I was SCAMMED today and learned a lesson on a Civil War hunt

[FoundInNC]

I got played today like a six string guitar. Last night a fellow responded to my Craigslist ad about materials for gold panning. We got to talking and I mentioned that I am a metal detectorist. He chimed in and states that he detects as well, and insists that we meet up today and go to his "honey hole" of which he claimed he had dug 10,000 civil war bullets, six US plates, 60 buttons, and hotchkiss fragments. He went on and on about how many Williams cleaners and 3 ringers he had dug. He fooled me. He knows A LOT about history, and has done some serious research on different relics. He seemed intelligent on relic hunting. I agreed to go without hesitation. He suggested we go in the morning(this morning) and I agreed. I arrived at the guys house at 9am, introduced ourselves, and we got in his truck and headed down the road about an hour. We pull up to the site and I am just envisioning myself digging 200 bullets(as he GAURANTEED ME!)! After 8 hours of nonstop detecting with no lunch break, I have dug a few modern bullets, most of which he insist are civil war "drops", even though they had rifling. All of the dug bullets came from one 100'x100' area and NOWHERE else. We were digging someone's Target practice range! He continued to tell me how many different types of bullets he had dug that we were mysteriously not digging. That, accompanied with other constant signs, showed me that this guy was a habitual liar. I even tried to call him out when he tried to tell me most copper jacketed bullets were from the civil war. Upon my arrival at my house, I looked up the battle map, and where this fellow took me was NOWHERE near the battlefield. Needless to say I felt kidnapped today. I learned so many lessons from this. Let this be a warning to everyone. Why this man felt the urge to blatantly LIE to my face I have not the slightest clue. I know lots about the civil war and this man flat out insulted me and my opinions. I could go on and on. I hope I never see his face again. He wanted to know when we were going detecting again and I told him I would call him. Hopefully he will get the picture.

Below are my as he called it "Civil War" bullets. One actually does look like a 3 ringer, but it is 54 caliber muzzeloader slug. The roundballs are from someone's muzzeloader practice. They are 45's.

What a wasted day.

 

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[teverly]

sorry you got taken for a ride...1st clue i doubt there is any one on here that has dug 10,000 civil war bullets.....someone correct me if i am wrong about that..and just because someone has a lot of knowledge of things does not mean they dig them a lot....and i mean no offense to anyone here that ids things for people im just saying if something sounds to good to be true it usually is....

 

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[ynpto804]

sorry you got taken for a ride...1st clue i doubt there is any one on here that has dug 10,000 civil war bullets.....someone correct me if i am wrong about that..and just because someone has a lot of knowledge of things does not mean they dig them a lot....and i mean no offense to anyone here that ids things for people im just saying if something sounds to good to be true it usually is....

I know a fellow who paid for a divorce with about 11,000 bullets. He was a old guy who started digging in the late 40's with WW2 machines. So thats not unheard of. But I do think the OP should give this guy another chance. It soulds like he was genuine and nice so what could it hurt. Heck I bet you he thought it was a great day.

 

[BuckleBoy]

There was no scam here. Would you call it a "scam" if a property owner wanted to show you where a "rock foundation" was and you get out there and it's only a pile of rocks tossed from a field that has been plowed? I once drove four hours round trip to hunt with an idiot on his "killer resort site" where he had found tons of coins... When I got out there, he didn't want to hunt the hotel site, but rather run me through the woods for hours so that I could help him locate a Civil War camp that he just knew was on the property. I had no research on the camp, and had no idea where it could be. Oh, I finally convinced him to let me hunt around the hotel site. I dug a wheat penny after several hours, and realized that he had picked it absolutely clean. I've also driven 3 hours round trip to hunt a pounded out civil war site at the invite of another digger that I didn't know. When I got there, the guy made me wrap my cell phone up in aluminum foil and take the battery out of it, before crawling through a muddy drainage ditch under a highway to get to the spot that he swore he had permission for (which I seriously doubt!!). We hit that site (Very rough terrain--hills, ravines, etc) all day, around 7 hours of detecting, and found two dropped bullets between the two of us. So, I'm at the "shame on me" stage with this now, after it happening twice. And I can assure you--Never Again.

So you see, that's not a scam. What that is, is a metal detectorist's RITE OF PASSAGE. Welcome to the club!!


-Buck

 

[ivan salis]

maybe hes just can 't tell sh*t from shineola -- some folks want to be in the "right spot they talk them selves into believing what they want to see rather than what their eyes are really seeing -- its called living in "egypt" --or DE NILE .

 

[jeff of pa]

But I do think the OP should give this guy another chance. It soulds like he was genuine and nice so what could it hurt. Heck I bet you he thought it was a great day.

best response I've seen take him to a site with real history.
if your still worried, thake him to one you don't need to worry about if he goes back there after, on his own.
just to check his screwples. perhaps he was just testing you

 

[hamiddetecting]

Congratulation!

 

[diggervet]

Live and learn