First experience and question about digging

H

hunt4stuff

Greenie
Oct 12, 2004
13
0
Hi all,
First day using my Discovery 1000. With 2 very small kids it's nearly impossible to watch them and treasure find, but I insisted hubby watch them while I fooled around a bit in a local park.
I found a penny, a Bic lighter, and a lot of gum wrappers. The next morning while one was in daycare I took the other back over to the park near an old stone foundation. I found a few handmade nails. A can, and a horse snaffle bit. I was psyched!
My question is how do people dive into the ground with a screwdriver or knife and be able to pinpoint and retrieve the object without even looking? I read where you can cut a 'U' and flap over the grass to dig then you're able to just place the divot (sp) back over. Is this acceptable anywhere? Also sometimes I swing, get a signal, then when I try to pinpoint it I get no signal at all. What's that all about? One more thing. Saw a pic of a bottle in someone's finds. A bottle? Was this detected or did it happen to be there?
 

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My minelab does this (makes signals dissappear. It is a function of the discriminate switch which will discriminate out all iron targets). Do you have a minelab? If so, this is normal, just flip your swirtch to "all metal" mode and you can dig all the junk to your hearts content. If you only want "good stuff" and aluminum, copper, lead and gold, the put the switch on "discrim". This is an easy way to start hunting, but not the only way.

Here is an answer on how to dig from an earlier post I put on here:

"Mark, a garden trowel is fine in someone's back yard or in the forest (actually in the forest, I would just use a small shovel), but if you are in a park, which is where most of us look for stuff, then a garden trowel is too big. These guys tell you that a garden trowel is ok, well, I see this as a great opportunity to get kicked out of parks. No groundskeeper is going to want to see you digging in their park with a garden trowel, shovel, or anything else that makes a hole. At least you can make a smaller hole and usually not even have to "dig" a plug if you use the screwdriver method. Plugs are for thugs! If you have a larger object (which can be determined by using a screwdriver or an icepick), then and only then should you dig a plug. Otherwise, get youself a "vibraprobe" at www.vibraprobe.com and use it and a screwdriver. Pinpoint the object with your detector. Then poke into the area slowly and carefully so you don't scratch the item, with the screw driver or icepick until you feel it stop. Remove the screwdriver and punch it in the ground next to where you felt the item. Roll it around until you creat a hole big enough for your vibraprobe to go in. Stick in the vibraprobe and locate the object in the ground by poking around until it vibrates. Once you find it, you can usually just pop it out with your screwdriver and a finger, or with your finger alone. When you recover the object, just step on the hole and it will usually close right back up. No hassle with filling a bunch of dirt back in cutting up sod, etc. It takes some practice, but at least you won't be getting kicked out of areas for your digging technique! BTW, I am not a vibraprobe salesperson, but I would recommend this tool to anyone serious about dirt digging. It is by far the best tool out there for the job it does. Be cautious while using this method to always look into the hole when you locate your object so as not to stick your finger onto a hypodermic needle or a sharp piece of metal."
Good luck,
Coinshooter
 

Wellcome to the site! Sometimes you will get a false signal if you swing your detector incorrectly. You should swing it level and dont come up at the end of the swing. I dont hunt many parks where i would have to worry about upsetting someone on how I dig. I carry a small shovel cut a plug and replace dirt and plug. On shallow targets the shovel (about 2 feet long) save me from having to bend over so much! Longer hunt time on bad back. The old bottles I find are a by product of looking for hunt sites. i come accross old dumps etc. keep hunting you will only get better with time. Cladius.
 

Hiya Hunt4stuff! Welcome! ;) Hope You find lots of good stuff I had a Discovery 3000 and found a few Hundred bucks in clad and a decent amout of silver jewelry..until I dunked it under water at a local swimmin hole :( Now I'm gettin a Tesoro Cortes! Have fun! HH

Dirtypaws
Angier, NC
 

Something else that can make a signal 'disappear' is a coin that is on edge. The signal actually gets deflected. If this is the case, you can swing perpendicular to your first sweep and see if that helps. Sometimes I get a clear signal with a north/south sweep and intermittent or no signal with an east/west sweep.

I also recommend getting a coin probe/ pinpointer-- this helps locate targets much easier in lawns.
 

Welcome fellow Mom! I'm fairly new to this hobby too and there ain't nothin better in the world. It will be very addicting and you'll love every minute of it! Get the kids involved somehow. Get them a little handheld detector from Hobby Lobby or another hobby shop and let them join in the fun! They may not be very successful at it, but it will occupy them a little.

Please check back here often for advice and just to read the posts! Even if you just dig up trash all day, you'll enjoy seeing what the others have unearthed!! :o

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!

Moon- Aiken, SC
 

Thanks for such great information! I'm sad I started so late in the season but with a brand new baby I was a little busy. The 3 year old has the attention span of a gnat so a few trucks near me seems to do the trick just not for long!
I'll have to look into those vibraprobes... and I think I'll practice digging where I wont be kicked out if I screw up.
I figure that with good research all winter once warm weather returns I'll be pretty good at finding some treasure!
It's funny- my screen name is actually because Im a broker for buyers and sellers looking for all kinds of things. I put them together for a commission and work 95% from the internet, from art glass to excavators. Nice that the name works nicely here too!
I look forward to learning more from you all and glad there are a few moms out there too!
Bev
 

Good Morning Bev,

Too funny about your 3 yr old's attention span! :D. May be the hubby will give your a break occasionally so you can go hunting. I take my twelve yr old with me and he's bored after 5 minutes.

As odd as this sounds....Most detectorists do alot of their hunting in the cold months! Less people...less bugs! It depends on the part of the country you live in I guess. I wouldn't be out there hunting in Jan. in Chicago! :-\

Have a great day and HH!

Cindy (Moon)
 

Welcome hunt4stuff,It looks as though your questions have already been answered.This is a great site,i'm sure you will learn alot here.Good luck with the kids and happy hunting! ;)
 

welcome hunt4stuff, this is by far one of the best site for help...i can relate with the kids, i take my four yr old with me too. i bought him a metal detector at toys-r-us for like twenty bucks, it keeps him busy for a bit, i find also bringing snacks and juice with us and haveing a picnic really make his day! and hyping up the hunting with pirate stories help too! happy hunting
 

I'll tell you that it gives you a whole new perspective on things. I'm looking toward the sides of the roads in traffic jams thinking, hey maybe over there... I'm out in Rhode Island and we're supposed to get a very difficult winter so being the whimp that I am, I'll wait patiently for spring thaw. I found a quarter today and I thought that was pretty darn cool. My husband just looked at me like...uhhh okay but if you wanted a quarter I would've given you one... He jus' don't get it. Watch him perk up though when I find some Craftsman tool with the lifetime warranty!!!
 

I understand what hunt4stuff is talking about when she mentioned the short attention span. But with me it is not the children. It is me when I get some honeydo job that I just have to do. Doesn't she know that I could be out metal detecting instead!!! ANYWAY, welcome to our addiction. You will have a great time. ;D sounder
 

...cpt_kirstov? You're from CT?
I wonder if you ever heard the story about a abandoned haunted town over the line in RI into Southern Ct. If you do a search for 'Dudleytown' in CT the story is almost identical but it's not that far away from me. I wish I could remember I think it would be a great place to check out. (Dudleytown looks illegal to enter just as a note)
If you can think of what Im talking about let me know!
Bev
 

hmm ... not that I can think of I'm from the CT/RI/MA line though so don't hear as much about the southern part til i moved down here for college. But one my friends familys just bought a house with land that used to be a indian / colonial trading place that I can't wait to check out over spring or summer break
 

I am also a newbie from RI! Hello to all my fellow New Englanders! GO PATS! Anyway, I have two young ones that I take out hunting while my wife is working or whathaveyou. I try to take them on the schoolyard hunts, or to beaches with playgrounds. I let them go beserk on the playground, while I hunt. I also give them a trash bag like the one I carry, and send them off picking up trash which we heave later on. By the end of the trip, they're pretty warn out, and they enjoy checking out my "treasure"!
 

we should all get together some day over the summer on one day and see how much we can all get out of one location - out of everyone from the board in the area it might be fun ;D
 

I up for it CPT! I am in Warwick, and have just been hottong local spots here in the city, so I'm rarin to hit some spots outside of Warwick. Planning on some stone walls over in E Greenwich, and a pond area out in the stick of Coventry this weekend! Email me at [email protected] if you want to try to put something together. Maybe we can put our heads together and start a local club or something! Where are you located at?
 

You're going to need something more than a screwdriver...

Try: www.predatortools.com the small hand digger would be perfect for parks and clean holes.

Greg
 

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