Whats your basic coinshooting kit?

[Mike T]

I"m curious what you use for coin hunting in the city? say lawns and schoolyards? I'm used to hunting on the beach and just used a scoop, now I'm finding I need different tools to get the job done.

 

[Tom Slick]

This is what I use for Parks, Schools, etc. Hori-Hori digger, Probe and Garrett Pro Pointer. I don't remember who make the pouch but it has pockets sewn and riveted inside to hold the probe and the digger tight, then a large pocket for finds and a zippered pocket on the outside for better finds and my magnifing 10X Loop. I dipped the handles of the probe and the digger in red liquid rubber for comfort and high visibility in case I left them laying on the ground. Later I painted them so they weren't so noticeable to on lookers.
The Hori-Hori digger is indestructible and has a slight concave to the blade with saw teeth on on side.

 

[MarkCZ]

Probe,
Pro-Pointer,
Soil knife,
Headphones,

Colored wooden golf tee's (I pinpoint the target with the detector, put the golf tee on spot, then read the depth, lay my stuff out and that golf tee holds the spot)

A ground cloth, or plastic for putting lose dirt on that I sometimes have to dig out, retrieve the target, take the cloth with the lose dirt on and dump the dirt back in the hole, then close or put the sod plug back in place.

A small magnet.

Spare batteries. (most of the times stay in the car)

Small and large coils (the not used one most time stays in the car)

A spare soil digging knife just encase a blade gets broken (it stays in the car)

And seeing how I have more than one detector I usually take two of them, one being a backup (it stays in the car)

A good little fold out magnifying class is a pretty good idea.

Bug spray (stays in the car)

And one good size gym bag to put all this stuff in LoL!

Mark

 

[Mike T]

Do those digger/knives cut through hard dry lawn? I was out today with a trowel and it was hard digging anything. Also if theres alot of stones around do you still use a probe?
I didn't realize coinshooting was such hard work compared to beach detecting. The hardest is having to constantly stand and kneel, I'm going to have to go slower at my age and condition.

 

[Tom Slick]

I would never take a shovel like pictured above to a park or school. I use a shovel like that when hunting barren ground or out in the desert or woods, never on a lawn or the grass.

 

[MarkCZ]

Do those digger/knives cut through hard dry lawn? I was out today with a trowel and it was hard digging anything. Also if theres alot of stones around do you still use a probe?
I didn't realize coinshooting was such hard work compared to beach detecting. The hardest is having to constantly stand and kneel, I'm going to have to go slower at my age and condition.

It mid summer heat (or long dry spells) retrieving targets out of the soil can be to hard to even try, some wait it out or they have some backups alternatives, like

Hunting tot-lot for coins and jewelry.
Same for public parks and ball fields (very shallow of surface hunting for more fresh drops targets)
Lake side swimming areas. (the same as beach hunting)

Bottom line they are places and times that the ground can be so hard that nothing is going to really dig the target out, if you want it you have to chip it out! when its like that it just does to much damage to the soil to try and dig targets in public places.

Also, in the more than a year that I've been on this forum the topics of long handled digging tools and public places always ends with the same overwhelming note!
"Its A Bad Idea"!
"It draws to much bad attention"!

Private land is a different story.

Mark

 

[Mike T]

Thanks Mark I guess the idea is to stay flexible to possible areas to hunt. I'm in Oregon so I won't have long to wait for rain.

 

[MarkCZ]

I would never take a shovel like pictured above to a park or school. I use a shovel like that when hunting barren ground or out in the desert or woods, never on a lawn or the grass.

Tom,,just because you never do it,does not make you right either..We need leaders hear not followers.CW

Leaders here, not followers!
Many of these people here have been here for a LONG time, many of them like Tom Slick have been in the public eye of detecting for near 40 years, former detector dealer, ect... Now just maybe they are some good leaders here and the problem is there isn't enough followers, seems there is a good number of people that just won't take good advise, people that will go out and do the opposite of good sound advice just to prove they can.

The general consensus here from hundreds of members and posters is that the relic digging tools should be left to what their originally intended purpose is, relic digging.
Yes, they are a few people here that use the long handled diggers in parks and such, but they are very few.
The more public areas that get shut down to metal detecting the more squeezed the people feel that truly love the hobby. Passers by's seeing people with shovels digging up their parks (I know its ours two) gets a bad idea of whats going on. The people that maintenance this area my not have a problem with it, but they in time conform to complaints of the public, then the area gets closed to metal detecting.
Story after story, picture after picture of signs stating "No Metal Detecting" in areas were people had freely detected for years. It hasn't hit you yet, but if you really love the hobby and for any reason your favorite area gets banned from detecting then you'll feel what many others on here has felt.

And remember this is a public viewed forum and in any one day hundreds of thousands of lurkers (non members) read and view the post here. So, when we post something here its not just between you and I, or just the few members that might be following this topic, but thousands of unseen eyes are here as well.
So, to best keep this hobby in a good light the seasoned members here will advise as much as possible to things and ways to preserve the hobby and direct people in way as to not draw bad attention to the hobby.

Many years ago my brother and I was in town hunting next to the city park (the grass area between the sidewalk and the curb of a house) well I was probing for a target, I had my little probe in the tiny hole and the index finger of the other hand in the same little hole (no dirt out of the hole).
So, here comes a local land owner and he comes by be first, stops, looks at me and I look at him and he goes on down a little ways to where my brother is. Now, this wasn't good, my brother had a plug out of a hole and some lose dirt laying on a ground cloth. Guess what? trouble!
See, my brother and I both knew that the curb area isn't owned by the home owner of the house that the curb is in front (its public property), well that didn't go over very well. The police were called, we were pulled over to the side and told what we already knew, but the officer stated that it would be much better if we found another place to hunt. So, what was the difference here? the guy goes by me because I wasn't digging a hole in what he thought was his property, my brother was even though he was really doing it right.

I'm not new here, but I'm not a forum veteran either. But I have watched enough digging tool topics come across the forum to be able to tell how they all end.
Large Relic Digging Tools Are A Bad Idea In Public Places!

The tool I made below don't just make a better cut, it makes a perfect cut and puts it back perfect, but I don't use it in any public areas, its a bad idea!

Mark

 

[plidn1]

Is 5 years,almost to the month,a man in my,favorite park that the city worker,landscaper,told me it would be better to use a minni like him,and get rid of the hand digger because it looks like a large knife,and would frighten the small kids,anyway 5 years later a man in the park got shot and killed by the officer because the man was wielding a knife in the park with kids.No thank you,i do it my way,you do it your way.CW

I have been watching your "KNOW IT ALL" posts for the last 16 days now, and I am convinced you don't know your rear from the holes you dig.
Your opinions, and that is just what they are, reek with the babble of a person that has never mastered anything in life, but feels he must prove to everyone he knows all and no one else could possibly have a clue.
Who do you think you are? The real people that read these forums see right thru you and are starting to get annoyed with your cheap comments.

 

[Tom Slick]

MarkCZ. Thanks for elaborating on my suggestion of not using relic shovels for detecting in parks, and other public places. I'm really slow at typing so I don't often make long posts, But I do know a little something about detecting. You think anyone would have a problem using a backhoe at the beach? It's only sand after all.

 

[Larry (IL)]

Keep your personal attacks off of the forums. This thread is closed.