Hi, All:
I've relic hunted off and on for over thirty years and never really tried my hand at hunting in the woods. I've always had fields to hunt, so I never braved hunting where snakes and ticks hang out. I've known of a camp area in a wood plot adjacent to some fields where camp relics have been found, and know the area has been hunted often. I decided to give it a shot before the critters come out of hiding. I met the owner who politely said he had a detector and was hunting it himself, so would rather I not hunt it. We visited for awhile and with no proding on my part je said I could go ahead and hunt, but probably wouldn't find anything. He told me two hunters had hunted it last year and only found a smashed bullet. I know these hunters and they are good hunters, so I nearly left, but decided to accept his hospitality and give it a go. I hadn't hunted fifty feet when I got a signal that ID'd as a bullet, but was too small of a signal to be a bullet, but I dug it anyway. Much to my surpise out popped an 1857 three cent piece. Only a couple of inches deep. Was somewhat beat up, but a coin, none the less. In the next three hours I found twelve bullets, and very nice "I" coat button with no dents on the face (the picture doesn't do it justice) and an unknown item that may be pewter. It's not iron or brass and doesn't have the same patina as the lead I found. The land owner was politely asking if I wanted to sell the coins, since it came off his property. This was the sixth three cent piece I've found over the years, so I agreed to make him a trade. He is a big arrowhead collector, so he traded me a nice arrowhead for it. I talked him into letting me take a pictre of it before I gave it back to him. He was happy and invited me back to hunt some more. He even offered to take me to some spots he know from arrowhead hunting that have relics in them, so a good day, indeed.
Thanks for looking, and keep on diggin'
jimmyk in Missouri
I've relic hunted off and on for over thirty years and never really tried my hand at hunting in the woods. I've always had fields to hunt, so I never braved hunting where snakes and ticks hang out. I've known of a camp area in a wood plot adjacent to some fields where camp relics have been found, and know the area has been hunted often. I decided to give it a shot before the critters come out of hiding. I met the owner who politely said he had a detector and was hunting it himself, so would rather I not hunt it. We visited for awhile and with no proding on my part je said I could go ahead and hunt, but probably wouldn't find anything. He told me two hunters had hunted it last year and only found a smashed bullet. I know these hunters and they are good hunters, so I nearly left, but decided to accept his hospitality and give it a go. I hadn't hunted fifty feet when I got a signal that ID'd as a bullet, but was too small of a signal to be a bullet, but I dug it anyway. Much to my surpise out popped an 1857 three cent piece. Only a couple of inches deep. Was somewhat beat up, but a coin, none the less. In the next three hours I found twelve bullets, and very nice "I" coat button with no dents on the face (the picture doesn't do it justice) and an unknown item that may be pewter. It's not iron or brass and doesn't have the same patina as the lead I found. The land owner was politely asking if I wanted to sell the coins, since it came off his property. This was the sixth three cent piece I've found over the years, so I agreed to make him a trade. He is a big arrowhead collector, so he traded me a nice arrowhead for it. I talked him into letting me take a pictre of it before I gave it back to him. He was happy and invited me back to hunt some more. He even offered to take me to some spots he know from arrowhead hunting that have relics in them, so a good day, indeed.
Thanks for looking, and keep on diggin'
jimmyk in Missouri
HH jim tn