Digger_O'Dell
10-29-2015, 11:10 PM
First off I would like to give a great big thanks to FireFighter43 (Jeff) for an invite to join him at a secret hunting spot along with Wisconsin Digger! :notworthy:
I had left a 12 hour shift at work just after 6:00 AM to head out to the site, but had about 90 minutes to kill before the others arrived. It was still dark and stormy, but decided to take a drive to a nearby lake and try hunting the public beach. It was raining a little, but not enough to overcome my stubbornness! The sandy area looked promising, but I think someone had recently had the same idea to hunt here as the beach was pockmarked with shallow holes. I didn't find anything here except one corroded zincoln at the edge of the paved boat launch. After a bit I decided to grab a McHeartburn and head to the appointed site.
So despite the weather which could have been much worse it turned out to be a rather nice day. It did rain hard all night but was finally tapering off to a light misty sprinkle. I met up with Firefighter43 and Wisconsin Digger in the parking lot where we made introductions and I got the layout of the land. Shortly thereafter we set off in our own directions hoping for the best spots. I was a little worried about being outgunned-not because of equipment, but that FF43 and WD know their FBS machines so well and I have so little experience with mine.
The ground was soaked which I think threw off the readings at the detector somewhat. Everything was reading much higher than normal and depth readings were off by a couple inches in most cases. But despite these afflictions and a bit of cold water raining off the trees to find it's way down the back of my neck, all started off well. I found an area where I couldn't move more than a few inches without a target, but only pulled up a bunch of clad. That's when I decided to try following an old trail through the woods which led to another trail that was overgrown-now I know the definition of bushwacking! :lol: I didn't find a whole lot in this area other than some kind of old aluminum fishing float (I think), a shotgun shell brass which dates between 1911-1914 and a wheatie.
After a while of finding nothing I worked my way towards where the others were digging and got a signal in some swampy area. But once I sank the shovel into the soil and heard a loud squelch and saw the water welling up I decided there was no way I was getting down to the indicated 12 inches! So onward to higher land where I eventually pulled up a couple more wheaties and lots more clad. It wasn't until later in the day when I finally joined the others in a grassy field where I finally pulled my lone silver Merc at this site.
The day went all too fast and next thing I knew it was time to go. Despite the wind and wet I had a great time and learned a few things about the new machine. In total I ended up with 4 wheaties, the oldest being a 1928D, the 1942 Merc, shotgun shell, an old padlock, a pocket knife and a few other misc. items. Clad totaled $2.73.
50984 50985 50986 50987
Since I still had a couple hours on my day off I stopped at the only park not far from my home that is older than the late 90's. Some areas date back to the 20's, but so much of the park is so trashy it's nearly impossible to detect. But after trying a few different places I found one spot that may have been popular in the past but not quite on the beaten path. This small area had very little trash so was able to cherry pick a bit before dark and this is where I found my second silver of the day-a 1946 Rosie.
50988
I had left a 12 hour shift at work just after 6:00 AM to head out to the site, but had about 90 minutes to kill before the others arrived. It was still dark and stormy, but decided to take a drive to a nearby lake and try hunting the public beach. It was raining a little, but not enough to overcome my stubbornness! The sandy area looked promising, but I think someone had recently had the same idea to hunt here as the beach was pockmarked with shallow holes. I didn't find anything here except one corroded zincoln at the edge of the paved boat launch. After a bit I decided to grab a McHeartburn and head to the appointed site.
So despite the weather which could have been much worse it turned out to be a rather nice day. It did rain hard all night but was finally tapering off to a light misty sprinkle. I met up with Firefighter43 and Wisconsin Digger in the parking lot where we made introductions and I got the layout of the land. Shortly thereafter we set off in our own directions hoping for the best spots. I was a little worried about being outgunned-not because of equipment, but that FF43 and WD know their FBS machines so well and I have so little experience with mine.
The ground was soaked which I think threw off the readings at the detector somewhat. Everything was reading much higher than normal and depth readings were off by a couple inches in most cases. But despite these afflictions and a bit of cold water raining off the trees to find it's way down the back of my neck, all started off well. I found an area where I couldn't move more than a few inches without a target, but only pulled up a bunch of clad. That's when I decided to try following an old trail through the woods which led to another trail that was overgrown-now I know the definition of bushwacking! :lol: I didn't find a whole lot in this area other than some kind of old aluminum fishing float (I think), a shotgun shell brass which dates between 1911-1914 and a wheatie.
After a while of finding nothing I worked my way towards where the others were digging and got a signal in some swampy area. But once I sank the shovel into the soil and heard a loud squelch and saw the water welling up I decided there was no way I was getting down to the indicated 12 inches! So onward to higher land where I eventually pulled up a couple more wheaties and lots more clad. It wasn't until later in the day when I finally joined the others in a grassy field where I finally pulled my lone silver Merc at this site.
The day went all too fast and next thing I knew it was time to go. Despite the wind and wet I had a great time and learned a few things about the new machine. In total I ended up with 4 wheaties, the oldest being a 1928D, the 1942 Merc, shotgun shell, an old padlock, a pocket knife and a few other misc. items. Clad totaled $2.73.
50984 50985 50986 50987
Since I still had a couple hours on my day off I stopped at the only park not far from my home that is older than the late 90's. Some areas date back to the 20's, but so much of the park is so trashy it's nearly impossible to detect. But after trying a few different places I found one spot that may have been popular in the past but not quite on the beaten path. This small area had very little trash so was able to cherry pick a bit before dark and this is where I found my second silver of the day-a 1946 Rosie.
50988