Cherry picking vs digging everything

[Rothman]

So I went to a local park yesterday that dates back to the mid 1800's. I always start with the mindset that I need to dig everything but, this place was so full of ring pulls/pull tabs that I was averaging about 5 of them per swing of the detector. My Deus sounded like it was having a seizure. This place has obviously never been hunted. After about 30 minutes of digging every species of pull tab known to man and only clearing a few feet of ground, I started cherry picking and only digging high signals. I hate cherry picking because I know I'm leaving good targets in the ground especially in a site as old as this one. It's hard to maintain your sanity though when the ground is so full of aluminum. The variety of tabs here ranged in VDI from 62-78 so, obviously that's a nice wide range where gold could easily be hiding.

So here we have the conundrum.. In places like this what do you do? The choice is to dig every signal averaging about 5 pull tabs per square foot (could literally take years to clear out in a place this size) OR cherry pick only digging the best signals and just move on knowing that you are absolutely leaving some good targets in the ground.

I personally don't think it's worth the effort to try and clear when I could be somewhere else that's less polluted. Even if there is a good chance to find some quality targets, I'm cherry picking these kinds of spots and moving on.

What do you do?

 

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[SpacemanSpiff]

So I went to a local park yesterday that dates back to the mid 1800's. I always start with the mindset that I need to dig everything but, this place was so full of ring pulls/pull tabs that I was averaging about 5 of them per swing of the detector. My Deus sounded like it was having a seizure. This place has obviously never been hunted. After about 30 minutes of digging every species of pull tab known to man and only clearing a few feet of ground, I started cherry picking and only digging high signals. I hate cherry picking because I know I'm leaving good targets in the ground especially in a site as old as this one. It's hard to maintain your sanity though when the ground is so full of aluminum. The variety of tabs here ranged in VDI from 62-78 so, obviously that's a nice wide range where gold could easily be hiding.

So here we have the conundrum.. In places like this what do you do? The choice is to dig every signal averaging about 5 pull tabs per square foot (could literally take years to clear out in a place this size) OR cherry pick only digging the best signals and just move on knowing that you are absolutely leaving some good targets in the ground.

I personally don't think it's worth the effort to try and clear when I could be somewhere else that's less polluted. Even if there is a good chance to find some quality targets, I'm cherry picking these kinds of spots and moving on.

What do you do?

Unfortunately a lot of good stuff can be missed that way.

 

[Rothman]

Unfortunately a lot of good stuff can be missed that way.

So would you dig everything in a place like that?

 

[Richard Guy]

I'd dig 33% of what could be trash and 67% cherry picking in a situation like that. Sometimes when I've dug a slew of trash, I gotta get a couple of 'wins' to keep motivated.

 

[Rothman]

Sometimes when I've dug a slew of trash, I gotta get a couple of 'wins' to keep motivated.

Couldn't agree more

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

So would you dig everything in a place like that?

I’m in sort of that same situation. My bucket list posts came from an area that has tons of pull tabs. So far I’ve pulled 80+ bullets and have skipped over the the tab readings after digging at least 20-30. But they read the same as buttons, so what am I to do? I’m going back next weekend and will start digging those signals, too. One civil war button is worth those digs. But ultimately it’s up to you.

 

[gunsil]

Don't forget the park may well have been well hunted back in the early 1970s before all those pull tabs were deposited. I'd run around cherry picking for silver and if I didn't find any or much I would know the early guys were already there. Of course even if it was stripped for silver back in the day there well may be jewelry drops since then but if you look for gold ALL pull tabs must be dug. No Deus or any other machine can tell the difference between pull tabs and gold.

 

[Emil W]

Cherry pick the entire area first. Go back when you have nothing better to do and start digging the rest as time permits. That's how I always search every site.

 

[Rothman]

No Deus or any other machine can tell the difference between pull tabs and gold.

If only they could!!

I didn't hit any silver so it is possible the place was hunted in the early days.

 

[Richard Guy]

I’m in sort of that same situation. My bucket list posts came from an area that has tons of pull tabs. So far I’ve pulled 80+ bullets and have skipped over the the tab readings after digging at least 20-30. But they read the same as buttons, so what am I to do? I’m going back next weekend and will start digging those signals, too. One civil war button is worth those digs. But ultimately

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

I've got a park like that in my town. It's corroded with pull tabs, wine screw caps, and all the usual other garbage found at a park. I will sometimes systematically clear out one area at a time, at least until my knees and back have had enough. I have found enough really good stuff there to know that a lot of good targets there are masked by trash. I'm good for at least a couple of hours digging everything. After that, I will go back to cherry picking.

 

[gunsil]

Yup, a sure way to tell. I started in 1970 with a BFO Garrett, basically beep and dig. A couple friends and I cleaned out many a school, church, and park grounds and we literally cleaned the sites out since we dug ALL targets and took all found from the ground. We also did a great job, I have been back to a few sites with modern machines and no silver was left at all. We didn't have pull tabs or aluminum screw tops back then but the rusty bottle caps provided the same nuisance pull tabs do today. We did have maybe more patience than modern discriminating detector users have since with no real discrimination we just plain HAD to dig all signals. The only true discrimination is when you have the target in hand and he who makes the most holes finds the most good stuff. These facts have never changed.

 

[cudamark]

If I'm going to hunt an old park (and I'm hoping to find old coins) I first try to find photos of the early days of the park. I then compare the old photos with what it looks like today to tell if it's been heavily re-landscaped over the years, and if there's some relatively untouched areas that I can concentrate on, and that might have the older coins. I would do one of two things depending on the park and how sensitive the area is for cutting plugs. I might take a 10 X 10 foot area and dig everything to get a good sampling of what is there and if it's worthwhile or not. I might also cherry pick that area and just look for high conductors to also make that decision. In either sampling, I would note the age of the targets vs. the depth of the targets. After gathering enough of this info, I would detect slow and deliberate and base the dig or not decision on the depth as well as the I.D. number(s). If I'm getting nothing for my trouble, I move on to greener pastures. If it's worth the effort, I'll bite my lip and hope for the best.

 

[pepperj]

Back in the late 80's I was digging 200-300 tabs/foil for a gold, just not worth all that for one gold.
Cherry picked, and still grabbed a few gold.
I cherry pick, then return to dig a bit, get bored return after a bit on anther day to play again.
Hobo tokens,(wine screw caps) sniff tubes, pull tabs, were not a concern in the 70's or even in the early eighties.
Then by a decade or so it was a fact that it covered many a site.
How many holes can a park lawn take-before one is damaging it and ground keeper gets pissed.

 

[iAmMike]

I think you should try both. Do a 10x10foot section of first cherry picking and tally your finds. Then, in the same 10x10' spot, go back and dig all the other targets.

 

[Rothman]

If I'm going to hunt an old park (and I'm hoping to find old coins) I first try to find photos of the early days of the park. I then compare the old photos with what it looks like today to tell if it's been heavily re-landscaped over the years, and if there's some relatively untouched areas that I can concentrate on, and that might have the older coins. I would do one of two things depending on the park and how sensitive the area is for cutting plugs. I might take a 10 X 10 foot area and dig everything to get a good sampling of what is there and if it's worthwhile or not. I might also cherry pick that area and just look for high conductors to also make that decision. In either sampling, I would note the age of the targets vs. the depth of the targets. After gathering enough of this info, I would detect slow and deliberate and base the dig or not decision on the depth as well as the I.D. number(s). If I'm getting nothing for my trouble, I move on to greener pastures. If it's worth the effort, I'll bite my lip and hope for the best.

Thats exactly what I do for any spot I go to. I do plenty of research looking at old maps, historical arial pics, etc.. I kinda went the opposite route on execution though. Instead of going somewhere relatively untouched, I went where the bleachers were. I knew it was going to be trashy but that's where folks were to drop stuff. I've only done a few small spots in the park up to this point. I don't know if I'm comfortable digging that many plugs in a public park to do the 10x10. So much in the ground that it would be chewed up severely if I dug everything. I think I may just continue cherry picking the super trashed areas and then look for some quieter ground to go back to digging all targets.

I'm moreover curious to see how others react when faced with these situations.

 

[cudamark]

Of course it would depend on what you're trying to find. If you want old coins, you have to find areas that have been in use for a long time and dig the deep targets. If you're after fresh drops, sure, hit the high traffic areas and cherry pick. If you want jewelry, go to a sandy beach and scoop everything non-ferrous.

 

[Ocean7]

I'll answer with this band L


you only have so many hours in a day and your life. I am a coin shooter - esp. interested in silver, gold and coppers. Listen. Learn your machine. If sounds like junk and reads junk - it usually is junk. But dig some of these signals to see what they are in a given area. I have found plenty of buttons and buckles but I don't dig many pull tabs and that's worked for me. I always test my machine on a nickle before I start.
Early in my MD'ing career, I drove very far to place where I thought would be great. It was a bed of pulltabs. I put on the 5" sniper coil and it was still un-huntable in my book. Put my detector back in my trunk an drove back home, and just laughed at the whole adventure. Yah 'got to know when to hold and know when to fold em' regardless of what anybody else may say. Worked for me.
HH!

 

[Rothman]

Yah 'got to know when to hold and know when to fold em' regardless of what anybody else may say.

Absolute truth there!

I was blessed enough to have been stationed in Europe and averaged around 20 hours a week behind the Deus for close to 4 years. I'm extremely confident with the machine. I guess I'm just trying to find my place and be happy detecting back in America. It's hard to go from ancient coins and relics to clad quarters and pull tabs! I need to try to make the best of this!

 

[rogueaviation]

Hahahaha! I got the first D2 in my area from the local shop. I took it to a historic town in Kentucky, on the bourbon trail.

I was happy to find out that I am successfully able to pull full beavertails and can slaw out of even the most historic of homes.

🤣🤣🤣

Dig it all folks. The good stuff is out there. I'm sure not finding it these days!

--Matt