Tot Lot advice

[darrenb]

Well, I haven't been out beeping much lately, but did manage a '64 Rosie and a couple Wheaties. I always hunt open fields, and light woods. Lately I have been hitting tot lots, and am finding a small amount of clad, and trash. The lots here are set up as a square retaining wall that keeps the sand where it is supposed to be, and then they put the playground equipment on the sand. I have worn the sand out... then I ordered a 5x8 coil, and am still not finding gold. I know that it has to be there to find it, but I can count on finding a few Wheaties and a couple silvers on a bad day in the fields. There has to be more stuff in the tot lot, right? I am probably just not using the right method when going over the sand. I do like finding clad and bling rings, but every now and then, something with a little more density and shine would be nice. So.... you guys share some wisdom! I generally run the smaller coil on the AT, and am running sensitivity around half power run in pro custom with everything on, and iron disc set to around 30-35. Again, I find lots of coins, pull tabs, and toy cars. I have recently started digging every repeatable target, and I'm getting more neat stuff, but not really getting the valuable stuff!
Thanks, and HH
Darren

 

[GoGoGopher]

Get the 4.5" Sniper coil, and you can get right up next to the equipment and metal poles and fences...lower your SENS in tot lots, as most have a liner at 6 inches or so, and your not going any deeper than that unless you cut the liner (easy way to get yourself kicked out of a tot lot, or get them posted from detecting)...

HH,

 

[mudpuppy]

I hunt a lot of the playgrounds, we have wood chip, gravel, and sand. Theres gold in them, mainly little 10 or 14k rings that mothers wear, little gold medalions and the like. So the foil signals are what you want to focus on. I've not tried the AT in a totlot yet, or dirt either, only had it for not quite 2 weeks and its been in the water the whole time. What Gogo said is accurate, drop the sens to as little as you need, get close to the poles, under the swings, and any where near those horizontal pullup bars, monkey bars, or where you think a mother would stand or sit and watch the kids...if you find a totlot that is swept clean of clad near or under the swings, spend just a little time in the wide open areas away from the equipment for targets that were left there. try some tests near the equiment with a pulltab, nickle, or gold ring, see if it interferes with the overload signal, what sens or settings you need, and how close you can actually get. Its fun, short, and easy hunting, a fellow can run a milk route of a dozen of them in a morning. Most of the dollar coins I find are in totlots too.
Mud

 

[Sailorman]

You guys must have good areas with kind hearted people who sow gold. Never found gold in a totlot here. Silver, yes, but no gold and I dig everything above iron!

I think it can have a lot to do with the economic status of the area and around here isn't exactly Park avenue....

 

[BigCatDaddy]

If you wanna find gold, go where gold is likely to be. Rarely will you find it in a childs playground. Start with the local swimming pools. Rings come off quite often around them. If you have a fresh water swimming hole nearby, beat feet over there and look, especially in the water. Volleyball pits can give up a few too. Soccer fields are good. But tot lots....fagitaboutit!!

 

[mudpuppy]

It must be a regional thing...I dont know, I have gotten like 5 gold rings and a couple gold medalions in them, silver jewelry too, and these are not in nice neighborhoods, you even find condom wrappers in most of them as well, even the schoolyard ones, so theres some extracurricular action taking place.
But then again, I really hit them hard, fast and often. BCD is right though, gotta think where and why wimmen do what they do to find most gold...the side of the parking lot at the rich northern wimmens health club is most likely full of gold. Things and people are really changing fast, rarely is anybody more than 50 yds or so from their vehicle, so those travel zones right along the sidewalks of a daycare, doctor, or heading to the portapottys at a sports event are the catch all for anything that might get dropped. Its really becoming a thinking, quick, and opportunist style of hunting..If you happen upon a totlot wheres theres drinking and fooling around at night, sharpen up, theres gonna be gold there sooner or later...
Mud

 

[darrenb]

We have very few parks here with tot lots, and the ones we do have, are in an area of town that you wouldn't want to be in after dark. I have made a few interesting finds, and some small silver jewelry, but never any gold. I have dug everything that came in above iron, and even some things that just seemed to sound good. I think it may be an economic status thing. We don't have any swimming holes, except for one in a state park that is off limits to detectors, and don't even have any city pools anymore. I have traditionally been more of a coin shooter, but I did find a 38 gram gold ring, and a smaller thick gold wedding band on the same day, so that got me more interested in the jewelry side of it. Guess I'll have to just keep digging it all!
Thanks guys!
Darren

 

[firstring]

It must be a regional thing...I dont know, I have gotten like 5 gold rings and a couple gold medalions in them, silver jewelry too, and these are not in nice neighborhoods

The regional thing must go all the to the wine country of Northern California. I don't hit tot lots too often, but like you I have recovered my fair share of gold and silver jewelry. The smaller the coil, the better chances a person has. (At least here in Nor Cal)