Dried lake bed, how to hunt it??

[kscowgirl]

Howdy All, Was just wondering if anyone has hunted any lakes while they were extremely low giving you a lot of coves that are now dry and a lot of bank that extends at least 20 foot from where it was 2 years ago. ??? If you would have any advise on how to go about hunting this type of thing or if its worth hunting it your voice of opinion or tips given would be greatly appreciated. I've went to the lake twice and both times have tried really hard to hunt where the boat dock use to sit and the cove that it was in but the detector goes nuts on me with sounds. I dig everything and for the most part have come up with nothing. Since the area will be covered with water again sometime (hopefully) I take a big shovel with the digging area not being a problem but problem being I don't find anything. It will give me good sound, and will be constant (I know your saying to yourself ROOKIE) but really its giving me a good sound and I can run the coil over it and get a constant sound and reading, so I dig and dig and dig Nothing. It's killing me there has to be some gold rings in there somewhere but at this point I would even love to dig out a pop can, tabs anything. Would I be better off maybe detecting in a bigger cove?? or going along the waters edge, or should I detect where the edge use to be?? If yes, to anything here.....what kind of settings do you thing I should use??

Looking forward to my next days off for some more detecting even though my last two days off all I got out of it was a tree branch in my eye (paying more attention to the possible good sound) and a common quarter. But also got 11 hours of good ol fashion exercise swinging a detector and digging a hole. I'm hooked what can I say can't wait for more time off.

 

[KinTN]

Do you have a pinpointer?
What is your depth indicator saying?
Is your sensitivity set too hi? I am assuming you are hunting in hi trash mode.

Not to be negative, but I once had a strong silver signal (one that is ALWAYS silver) on the beach and dug almost 5' in the sand and the pinpointer still wouldnt pick it up. I KNOW that silver was down there but it would have taken a backhoe to get it. So it is possible, but that is the only signal like that that I have ever encountered.

 

[kscowgirl]

I got a pin pointer that came with the safari Kellyco not sure it works real well I pretty much have to touch the item for it to go off. I've dug some times at least 12 inches since that's what it says it can reach to sometimes more. Sometimes I will get a good 39 dig, dig and then it ends up being a pop can 10 inches down. Most of my good readings are saying the target is about 6 inches down, I dig not there so keep digging, bigger deeper and still nothing so give up thinking maybe its due to whatever the ground is made up with. Some of them are strong 15 - 16's , others will be the 36 - 39 range, lots of 9's. all sound good. I have learned not to use pin pointer on the machine, just doesn't work for me. Used advice given from this site saying to find it by moving back and forth short distance moving front to back and where it goes to different sound then its at the end of the coil. This has seemed to work better for me then the pin pointer on the machine. This is a huge lake, and lots of dry ground is now showing where there was once water. I know of at least 3 fishing poles, pair of glasses from our family that is out there

I've been turning the sensitivity down to 15. I've got it on coin/jewelry. I've tried different setting like black out -10 to 0, 16-35 thinking that I would maybe get less noise so that could focus on a few less to hear the good ones. Which that has helped but has not helped to find anything.

Last night I ordered a smaller coil I'm getting a 8 X 6 SEF again another bit of advice I read on this site. Hoping that it will help since it seems like there is so much down there but since there is so much down there then you would think that even if it was junk I would find it.

 

[Prep1957]

I am assuming you are using pro coil.Put your Safari in all metal mode.Switch to auto sensitivity find a clean spot at waters edge if you can and ground cancel. Switch to whatever program you are hunting in and ground cancel again at same clean spot with coil 1 inch above the area you are hunting again.If you find this has worked for you and you are finding targets at this location do not ground cancel again even if you return many days later it will still work for you.

If this did not work for you repeat steps above make sure each time to go to all metal to find a clean spot before ground canceling close to ground level as possible.Some spots using pro coil if heavy mineralized soil pro coil will have a hard time working due to its size.What you are trying to do is make the Safari find the best channel to operate on at that location.

If you are having trouble finding a clean spot at that location one it is full of junk or the pro coil is having trouble adjusting to that location.Set your sensitivity to manual and drop down to about 16 try and find a clean spot.Your Safari should be in all metal.Did not find clean spot drop down 2 more when you find a clean spot ground cancel like stated above.If you did find a clean spot at 16 go up 2 until you cannot find a clean spot.

The stock jewelery program is good for finding rings. Make sure before you do all of the above select your trash level,I would recommend you hunt in high trash to start with.

Buy a smaller or mid-size coil.

Good-luck

 

[Prep1957]

You are going to find when you get your 8X6 a lot of your problems will go away, but the 8X6 is best run in manual sensitivity as hot as you can run it then you start finding tennis shoe eyelets at 5 inches you know you are hunting in the sweet spot.Sounds like you are catching on fast.

 

[KinTN]

+1 on an 6x8 coil, it makes a lot of difference in trash.

What I recommend for a new Safari user:
- put it into autosensitivity
- hi trash mode
- go to All Metal or Relic mode
- black out (discriminate against) everything except 14,15,36,37,38,39. this will give you nickels (14,15 and you can black them out too if you want to make it even easier), silver jewelry and anything with copper in it. also covers all coins except an occasional zinc penny. i know this rules out gold, but Trust Me, gold is difficult in a trashy area unless you are willing to dig a LOT of trash per piece of gold. its better for you to just learn your machine at this point and 'settle' for silver and be ready for next winter's drawdown for the gold. 1 step at a time- you cant learn it all at once.

-Learn to use the pinpoint mode on your coil. it is the exception rather than the rule that it is so trashy that it is a hinderance. and on the beach it is fast.
-Toss the Kellyco pinpointer or sell it on ebay, grit your teeth, and buy a Garrett pinpointer (i have a Garrrett and a Minelab: the Garrett is better). Good on you for learning the wiggle method of pinpointing, but it isnt as exact. I use it a lot, but am comfortable with its limitations.
- Remember that your machine's depth scale is calibrated to a coin, so anything larger (like a crushed aluminum can) is going to read shallower than it actually is. if your machine says 4" and at 8" you havent found anything, Quit Digging, refill your hole, and walk away- its a can. That is THE hardest lesson I had to learn. I HATE not knowing. But after enough cussing of those cans, I found enough confidence to trust my depth scale (within reason).

Tip: if you have a strong high 30's sweet tone but it flucuates up and down in tone and the TID reading, skip it. Its a crushed can or can part.

Keep at it. When you get very frustrated, quit. Let your frustration settle and pretty soon you will be analyzing what you are doing and an idea on something to try differently will occur to you. You're doing great. A Safari just takes time to learn but it is Totally worth the investment in effort.

 

[SAGITTARIUS]

Congratulations on the Barber dime!!!

On a Safari there is no ground cancel and no reason to find a clean spot. Electromagnetic interference can make your detector unstable and cause erratic false signals. By noise cancelling as outlined in the manual,the detector will scan and find the quietest operating frequency channel for best results. Your problem with the Pro coil could be what Bryce Brown, moderator of the Explorer Forum, calls ghost signals. At the top of the forum he has a thread where he has field tested a lot of different coils. In the Pro coil test he outlines the problems and tells how to use this coil. When he talks about the cursor fluttering at the top right on the Explorer, it is basically like getting good numbers on the Safari. He is tops when it comes to finding deep silver and his methods works on the Safari as well. By the way, his favorite coil is the 10X12 SEF.

 

[kscowgirl]

Whow you all are giving GREAT feedback and helpful hints on how to continue on and gain confidence in what I'm doing. Thank you very much, I'm really loving spending the time trying to learn this new detector it just gets discouraging when I think I have it and then poof its like someone came up with a new alphabet and didn't tell me. When at the park and came up with my first silver, was getting fairly good at good sound or bad then went to the lake and whow pull my hair out. But you all are really great and keeping me motivated to keep at it, lots more to learn Thank you very much. I'm really hoping that the smaller coil will really help since my cousin lives on property where a railroad station use to be, foundation still visible from back in the western days. I'm trying to learn the machine before heading there since I know there will be tons of stuff. They have a dog dragging home old horse harnesses, to chew on the leather when I saw one and asked about it I was amazed that he didn't know what treasure he might have out there. Not only in the horse harness since whow the leather was still in great shape for sitting out in the weather all these years and the buckles were great. If someone left that good stuff just have to wonder what else is out there. Can't wait to get good so can make a few trips there to see what I can find. I enjoy see what everyone else is finding, it just amazes me what is under the ground.

 

[KinTN]

Another thing to file away in the back of you mind: in 6 months or so when you are much better at this Safari thing, go back to your previous hunting grounds and amaze yourself at what you left behind. I went back to a favorite small spot 4 times in my early learning stages and every time was better than the one before it. It wasnt until time #5 that finds dropped off and I felt like I had cleaned it out. Same exact ground.

 

[TNdigginsafari]

Also keep in mind that the Safari is very sensitive to highly rusted iron targets and they will read as really good targets untill you dig them up and then the signal will completely disappear with the only exception being that the target will read all the way down to -10. I have dug many rusted square nalis at Civil War sites that do this very same thing the only way you find them is with a pinpointer like the Garrett I have once this dirt is out of the hole. I run the Safari at a high sensitivity of 18 all the time in high trash mode, Threshold at 13, all metal mode with -9and -10 blacked out. I have very good luck with this setting in my area of TN. But running the machine this way does take some getting used to. This is my third year with the Safari and I absolutley love this machine

 

[Prep1957]

Congratulations on the Barber dime!!!

On a Safari there is no ground cancel and no reason to find a clean spot. Electromagnetic interference can make your detector unstable and cause erratic false signals. By noise cancelling as outlined in the manual,the detector will scan and find the quietest operating frequency channel for best results. Your problem with the Pro coil could be what Bryce Brown, moderator of the Explorer Forum, calls ghost signals. At the top of the forum he has a thread where he has field tested a lot of different coils. In the Pro coil test he outlines the problems and tells how to use this coil. When he talks about the cursor fluttering at the top right on the Explorer, it is basically like getting good numbers on the Safari. He is tops when it comes to finding deep silver and his methods works on the Safari as well. By the way, his favorite coil is the 10X12 SEF.

You still need to find a clean spot in auto in all metal ferrous,and noise cancel with your coil on the ground as stated in Andy's book,Many of us on this site read the manual and made the same mistake.If you hold the coil in the air you are setting the Safari to run smoothly not find coins deeply,you will lose 2 to 3 inches of depth.

If you do not find a clean spot to noise cancel like the manual says ,and Andy's book says,page 8 of Andy's Safari book gives the best explanation of what FBS does.If you do not do this the Safari may pick the wrong channel of set of 11 channels not giving you the best one to hunt with costing you inches of depth. If you have a iron nail under the coil and you noise cancel it will think that the soil you are hunting is heavy iron and switch to a different channel that will cost you depth not the channel you need to get deep coins.

Let me ask you a question how do you know what number in sensitivity you are hunting in auto.This gives you a starting point on what kind of ground you are hunting in and where or high you could run your sensitivity in manual?

Page 23 of Andy,s book for noise canceling with coil on the ground.

Just your explanation above should make everyone use there Pro Coil as a Frisbee and go out buy an SEF Coil.I dig deep old coins not Ghosts.

 

[SAGITTARIUS]

Andy's Safari/Quattro and the E-Trac/Explorer books are excellent and I have gained a lot of knowledge from them. In the case of noise cancelling I am going with Minelab's advice. In Minelab's Treasure Talk, Four Tips to Help Your Detector Auto Tune or Noise Cancel.
In some detectors we use the term

 

[Prep1957]

Enjoy your Pro Coil,Bryce and I will continue to use our SEF every day.The good thing when you realize someday that what we say to you is true you will have plenty of new places to hunt.The same spots you already hunted with Pro Coil.

You still did not answer my question:How do you know what number you are hunting at in Auto Sensitivity and how do you get that number.I explained this on this Forum about 2 years ago.

Count Bryce's good finds with Pro Coil on his forum,now look at all the other great finds he has found with SEF coils no comparison.

You need to buy an SEF coil, lets see what a kscowgirl thinks when she gets here 8X6 when she starts using hers.

I rarely dig 4 pieces of iron in 8 hours hunting.

 

[kscowgirl]

Well dang it won't be able to try out the new coil until maybe Monday. Was not at home when postal tried to deliver it, so can't pick it up until Monday. The darn Kansas weather struck me again with snow on my days off. But I will diffidently let you all know how it works out. Again more input the better even if some have different opinions since if one doesn't work for me then maybe the other would. Every one is different so understand that it helps to have all kinds of advise rather then just from one. I'll give each a try and see what works best for me. Thanks Again All.

 

[Prep1957]

You are lucky when I ordered my 8X6 it took 5 weeks to get it.

 

[SAGITTARIUS]

All I am trying to point out to newcomers is the Pro coil is not a bad coil, You don't have to throw it away and buy a SEF coil. They are both good. I have had the 10X12 SEF coil for a number of years and used it. I also use the Pro coil and 1050 coil.

Also, there is more than one way to noise cancel . Obviously they both work.

In this statement by the Minelab author in Treasure Talks, " In some detectors we use the term Noise Cancel while in others we use the term Tune, Auto Tune or Manual Tune.", he means that noise cancel, tune, auto tune or manual tune are different terms referring to the same thing. It has nothing to do with sensitivity..

 

[KinTN]

The coils are just different tools for different jobs. I use the standard coil that came with the Safari for the beach and other light trash areas and my 8x6SEF for hi trash. I am very comfortable hunting both coils in their element.

Sometime just try each of the following: noise cancel 18" above the ground, noise cancel 1" above the ground, and no noise cancel. i bet you wont see any difference in your hunting success unless there is an obvious electromagnetic source nearby.

 

[Prep1957]

The coils are just different tools for different jobs. I use the standard coil that came with the Safari for the beach and other light trash areas and my 8x6SEF for hi trash. I am very comfortable hunting both coils in their element.

Sometime just try each of the following: noise cancel 18" above the ground, noise cancel 1" above the ground, and no noise cancel. i bet you wont see any difference in your hunting success unless there is an obvious electromagnetic source nearby.

Sorry makes a big difference if it did not there would be no reason for you to buy an FBS detector at all.What do you think sets the 11 channels that make the FBS detectors.It is the noise cancel and you are trying to pick the best set of channels to eliminate the ground.If you really have bad electromagnetic in your area you raise the coil and noise cancel just to get the Safari to pick another channel so it operates smoother. It may not detect that deep though.I will agree if you noise cancel at a location and go back to same location it may not make any difference the next day.

Want to know a cool trick in heavy nail iron ground to get rid of those smaller iron nails and pick out targets in heavy iron trash.Noise cancel over a small Iron target.You will be tricking the Safari into thinking that it has heavy iron ground will change channels to eliminate the iron ground thus it gets rid of small Iron nails and you will start finding coins resting on Iron objects.

So what metal would you use to but under the Safari and noise cancel to trick it into picking a channel that would find gold better?

 

[kscowgirl]

Got out into the cold wind, still a little snow on the ground to try out the new coil. I made 19 cents today on a day off work I can't make money with my horseback riding hobby, my deer hunting hobby or my fishing hobby, so when I can go out and dig up 19 cents and had fun doing it I'm happy. Now for what I think of the new coil. I went to a local park to try out the kiddie area, and got hacked off when I had a great 38-39 sound started to dig and then found that they had rubber mats under the wood chips. BAH so got out of kiddie area and was able to find a few pull tabs WHOOT and a dime. Went to the ball field area of the park, saw what looked to once be a concession stand and detected by it. In this area it put the smaller coil to the test since there was a lot of junk. I had -10 thur 0, 16-33 darken out sensitivity on auto. My thinking with that setting is I hope its correct thinking???? That I'll find the women's diamond rings, nickles, penny, dimes and quarters. I've learned to count to 5 with every swing to make myself slow down, when I follow that rule I found the new coil to work really well but the same goes for the pro coil, slower I go the better. I think your correct on being able to pull out the good around the junk better since on one pass I got a crappy sound and then a high ping, kept swinging it slow over it getting the same sounds. So moved a 1/4 circle to the side of the high sound and was able to get just the high 34-36 sound, dug out a penny. Didn't dig to see what the other sound being a 9 was (does anyone dig 9's??). They have always been foil and from what I've been reading the gold rings are like 3-7 ??. Continued on without any more hits that close together to where I was able to really know that it was a penny before digging. I did continue to have junk sounds with a high sound next to it was unable to get it separated but scared I was leaving a treasure below dug to find junk, (4 more pull tabs in my collection, rusty nail & 2 round bottle tops). I read again and again and see on some videos advice to not waste time digging unless get 3 good sounds, reading near the same and depth the same but I've just been unable to not dig when I hear a high pitch sound since I'm scared that there is something good down there. I'm not confident enough in my skills to leave it and so far have been burned every time by digging.

I've got a 5 gal bucket to put my junk finds in, and 2 little plastic containers (sandwich meat was bought in them) to put coins found and pull tabs. My hope is that I will fill the coins container first but its becoming fast reality that it will be pull tabs and then bucket hahahaha I hope I'm not the only one that is having this type of experiment going on.

On well no all silver & gold or diamonds but with two coats, heavy pair of gloves and toasty toes in my boots it was a good day off being spent outside in the fresh air testing out the new coil and like I called and told my mom, I'm 19 Cents richer.

 

[kschae4]

Glad the inclement weather didn't stop you from trying out the new coil. I have just the pro coil and sweep slowly in trashy areas from different directions. I always dig a tid of 9,but for me it's junk, usually balled up aluminum foil, but I dig so as not to miss gold,either.