Beaten up by a trashy softball park!

[mikeraydj]

Where I live they have a softball complex. I always wanted to hunt it since I bought my detector. Today I did, and got my a** handed to me by the trash. I could not find one target that would have consistent IDs. Targets were everywhere. I thought at first it was EMI. Nope.
The only thing I could get consistent IDs on were bottle caps. Of course they ring up as quarters. So I dug and I dug until my pouch was full of caps and two zinc pennies (they were both surface finds.) I wanted to throw my F2! I got back in my car and went to a park I knew wasn't trashy to try to get my self esteem back.
Thankfully my machine was finding targets with good IDs. I like my Fisher, but I will never step into that park again without a AT Pro or Minelab E-trac and a lot more experience.

 

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[BosnMate]

There is probably good stuff there, because others have the same opinion as you do, and give up on it. I don't want to miss the gold so dig lots of foil and pop tabs, and anymore, I can't do that for long periods. Getting up and down is a killer. I like to go over to the coast and hunt the sand where the dune buggies camp and play. You know there are good targets, but the melted aluminum is everywhere, and it gets really discouraging, even with a sand scoop and not having to get up and down.

 

[bigfoot1]

I recomend you find a shady spectator spot...figure a 10x10ft area and dig it all.This may give you an idea what is actually there.a large trashy area can be too overwhelming.Just pick the high percentage spots and hoover them.
good luck
cheers

 

[airscapes]

Could be a smaller coil would help you out in that park.. a long DD will pick up multiple targets and drive you nuts unless the coin is on or just below the surface. My NEL Hunter is like that in most ball fields. Bottle caps were making me nuts today.. BUT, after 6 or 7 I notice that the caps were about 10 higher and bounce.. quarters only bumped 2 either way.. Only thing I hate about the 4x6 shooter is it covers so little ground.. you really can't cover much ground compared to the longer 12" NEL.. Well, guess I will head back out to the HS and collect more quarters!

 

[luvsdux]

Airscapes is right. Trashy areas call for a small coil and a lot of persistence. As you work and clean out a small area you'll learn a lot about target masking.
luvsdux

 

[airscapes]

Just got back from using the 4x6 at the high school.. took a long time to walk the length of the bleachers 3 times with the tiny shoe.. dug $12.75 in quarters, $1.40 in dimes an ignored everything else unless it was a solid VID on a low tone.. but no gold and only about 10 hunks of trash (almost every low tone was a square pulltab). Working the grass at the schools is really helping me getting better at popping quarters with a screw driver, really nice when they are less than 2 inches deep! If you plan on doing trash all the time, then a shooter coil and a bit of patients in going to make it a lot more fun.

 

[mikeraydj]

I traded in my two coils when I sent back my machine. Now I just have the DD. Guess a sniper is another thing to get. On a more positive note I met a detectorist at a park and we are gonna get together sometime and hunt a ghost town. Also found a 1948 nickel at about 8" inches. Not silver, not ancient, but older than I have been finding.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

You have just described most of the schools in my area! Welcome to the patience party!

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

Sounds like just about every urban area I hunt here in Chicago. The ATP I'm sure doesn't make a big difference, I'm dealing with the same thing! I switched to the smaller 5x8, but then started thinking I was missing older deep targets!

Stick with the larger coil, dig the trash and make it your pet project since it's so close to home. The bright side is you'll have your project for years to come! I have a few here I've been working for about a year. Sometimes it'll kick your ass, but when it's your turn to pull out some of it's secrets it makes it all the sweeter!