What's Your Strategy For Hunting "Worked Out" Sites?

[Critterhunter]

I always like to read about people who have pulled some good coins from sites that have been pounded for years and others have given up for dead. We can all get into a debate about which machines have the potential to find coins others missed (see my signature file), but this discussion is beyond that. I'd like to hear about how your techniques change from "virgin" sites to ones where the easy old coins just don't exist anymore for the most part. What methods do you use, signals do you look for, or how does your criteria for "dig worthy" change when you know the old coins left are either going to be super deep or shallow but masked badly by iron or other trash?

For me, I of course make sure I've got my machine fine tuned for maximum depth at that site and am constantly listening for those deep whispers that might be coins right at the edge of detection depth. Often on any machine these coins aren't going to always ID right even if you check them out carefully. That's when knowing how fringe depth coins respond on your particular machine pays off. As for the other coins, ones masked in some way or badly on edge, I also have done some testing to touch up on how those can react. I'm careful to check out any "junk" or null signals from various angles to see if I can find a coin signal mixed in there somewhere. I know from experience that a coin masked properly might produce a good coin ID from one specific spot and direction, while it can be a total null or really bad signal from any other. I also like to dig those shallow "clad" signals, even zincs, if they are masked fairly bad by nearby trash. Reason being they very well could be an old indian or something that, while shallow, hasn't been found by others because of the masking. Then there are those scratchy screw or bottle cap signals. Those can very well be old silvers or such that are giving a bad response due to trash with them in the hole. My other method is to grid the area from an odd angle that otherwise probably never have. Most people will parallel some land obstruction such as the wood line at the edge of a mowed grass field, while a few others (probably 20%) will grid that area at a 90 degree angle to that wood line, hunting up to it, then away, then back again, just like they were also mowing the lawn. When I think of it I like to work the area at a diagnal angle to something like that wood line or a sidewalk. Angle at it, then angle away. Reason being that many masked coins will only sound off from one specific direction. For that reason many of the coins that could be seen by paralleling the obstruction or hunting at 90 degrees from it have been found, but those that can only be seen by an odd angle are probably still there in greater numbers.

I'd like to hear your methods, strategies, and techniques for "worked out" areas. Do you go to a bigger coil, smaller coil, or say run the machine in All Metal to search for the real deep ones and then double check them in discriminate? Often discriminate might ignore a masked or fringe depth signal (due to things like ground iron content in microscopic form) while All Metal hits it harder. Have you dug coins that weren't even masked but for some odd reason read like a pull tab or other junk? What's your secret to popping old coins out of sites that others haven't bothered with for the last twenty years?

 

[opus]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks once an area's been cherry picked a few times it has nothing more to offer! It's finding cool stuff in overworked areas that separate the men from the boys.
You have to work harder and sometimes go home with nothing but an apron full of pull-tabs, and bottle caps. There are times I'll go hunting all morning and not find a cent, and other times I'm digging coins and jewelery the first twenty minutes, all in the same area! Sure you could get all right-brained about it and list the variables that would affect the hunt, but I really think it all boils down to luck!

 

[mudpuppy]

Another fine topic! Again, I'm really new to this, and I work a very small radius of my house, maybe 15 miles...i've run into some other guys that have been doing this area for years, and swinging some pretty awsome tackle...the one that scares me the most is a younger fellow, mid 30's (minelab) that has been doing this since he was in his teens...fortunately, he has a job and kids! I bet theres 20 other old dudes (like me) who are pretty spry, and play some heads up ball too...they are the ones I meet before the sun comes up at a fresh sidewalk tearout, sitting on their tailgate, sharpening their lesche, or on the beach at night... So what I've been doing is....leaving a "tell penny" in the totlots at the first line of swings, lets me know if somebodys been there since I last was...working the "high sand" where the water boys dont go, but lovers do...getting up early, especially after a storm and hitting those sand washouts hard on the beach, looking for "sign" in the sand...like bobby pins, bottle caps, hotwheel cars...especially anything that says "there was a girl here" even cigarette butts are important to me...menthols especially...or a half buried diaper...The reason I know they havn't got it all is I've gotten some of it they missed! its not much what you would call old, the (1910 barber dime, a 1927 merc, two silver rosies) but I have found some old tokens and jewelry deep that they should have found...along with the wheaties, and buff nickles...
I think your right Critter, "see" the property in a fashion you would think somebody else has seen it in, and then go check out the spots that may have been their "second" or even third choice... On another note, some inner city parks are too dangerous to be in a certain times of the day...I specifically get in and outta there fast early in the morning on cold, windy. rainy days if I can..even then a fellow cannot concentrate and go for deep targets, just a quick and shallow sweep for fresh drops...I hit the local fairs/festivals/fireworks/snowpiles/construction sites the minute they are gone..this might be the future scenario for metal detectorists finding anything of value with reasonable success...it may not be old, but it will be something... I'm still learning, and look forward to more posts on this subject..

 

[Dan-o]

My other method is to grid the area from an odd angle that otherwise probably never have. Most people will parallel some land obstruction such as the wood line at the edge of a mowed grass field, while a few others (probably 20%) will grid that area at a 90 degree angle to that wood line, hunting up to it, then away, then back again, just like they were also mowing the lawn. When I think of it I like to work the area at a diagnal angle to something like that wood line or a sidewalk. Angle at it, then angle away. Reason being that many masked coins will only sound off from one specific direction. For that reason many of the coins that could be seen by paralleling the obstruction or hunting at 90 degrees from it have been found, but those that can only be seen by an odd angle are probably still there in greater numbers.

This one by Critterhunter is huge. Don't know how many times I have hit a target and checked it from a different agle and nothing. Many times these signals have produced good finds.

I have been hunting the same small park since January. Another detectorist turned me on to the park. He and another detectorist have long since abandond the park, but I am still pulling out good stuff. Fortunately for me I have four differnent detectors and use them all at this park. Sometimes I take four small markers and section off around 400 square feet. Then I hit it hard from different angles digging all repeatable hits. I hunt slow and listen for those wisper signals. When hunting this way, I don't rely on the TID when using one of those machines. Sure I dig a lot of junk, but some of those targets that sound iffy turned out to be old coins and buttons etc.. I'll return to this park with different detector sometimes smaller coil. I don't mind digging juck most days as it is still fun just recovering something from the ground. I say most days, because some days I am just not into it. That's not to often, but it happens and I just leave and go do something else and return a different day when I'm in a better mood. I think patience is a key factor and slow down. Big area's can make you hunt faster than you should. Don't try to cover too much ground during one hunt.
Well lunch is over, got to get back to work.

Dan C

 

[RLOH]

Tom, I do exactly what you do at many of my detecting spots. I always and I mean always do exactly what you said most people do. I start hunting a spot by going parallel to a road, sidewalk, hill, woodline, etc. The next time I hunt it, I turn 90 degrees and hunt it methodically again. I always use little discrimination and listen to all the tones. The places I hunt are trash havens and most people will not be able to hunt like this. I can almost close my eyes and pick out that one deep whisper. The dd coils offer excellent separation, even when it is a bigger coil like the Minelab 10.5 and 11 inch coils. Two years ago, I started your little trick of going at odd angles in these same spots I have gridded from two directions. One place I had so much success that I would swear I never hunted it before. When I have detected these spots from three or four angles, I will put a small coil on and I will find some more severely masked older coins. I never seem to make great finds when I finally finish up with the small coil, but there always seem to be a couple of silver coins in the mix. With new hunting spots getting harder and harder to find, I am able to keep finding enough coins to satisfy my detecting itch by detecting every square inch from many angles. Most people will not have enough patience for this type of detecting and that is why I can just about always find something good in spots they gave up on long ago. R.L.

 

[Furious T]

I agree about the angles, and have adopted my own style for parks....to the casual observer, I would probably seem to be wandering around aimlessly, however I have developed my own technique for detecting areas that have been done to death. It was mentioned somewhere in the posts about using lots of power to get as deep as possible, and that is one option. If you are hunting an area which is still used and are serious about finding stuff, then lowering you sensitivity is just as important as raising it. If you try it (if you haven't already), the reasons will become obvious.

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, a lot of times a lower sensitivity setting will light up less iron and other junk (or even ground minerals) around the target and produce a better coin signal. Most machines raise sensitivity by increasing the RX gain, not creating a stronger TX signal transmitted into the ground. What's that mean? It means the TX signal never changes and it's going just as deep at any setting. By changing the RX gain (sensitivity) you are increasing the amplification of the received signal. Raise it too high and introduced noise (circuit board components or stray RF noise in the air), mineral "glare" from the signal (fog in the headlights theory), and so on also gets increased. Comes a point where the target signal can no longer be cleanly seperated from the garbage that's also in the signal, and that's when depth or target response suffers greatly. I've found on my Sovereign that often a much lower sensitivity setting than what is stable will give me more depth, in particular at high mineral sites. I calibrate it by sticking a silver dime in the ground at fringe depth (for that site) and then playing with the sensitivity. It's amazing how too high (though still stable) can actually null out the coin or cause it's ID/audio to get much worse than a lower setting.

 

[jmaryt]

tough to do as you mention,and requires the patience of "job" even with the correct equipment.,however
can be very rewarding,and as you also state,,the advantage is to you!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[jmaryt]

sometime!..that's soo true!..you can advance theories all you want,but just being on 'site"
sometimes, is all it takes!..sometimes ,it's just all about "hitting" it ,or not!..just sayin!"
ya definitely increase the odds.,just by "being"' out there,.instead of sitting on your ass thinkin' about it!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[Idaho PRB]

What a great post idea. The only thing I can think to add to the suggestions is that if the ground conditions change in an area I have hunted a lot, I will give it another go. I'm talking about moisture mostly ( real good rain, snowmelt, sometimes after real wet ground drys up a bit, I'll try it again) or if the ground gets disturbed by any type of construction or water line repair, etc. All great tactics, thanks.

 

[bulletman]

Nothing is ever fully worked out! I tend to believe that frosting and heaving of the ground during the frozen months of winter have a tendency to move some targets up and some targets down in the ground. I have seen this time and time again at one location that is so called "worked out". We still pull some nice 3 ringers out of that ground, and a few buttons too.

I have also developed a new tactic - which I don't know why I have not done this, until recently. Most detectorist, as I was, are hung up on trying to find old deep silver coins. Why????? Most detectorists are running right over the most valuable targets out in any park, field, or yard. What are those targets???? Gold of course, and they are mostly discriminated out just above the iron range through the pull tab range. Why focus on silver Roosevelts that may be worth a couple of dollars at most?

During my last 5 hunts at a pounded park, 5 gold targets have surfaced. That was one gold target for every hunt. Each gold was worth at least 200 dollars. One was appraised at 800 to 900 melt value. Also, if you run your discrimination lower, you are more likely to find that silver too. I have been hunting for 20 plus years, and have always focused on silver coins, and have found my share, but my focus has certaily shifted for the better. You may try my approach, and focus on digging the trash signals just above iron. The gold gods have been good to me!

Bulletman

 

[mudpuppy]

Bulletman....I'm hearing five by five on that one pal! I think that will become a popular method with newer detectorists too...its HARD to find old silver when you are a noob...and you NEED to find something valuable to take home to prove you arn't wasting time...once a fellow gets some experience to the sport, then a guy might find a spot full of old silver coins, and have the skills required to get them...these new coins nowadays are not going to last 20 years in the soil! Heck, they are pitted and dang near ruint in 4 or 5...so a detectorist only hope is to be the first to sweep a popular beach, fairground, festival site, and get that GOLD!

 

[zeekeys]

A lot good advice. I kind of like j.t.'s the best. You have to be out there a lot and spend lots of time out there. I look for trash areas or places that other dectorists don't go to and detect. Too much trash! I use a smaller coil and cut sens to around 1/2 max. You have to dig a lot of trash. I am a coin hunter and I find gold/silver by accident. Most of my stuff is in the 3" range down. At 70 years old I really don't want to dig down 12" or more, not even in the sand. I have dug down that far and found clad and zinc's sitting there. I have had old coins sitting on top of the ground/sand or just sticking out of sand. I found old coins in tot lots. I found a gold bracelet in the parking lot going to the beach. I have found old coins in my change from a store. You have to aware. I think you have to enjoy what you are doing and than you have the presence of mind to notice these little things around you others pass up because they are in a hurry to be the first to pick up the gold/silver. I am on my wind down years and I don't have enough time to be in a hurry so I just take it easy and look for what is out there. Only that!! Just go out there and have fun. Hell with every thing else.... Thanks for reading and HH .... Happy Trails....Z

 

[slingshot]

All the above posts are the reasons for my getting my Compadre.

 

[boxofchocolates]

Good insight ,nice reading this morning hh......bro........Dan

 

[dewcon4414]

I think what you all are saying is WE make the difference in the area we are hunting. I know i learn every time i go out and as i learn it surprises me what i find in places i thought was hunted out. I do a lot of different type hunting as well.... relic, park, beach, desert, it all adds to experience and recognizing targets that i might not have if i only hunted parks. How i hunt, how fast i hunt, the sounds or weaker tones im listening for change, changing up from disc to AM... even the threshold may make a difference. Then there is the weather, soil, EMI, moisture, angle, and just waking over it THIS TIME. I hunt a lot of those trashy spots also.... why because people give up and move to a clearer area so they can cover more ground. EXPERIENCE is why people still pop out GREAT finds in hunted out locations.

Dew

 

[jmaryt]

that is 100% correct!..it's amazing what STILL awaits us in so called "cooked" sites!
smart money says use a small coil,overlap well,and above all be patient!..ohh!,and don't forget
to bring a "rabbit's foot" with ya!..just for luck!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[Mapleton]

that is 100% correct!..it's amazing what STILL awaits us in so called "cooked" sites!
smart money says use a small coil,overlap well,and above all be patient!..ohh!,and don't forget
to bring a "rabbit's foot" with ya!..just for luck!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

<noob question>

What is the advantage of a small coil over a large one?

 

[jmaryt]

the small coil "separates" targets better,so you can "pick out" individual non-ferrous,and ferrous targets!
less chance of "masking" a good target when "trash" and good targets are very close to each other.

(h.h.!)
j.t.