Maybe I need more patience?

[douglaskc]

So I found this county land open space that had been an old farm. The barn and silo are still standing but boarded up and not accessible to be detected inside. The county mows around the barn for quite a distance. I think the house used to stand on an unmowed section and the grass and other vegetation is way too high and matted to make detecting feasible. So I figured okay I'll just metal detect the outside in the short grass. So I did. But there is just a ton of junk. I found pieces of aluminum, iron, nails and other trash. I went for two hours and the only money I found was a newer penny. I found an unused shotgun shell too which was kind of cool.

Are my expectations to high? I don't want to dig up all the crap but I want to find old coins and stuff too. Should I try first with a really high discrimination and blanket the whole area? Or should I just dig whatever is possible to dig? Should I plan on working this area a long time?

I guess I need some encouragement....


Thanks!

Doug

 

[goodmore]

It all depends on how long you can detect the site. I've detected old farm houses that were being torn down for a development. Needless to say I was on a time table. But if you have the time to work the site the good finds will come. Stick to a small area. Clear it and get rid of the junk. Keep working the same area beefing up the gain. After while the faint signals should start. Hit the tall stuff when the cold sets in. I know guys that have mowed to detect. Try to figure where the front walk, side door, cloths line, and other high traffic areas were. Get a buddy to help you detect it. Good luck

 

[BarnacleBill]

You need more than patience. For the site you are trying to hunt you need the proper equipment, experience, and mindset. As you haven't mentioned your experience & equipment, then making an accurate assessment of what's needed to be more successful is difficult.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I agree with Barnacle Bill,you need good equipment and experience.On my farm around the barn is a lot of iron,too much.Your best chance is to find where the farm house was and try to find the front yard sidewalk.Good Luck.

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[ToniSteve]

Thanks Folks,
I love this forum, you people always have an honest and realistic approach to the questions that folks ask. Thanks for these contributions! I have been stymied under the apple trees on the old homestead we live on, now I am going to proceed with new optimism and gusto! (clean out the iron!)

Best Regards,
Steve

 

[douglaskc]

I echo Steve's comments. I'm using a Tesoro Bandito II umax I'm going to concentrate on the short grass between where the barn is and where I believe the house used to be. The grass is REALLY long in other areas...like 3 feet high and matted. I saw that someone else had been walking around out where I think the house was because the grass was all pushed down in that area.

Does anyone have any hints for home locations at farms? Were they always a good distance from the barn? There's a small group of trees and assumed that the house was in the midst of the trees....is that a good assumption?

Any hints for finding an old foundation?


Thanks again.

 

[GRAY GHOST]

......i'd be a wealthy feller! it sounds like an old farm, so hang in there and give it another chance or two. you just never know what your're gonna dig up at an old farm site. be patient and persistent ... that's what it's all about. hh!

 

[marcomo]

As goodmore said, I'd research where the high traffic areas were.

If you know or can figure out the address, see what you can find out from your county records dept.

Try to find a nearby oldtimer who remembers when the farm was there.

If it's open space/county land with a barn and silo you can bet other dirt fishers have found it too, research could give you the advantage over others before you.

If you can find an area with a lot of older deeper stuff, even if it's trash, hammer that area hard.

But remember, we've all had sites we thought had great potential and wound up being duds. So don't get too disappointed if your farm doesn't pan out the way you hoped.

Trashy sites are tough hunting, and they separate the dedicated from the rest.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Furious T]

Toppled chimney stacks, fireplaces, remains of old pathways, stepping stones and fruit trees plus ornamental trees and shrubs can all be inidcators of where a house once stood. Sunken spots can indicate old wells whyere trash, treasure and wondeful old bottles can be found. Take the time to inspect the place without your detector and look for indicators which may give clues as to what was where, long ago. Good luck.

 

[blacktoe]

Hopefully you can find where the clothesline used to be and where they did laundry. Sounds like a great spot. It would probably take me a year to detect. I try not to hurry. The fun is in the hunt.

blacktoe