Crazy, wierd or strange occurences while you was metal detecting!

[Jay of MS]

A while back I had one crazy experience while metal detecting. I was thinking about it just now and it got me to wondering what crazy, funny or wierd things other detectorists have gone through.

Here is my story...

WHile metal detecting on my friends property I walked up a hill that led to his lake. As I got to the top of the hill the ground gave way and I fell into the ceiling of an 20 foot underground cave. I only fell in up to my waist. At first I thought I had fallen into a bog or mud pit but soon realized that my feet were dangling and I may go all the way through. I hastely got myself out of the hole which seemed like an eternity, and as I got up I saw just how deep the cave was so I started running like the wind before the whole shabang fell through. (((It Gets Better or should I say worse))) Right as I get to the bottom of the hill my leggs feel like they are moving on their own. I look down and what do I see. ANTS ALL OVER ME! At this very moment they decide to tear me a NEW ONE! They ate me uppp and I started running across the field screaming and stripping! I was SCREAMING in tongues along with a ton of swear words! I got down to my underwear and socks and found myself at the bend of the lake and just dove in. Ahhh much better for a few seconds. I finaly crawled out of the lake looking like swamp thing and was itching all OVER! My friend and his whole family saw the whole thing go down from their livingroom window and was just dieing laughing. I never saw those clothes again because his dogs ran off into a wooded area with them. (Thank god I dont take my phone or keys with me when detecting). Worst of all the detector I was using ended up in his lake, ALSO never to be seen again

To top it off I had to ride all the way home in my underwear and socks. I got some crazy looks from the local rednecks that have monster truck tires on their vehicles. They were so high up that they could see down in my vehicle and saw me sitting there in my underwear. I will always bring an extra pair of clothes when I leave the house from now own!

Later on I found out that what I had fallen into was a MASSIVE underground ant bed/underground cave. I guess it had been there forever getting larger and larger.

Has anyone else had just a CRAZY CRAZY day. Please do tell

 

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[Jason in Enid]

Nope, no stories. Your's was incredible though! Good enough for a Monty Python skit!

 

[Jay of MS]

Its funny now but at the time I was ready to focus on music and hang up detecting lol. Glad I didnt!

 

[Minrelica]

That must be a pretty close friend that didn't have any spare clothes you could wear home

 

[63bkpkr]

Jay,
It sounds to me like you've got a hard one to beat or even come close to. In all of my wilderness backpacking I've met up with a bunch of bears, lost lots of food bags and camping gear to them, I've come across a variety of rattle snakes, been in quite a few old hardrock mines but I've never had an experience like yours or even close to it. Yours had all sorts of additional possibilities to it and I am quite certain you've thought of or dreampt of all of them by now. If I were in country like you were in when the top fell out from under you, I would certinally ask around to find out IF spots like those are common and if there was some way to identify them before stepping on them. Thank you for sharing your experience..............63bkpkr

 

[Dave44]

20 ft deep ant cavern, dogs running to the wilderness to hide YOUR clothes, Ran all the way dragging the detector so that you could throw it in the lake, Bunch of deliverance guys checkin you out?

Yep I say it stretches my imagination to the point of snapping.

So, really, what kind of mushrooms were you digging?

 

[Theakiki]

I have nothing that wouldn't seem quite lame in comparison.

 

[Keppy]

That must be a pretty close friend that didn't have any spare clothes you could wear home

That what i was wondering why did not your friend lend you some clothes But still a good story....

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I got nothing like that. Have been yelled & screamed at by "ladies" at parks who accused me of stealing (collecting other peoples lost change and jewelery).

"It don't belong to you!"

 

[Jay of MS]

That must be a pretty close friend that didn't have any spare clothes you could wear home

Well he would have but he is a squirt and I tower over him. It would be like wearing my sons clothes

 

[Gunrunner61]

The best i can come up with is a good friend and detecting partner and I go to Tenn. Stop at Burning Bush Babtist church, Knock on the door And I ask the lady if we can detect out behind the church where they are doind a little construction, She says yes and tells us that the old Burning Bush School was across the street where the Ball field now sits and we let her know that if it's ok we may walk over that way and detect for alittle while, She is fine with all of this,So away we go to the back of the church I found a token right off the start of things and maybe 10 minutes into the hunt a fellow walks up asks what were doing ? I go through the whole story, HE Says that the lady said NO, and that I told her we were going to detect anyway, And that the Law has been called and will be here any minute. So back to the door we all three go the lady comes to the door and I tell her what the man said , and repeated her and my conversation ,SHE DENIES everything, and says she told us no, the Lady deputy shows up about this time, I repeat my side to her, Thinking that my partner and myself are headed to the pokey....But she just said that they did'nt want us there and we should go....Which we did pronto. So anyone Around Chickamauga and the Burning Bush Babtist Church, Take a tape recorder with you!

 

[Jay of MS]

20 ft deep ant cavern, dogs running to the wilderness to hide YOUR clothes, Ran all the way dragging the detector so that you could throw it in the lake, Bunch of deliverance guys checkin you out?

Yep I say it stretches my imagination to the point of snapping.

So, really, what kind of mushrooms were you digging?

I have no idea if the ant hill went down all 20 feet. I just know they were where I went through. That might indeed why it gave in to begin with. I dont think the dogs were doing it on purpose but when I was running and screaming they got all hyped up. As the clothes flew off they were grabbing them. No I didnt drag the detector in the water, when I went down to begin with I was on a hill and in the process the detector went flying down the hill and into the water. This is before I even realized I was in ants. I went and read my original post and the way I wrote it I can see why you would think I was saying I drug it into water. I was just saying "to top it off after all that my detector was gone" sorry for confusion.

You think it stretches your imagination lol HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT. I sat in my vehicle for 15 minutes in awe of what happened. I could have delt with clothes gone and ant bites and even being wet but what royally sucked was my detector was gone. That was hard to swallow.

 

[Jay of MS]

Jay,
It sounds to me like you've got a hard one to beat or even come close to. In all of my wilderness backpacking I've met up with a bunch of bears, lost lots of food bags and camping gear to them, I've come across a variety of rattle snakes, been in quite a few old hardrock mines but I've never had an experience like yours or even close to it. Yours had all sorts of additional possibilities to it and I am quite certain you've thought of or dreampt of all of them by now. If I were in country like you were in when the top fell out from under you, I would certinally ask around to find out IF spots like those are common and if there was some way to identify them before stepping on them. Thank you for sharing your experience..............63bkpkr

My friends property is near the Natchez Trace and in fact his property has the original trace going threw it from what I was told. I would love to get back on his property but after that I dont want to wonder around and risk something worse happening. There was no sign that I could tell the ground was hollow. I sure wish someone one here could tell me how you can tell if the underground is hollow or not.

 

[Jay of MS]

So no one has run into bees, or got stuck, maybe lost, nothing? Maybe I just had it coming to me who knows. I know one thing, it is a very spooky feeling when you sink in the ground waist deep and your legs are hanging instead being stuck. The whole time you just know you are going to fall through. Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[Mark S.]

You need to get hold of a copy of Never Mace A Skunk and Never Mace A Skunk Two by Butch Holcombe. Full of anything and everything that could go wrong while detecting.

 

[Newfiehunter]

Does this seem like a scene from the movie...Deliverance!!??

 

[Jay of MS]

Does this seem like a scene from the movie...Deliverance!!??

nope

 

[Lakemonster]

Strangest thing that happened to me detecting was a I stumbled upon a casket above ground...a modern steel one. There were tiki torches stuck in the ground around it. It was empty.... but looked like they had gas lines for propane run through it.... BBQ grill?

 

[MickeyMaguire]

So no one has run into bees, or got stuck, maybe lost, nothing? Maybe I just had it coming to me who knows. I know one thing, it is a very spooky feeling when you sink in the ground waist deep and your legs are hanging instead being stuck. The whole time you just know you are going to fall through. Thanks for the responses guys.

I knew a guy who was fly fishing on the Delaware River's main-stem and found a few strange holes in the ground. He moved the grasses over the holes to get a look at them. Then, he heard the buzzing... he took off running. He fell over a log and rolled face up in time to see a cloud of bees (big bumbles) fly over him and go up the trail. They returned and went back into the hole. I managed a fly fishing resort on the West Branch of the Delaware at that time and taught in a famous fly fishing school and guided the river. That's why he shared the story with me. He asked if I had heard of such a thing. I had not, but, I knew the islands and checked, yep, the holes were there.

 

[Hot zone]

Bees don't like chainsaws. I was sawing up an old growth fir when I was attacked, leaving the saw running I headed for the truck. They followed me in when I closed the door. So I jumped out and made a break fo the river. I was stung 15 or twenty times in the head. They gave up before i had to jump in the river. They were buzzing around the saw until it ran out of gas. Later working in the woods for a jippo he explained to just shut off the saw it makes them mad, and they will leave you alone and watch for them to go in or out of the hole. When u locate it, a splash of gas down the hole and u r good 2 go . He said it was like you got a bigger buzzer and a bigger stinger that goes with it ! And they won't stand for it! I don't know if they hate sound of a detector or not. But maybe another good reason to use earphones.