a mid or high tone. THAT is why I listen to ALL signals. I don't dig all real iron targets I have learned to pick and choose. Anyone can do this, it is not magic, all it takes is time.

Les

 

[{Sentinel}]

The small circular looks like a flat button, the larger dont know. The ring looking object was probably used in a horse harness. By the way, is that wood that the minie ball is in? If so, they usually bring quite a bit more than the bullet alone so dont take it out if so. Also, attached is a picture of a object that I found on my Civil War site that looks just like the object in your picture. I havent been able to I.D. it yet but it has been in my "Dont know yet" box since I found it. May be a part of a lock??Notice the 3 rivets or screw looking holes on yours as well as on mine. It isnt a washer for sure and if you notice the hole in the middle of both is shaped as if it should accept a key...It is not a perfect circle...Hmm

 

[chopper]

Sentinal-The washer looking object you've got looks much thinner than the one I have. Mines about a 1/2 inch thick and has a break like a washer. The bullets just in a clump of earth, wish it was wood. What about the ax, anyway to date it?