First attempt to search around a Basketball Court

[gravityrulz]

Although I'm using an F5 with 11" DD coil and not an F70, the descriptions provided by Revier, Mud, Ed, and others inspired me to try the lower gain (60), low discrimination (6) , -2 threshold approach around a neighborhood basketball court. This was my first go at a basketball court for any length of time, probably went too slow as I was there almost 2 hours and still didn't get everything covered. Most of the finds were shallow and I'm trying to learn the 'clad stabbing' method since it leaves hardly any signs that you were there!
The F5's ID capability is really good for this kind of hunting. The number of nickels recovered (ID a solid 30) was significantly higher with only a few pulltabs recovered (they also ID at 30, but the nickels have a slightly 'softer' sound). I thought the number of coins found was pretty good for such a new court, total count 3 quarters, 5 dimes, 6 nickels, 17 cents, 2 presumably costume jewelry settings, the smaller one has a magnetic backing.

Now I'll have to try another basketball court, next time with the 5" DD coil. Thanks for sharing your approach and settings, they seem to apply to more than just the F70!

 

[zeekeys]

Grav nice hunt. After a little practice clad stabbing just improves. There is no reason to hunt fast. You set the pace. Just go out and meditate, enjoy. Basketball courts are good to hunt. I am always going slow. It is the digging that can take up a lot of time so that is what I always try to improve by not wasting or repeating movements again and again. I use the movements that will get me the target and up again. Watch the way you dig a target and you will start to see how movements are wasted and can be eliminated improving your digging time on targets. I have to do this because I can only get up and down so many times and the longer I am down on one knee the shorter my hunts are. Both my knees and back start to tighten up on me. So the quicker I am up and down the hunt lasts longer. This doesn't work for everyone. It works for me. Just saying try it? Thanks for reading and great detecting.... Happy Trails.....Z

 

[REVIER]

Use that smaller coil when you get a chance, try to dig as much trash to get it out of the way as you can stand because of masking at trash sites like these, after doing some cherry picking if you want to do it that way.
You can't do everything on just one hunt, several of these courts I began to find the great stuff after 3-4-5 trips back, but I take my time and I am in no hurry.
If the good stuff is there it is not gong anywhere, and after hitting it from one way I usually go back and hit it from other directions, also.

Sometimes digging in severe trash is a drag but I usually search these for a bit and then go to other areas of the park....but I always return.
Just like tot lots they also reload, I have cleaned a few up good and returned the next season and found fresh jewelry drops.

I have never found a site that has as much treasure per square foot as these courts, I consider them like inland saltwater beach areas because I just don't live near water so this is the very best next thing.

Silver and gold and a bunch of clad can be found at lots of these courts...not all of them but a good many.

Have patience and work them correctly and you will be rewarded.

 

[Ed Steinhoff]

Nice hunt! Go back over that same court with the five inch, you will be amazed at what the big coil didn't get.
Try setting the disc at 5 there is a sens boost that helps on chain signals.
Glance across the court itself, I have found coins and jewelry just laying on the paved surface!
People are just to lazy to pick it up i guess.
Uh Ed in co.

 

[gravityrulz]

Thanks for the advice, I will go back with the 5" coil. There was an area by a bench with a nearby trash can that was just about solid signals, too many for the 11" coil to separate out. The little jewelry setting was my second target found there, that sparkle caught my attention ... but no ring was found. I've been more of a coinshooter in the past but finding jewelry is even better! I Found a long silver necklace at a park 2 weeks ago, it read in the low 20s foil range, sure happy that I dug that signal anyway. I guess it's a beginner's mistake but you miss alot if you notch everything below nickels. I did notice that the edge bottlecap ID technique seems to work with the F5 as well with minimal discrimination, you can hear an iron grunt that will not be there on a coin ... it's not 100% but it does help.

 

[mudpuppy]

Outstanding work there! Its a skill best aquired through practice to shoot surface stuff in the trash and to stab..does not take long to get really good at it, and sens setting plays a big part...the audio feedback has to make the target as small as possible so its easy to stab, yet not miss anything good thats a little deeper..so the set ups depending on target depth, age of location, and grass height have a lot to do with reading a site and setting up to work it proper for the shallow stuff....that said, you can flat clean out a place on 3" to surface targets in a hurry running light settings and using your ears...dont trust your lying eyes, they just slow a guy down! .
Mud