I'm so thankful we had temps in the mid 30's all week here in central IL. I truthfully thought I was done for the year but there's no way I was passing on the chance to get one more hunt in with the ground only frozen to the 3" level here. Snow was all gone in most spots and the grass was still green in places.
After finishing up wrapping the last of the Christmas presents...I headed out to hunt. There were only 2 hours of daylight left...but that was fine by me. This was a bonus hunt I did not expect to have so late in December....and all I wanted to do was disconnect from the world...and REconnect with some peace and calm.
My buddy Hercules was sporting his new camo outfit. All I have to do is ask him if he wants to put on his "hunting suit"
and he lights up light a Christmas tree.
He truly knows when he puts that suit on...we are going huntin'.
[attachment 182880 last2010huntc.jpg] [attachment 182874 sefhunt1.jpg]
It took probably close to an hour before I got a sweet sound that was worth investigating...and it was registering very deeeeep on the depth meter.
I dug way down to right at 10" and popped out the wet clod with the sweet little silver rim just peeking through. Cool...a silver dime.
[attachment 182875 sefhunt3.jpg]
Funny thing was that is was less than 10 feet from where I had dug my first ever 12" deep silver dime a few weeks ago.
When happened next was just what makes this hobby so special. I began to rub some dirt off the little rim peeking through...and then realized the rim was too big for just a dime.
What a pleasant surprise to see the big rim of a silver quarter stick her head out.
[attachment 182877 sefhunt2.jpg] [attachment 182878 sefhunt5.jpg]
It's those sweet little surprises like that which have me addicted to this hobby
[attachment 182879 sefhunt4.jpg]
I then knew I only had about 45 minutes of daylight left so I decided to pop on the pro coil for a while.
Well nearly all the daylight time passed before I got another hit to check out. This hit too was very deep and burying the depth meter.
I dug another deep plug right before it got dark...and was rewarded with another clod. This one was from 11"+ deep and it too rang like silver.
[attachment 182881 last2010hunt.jpg]
I started to rub it just a bit to see if I could see a rim... but as I did the whole half clod just slid open revealing the sweet dark gray silver disc.
[attachment 182882 last2010huntd.jpg]
I'll tell you what...it doesn't get any better for me than this. 3 days before Christmas...the blessing of an unexpected hunt...6" to 8" of snow expected in just a few hours...my hunting buddy Herky with me...spending time with my lady and family tomorrow...and both of the last two digs of 2010 were silver...and from 10" and 11" deep.
I absolutely love this hobby and what it provides to me. I'm not talking about the finds...I'm talking about slipping the headphones on and having an instant disconnection from the stress and hassle of every day life. As soon as the headphones go on...I'm at peace.
[attachment 182883 last2010hunte.jpg]
Thanks for viewing and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS. Please be safe.
After finishing up wrapping the last of the Christmas presents...I headed out to hunt. There were only 2 hours of daylight left...but that was fine by me. This was a bonus hunt I did not expect to have so late in December....and all I wanted to do was disconnect from the world...and REconnect with some peace and calm.
My buddy Hercules was sporting his new camo outfit. All I have to do is ask him if he wants to put on his "hunting suit"
and he lights up light a Christmas tree. He truly knows when he puts that suit on...we are going huntin'.[attachment 182880 last2010huntc.jpg] [attachment 182874 sefhunt1.jpg]
It took probably close to an hour before I got a sweet sound that was worth investigating...and it was registering very deeeeep on the depth meter.
I dug way down to right at 10" and popped out the wet clod with the sweet little silver rim just peeking through. Cool...a silver dime.
[attachment 182875 sefhunt3.jpg]
Funny thing was that is was less than 10 feet from where I had dug my first ever 12" deep silver dime a few weeks ago.
When happened next was just what makes this hobby so special. I began to rub some dirt off the little rim peeking through...and then realized the rim was too big for just a dime.
What a pleasant surprise to see the big rim of a silver quarter stick her head out.[attachment 182877 sefhunt2.jpg] [attachment 182878 sefhunt5.jpg]
It's those sweet little surprises like that which have me addicted to this hobby
[attachment 182879 sefhunt4.jpg]
I then knew I only had about 45 minutes of daylight left so I decided to pop on the pro coil for a while.
Well nearly all the daylight time passed before I got another hit to check out. This hit too was very deep and burying the depth meter.
I dug another deep plug right before it got dark...and was rewarded with another clod. This one was from 11"+ deep and it too rang like silver.
[attachment 182881 last2010hunt.jpg]
I started to rub it just a bit to see if I could see a rim... but as I did the whole half clod just slid open revealing the sweet dark gray silver disc.
[attachment 182882 last2010huntd.jpg]
I'll tell you what...it doesn't get any better for me than this. 3 days before Christmas...the blessing of an unexpected hunt...6" to 8" of snow expected in just a few hours...my hunting buddy Herky with me...spending time with my lady and family tomorrow...and both of the last two digs of 2010 were silver...and from 10" and 11" deep.
I absolutely love this hobby and what it provides to me. I'm not talking about the finds...I'm talking about slipping the headphones on and having an instant disconnection from the stress and hassle of every day life. As soon as the headphones go on...I'm at peace.
[attachment 182883 last2010hunte.jpg]
Thanks for viewing and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS. Please be safe.
Nice digs and thanks for sharing. Maybe you still might be able to squeeze in another hunt before it's all over for you back there. We have a club hunt this Sunday and rain is in the forecast as usual, but like the old saying, "metal detectorists will hunt in a little rain while everyone else just gets wet".HH and Happy Holidays.
on the late season silver. Soon most of us will be depending on the remaining few who live in more moderate climate zones to keep the drool flowing 