First Time at a State Park the Past Couple Days

[flysar]

Camped a couple nights at an Oregon State Park and hunted about 8 hours total... good way to pass the time in the early morning hours while the wife is still snoozing. Found a little more than $4 in clad, 1 wheat, and a nice 925 Heart Pendant. Seemed to have the best coin-to-trash ratio in the Volleyball court areas. Dug a ton of bottle caps everywhere else with my xterra 70... IDs a solid 42 which is definitely a dig ID/Tone; if they were quarters I'd be a wealthy man!

I read all of the past posts on here the past couple of days regarding the older steel bottle caps and I guess when using the DD MF coil, or any DD coil for that matter, I'm going to be a champion bottle cap digger like everyone else with a Xterra 70! Locked on at 42 with a solid high tone when the caps were within a couple inches of the surface. The deeper more rusted ones were a 40-42 and I quit digging targets if a 40 showed up.

My 1980 Garrett analog system will discriminate them while still picking up coins and silver but not the xterra in my hands. With my machine, in my soil, GB 15 -18, Sens 15 -20, Disc with -8/48 rejected & 99 tones, seems like if the taget is round and the size of a coin the machine sounds off like it is a coin and regardless of all the tips I've read, some of the dimes and cents vary more than 2 TIDs, ie 32-38 on a given target.

Still working hard at letting the 70 tell me what's in the dirt and doing my share of taking out the trash!

 

[GTzer]

I'm only into the 705 about 15 months. Sometimes when I'm digging too many bcaps I toggle from AM to a higher disc and check again. TID stays pretty much the same but the tone is more broken. I dig less caps with a halo (old rusted) but about the same that are in a less oxidized state.

 

[Old Longhair]

I still dig a few crown caps, but not too many. More time on the machine learning how to tell them from quarters is mosly what it takes.
IMO the HF coils are the worst in crown cap country. But even with them you can learn what to listen for to avoid at least some.

Funny though....the Xterra spots an aluminum screw cap easily, but isn't as clear about crown caps. My Explorer doesn't hit on crown caps, but I dig a few aluminum screw caps routinely. Of course it's just a difference in the characteristics of each technology.

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

Ok if your using a DD type coil, here is the best way to rule out a bottle cap 85% of the time.

Wiggle your coil back and fort about 2" to 3" and drag your coil back towards you and watch your numbers, just before the tone cut's out the numbers will drop in to the upper 20's...... 85% of the time that's a bottle cap and also right when the tones stops your target will be right at the tip of your coil.

If it's a quarter or something else your numbers will not drop in to the upper 20's

 

[tometusns]

I have so far dug quite a few bottle caps but trying out tips from the guys on here like the one Mark was telling about has helped me.

 

[flysar]

I had read where "Digger" used this technique and thought I was doing it right but maybe not.

So instead of hearing a flute tone, in this case the numbers move and not the tone or should the tone drop as well since in 99 tones each number is associated with a corresponding tone?

Will switching to AM work better for this technique or does it matter if I stay in disc mode with -8 & 48 rejected?

Thanks for the tip!

Ok if your using a DD type coil, here is the best way to rule out a bottle cap 85% of the time.

Wiggle your coil back and fort about 2" to 3" and drag your coil back towards you and watch your numbers, just before the tone cut's out the numbers will drop in to the upper 20's...... 85% of the time that's a bottle cap and also right when the tones stops your target will be right at the tip of your coil.

If it's a quarter or something else your numbers will not drop in to the upper 20's

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

flysar, I do not MD in 99 tones. I MD in Pattern 1 with #3 notched out on the X505. On the X705 that would be like notching out #2 and #4.

When I think it's a bottle cap I wiggle the coil and drag it back and I just watch the numbers and see if they drop in to the 20's right when I am coming off the edge of the target. but if you are in AM the last tones you should hear just before the tones stop is a iron grunt. I never hunt in 99 tones so I do not know what kind of tones you will hear when checking out a maybe bottle cap, sorry

 

[Pennypacker]

I find this information usefull, thanks.