IRON Brigades MARATHON Detecting Week

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,132
9,700
Moonlight and Magnolias
🥇 Banner finds
4
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Hello All,


It appears that I have been in a slump since the sword belt plate and draped bust LC day, week before last. The other members of my team have made some good finds, while I myself have a few nondescript flat buttons to my name. We hunted all day Tuesday--when Rodeo pulled the 1838 dime which I posted (most of my buttons came from that hunt), then we hunted Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Today. So I figure I have spent 35 or so hours detecting since Tuesday.

Here is the story of how each day went...

Wednesday: Went with HB to chase down an old homestead and a steam sawmill site. Both sites had been bulldozed in, with little to show for our first four hours except a flat button and a wheat penny. Then we went out to the 1838 dime spot for the second rehunt of that area. Ended up that HB found a beauty of an IH, a nice civilian floral button, and between us a good many other old flat buttons:


3-4b.jpg


Here are some of HB's finds, cleaned up:


3-4D.jpg


Thursday: Rodeo and Bonzaibrandi took me to one of their new spots. We first hunted an old housesite that the cellarhole had been filled in on. The iron was thick, and the can slaw everywhere. Brandi managed a flat button, and I got a 1900s great seal cuff button ::)
The wind on that day was Fierce. 30mph sustained winds at times. Occasionally I would have a find in my hand, and it would blow back onto the ground. Needless to say, we were wearing headphones. :P Then we hit up another site that was much older than the first--a nice stretch of Beautiful cornfield:

3-5 A.jpg

3-5D1.jpg


Rodeo in no time had a piece of a spur. It was sticking halfway out of the dirt:


3-5 A4.jpg


We continued to dig--and I figured that the rest of the spur was still in the ground somewhere waiting for us. Here's Rodeo working on another recovery:


3-5F.jpg


Now, let me tell you... We have a deal in my team, that if one person finds a piece of a relic, and another person finds another piece of it, then the relic goes to whoever dug the first piece. My mentor and I always had that understanding back in the old days, and I figure it's a good one. I don't believe that a relic should be in two different display cases after a hunt.

So...long story short, I did my duty and found the rest of Rodeo's spur. Even though it was the bigger of the two pieces, it went to Rodeo. (And let me tell you, it was hard to give that one up.)


3-5 B.jpg


We continued the hunt, and got a few flat buttons, a toe tap, a child's thimble, a suspender clip, and a few more goodies. Here's Bonzaibrandi swinging away:


3-5G.jpg


Then when it got too dark to see, we drove home and laid our finds out for a good photo:


3-6.jpg


Friday: On Friday, Rodeo and I went to find yet another spot. The house was in a grassy, fallow field that I thought had been unsowed for only a year (Boy was I wrong!). When we hiked half a mile to the spot through the woods, and the field opened up before us, it was in tall grass! >:( I figured that we should take a swing since we were there (before the ticks were out in force), and if we could find just one item that would indicate the location of the house, then we'd come back with a scythe and cut and rake the grass off the site.

Well...we hunted for several hours in the tall grass, wearing ourselves out, and finding...nothing. :-\ So then we drove to another spot that has been on my list for a while. It was right on the Ohio river, and it looked to be a great spot in a nice, flat soybean field. We got permission from the owner and got into that field, and it felt wonderful to not have to fight for every swing of the coil. :)

So we hunted...and hunted... And just when it seemed that the site was nowhere to be found in that field, we got some iron signals--Right at the EDGE of the cliff! Now normally I just worry about whether or not a spot has been bulldozed, backfilled, or covered in concrete...but this one had literally Washed into the Ohio! Here's a photo of our housesite :'( Rodeo Recon has the same look on his face that I did: "WTF?"


3-6 E.jpg


We hunted the slope and the riverbanks to no avail, all the time watching the weather and knowing that if the rain started we had to get out of there, Quick!

Yep. I got the find of the day: A tiny piece of a pewter spoon handle. :-\


So I regrouped, found my resolve again after such a skunking, and headed HB's way on Saturday with Diggergirl to do some hunting in his neck of the woods. We found our spot easily enough, but there wasn't much to be found. DG got another great seal cuff button and a suspender clip, and HB found a WWI-Era toy soldier. We had to get out to the site piggybacking on the ATV since it was so far out in the middle of nowhere:

3-7 A.jpg

3-7 C.jpg
 

Upvote 0
Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Which brings us to Today's hunt. I went with Rodeo to try and find a homestead that I didn't manage to find last month. The good news is that we found it :thumbsup: (This means that only 2 sites out of 60+ sites this year remain unfound. :) ) The bad news is that the place was Littered with can slaw. We dug up half a bucket of aluminum and farm junk, and Rodeo got a few flat buttons and a nice V Nickel (1903, I belive):


3-9a.jpg


And I got...








Some exercise. :-[



As we all know, who have detected for any amount of time, there are slow periods--lean times. I am no stranger to those. When I was tracking down Civil War spots in Virginia as a teenager, I spent many hunts without so much as a piece of melted lead. But that's different. In those cases, you know that you won't usually find the spot the first trip, or perhaps even the tenth trip. Back when I discovered homestead hunting, and developed methods for figuring out the most productive ones to hunt (selecting sites from all the possibilities), I never expected to get skunked so many days in a row at the housesite game. And yet here we are. In the Old Days, each time I got skunked I would Double my efforts. Well...it is kinda hard to double my effort when I've already been hunting every day during the break. But I WILL get out of this rut, and start making good finds again. In the meantime, a BIG congratulations to the others whose finds are posted here. I will be joining you all with some finds of my own again soon.


For your viewing pleasure, here's a photo of my Fine collection of Pack Studs from 2008 :tard:


D.jpg


Best Wishes,



Buckles
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

excellent finds and looks like an awsome field to hunt in.
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Great story and pics Buck. The finds will come back to you in spades my friend - they always do... :wink:
Give my regards to the rest of the Brigade... :thumbsup:




By the way - clean that poor Silver would ya'... ;D
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

DD-777 said:
Great story and pics Buck. The finds will come back to you in spades my friend - they always do... :wink:
Give my regards to the rest of the Brigade... :thumbsup:




By the way - clean that poor Silver would ya'... ;D



Which one? :icon_scratch:
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Great pictures and hunt :thumbsup: that looks like a burial mound in picture 8, and the river side photo looks like a very dangerous place to hunt :o I wouldn't like to fall in that river :(
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Chin up, BB! :thumbsup: You've made more fantastic finds than I can ever imagine to! :icon_pirat: Great pics and finds you all!! :thumbsup:

Nana :)
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

I just had one of those day's BB...Ty put a serious whoopin' on me Sat :violent1:......Still look's like Fun regardless :thumbsup: My buddy shot a deer one year and I knew I had the shed off him the previous year.....Just like the spur he now own's the shed.Congrat's to you ALL!!!!!
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Nick Pappagiorgio said:
Great Stuff as usual Buckles ... :thumbsup:

Congratulations To the IRONCREW ... another job well done ...

The "V" RULES ~ Nick


Yes, but the Union-Style Spur is even better. :)
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Nice finds there BB, I know how you feel I got skunked all day today :'(
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Most people would gladly come home with those coins and relics BB. Every day can't be a banner day. Sites are becoming harder and harder to locate and get permission to hunt. The spur is a great find. I will remember your rule when I find the first half of a CSA Buckle and quote it to Dman when he finds the other half!!! If he finds the first half, I expect to suffer memory loss. WTG and HH.
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

VOL1266-X said:
Most people would gladly come home with those coins and relics BB. Every day can't be a banner day. Sites are becoming harder and harder to locate and get permission to hunt. The spur is a great find. I will remember your rule when I find the first half of a CSA Buckle and quote it to Dman when he finds the other half!!! If he finds the first half, I expect to suffer memory loss. WTG and HH.


LOL I hear ya on the CSA buckle. :D


I would've loved to have come home with those coins and that spur too. All I want next hunt is a suspender clip and an IH. :icon_sunny: (Baby Steps...)
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

What, nobody Excited about my Pack Studs? :'(
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

THEY LOOK MAHHHHVELESSSSSS
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

civilman1 said:
THEY LOOK MAHHHHVELESSSSSS

NOW WE'RE TALKIN!





(just posted 'em for you, civil. :) :thumbsup: :wink:)
 

Re: IRON Brigade's MARATHON Detecting Week

Great job on the finds,I found some pack studs this week too,but your's are way nicer than mine ;D.

Nova Treasure
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Back
Top