staydetuned
Full Member
Hey everybody. I don't post here too often, but have to post this one up!
In short, I got a scholarship to the Minelab/Montpelier project and got my dad and 2 hunting buddies, Ron and Jim, to tag along (we're all from CA). We tacked on a few extra days around the project to do some extracurricular hunting. 1st day I got 12 bullets at a site - my intro to Civil War hunting. After Montpelier we spent 2 days an unproductive sites. Then we got permission for this one.
We had an idea there might be something on it, but nothing like this. Small site, about half a football field. Started wandering and hit a pretty shallow bullet. Then a couple deep ones... Then we got tuned in. High sensitivity on the Minelabs, no iron, trash, or shallow signals in the ground. Bullets were coming out at 10", all over the place, but particularly in one small area. Then Ron got a bullet signal and dug a hole that was much deeper than it should have been for a bullet, with the probe singing at the bottom. It was a big circular disk, crumbling - an Eagle Breast Plate. After a bunch of shouting and whooping we were back on it. Not 15 minutes later, 10 feet away, another deep bullet signal deeper than a bullet could have been. This one was dug out carefully; an oval, rotting away, with clips on the back - the US buckle. We knew we had the whole package here, and it wasn't another 20 minutes before there was another super deep signal singing at the bottom of the hole (these were all around 16"-18", and we have them all on video
) - the final piece, the cartridge box plate, in much better condition than the other 2.
All in all we got over 100 bullets, and the 3 plates, and some other assorted bits (hook, finial, etc.) That was yesterday. We spent all day hitting it again today and got almost 200 bullets, many in large spills (vast majority were 3 ringers, dropped - which would point to a camp site). Tonight is our last night here in Virginia, and I'm typing from the hotel. It's been a crazy whirlwind... The best part is - we got it all on multiple GoPros and phone cameras, including a head mounted GoPro with the detector audio jacked directly in so you can hear the initial hit and dig from beginning to end (I got the breast plate from signal to dig!) Some of these bullets - the original signal and depth, you simply would not believe unless you saw the videos. This place has been cleaned out to 8"+, but there was a lot more there, and I'm sure there are still HUNDREDS of bullets, and more plates, out of range.
I'll post some pics here, but it might be a while until we can get everything together for a proper post. It's been a long 11 days I'm exhausted and still need to pack... We certainly got spoiled with our first trip out here - it's been an absolutely incredible experience, and I still can't believe we got on this amazing, amazing field.
Ok, that was A LOT longer than I intended... Enjoy the pics! I'll let you all know when we get something up on YouTube; the footage is fantastic
In short, I got a scholarship to the Minelab/Montpelier project and got my dad and 2 hunting buddies, Ron and Jim, to tag along (we're all from CA). We tacked on a few extra days around the project to do some extracurricular hunting. 1st day I got 12 bullets at a site - my intro to Civil War hunting. After Montpelier we spent 2 days an unproductive sites. Then we got permission for this one.
We had an idea there might be something on it, but nothing like this. Small site, about half a football field. Started wandering and hit a pretty shallow bullet. Then a couple deep ones... Then we got tuned in. High sensitivity on the Minelabs, no iron, trash, or shallow signals in the ground. Bullets were coming out at 10", all over the place, but particularly in one small area. Then Ron got a bullet signal and dug a hole that was much deeper than it should have been for a bullet, with the probe singing at the bottom. It was a big circular disk, crumbling - an Eagle Breast Plate. After a bunch of shouting and whooping we were back on it. Not 15 minutes later, 10 feet away, another deep bullet signal deeper than a bullet could have been. This one was dug out carefully; an oval, rotting away, with clips on the back - the US buckle. We knew we had the whole package here, and it wasn't another 20 minutes before there was another super deep signal singing at the bottom of the hole (these were all around 16"-18", and we have them all on video
) - the final piece, the cartridge box plate, in much better condition than the other 2.All in all we got over 100 bullets, and the 3 plates, and some other assorted bits (hook, finial, etc.) That was yesterday. We spent all day hitting it again today and got almost 200 bullets, many in large spills (vast majority were 3 ringers, dropped - which would point to a camp site). Tonight is our last night here in Virginia, and I'm typing from the hotel. It's been a crazy whirlwind... The best part is - we got it all on multiple GoPros and phone cameras, including a head mounted GoPro with the detector audio jacked directly in so you can hear the initial hit and dig from beginning to end (I got the breast plate from signal to dig!) Some of these bullets - the original signal and depth, you simply would not believe unless you saw the videos. This place has been cleaned out to 8"+, but there was a lot more there, and I'm sure there are still HUNDREDS of bullets, and more plates, out of range.
I'll post some pics here, but it might be a while until we can get everything together for a proper post. It's been a long 11 days I'm exhausted and still need to pack... We certainly got spoiled with our first trip out here - it's been an absolutely incredible experience, and I still can't believe we got on this amazing, amazing field.
Ok, that was A LOT longer than I intended... Enjoy the pics! I'll let you all know when we get something up on YouTube; the footage is fantastic
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