Ever feel like you left something behind?

[AU_Solitude]

I was hunting a hilly area for maybe an hour today before it started to get dark, not a lot of targets until I came to a nice flat spot underneath some oaks - the kind of place someone would have set up camp back in the day.

I was using the X-terra 70, knocking out most ferrous material and nothing else, was still digging square nails (odd these weren't knocked out by discrim), a horse shoe, a couple of old black powder style pistol bullets at 8-9 inches. Nothing that made me incredibly excited but still nice considering the weather was beautiful.

Anyway, to the point. The X-terra hit on a spot, reduced sweep speed and from one angle it rang up as a repeatable whisper of a 46 with the depth indicator maxed out, but then would null out on passes from other directions. I passed this target on kind of marking it with my boot and went on to dig a few more targets.

Curiosity got the best of me and I went back and dug the target; I dug a good 8-9 inches and nothing, probed the hole, passed over it again numerous times and nothing.

I got home and was testing the xterra out on some various objects to make a quick reference card and noticed that on large silver (a 3oz hunk) the Xterra would not sound off at a solid 48 unless in all metal mode. I am wondering now if I didn't leave a silver just an inch or so deeper in the hole earlier today.

Should have used all metal.

 

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[Phantasman]

I hope your X70 works better for you than my did for me. After a month, I traded it.

 

[AU_Solitude]

I haven't had it for too terribly long - can't say I am a huge fan yet but I have heard the concentric coil that comes stock is one of the downfalls and that is all it is equipped with at the moment.

What in particular did you not like about yours?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

3 oz hunk of silver should ring way up on the scale (don't know how the display on a X-70 ranges). Silver is at the top end of the signal scale.

If it's a 0 to 100 scale 46 would be in the tiny silver range - the old 3¢ coins. But they're had to hit very deep.

 

[CoilyGirl]

Silver usually rings up in the high 40's on my 505 x-Terra but then again,in all metal so do nails. I am a firm believer in hunting in all metal and digging everything.

 

[AU_Solitude]

3 oz hunk of silver should ring way up on the scale (don't know how the display on a X-70 ranges). Silver is at the top end of the signal scale.

If it's a 0 to 100 scale 46 would be in the tiny silver range - the old 3¢ coins. But they're had to hit very deep.

X-terra scale goes from negative numbers for ferrous targets to 48 at the highest, I've found numerous silver with it and they have all dialed in at 46 in the past, 48 would be a big hunk like my 3oz or a spill I am guessing.

 

[AU_Solitude]

Silver usually rings up in the high 40's on my 505 x-Terra but then again,in all metal so do nails. I am a firm believer in hunting in all metal and digging everything.

So am I, however I was being picky giving my limited time before dark, the landowners want me cleared out before nightfall when I hunt.

 

[DJWEHAGE]

I have had targets in the past that disappeared after a plug was removed. After digging further, older 19th century coins were found (also some deep iron.) 8 or 9 inches? I usually stop after 12. Get back there a check it again and let us know!

 

[AU_Solitude]

I have had targets in the past that disappeared after a plug was removed. After digging further, older 19th century coins were found (also some deep iron.) 8 or 9 inches? I usually stop after 12. Get back there a check it again and let us know!

I am going to try and get there tomorrow morning hopefully.

 

[RobRieman]

Your splitting hairs at 46 or 48 on the VDI. There are way too many variables that affect accuracy of VDI's, especially size and depth of targets.

 

[BryanM362]

Do you have a pinpointer? If it was just too deep for the detector, or at an odd angle, the pinpointer should still pick it up from at least 2 inches away.

 

[AU_Solitude]

Do you have a pinpointer? If it was just too deep for the detector, or at an odd angle, the pinpointer should still pick it up from at least 2 inches away.

Yeah my thoughts as well, pinpointer didn't pick anything up in sides of hole or the bottom so I filled it in and moved on.

 

[DDancer]

Maybe a ground squirrel was messing with ya Luck to ya on catching the target. Sometimes mineral's collected around roots will do what you describe. I've run into it a few times as well as decomposed iron that broke up as I dug. Signal one way and not the other is a good indication of such conditions. Old fire pits are another source of such signals as well. My thoughts.

 

[AU_Solitude]

Went back this morning, dug it out to easily 16+, nothing there - I suspect the culprit is iron/minerals in the area.

In the area I dug more horseshoe nails, old spoon, cast iron pan handle, what appears to have been an iron chisel of some sort maybe for quarrying rock it was found beneath. Definite signs of old activity in the area - probably nothing good there though.