Phantom Coins

[BarberBill]

Hi all,
Just got home from doing a bit of coin shooting in the local fair grounds. I had something happen several times that answers at least one of the reasons targets disappear. I generally use a screw driver or similar probe to try to get under the coin and push up or to dig a narrow slit where I think the coin will be, then try to locate it with a pinpointer. A couple of times in prying the soil, the coin which was soil colored as well, flipped two feet or more away from where I was working. In fact, each time, I had to re-locate the coin with my detector, then use the pinpointer to get right on it. This may be one of the reasons that we see Newbies (and others) posting about targets that seemingly disappear. It's always amazed me at how much some targets take on the color of the soil they've been resting in and for the smaller coins and similar targets, become nearly invisible.
HH
BB

 

[Mirco]

Hi all,
Just got home from doing a bit of coin shooting in the local fair grounds. I had something happen several times that answers at least one of the reasons targets disappear. I generally use a screw driver or similar probe to try to get under the coin and push up or to dig a narrow slit where I think the coin will be, then try to locate it with a pinpointer. A couple of times in prying the soil, the coin which was soil colored as well, flipped two feet or more away from where I was working. In fact, each time, I had to re-locate the coin with my detector, then use the pinpointer to get right on it. This may be one of the reasons that we see Newbies (and others) posting about targets that seemingly disappear. It's always amazed me at how much some targets take on the color of the soil they've been resting in and for the smaller coins and similar targets, become nearly invisible.
HH
BB

Do you also hunt at night like most of us?

 

[BarberBill]

Not usually, but have been thinking that would be one way to beat the heat when it's scorching. I'm on Pacific daylight time and we still have light till about 7:45.
BB

 

[jim tn]

Phantom coins has always been an interesting topic and there are various reasons that cause targets to disappear. A couple of weeks ago, though, I got a high silver hit with my F 75 that was a good foot or so away from a fairly recently dug hole. I knew it was shallow and did a little light scrapping with my digger and spotted silver that turned out to be a nice 36s merc. dime. I suspect when the clod was filpped over by that fellow that dug the hole, the dime dropped out and he simply missed it. Kind of glad he did, as it was in very nice condition. Your post BarberBill serves as a good reminder for us to not only aways check the hole and plug, but the surrounding area as well. HH jim tn

 

[Deno]

It's been my experience that these are usually iron halos, that when you break them up they disappear. If not a iron halo then its metal that has been disturbed & isn't hitting anymore because of it's new location or angle like a coin on edge or it is nulled out by some iron. I have had this happen when they wouldn't even pinpoint, that's when you stick your pin pointer in the hole & find it, I have found coins like this that would other wise be missed. I like to dig with a small shovel, I hunt old spots & am not going to take a chance on scratching a nice coin. When I get done you can't tell I was ever there. Good luck.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah here in my neck of the woods with volcanic soil that problem exists constantly. Some coins are virtually invisible laying right in front of your eyes and they do get flipped off to the side or turned on edge.

Bill.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Rust pockets give one fits also. Once you dig you destroy the pocket and your signal is gone forever.

Bill

 

[tabdog]

I very seldom loose a target.

Coins on edge have strong signals for me.

They are a deffinite dig.

Something I've noticed.....Sometimes disturbed dirt can totaly
block a response. Just a clod of dirt may block the target from
responding. If a target gets under such soil, it will be completely
hidden. It disapears. Most people just fill the hole back in and the
target may be laying on top of the ground next to the hole.

I move the dirt around if a target disappears. I usually find it.

I'm not sure why, but I don't have much trouble with rust haylos.
Stuff don't just disappear, hardly ever.

Maybe it's my MD's, or maybe just me. I don't know.

I don't have much problem finding coins in the dirt. I have trouble
with lead or steel bird shot and other tiny peices of metal like staples.
Bobby pins can be hard to track down also. 22 bullets can be hard tyo find.

But not coins. My machine pin points spot on.

Happy Hunting,

 

[BarberBill]

I've never seen a dirt clod block a signal? I have seen them block the sight of the target until moved, however.
HH
Bill

 

[tabdog]

It took me a while to figure out.

But I think it all but solved my Phantom Responses problem.

When I figured that out the Phantom Signals were no longer a problem.

But I also hunt with no, or almost no discrimination.

I also pay close attention to my sensitivity settings.

I don't know what all this has to do with it.

But I have discovered several targets after disturbing and looking closer at

my dirt piles.

Consider this:

You gust detected a target at 5" deep. It ends up on the bottom of a

disturbed pile of dirt maybe 5" tall. You swing the coil 2" form the pile.

You just lessened your chances of getting a response out of it for two nreasons.

Adding distance and disturbing the soil.

It is undisputed by most experienced MD'ers, that disturbed soil masks targets.

If anyone takes exception to that. You need to pay close attention to a test garden.

If I can't find it, it's probably in the dirt pile.

That could be my dirt around here and the machines I use.

I don't know.

But it's not frequent, although it is a consistent occurrence with me.

I mean, how many times you gonna end up with the target under the dirt pile?

Not often, I would think. Maybe about as often as you loose a target?????

Happy Hunting,

 

[Mirco]

Sometimes you move targets to incline and you need to search for it at angle.

Or sometime machine loses sensitivity for several seconds when you are remotely exposed or something. Lift the loop in the air and then back down. It helps me with DF and MXT.

 

[tabdog]

But I have found that if I don't give up, I very seldom loose a target.

Even if I loose the signal.

I have found many ways that I used to loose targets.

But no longer,

Different smiles for different gals,

 

[BarberBill]

When you describe it like you did this time, you also pointed out that you are trying to detect it at more distance than you did originally. I guess I've never had that situation as I don't pile the extracted soil into a pile of any noticeable depth for the most part. It's usually spread out enough that it's not very deep.
HH
BB

 

[tabdog]

There are a million of them. Now I'm tied to one statement. Great

I have held a clod of dirt in my hand that would mask a coin.

Lots of rocks will do the same thing.

Now we are getting into a billion different scenarios I could be

tied to. Just use your imagination on that one.

May be I will go out and do a demo when Gustov gets out

and the ground dries out. We are on it's wet side.

It's not hit or miss. I know where the dirt is. It's nothing bad.

We have fairly mild soils.

But it is that reliable. Heck. I think the silty soil in my yard

may do that.

It has been plowed for a while. But doesn't make clods that well.

It has masked a coin at three inches when I put my test garden in.

That's even when I scrubed the coil. Now is that too far????????

All my detectors will air test more than twice that.

I tried to detect it with a Bounty Hunter, a Garrett, a Fisher and

a few Tesoro'es. I finally dug it up just to make sure it was there.

And no, it was not on edge.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to experience this. It's a common occurance.

SOME ONE HELP ME OUT HERE!!

I"ve heard lots of disscussions about disturbed soil masking targets.

But you need to make an effort and learn for your self.

It's not rocket sience.

If you don't believe it. Do some investigation.

That's how we learn things wether we agree or not.

But, it is just a hobby and some folks just don't want

to invest much effort in it. Let the machine do the thinking.

Oh, the nay sayers.

Read Monte's post on the Tesoro section of this forum.

He talks about ground masking being more of a problem

than trash masking in many instances.

Happy Hunting,

Tabdog

 

[BarberBill]

Tabdog,
Nearly all the areas I coin shoot are pretty mild soil wise so that my be one reason I haven't noticed what you describe. I have run into a "hot rock" now and then and can see how that might mask a coin. Found the digging technique in your modification video interesting, but kind of hard to get any depth that way isn't it? LOL
HH
BB

 

[tabdog]

n/t

 

[dobbie]

If the ground is wet , when probing for the target you may actually have pushed the target down further out of range of the detector or its settings. The coin or target my fly up out of the hole and land nowhere near the og target site. while trying to recover the target it may have been flipped up sideways which would result in a weaker more broken up signal or no signal at all. and thats my minute on the soap box.