Sunday hunt with Groundhog

[Digger_O'Dell]

Hi All,
Had a great day out detecting on Sunday with Groundhog at a campground which he hunts regularly. Even though it was HOT, somewhere in the low 90's and humid, and I was going on 24 hours without sleep, it was a fun and memorable day. I found out that the area by the original farm house had been detected before, but had hopes that there would be some goodies to yet be found.
Detecting this area was very difficult at best. After so many years of campers being in the area one can only imagine the amount of trash left behind. That, and the fact that the ground in the area was literally peppered with chunks of iron laden rock that actually will stick to a magnet. Despite the difficulties we managed to pull out a bunch of clad coins and several relics. Groundhog even found an iron billet about the size and shape of a loaf of bread I was guessing weighed in at least 40 pounds. Myself, I found a couple 44 marlin rifle cases, a common shotgun brass, some old tin mason jar screw caps, and what I think are some old lantern parts. The most interesting find to me is an old style master lock key.
My thanks to Groundhog for the invite, and I'm hoping we can get together to hunt a somewhat nearby ghost town before the seasons end.

4990149902

[Lodge Scent]

Nice vintage key you got there. It must be a real challenge working through all that campground trash.

[BTV Digger]

Love the old key. Round item could also be an wheel cap off an old wagon/lawnmower etc.

John

[Bell-Two]

Those old keys are nice!

[Digger_O'Dell]

Nice vintage key you got there. It must be a real challenge working through all that campground trash.

The key is nice other than the fact that the sides are ground down for some reason. I dated it to between 1931 and 1940. The trash really was horrible, but to add insult to injury there, the place was loaded with iron laden stones. Have one stuck to a magnet on my tool box at work. Swinging my coil across that ground got more beeps than an L.A. traffic jam! :lol: Made my stock concentric and high frequency DD coil basically useless

Made the decision today to drop the hammer and splurge on a couple new coils-a big 15" DD and a small 12.5 x 8.5.DD for separation. Going with (factory unauthorized) NEL coils that actually can switch between my 3 usable frequencies (3KHz, 7.5KHz, and 18.75KHz) instead of 1 dedicated frequency per coil. Not cheap, but the video demos and field tests sold me. Think I will be prepared for almost any ground condition once they arrive.

[OxShoeDrew]

Nice to get out with friends. Love the lion on that key. Congrats on the new coils!

[Digger_O'Dell]

Thanks Drew! At the price they get for those coils ($260 and $360), they better work as advertised! One demo shows the 15" coil air testing a quarter size coin maybe 22" plus.

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

cooler temps are coming.trashy sites are indeed frustrating.bet you slept like a hibernating bear after that hunt!

[Digger_O'Dell]

cooler temps are coming.trashy sites are indeed frustrating.bet you slept like a hibernating bear after that hunt!

Yes, already got cooler here last 24 hours. And yes, hibernated for about 14 hours once I finally got to bed! Dying to try the new coils once they come in. Heard they blast through trash to find the goodies like nobody's business! Just got the Minelabs 10.5" DD yesterday and tried it for a short while at home in the trashy area of the yard and picked up a few clads I missed before despite my best efforts. Think I'll soon be ready for almost any condition soon!

[Cheap Thrills]

Best of luck with your new equipment .:thumbsup01:

[del]

I give you a lot of credit DD , no sleep for 24 hours is no fun (I work 3rd shift and have done that many many times) and hunting a campground is usually very trashy but you made a new friend and got to meet him in the flesh . well done !!

[Digger_O'Dell]

I give you a lot of credit DD , no sleep for 24 hours is no fun (I work 3rd shift and have done that many many times) and hunting a campground is usually very trashy but you made a new friend and got to meet him in the flesh . well done !!

Thanks Del,
You are absolutely right about the campground- unbelievable amounts of trash! Also about the work at night-my shift is 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, which I have been working 7 days a week for quite a while now since the guy on the opposite shift is out on a medical leave so I'm working his shift too. At least the money is good! But the worst thing is that by around noon I was ready to lay out on the grass and go to sleep! LOL

[del]

Thanks Del,
You are absolutely right about the campground- unbelievable amounts of trash! Also about the work at night-my shift is 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, which I have been working 7 days a week for quite a while now since the guy on the opposite shift is out on a medical leave so I'm working his shift too. At least the money is good! But the worst thing is that by around noon I was ready to lay out on the grass and go to sleep! LOL

I know what you mean , my shift is from 10pm til 6:30am , sunday night to friday morning .So i would work all night thursday get out of work Friday morning and the detect for the Museum until 4pm . many times i felt like a zombie !:lol: