Cold Weather Detecting

[Bell-Two]

With the coming...or already here...cold weather a discussion of metal detecting in the very cold would be helpful for those that do not have the experience of much cold weather hunting.

1. How does the cold effect your detector?
2. Does the cold ground effect your signals?
3. How do you dig in ground that is semi-frozen?
4. Do you change your digging tool ie. small shovel as well as hand digger?
5. How do you dress properly, allowing for movement but warmth?
6. What type of gloves work best to keep you warm as well as dry?
7. Site selection, woods instead of open ground?
8. Head warmth while wearing ear phones?
9. What type of footwear for warmth without extreme weight?
10. What conditions do you feel preclude winter detecting?

There are probably many more questions that could be asked if you have any or suggestions we would like to hear of them.

[del]

this is a great subject Bell-Two and one a few of us up in the north east can relate and share some insights. Coinnut and i try to hunt all year long providing the snow isn't to deep and actually i rather enjoy the hunts when we have a dusting to about 2 inches because you can visually see where you've been due to the tracks in the snow and is great for gridding an area . :yes: as you know the ground freezes up pretty quickley in any open or exposed ground and will get solid like concrete , i confess i've even used a small hatchet just to break through the first few inches of permafrost early in the season lol :crazy: lol . the woods usually provides a nice insulated blanket to keep the soil pretty easy to dig but the damp dirt or mud will freeze almost imediately to the relic shovel a term we call Frud = frozen mud . lol lol the machines definately don't like the cold and the closer you get 0 degrees things like slow responding vdi screens to them actually stopping all together so i would recommend covering the controll box as well as the screen with something . i purchased a great insulated box cover and head screen and when its really cold out i've even put hand warmers inside them to offset the cold .these are just some of the measures i use , i'll let someone else chime in . hope this helps some . :beerbuddy:

Dan

[coinnut]

Del said most of it. Put on some tight fitting, heat retaining clothes, like Under Armour (pricey lol), double hats, double tight fitting gloves. Layer your clothes, so you can remove some if it warms up midday. In real cold weather, I wear a full face mask below my other hats lol Bundle up!! I sacrifice mobility and flexability, for warmth. You wouldn't believe the different ways you discover on how to get down and dig a hole. It would make a great video lol I carry a hatchet, screwdriver, and bundle my machine up as well. If you are worried about damage to your investment, do not go out. The possibility always exists of serious machine damage. :yes: That's about it for me.

[Jason in Enid]

1. How does the cold effect your detector?
it can make LCD displays sluggish and cause your batteries to last a shorter time.
2. Does the cold ground effect your signals?
Nope
3. How do you dig in ground that is semi-frozen?
I don't. when the ground gets hard, I put the detector away.
4. Do you change your digging tool ie. small shovel as well as hand digger?
See above
5. How do you dress properly, allowing for movement but warmth?
I dont need much movement, so I dress in layers.
6. What type of gloves work best to keep you warm as well as dry?
You want something made from thinsulate. Its hard to get warmth and flexibility.
7. Site selection, woods instead of open ground?
Open ground will freeze first which leaves wooded spots as the last available to hunt.
8. Head warmth while wearing ear phones?
I like a nice fleece stocking cap. My phones are big enough to keep my ears covered.
9. What type of footwear for warmth without extreme weight?
Wear a couple layers of wool socks. Thinsulate is good here too.
10. What conditions do you feel preclude winter detecting?
frozen ground, extreme cold, high wind.