How to dig?

[alabamadan]

Ok, so I'm walking along with my MD and it sounds off. In the spirit of "dig everything" I drop down to my knees, pull out my digging tool and get to work. Well, I'm not to good at it yet and hope to get some advice.

First, it's all a little odd. I lay the MD down, take my earphones off. Does everyone do that? If so, when you stand up to repinpoint if you haven't found anything you have to put all that gear back on and then take it off. Or, I could unplug the earphones.... It's just not working for me.

I need a teacher!

 

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[surfrat96]

Thanks Omni, I'm gonna get one an give it a try! 8) 8)

 

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[dano91]

I use a Glock field knife with an 8 inch blade when I'm cutting plugs in grass. I stab it in at a 45 degree angle and go around in a circle
cutting a cone shaped plug a little bigger than a pop can. This works fine for me and I'm surprised at how often the pull tab is right on the tip of my knife. It also helps to know your coil, does it pinpoint dead center of coil or closer to the back of coil.

 

[alabamadan]

This is really helpful. Keep 'em coming!

 

[slow sweeper]

Well I've never been too shy about putting my two cents in so here goes. With most detectors these days you should be able to tell the size if the target. If you can't pinpoint to within 2 or 3 inches every time you should practise in your own yard some more. If you cut a very shallow plug with not much soil around the roots the grass in that plug will most likely die. Using the "horseshoe" or "hinged" plug technique kills the least grass and leaves the least amount of sign that you dug a hole. A hinged plug will also stay in the ground the next time the mower goes over it. This is the technique I use when detecting city parks and ballfields where you do not want to be damaging the grass at all. Open fields or bare dirt have at it. Too many places are becoming off limits to metal detecting. Why give anyone, any city, any county any reason to hang a NO METAL DETECTING sign up?

 

[omnicognic]

Michigan Badger , you do have a point that I should warn folks about(I'm sorry I forgot) when I first started to use this I did accidentally scratch a few finds, but I have since gotten much better at pin-pointing, and this rarely happens anymore!(which is why I forgot) slow sweeper If left intact, the plugs this makes continue to grow as if nothing happend. I have used this all over my yard and in a local park I hunt regularly there are no dead spots that I can find! HH omnicognic 8)

P.S I did at one point say that this things original use was to make mock fillet minion from cheap steak, this was only half wrong, because it was being used for that in my kitchen before I commandeered it! (I realized my error after reading the website for these things!)

 

[surfrat96]

Omni, I'd also like to add that our grass is different here in Fl. We have St. Augustine, which is really a type of weed. As far as I know there is no seed for this type of lawn and is usually planted by plugs or squares from sod farms.

Your little tool cuts plugs just a little larger than plugs you would buy at Home Depot down here. What I'm tryin to say is that once the plug is replaced it won't go dead unless it goes without water for a long period of time, so this little tool should be a real asset for retrieving finds in parks and such.

Just my couple cents! HH surfrat

 

[slow sweeper]

? ? omni, didn't intend my comments to be directed at anybody in particular. But I have been to parks and seen little round dried up dead pieces of turf. Just makes it harder for me to say I'm not hurting the grass when the Parks Dept. guy comes driving up. And that has happened to me.

 

[omnicognic]

? ? omni, didn't intend my comments to be directed at anybody in particular. But I have been to parks and seen little round dried up dead pieces of turf. Just makes it harder for me to say I'm not hurting the grass when the Parks Dept. guy comes driving up. And that has happened to me.

No worries! I always welcome any criticism and comments!(I'm not saying yours was directed at me, but even if it was!) That is what makes this forum great! It's all about the feedback! HH omnicognic

 

[omnicognic]

What I said in an earlier reply about this thing working better in thick grass is true. In dry sandy soil with sparse grass it is useless, the plug will just disintigrate. Heck! I ain't selling these things! I'm just showing what works for me! At least until I find (or make ) something better! Good Luck! Happy Hunting omnicognic 8)

 

[alabamadan]

In regard to your "pothole" I think I may have advice I've learned over the past week. I've been using the hinge method for digging, but I found myself having a hard time getting all the dirt back in the hole. That's what your "pothole" looks like happen there. I've since started to carry around an old plastic flower pot saucer. It's about 12" in diameter. I place all my dirt in it as I'm digging and it's easy to put back in the hole.

 

[omnicognic]

I used to use an empty margarine container for that, but it was awkward to carry around. I was thinking of trying one of those flexible cutting boards and tying it to the cord I carry my spade and cutter with. I'll let you know how it works. HH omnicognic 8)

 

[rvbvetter]

Apparently having the reputation of a Super Genius ( at least i think that's what is meant, when they look at me and say " what a maroon " ) Even though i'm generally a probe and pop hunter. In case i ever need to go farther, i always dangle a dish towel off of my pouch belt for any excess soil to be laid on and then poured back in. HH

 

[KevGA]

Howdy all,

Omni turned me on to his little tool after we went beach hunting one day, and when I returned home I tried it in my front yard with great success. I had to chuckle, I had had the tool in my junk drawer for years and only used it in the kitchen once or twice, now it hangs off my hunting belt. The points brought up about being on about pinpointing are very true, you need to be sure your right on or risk damage as the diameter is only about 3-4". I have some loose spots on my lawn that didn't fair too well, but in nice thick turf of varying kinds it is a keeper. I hit a penny in the first plug without any problem, and my pinpointing skills are so-so to say the least. When you use it, be sure to twist it good to ensure good seperation. I also use my serrated knife to help open up the hole a bit more if I am off, which still allows for the original plug to go right back into place. All of the spots I have used it on in my own yard and the school park have left no indication of the dig.

I like the idea of that wooden handle, the metal one is a bit harsh on the hands after a bit.

All in all I really like this little guy, and as my skills increase I see utilizing it alot more.

K

 

[dano91]

Great posts guys!!! Sweeper the hinged plug is great info for me thank you, I don't want to have any plugs sucked up into a lawn mower and look bad in my parks. Also the dish towel idea is a good one because tell tale extra dirt is a give away that there is a fresh hole, I like to remain as invisible as possible. In loose sandy sparse grassy areas I don't think anyone cares to much.
Dano