What about the Golden Umax??...

[DavHut]

[size=small]Had a nice couple days lately. Yesterday I had a long chat with my daughter, who lives in Columbia and my dad popped in borrow a rifle for some deer hunting this weekend. Then this morning, I jumped a nice buck of my own - right next to the recycling center! But, the better part of any day is DETECTING. So...

I took a little swing through the fairgrounds yesterday and again today. I've been map searching a few "off the path" old sites, but haven't tied them down yet - so it's off to the fair! It's my "failsafe" site, when I have limited time or nowhere else to go.

With the Little Treasure Truck all loaded up, I'm off... [attachment 40924 truck.JPG]

Gridding has finally begun at this site, as well. I've mentioned my grid stakes before; here they are in action with my well-worn, homemade deep digger.[attachment 40925 grid.JPG]

Three grid stakes are tied together with cord to form 2 sides of a 12 ft. square. As I move around the grounds, I just "pull up stakes" and move to the adjacent space, rebuilding the grid square each time. This way, I cover a known, measured area, which I can mark off on my map. This works great, too, in the woods, where there are lots of things which can knock you off course.

All this extra effort has started paying off. Here's the gleanings for 1.5 hours from yesterday. [attachment 40926 goodies.JPG]
In the middle is a junk earring and a small gold locket beside THAT. Above the locket is a silver charm/doo-dad that reads, "You Have to KISS a lot of Frogs Before You Find Your Prince," and a broken, El Cheapo ID bracelet that reads "Kenny." The earring is the third I've found here - NO rings. I expect the "Hog and Hominy Effect" will prevent me from finding any "O"s.

And here's the pickings for this mornings 2 hours. [attachment 40927 today2.JPG]
Total for both days:[attachment 40928 2triptotalb.JPG]
I broke quota each trip and have pulled quite a bit from the sod so far... just the tip of the iceberg.

As I've worked, my idea of 'trash suites' is beginning to prove itself. Massaging my concept a bit, I've developed a tiered approach to working this site (or any other, I should imagine). So far, so good.

I've been using the Golden uMax, which really excels at this sort of work. With it's tight target response, superbly accurate DISC and notch filtering, it is proving the right tool for this job. Oh, did I mention it's ultra light weight?

Out in the deep woods or wide open spots, I might swing something else. But, here in the trash-and-target environment, it's JUST right. Some folks poo-poo the Golden as shallow, noisy, or hard to learn - basically ineffective. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Go back and look at my deep digger. See the coupling in the middle of the handle? It's a measured 11" from the tip. I dug a deep quarter, with that coupling resting at the rim of the hole after retrieval. I was on pulltab DISC at the time and SENS at only 9 - a long way from MaxBoost. Allowing 10% for error, you tell me if that isn't fairly deep? Soft toned and very clear, it just kept beeping at me!

Oh, the Golden DOES take patience and time to learn it...which may be why some seem to have a problem with it. But, take the time and it will perform.[/size]

 

[saika]

I got out with yesterday. Nothing nearly as impressive as that haul.I have just been hunting shallow and fast around the soccer pitches. I am off to a really old park tomorrow. I am thinking of just deep whisper hunting for a change of pace.

Is the other Tesoro in the picture a Vaquero?

 

[DavHut]

[size=small]Is the other Tesoro in the picture a Vaquero?

It is. IMHO, these two detectors fulfill most, if not all, the needs of land detecting you could want.

As for old parks, deep whispers are likely all that are left, nowadays. That's good thinking. The only fly in the ointment is trash, especially iron. We are all so attuned to pulltabs and such that we forget that iron is the MOST common item to be found in the soil. Work your Vaq's DISC around the lowest possible point for awhile, Pete, and you'll see what I mean.

You must be prepared to work slowly and clear out much of the surface and iron junk if you are to improve your odds on the deeper stuff. This is slow and often tedious work, and normally only pays off with one-off targets or by stumbling onto occasional honey-holes - providing that there actually is something there, down deep. The rest of the time you are by yourself, hoping for something to happen.

Having only a vague idea about a place such as a "really old park," makes it worse. Try to look at the park from 60 years ago. It's a safe bet that current usage doesnt alway mesh with past usage. Dont overlook the edges, the wooded, unkempt areas (judge the flora for IT'S age) and even across the small side streets bordering the park.Whenever possible, Know Before You Swing.

All this sounds good, right? Well, for all that evangelizing, I havent found much that is old, in quite some time. Stay the course, brother.[/size]

 

[saika]

Hey thanks. No it is an oldie, has been a city park for over 100 years. It has been pounded and pounded and pounded over the years but still gives up gooides. There were war of 1812 events in and around this park also. It was once an independant settlement.

I did hit a deep one with what I believe was my first outing with the V. A victory nickle at 8", it looks like the dogs breakfast though. It didn't even whisper, but a solid but quieter ping. I am still waiting to hear that whisper with this unit.

After a few weeks I felt that my coil was acting up, I bought the 5.75 coil and really like it a lot.

I figured that to really work a spot would take several weeks and a few good rains in between digs to keep the park's staff off of your back.

Thanks for the feed back Dave. You may have answered my search for a backup unit for the Vaquero.

 

[DavHut]

...I got one of those small coils when I got my Vaq in a package deal. I like it a lot - in fact I havent used the regular coil but a few times, that I can recall! With that little coil, the Vaq's lightweight and the SENS driven high, you have quite a little sniffer.

It wouldn't be my first choice for the deepest of targets, but around the trash it does a good job.

The little Golden indeed makes a nice complement to the Vaq. I have both and I like the way they play off each other. I also have a Garrett 1350 and Ace 250 and the same holds true for them.

The only caveat with the Golden is all the noise it makes! 4 distinct tones, varieties and "mixes" of the basic 4, "rolling" iron tones, double beeps for shallow targets - it gets a bit chatty, almost musical! But, once you've done your due diligence and burned up a few 9V's, you'll find it to be a capable instrument.

I thought about getting a Tejon, but Ive got a Vaq and a Golden, so whats the point?!