Metal Detecting Tips - Places to Hunt

First of all, I would like to make a simple statement. Just about any place you can think of is a good place to hunt with your metal detector! Think of all the places that people have lived, worked, congregated, or played. Inevitably they have lost something and sometimes they have even intentionally buried something and never returned to recover it.  I have even heard tales of people burying money and being unable to  find it later when they returned due to changes in the landscape.  Millions of coins and tens of thousands of dollars in rings and jewelry are awaiting a signal on your detector!

Always remember, there is an unlimited possibility of what you may dig up and some of the strangest things can turn up in really unusual places.

It really depends on what you wish to hunt for also. Older sites such as old fair grounds or house sites usually yield older and possibly more valuable relics and coins. Newer sites such as playgrounds or schoolyards will yield newer coins and trinket type jewelry, but can also yield gold and silver rings and other more expensive jewelry items. I especially like tot lots and have found some nice rings and other jewelry in these. It is easy digging also...

Do some local research and then get out and talk to older people. They can be a treasure trove of information. They can tell you information that you really can't get from anywhere else. They know where old houses used to be located and can even provide  you a treasure tale or two sometimes. They can even help you get that permission to hunt that is so critical sometimes. I have even provided an extra detector in some cases to a landowner to hunt with me. I can proudly say that I have even made some really good friends also. Don't forget to read also. There are some really good books on the subject. I have included a few links at the end of this article.

Here are some starter ideas for places to hunt:

Tot Lots - small children playgrounds
Churchyards - old and new
Old Home Sites
Old School Sites
Parks
Schoolyards
Playgrounds
County Fairgrounds - old and new
Picnic Areas
Amusement Parks
Carnival Sites
Swimming Areas such as Lakes and Rivers
Under Bleachers
Old Campgrounds
Roadside Produce Stands
Resort Areas
Travelling Circus Grounds

Be sure to get the proper permission before hunting and always be neat about digging targets!

I welcome comments here on your favorite hunting places you may have and want to share.
:B

Here are some recommended resources:

Be careful when digging a target

Over many years of metal detecting, I have dug some very interesting targets. Really, it is like opening a present and you never know what is going to be inside this present. Sometimes it is a surprise and other times it is a let down. Every now and then a target can be a real danger though.

Use extreme care when digging a target. It could be a coin that is worth a fortune especially without a huge scratch on it from your digging tool. What I want to warn about though is dangerous items and there are many of them.

It does not matter if you are around an old homesite or in a park use care when digging. Just the other day I dug a target near an old homesite and it showed to be a coin and ended up being a single edge rusty razor blade. It had a thick aluminum edge on on side. One wrong move digging this and I could have had a good cut and a tetanus shot to boot probably.

Some items I have encountered over the years:

• Vaccination needles and syringes - modern plastic ones and the big metal ones for livestock.

• Broken glass especially inside old ball and mason jar lids.

• Glass also encountered when digging a target below it.

• Rusty pins, needles, nails, wire, guitar strings, piano strings.

• LIVE ammo - old rimfire, 22, 30-06, etc...

• Open pocket knives and hunting knives

• Sharp metal objects and tin, pull off tops from canned foods such as sardines (especially sharp)

I do not want to discourage anyone from digging and having fun with your detector. As long as you use caution and common sense, you can pretty much stay out of danger's way.

:B

Detecting at an old church - January 9, 2010

Detecting at an old church
January 9, 2009

Well it has really been cold the last few days here in Texas and I decided to take in a little detecting. I really love detecting when it is cold. No bugs or snakes and the fire ants are even slow too. They can really make it tough on you if you are not careful when digging. I have even had to abandon a signal or two before because of them. They don't take too kindly to you digging in their bed!

I had got called out to work for a few hours on Saturday morning. I was on my way home and passed by an old church that is close to where I live and I noticed that the preacher was there. I pulled in and chatted with him for a while and got permission to hunt the church grounds.

He was working cleaning the church and I told him I would try to find something special for him too for letting me hunt there. He just chuckled. He said the church had been at that spot for 125 years. The original building had burned and this was the second building.

I thought in my mind that this place is going to really have the possibilty of some silver and maybe other goodies. I rushed home and grabbed a detector. I have a new Garret Ace 250  that I got for Christmas and have been itching to use it some more so I grabbed it and left my Fisher behind. I have used this little detector a few times and have really got to where I like it.

When I got back to the church, I started hunting and the third coin I found was a silver 1946 Rosie. This coin was near a gravel driveway and was really tough to dig out of the gravel, but it was a strong signal so I kept digging and I am glad I did! It was about 7-8 inches deep and in gravel too! This Garrett Ace 250 amazes me. It even makes me stop and think how my old faithful Fisher would have perceived this target. Well, I'm not going to doubt my 1265X ever. I'm sure it would have hit it just fine. It turned out to be the only silver for the day. I did find 3 old wheaties though - teens through twenties. This is a good sign and I know that there are old coins there. The rest of the coins I found were clads. I also found a gold plated medallion pin with the word usher on it. It was in nice shape too. I knew this would be the special thing for the kind preacher who had allowed me to hunt there.

Finds for the day were:

Clad:
2 - Quarters
1 - Dime
14 - Memorial pennies
3 - Wheaties

Silver:
1 - 1946 Roosevelt dime


Other:
1 - Gold plated Usher pin
1 - 22 shell casing
1 - 45 brass shell casing
and the usual pull tabs and other junk

After several hours I had had enough of the cold and was chilled to the bone it felt like. I decided to call it quits. The sun was starting to dip pretty low too. I went in to the church and showed my finds to the preacher and then I handed him the usher pin I had found and told him that this is for you. He said his wife had a display case of historical items from the church and it would be very special to her. She would definitely put this in her display. He thanked me for the kind act and my thoughtfulness. He told me that I had permission to hunt there any time I wanted and if anybody asked, to tell them to call him.

I will definitely be stopping here again and will take more time and really cover this one good. There were a lot of iffy signals I need to dig also. All in all it was a pleasurable hunt on a cold winter's afternoon.

:B