Real Trashy spots the last frontier for us?

[Canewrap]

A lot of the spots I've been hunting the last few years have been hard hit areas that don't have much of anything left to give up or areas that just looked good and didn't give up anything. The only mildly productive spots I've found have been real trashy areas that will try the best of anybody's paitience. Looks to me that increasingly it will be these kinds of spots and small coils that will eke out the goodies. If people are still finding untouched spots I could be wrong, but I'm doubtful.

Of course, part of my problem could be that until about 20 years ago, a lot of the land around here was farmland and the folks here were mostly poor dirt farmers. So, the better spots to coin or relic hunt were discovered long ago.

 

[BarberBill]

Canewrap, I wouldn't say trashy areas are the ONLY frontier left, but it's certainly true that finding good, near virgin, areas is becoming more difficult. Small coils and persistence in trashy areas do offer opportunities worth pursuing some of the time if you have the patience, but the frustration level is very high.
BB

 

[mudpuppy]

Hunting trashy areas is a good aspect of this sport to really learn well. Inner city parks, heavy use modern fairgrounds, sports fields and the like...no you wont find any old coins, but theres lots of new silver jewelry and clad to keep a fellow occupied...Its differrent, shallow targets, no need for a digger, just a screwdriver and some low disc, fast response, unit.
Heck, I got 7 gold rings this summer out of those places, and 2 gold medallions to boot. I wish I had the chance to hunt some old silver, but hey, whats a guy to do? I think you are right about new folks getting into this sport, thats about their only real productive option, hunting the trash. Its fun after a while, just run a real low disc, and shoot for fresh shallow drops. At least theirs no end to targets!
Mud

 

[Canewrap]

"but the frustration level is very high."

Precisely why these kind of sites still have goodies in them.

 

[mudpuppy]

n/t

 

[jmaryt]

what you are experiencing is being repeated all over the country
hunting extremely trashy areas with detectors that use very fast
processors,along with small coils,CAN be productive,however, one
must "'slow" down,.mentally grid an area,and overlap one's sweeps
to have any kind of chance to find something worthwhile!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[jmaryt]

there is an element of truth in that statement!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[oldcoon]

what you are experiencing is being repeated all over the country
hunting extremely trashy areas with detectors that use very fast
processors,along with small coils,CAN be productive,however, one
must "'slow" down,.mentally grid an area,and overlap one's sweeps
to have any kind of chance to find something worthwhile!..just sayin'

I very much agree.
That being said, I must add;
The researcher is the one who will make the scores.
The guy who puts his nose in books, talks to people
and visits historical societies looking for information
to give him an edge.
Let me give you an example.
A young fellow who attended a major university
here in Pennsylvania.
He used an old Garrett gooseneck detector
that was old when he got it.
His secret was not the machine.
He was often in the library looking at old campus
newspapers and year books looking for on campus sites where
outdoor events were held in years past.
He also hunted the few remaining shreds of the
universities old football field before they built their
new 100,000+ seating stadium.
All that basically remained was an old set of concrete
steps going up hill to where the old main gate was.
Off to either side were a small over grown woods.
Those woods were loaded with coins.
Evidently they were open at one time and lounging students
and football fans froliced there.
That's just an example of what a guy who uses his head can do.

 

[jmaryt]

the importance of research cannot be overstated!
it's that time of year again!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[JimmyCT]

Hi Canewrap,

I am with you on this... I hunt mainly public places (parks, playgrounds etc) the parks in my area have been "left for dead" by other detectorists. At first I used my 10" coil in these trashy iron areas with little luck....then I bought the smaller 7 1/4 inch DD coil and this "woke" up the trashy spots. What a difference in seperation abilities......In this one lot that I hunt(old carnival lot / playing field for school children), the silver dimes and wheat cents started coming out of the ground. This proved to me that all the years it has been beaten to death by detectorists, no one really ever took the time to hammer the area with
patients a small coil and 100% concentration listening to those "in-between" slight signals. I will say working a small area (144 sq feet + or -) for 3 - 4 hours (at a time) does take a toll BUT there are benefits to it. I can say even though places that have been hit with other detectors, the areas that have been "untouched" will most likely be the trashy areas. like I mentioned earlier, it takes a toll confining oneself to a small area with a small coil, gridding, ever slow turtle sweeping, changing angles, detector settings, ground conditions, and most of all, patients to pull out the goodies. If more detectorists take the time and develope the patients, then these trashy places will be cleaned out too. However, I don't see that happening as most are in "zoom mode" after the cherry pickin' finds. For me and the limited places I have to hunt, I am making it my mission to take the time to hit these areas with a small coil to see what else has been missed. So far, I am well pleased by what has been missed Happy hunting! - Jim


This link below is to my first 4 hour outing (with the 7 1/4' coil) this past summer to the carnival lot and how it made a difference in finding what I found(compared to the 10" DD) in a trashy environment:

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1550100,1550100#msg-1550100

This link is a followup to the above link for a 3 1/2 hour hunt

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1558462,1558964#msg-1558964

A lot of the spots I've been hunting the last few years have been hard hit areas that don't have much of anything left to give up or areas that just looked good and didn't give up anything. The only mildly productive spots I've found have been real trashy areas that will try the best of anybody's paitience. Looks to me that increasingly it will be these kinds of spots and small coils that will eke out the goodies. If people are still finding untouched spots I could be wrong, but I'm doubtful.

Of course, part of my problem could be that until about 20 years ago, a lot of the land around here was farmland and the folks here were mostly poor dirt farmers. So, the better spots to coin or relic hunt were discovered long ago.

 

[RLOH]

You are absolutely correct on your trashy sites. I am not a door knocker so I am left to hunt my older parks and fairgrounds. The days of crystal clear, repeatable signals are all but gone. It seems that the majority of my older coins come from spots that are trash pits. It does try your patience, but if you have a responsive detector good finds are still hiding in the trash. I have several spots where I hunt from three or four angles and I still find some old coins. Explorers work their magic in these spots. I got a Garrett AT Pro this year and it does great also.

 

[Canewrap]

Ah, but with enough people going through the same material over and over again at the local libraries and a limited supply of productive sites, it becomes important to start thinking alternatives. The reason for why I made the post in the first place. But, yeah research can still produce a gem if your lucky or creative.

 

[Sailorman]

I'm in the same situation. My area has been seeing waves of detectors since the invention of the hobby. The oldest dealer in the country is ten minutes away and then there's the yearly migration of snow birds. Occasionally you can find some rural new ground but 100 years ago here population was sparse and mostly cash poor. My better finds though are sifting through heavy trash. So I'm accepting the challenge and moving that direction.

 

[slingshot]

I almost sold my Ace until I discovered the sniper coil. I had a 100 coin day a couple of weeks ago and at least half of them were in trash, or up against poles, fences, sidewalks, etc. I couldn't get near these coins with some of my other detectors.

 

[Fabio]

Today, I hit a beach which was heavily used and detected, but still managed 12 (sheesh...) coins and a large pewter cross with 9 of 10 stones on it. There still are alot of things left over on them there beaches. Problem is... where the h*ck did they hide (lose) the gold rings...