Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MDing

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

First off, I want to thank everyone that has helped me out here on Treasurenet with personal advice and all the great threads. Even though I am having a tough go at it, I still feel like I was way better prepared than a guy just popping open a box. Thanks to all!

Secondly, I am well aware that you don't just go out and start hauling in 14K rings every time you hit a spot. I know this hobby takes time, I just want to rant a little and get some advice. Any more tips related to my current situation would be greatly appreciated.

I got my Delta 4000 last Thursday and I have been hitting it HARD. I'm talking at least 4 hours a day at many different sites. I had a long list of sites that I had put a lot of thought into, and none are really producing anything except trash.

Here are some of the highlights of my burgeoning metal detecting career. I have also added some history about my particular area of the country (North East Georgia) that are making me think I may need to put in some drive time in order to find some quality spots.

Highlights & History (My first 5 days of Metal Detecting):

Two five foot long King Snakes
Poison Ivy
1971 JFK Half
Two Box Turtles
An Old Embalming Fluid Bottle
Chiggers Where The Sun Don't Shine
Mosquito's
Saw Briars
Large Rusty Chunks of Iron
Many, Many Ticks
Many, Many Pull Tabs


Most of my area was all Indian Territory up until they found gold here in the early 1800's - then all of sudden this land was desirable. Even after all the Cherokee had been relocated it was only sparsely populated by "mountain men" - not a bunch of filthy rich plantation owners. There were no "Tara's" in Habersham County - all those were well south of here. If you aren't familiar with this particular area of the country it's not exactly what you would call a historic hub of commerce. There were a few old hotels and the like during the late 1800's and early 1900's because this area was considered a "tourist spot" back then, particularly Tallulah Gorge. We did have the Dahlonega Mint and Templeton Reid - but I won't be holding my breath for any finds like those...

The only Civil War-type stuff that happened locally was during Sherman's march. A raiding party was sent north to procure supplies (steal livestock) and engage the enemy (burn and loot). The raiding party was bushwhacked by a local militia made up of a bunch of old men and young boys. The Union Soldiers were drawn into a narrow pass and attacked from the high ground on all sides and were thoroughly routed (or so the story goes). Locals suffered 4 minor casualties. Anyway, I had though about giving this place a go (it's on private property and I know a relative of the owner), but I have been warned that is overflowing with huge rattlesnakes.

I hit a house that was a pre-Civil War site (built in 1834) - nothing except rusty pieces of an old plow 6 inches deep all over the place. The home has been in my family since after the Civil War. There has always been a rumor that the previous owner was a old woman who sent her son off to the war. She supposedly hid a bunch of gold coins because there was great paranoia Sherman's boys in blue would show up and "souvenir" the items during the March to The Sea. Every night the cows were taken down to the creek and tied up or otherwise relocated. Anyway, the story goes that the lady hid all her coins then had a stroke or something that made her an invalid and she couldn't tell any of her family members where she stashed her stuff. My great-great uncle also lost his wedding ring in the back yard (or at least that's what my great-aunt said) and I couldn't it either lol! Like I said, I thought I had a good chance at a Mercury Dime or cool relic and all I got was scrap.

Hit the old family cemetery (just the outer area - I'm not a defiler of graves). My great-great uncle was the last person taken to that cemetery by wagon. Got two zinc Lincolns out of that spot.....

Speaking of graves, another "ghost" I will be chasing is this rumor I have been hearing ever since I was a little kid. On some property my grandparents sold to a friend of the family, there is allegedly a Confederate Colonel buried in full regalia in a copper casket. The grave is unmarked and the exact location is unknown. I would like to locate a large casket-sized object there (NOT DIG) and at least put up a marker of some sorts. I kind of feel bad for the guy out there with no headstone.

I have hit two old abandoned homes I thought looked promising. Nothing but scrap metal all over the place. I keep finding pull tabs, cans, nails, wires, bottle caps, and large pieces of tin. Tin is everywhere at these two places. Scrap metal next to the houses all the way around. The few targets in the old yards have all been trash. The stuff that you could salvage out of the homes (furniture, porcelain door knobs and latches) is way more interesting than anything I have pulled up out of the ground at these two places.

Hit a swimming hole on a big creek. Thought this would be a sure thing. Nope... Only cans and empty packs of Marlboros. The owners had been down there with a backhoe moving sand around to create a makeshift beach. Found one good "Dime" target, but gave up after digging what seemed like three feet looking for it. Also hit up an old, overgrown BBQ pit/picnic area on another creek adjacent to a golf course. All I got there was a couple of pull tabs and a sardine can.

There have been a few other sites I have hit, but so far the only place that has turned up anything of note were two local playgrounds. All I got was some clad coins, but it did feel good to actually pull something that was good out of the ground.

Anyway, sorry about the long post, but I am just beginning to wonder if I need to start thinking about branching out more to places with a larger population and more history than my current spot, OR should I just keep hitting these spots over and over until I am more adept with my machine? Is there a chance that I just live in a crappy area to metal detect? I don't think the "hot rocks" here have been too much of a problem, it's just all the darn trash and total lack of anything of value, coupled with the constantly itching body due to the hundreds of insect bites...

 

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[Sandman]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

Glad you like these westerns, great music too.
It takes time to learn the detectors and the areas you are hitting had to have a lot of activity from the amount of trash your finding. One thing to keep in mind is people way back then didn't carry lots of change. A dime would buy a few of loaves of bread. Suggest you read from the Garrett Library. http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_ram_books.aspx
Successful Coin Hunting is a great one.

I am not familiar with your detector because we didn't sell them. Get a smaller "sniper" coil for getting around the trash so the trash doesn't mask out the good stuff. There is more to detecting than coins, like bullets, cartridge cases and other things from the past.

 

[Dwight S]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

Go back to the old home site and detect it slow, digging all targets, including iron. That iron may be masking the ring or some other goodies. Check around any foundations and around large old trees for your aunt's gold. And if you find it, be sure to let us know!

As for the ticks, find a can of Repel Permanone Clothing and Gear Insect Repellent (orange can, blue top). Spray your clothing and boots, that stuff will keep them off. You may want to put some Deet on any exposed skin as extra protection.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

Some people land hunt for years before they find a gold ring. Since you post says first five days of hunting you haven't even got your toes wet yet...LOL

As SM said, get a sniper coil to be able to hunt between the trash better, and as Dwight said, dig everything, the more you clean out the trash the more good stuff you will find....

Good luck........

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

There is more to detecting than coins, like bullets, cartridge cases and other things from the past.

I agree. I'm not only after coins. That is why I am scoping out the timber rattler infested Civil War skirmish site. I love history and relics, but I am starting to dislike old farm equipment very much.

Thanks for the link to the Garrett coin book. My next MD purchase will be one of their pinpointers. The free one that came w/my rig kinda sucks.

As for the ticks, find a can of Repel Permanone Clothing and Gear Insect Repellent (orange can, blue top). Spray your clothing and boots, that stuff will keep them off. You may want to put some Deet on any exposed skin as extra protection.

I'll buy a can of that stuff, but I always seem to catch the ticks before they get attached. Mosquito bites only itch for a couple of hours. Poison Ivy doesn't really bother me unless I just wallow in the stuff. I brush by it in the woods wearing shorts all the time and haven't had a case in years *knocks on wood* but I think my chances of catching a spell of it have greatly increased with this hobby. The last time I got a poison rash I just clawed it until it bled and dumped bleach on it. It soon disappeared. The chiggers are by far the worst of them all. They will get you in the WORST of places. I've read some posts here where folks say they stay out of the woods entirely during the summer which just seems crazy to me. I guess I am just used to most of these things. Never really thought of myself as "country" due to the fact I don't deer hunt or fish, but I have spent a lot of time in the woods on horseback and hiking.

 

[deepskyal]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

Sounds a lot like my first few months of detecting years ago with an old T/R machine. Months...not days of finding junk til I learned what the thing was tellin me.
Make sure your threshold is down to minimum so you can hear those small whisper signals over the big noisy junk ones. Getting your ears adjusted to the small beeps is a key factor in detecting. You get so used to hearing the loud junk you miss the small beep of a coin....especially the deep ones.

Those sites you mention could produce some nice keepers but it takes time and patience. Clear out some of the big junk, use a sniper coil if you don't want to dig lots of trash but you will lose depth. I'd be more apt to go with a bigger coil. Old, old sites you can bet after years those coins are down a few inches. Leaf debris, erosion,etc all contribute to coin depth. An 1830's site...you can be lookin at 6,8 inches maybe depending on the site, soil type,etc.

You are finding stuff so you're definately getting there...keep doin what you're doin and you'll master your machine.

Al

 

[fmrUSMC_0844]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

Throw a picture of that embalming fluid bottle up. Id like to see that.

 

[Lowbatts]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

It sounds like you have some of the best training ground available there. Stick with it, like those who know advised.

Erosion and time work both ways, you have to work the upper end and midrange of all sloped areas, it's the stuff at the bottom that is deepest. Stuff in the middle and near the top will be much easier to find. And that's what inspires you to keep at it.

 

[suprdave]

Re: Pretty Rough Start Out of The Gate..... First 5 days of MD'ing

the good stuff is on its way