Im not good enough to hunt this spot

[hatpin]

I have hunted this spot several times and have only found a couple of wheat cents. I know this place has silver. It is a whole square block at what use to be a working class neighborhood. It is now empty because of flooding . No structures on it. There use to be a grocery store on the corner. I have a distant cousin {this is not a tall tale } who dug eighteen thousand dollars that were buried inside mason jars in the crawl space of his house here .

I am using a Vaquero with stock coil. I need to go to a smaller coil , I know that . It is so full of metal that it is difficult to Ground balance. The whole area must be full of cinders because the machine does not stop chattering even with the Discrimination maxed out . When I push the pinpoint the signals often null out. Then I set the GB more positive but it doesnt help. I'm nt giving up on it just yet. Next time I will use the 5.75 inch concentric .

Any of you have any tips on how to hunt a difficult spot like this?

 

[amberjack]

maybe try all metal and see what it sounds like? might be able with a bit of time tell the difference from the cinders and coin type targets?

or mason jar lids that would make it worth the hard work

AJ

 

[hatpin]

I tried all metal , it makes so much noise and nulls that I cant decipher it. I dont know what to call it when the machine in all metal , gets quiet over a spot and then gives a weird sound when the coil passes away from it. Thats what I call null .

I think everybody in this neighborhood was a back yard mecahnic too. LOL

 

[hatpin]

Heres what I dug yesterday . A gun part , I think toy. A RR train smashed penny and a memorial cent. Lead melted in spoons. Thats how they use to make fishing sinkers .misc

 

[Mega]

I think you have answered your own question really,if the site has so much trash using a stock size coil more than likely you are getting nulled signals because the larger coil is possibly picking up 2 signals at the same time and discriminating out the good finds.The only way is by going to use a much smaller coil and methodically searching the site.

What folks tell you that they have found means nothing really,it does not mean that you will find anything,just use a very small coil that is all you can do.Good luck with your hunt but a small coil is required for sure.

 

[hatpin]

I'm pretty sure he found the money. I heard the rumors and asked him myself. He said he bought a new pick up truck with the cash. This was back in the 80's .

 

[hatpin]

I think you have answered your own question really,if the site has so much trash using a stock size coil more than likely you are getting nulled signals because the larger coil is possibly picking up 2 signals at the same time and discriminating out the good finds.The only way is by going to use a much smaller coil and methodically searching the site.

What folks tell you that they have found means nothing really,it does not mean that you will find anything,just use a very small coil that is all you can do.Good luck with your hunt but a small coil is required for sure.

I get the "null" signal in all metal not disc .

 

[hatpin]

Heres what I think Im dealing with . A lot of the houses use to burn coal and they spread the ashes . Also the railroad yard was just across the street and the engines burned coal. They use to spread the cinders in the alley and on the streets to help with traction in winter. The place has been flooded so often that cinders have been spread everywhere.

 

[BarberBill]

If I were hunting this site, I'd probably use one of my umax detectors and the little 4" hockey puck coil for even more separation. I'd try to hunt and clean small areas as well as tryiing different discrimination settings looking for a setting that is most stable in that environment. A lot of work, but it sounds like the area should produce some good finds.
BB

 

[thump7]

If you are set on using the vaquero, I think you are going about it the right way.
Sounds like you are dealing with hot-rock type signals. They give a backwards type signal? Louder as you pull coil away rather than the normal louder at peak target centre?
I have hunted a few sites like that, probly not as bad as what you are describing here, but what I had to do was learn the sound and just start swinging, blank my mind so that I'm not really listening to all the audio. When I hit a good target, I know it, they just kinda jump out from all the other signals. It's tough, but it works.

 

[kaolinwasher]

Hat pin if you can borrow a P,I, machine try that , funny thing is on the lot i am digging i found a cinder that sounded good to the detector it looks like a bubbly black light weight thing but its a cinder , the detector that did ignore cinders well is the bliss tool , and now they have a 7x9 coil i will have to see what my P,I does on the cinder i found , other thing is dig a 4x4 foot square and sift the dirt . sounds like a night mare situation you have

 

[hatpin]

The Vaquero is the only detector I have , except for a Whites eagle II. Only two coils , the stock and 5.75 .

 

[mudpuppy]

Hmmm, you found wheats, so I'm thinking you will find silver eventually...I hear you though on the sensory overload in a trashy place like that!...I hunt a park that was built with foundry slag, coal clinkers, tabs and bottlecaps galore! Its like hunting inside a dumpster! Generally I go to it really early in the morning and put in no more than an hour tops before my brain cant handle it and I'm good and warmed up!...got lots of coins and so far 3 silver rings out of there working that mess....

I have only a big 11"dd, but have learned what its saying and manipulate it in an almost vertical pumping fashion instead of side to side swings on account of all the targets under it all at once..I just sort of keep at this place and use it to calibrate my ears...after a while, a guy gets to know what settings sort of work, and the ones that dont...

You can accept this place of yours as a challenge, and just start in digging and working it for years unhindered by anyone else! So thats good in a way, right?..
Mud.

 

[Furious T]

Things to look for and think about regarding the rig you use could include: Has the area been cleared and bulldozed at any time? Sometimes when houses are removed, the demolition guys take off a part of the topsoil to quickly clear all the household-type rubbish. If $18,000 + was found there in the 1980s, there's a good chance that other detectorists may have been there over that time - the fact that you found some coins could indicate that you can find more. The amount of rubbish there has possibly turned away other detectorists. Has the flooding affected the land formation at all? If the land is constantly waterlogged, heavier small articles (like coins) will sink faster than lighter ones (like foil & some bottle caps). Is it worth reducing your sensitivity (to about 2) to see if the structure of the signals change ie possible good targets v obvious trash....you may have to clear the area in layers, which could keep you busy for years Is it worth keeping your disc down to just above foil, and dig some of the trashy sounds, just to see what's signalling and what's coming up. During the building and clearing periods, there may have been a lot of ground interference, so that the soil structure is not what you might normally expect...this could also interfere with attempts to stay ground balanced.

Good luck with your site....

 

[ken ward]

If you have other ground near by, go their to ground balance. Than turn up your disc to see what happens. This just does not sound like a fun spot to hunt. From your picture you posted, there is a truck load of junk. I would work a very small spot at a time than hit a totlot to clear your mind.. Good luck... KEN. Ind.

 

[oneguy]

you ain't gonna like this answer....etrac, small coil, TTF, open screen.

some places are just not worth it...even what I mentioned above will struggle and get a few more but tuff sites are pretty much just that.....TUFF!

 

[wheatymike]

Hunted a place like that once with my Vaquero. A sidewalk tear out. Lots of rusty metal and some black pitch looking stuff. That thing wouldn't shut up. I was looking for a tree to rap it around when my brother went and got his Compadre.. Quiet as a mouse.

 

[Mega]

Its the small coil option that will help you on that site,using the stock coil is just swamping the detector with junk signals,it may seem stupid swinging such a small coil on a detector but that is what they excel at getting in between the trash,of course it will take forever to detect it but at least you will stand a chance of being able to do so.

 

[thumperjones]

I'd get a really old Tesoro and go after it with that. Or even a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV. The Vaquero and Tejon are chirpy, sensitive beasts to begin with. I've used em both haha..

But seriously, get a small coil, turn the Sens back a good bit, ground balance it super positive, and stay with it. Don't be afraid to use some crazy settings on your detector. Try ground balancing over a piece of that cinder stuff even. You will find a setting that will at least make it a little easier on you.

 

[oneguy]

I'd get a really old Tesoro and go after it with that.

Might not be a bad idea? With that much trash even the deepest tectors won't be effective at depth with all the masking? Maybe an old Tesoro like my GSII with a notch? Set the notch in the copper/silver range to accept and reject all below copper penny/silver. The depth is also shallow on the GSII and it just might be able to squeak out a few shallow coins from the crap......???