What to look for???

[L-Patterson]

I've been relic hunting about a year know and I live in North Mississippi so there's a lot of Civil war history around me, however when I'm in the woods I catch myself just wondering around swinging without a game plan or general direction, what clues do you look for and when you dig a good relic how hard do you search that area before you move on?

 

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[relic nut]

I tend to wonder around a lot and seldom have a plan other than too hunt a general area. What I mean by general area is based on some research or lead we may have gotten.
When you get there, try to think like a soldier. Look for water sources or spots where you may have stopped to rest or places with a good vantage point. Many of our best finds have come from unlikely places, and we just stumble on them. If I find a good relic, then I will slow way down and concentrate on that general area.
Follow your gut and have fun. You will soon develop your own style.

 

[Gare]

L-Patterson you might also change your detector settings to ZERO discrimination till you start finding targets then turn it back.

 

[L-Patterson]

Yes I normally hunt at zero discrimination until I start finding alot of iron, in the hills and hollers where I hunt see mounds of dirt and and what I would call foxholes on the sides of the hills, but I never find any relics around them, I mainly find a few dropped or shot bullets in the bottom of the hollows and around the creeks, but I feel like with the amount of time the solders spent there I should find a camp or fire pit or something more.

 

[Gare]

L-Patterson: I have a solution for your problems. Why not have a GIANT hunt there with all of us coming there to maybe give you hints you might not know Ah what state would we need to come to? what do you say people want to go to civil war hunt site ? OK for real i was just kidding about the hunt. It sounds like your doing the right moves to success. I promise you one day everything will just click you will have it. I am going through something now with my Deus's I think i am close to getting the hang of them.
I was at a spot detecting a week ago there was piles of dirt all over like someone had dug fox holes. After doing some research and talking to a few people from the area I found out the Township used to back there trucks in there and dump there piles of dirt ;( I JUST WISH the GROUND could talk better!!! Solme times it can and we just need to learn how to listen.

Keepus posted

 

[Ammoman]

I've been relic hunting about a year know and I live in North Mississippi so there's a lot of Civil war history around me, however when I'm in the woods I catch myself just wondering around swinging without a game plan or general direction, what clues do you look for and when you dig a good relic how hard do you search that area before you move on?

Great question! I have no experience in cw sites but massive experience in ww2 battlefield sites. Knowing what happened and what brought the troops to that location will help you determine where to start. The first question to answer is... was it a battle site or a place to rest? If it was a battle field, do some research on battle field tactics of the civil war to get a feeling for where a leader might want to set up camp or stage for an attack. Get into the heads of the people that were there by reading up on who the commanders were at that site and then imagine yourself as that leader. Where were the roads or trails? Where might be a great place to set up for an ambush? The questions are many and the more questions you answer the more successful you will be.

 

[L-Patterson]

Lol Gare this place is somewhat open to the public so it gets hunted a lot and has for years, but I have dug a handful of bullets, a few eagle buttons and a few cannon ball fragments over the past couple months so I know there's more to be found, Ammoman it's about 300 acres of hardwood timber on the side of the Tennessee river all hills and hollers, I definitely know where cannon pits are, and a big campsite with about 150 hut sites, and also where a firing range was, but all of that is hunted out basically so I'm trying to hunt the places nobody else would've thought to hunt or was to lazy too walk to.

 

[L-Patterson]

Thanks for all the replies I do appreciate them, I was thinking more experienced hunters may look for certain things that I haven't read about lol.

 

[smokeythecat]

Start with your research. Ask yourself where did they come from, and go to? Roads? Where is the water source? Privies? I dig a CW camp in VA which has been pounded since the 1950's or so. I get relics every time I go there. When you get a CW target, use a handheld GPS to mark the spot (or an orange flag) and work out from that spot. In these last days of relic detecting (sort of), relics others have missed will generally be missed because someone turned left instead of right or the relic is under a rock, tree, briar patch, swamp, etc. And my favorit - they RUN 20' into a field so not to dig the trash near the road! That's Civil War belt plate heaven!

 

[Gare]

SOFT FAINT SOLID signals are usually good to dig The deep ones are pretty good