Ruth MoratzMetal Detectors -- Tips and Tricks
November 21st 2006 17:35
Metal Detectors And The Disappearing Target
Sometimes after I dig a target it seems to disappear. This used to happen a lot because I was not too good at discerning between good and bad targets. When the bad target was brought to the surface, the detector would then be able to detect it better and give a null sound, whereas it sounded ok to me when it had a little depth to it. This does not happen too much anymore because I practice a lot.
When it does happen now it is usually because the target became tilted when I pulled it out of the ground, and now has very little surface area exposed to the detectors field as it waits in the pile of dirt next to the hole. This is usually fixed by spreading the dirt pile with my foot. It will flatten the target, usually a coin or coin like object, and I can then get a good clear signal.
The only OTHER reason this happens anymore is if I strike the target with the digging tool, my shovel. This will sometimes tilt it in the hole, and make it seem as if it disappeared.
Metal Detecting Old Fort Sites
Just about every fort site I have hunted here in America has been worked over by the detectorists of the 1970's, and even earlier. This caused me to range out from the fort sites proper, and I learned that all fort sites had auxiliary posts within a mile of their walls, usually within a few hundred yards. Whether they were lookout posts, storages, or what have you, they are there and many are still undiscovered. The old roads themselves can sometimes be followed, once the detector puts you on the trail, and just the traffic of horse and wagons caused quite a lot of loss to happen. Finally, almost all military operations cached weaponry and other things in case of attack. Occasionally the caches went unrecovered. These military caches would amount to a gold mine today. There are many records made of just such occurrences.
Metal Detecting Large Areas
When I am hunting a large area, I am basically trying to narrow down the possibilites and find the BEST area. This usually happens, too. There are always areas of higher concentration at any metal detecting site, and some are quite surprising. Little splashes of coins in the dirt. You go away with an idiotic grin wondering -- What the heck happened there?? Follow this rule: where there is one coin there are probably more. Once the BEST area is found, then more thorough hunting is in order. Many times I only begin to find the good stuff when a lot of the shallow targets have been removed.
Metal Detecting Really Good Sites
There is a certain point of good-ness to some metal detecting sites which will make me automatically go from digging just non-ferrous targets, to digging everything. These type of sites are definitely not among the majority, and its happy happy time when that goes down. The one thing you will find out when you start digging every signal is that there is a lot of cool iron stuff still left in the ground.
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