I have been detecting since the early seventies. My main goal is civil war relics. You can keep the clad and rings. My rings are minnies with rings, my coins are all seated and from civil war soldiers.
I started off with a Garmin Etrex Venture which was a very good gps receiver, although in heavy woods or clouded conditions it was hard to get a signal at times. Then the screen started to get lines on it and I decided gotta have a new gps.
I have a technique I use and it is the best possible for using a metal detector. I can go wherever I want to go and when I get home know exactly where I have been.
First off I use a good gps receiver. The Garmin gps map80 is, according to many of the reviews I have read, one of the best handheld gps units. It has a dual function where it can also be used as a gps unit in a car. It will not talk to you as many auto gps units do, but it uses a series of signals, those of your choosing, to alert you about one half mile before your turn and then another signal at the point where you make the turn. It of course does not let you know to turn left or right, but you can enter an address; city; etc. and it will take you there. I used my garmin mapit cd and loaded the maps for my locality. This is a small unit which fits comfortably in a shirt or jacket pocket. I run the lanyard through a buttonhole so as not to lose the unit. A while back I was using my Tejon in the woods and noticed that I had not had any signals for a while. I ran it over my shoe and nothing. One of the battery packs had fallen out. I was really mad because I would have to find a Radio Shack, which sells the exact same battery holders that Tesoro uses, plus batteries. Then I thought I would try and use my gps receiver and try and backtrack my trail. I finally managed to find the trail and backtracked and stopped for a moment and looking around saw my battery pack. This would have been all but impossible had it not been for my gps.
Second I use a good map program. I use the National Geographic Topographic Map program for the State of Missouri. This has every topographic map in the State. I can use this map program to find areas which may be good for hunting for civil war relics and mark a waypoint on the map program, in fact I usually mark a number of waypoints. I then hook my gps up to my computer via the usb cable and go to the "handheld devices" on my map program and input the data from the map into my gps. My gps then takes me exactly to where I want to go. Sometimes I will mark various turns when I am in the woods or backroads to get me to the point where I want to park. I will also always mark my car with a waypoint when I go into the woods, that way, no matter where I am or where I have traveled I know exactly which direction my car is located and how far away it is. When I get home I can then hook up my gps to my computer and download my tracks and waypoints that I have made that day right into my map program on the computer. When I find a lot of stuff I always mark it with a waypoint. I can then see exactly where I have hunted because a trail is marked out on my map program.
I do a lot of hunting in the fields of Southeast Missouri. These fields are huge and it is flat as a pancake. My gps takes my to the exact spot where I have found stuff previously. I also sometimes will take the map program and find potential spots to hunt. I recently did this near Riddle's Point across from Tiptonville, Tenn. During the civil war there were lots of troops stationed both at Tiptonville and Riddle's Point. The Federal troops all camped two miles from the river, this kept them out of range of the Confederate cannons along the Tennessee shore and the Confederate gunboats. I plotted out the area I wanted to hunt by looking at the elevations on the map program and plotting an area two miles from about the center of the river, which was close to the shoreline during the civil war, and hunted those areas. I found exactly nothing from the civil war, but I hunted and eliminated that whole area.
The gps is a valuable hunting tool for the relic hunter. You can also look at old maps and county maps and find the exact locations of old churches and schools. The gps will take you there every time.
So the advantages of the gps while relic hunting, or treasure hunting are thus:
1. You can mark the exact location where you parked your car and walk straight to your car when you are finished.
2. You can go to areas that would be very hard to find without a gps and a good map program.
3. I can download the tracks showing exactly where I traveled and save them to my map program.
4. I know exactly where the good spots to hunt are located because I mark them as a waypoint
I would be lost without my gps.
I started off with a Garmin Etrex Venture which was a very good gps receiver, although in heavy woods or clouded conditions it was hard to get a signal at times. Then the screen started to get lines on it and I decided gotta have a new gps.
I have a technique I use and it is the best possible for using a metal detector. I can go wherever I want to go and when I get home know exactly where I have been.
First off I use a good gps receiver. The Garmin gps map80 is, according to many of the reviews I have read, one of the best handheld gps units. It has a dual function where it can also be used as a gps unit in a car. It will not talk to you as many auto gps units do, but it uses a series of signals, those of your choosing, to alert you about one half mile before your turn and then another signal at the point where you make the turn. It of course does not let you know to turn left or right, but you can enter an address; city; etc. and it will take you there. I used my garmin mapit cd and loaded the maps for my locality. This is a small unit which fits comfortably in a shirt or jacket pocket. I run the lanyard through a buttonhole so as not to lose the unit. A while back I was using my Tejon in the woods and noticed that I had not had any signals for a while. I ran it over my shoe and nothing. One of the battery packs had fallen out. I was really mad because I would have to find a Radio Shack, which sells the exact same battery holders that Tesoro uses, plus batteries. Then I thought I would try and use my gps receiver and try and backtrack my trail. I finally managed to find the trail and backtracked and stopped for a moment and looking around saw my battery pack. This would have been all but impossible had it not been for my gps.
Second I use a good map program. I use the National Geographic Topographic Map program for the State of Missouri. This has every topographic map in the State. I can use this map program to find areas which may be good for hunting for civil war relics and mark a waypoint on the map program, in fact I usually mark a number of waypoints. I then hook my gps up to my computer via the usb cable and go to the "handheld devices" on my map program and input the data from the map into my gps. My gps then takes me exactly to where I want to go. Sometimes I will mark various turns when I am in the woods or backroads to get me to the point where I want to park. I will also always mark my car with a waypoint when I go into the woods, that way, no matter where I am or where I have traveled I know exactly which direction my car is located and how far away it is. When I get home I can then hook up my gps to my computer and download my tracks and waypoints that I have made that day right into my map program on the computer. When I find a lot of stuff I always mark it with a waypoint. I can then see exactly where I have hunted because a trail is marked out on my map program.
I do a lot of hunting in the fields of Southeast Missouri. These fields are huge and it is flat as a pancake. My gps takes my to the exact spot where I have found stuff previously. I also sometimes will take the map program and find potential spots to hunt. I recently did this near Riddle's Point across from Tiptonville, Tenn. During the civil war there were lots of troops stationed both at Tiptonville and Riddle's Point. The Federal troops all camped two miles from the river, this kept them out of range of the Confederate cannons along the Tennessee shore and the Confederate gunboats. I plotted out the area I wanted to hunt by looking at the elevations on the map program and plotting an area two miles from about the center of the river, which was close to the shoreline during the civil war, and hunted those areas. I found exactly nothing from the civil war, but I hunted and eliminated that whole area.
The gps is a valuable hunting tool for the relic hunter. You can also look at old maps and county maps and find the exact locations of old churches and schools. The gps will take you there every time.
So the advantages of the gps while relic hunting, or treasure hunting are thus:
1. You can mark the exact location where you parked your car and walk straight to your car when you are finished.
2. You can go to areas that would be very hard to find without a gps and a good map program.
3. I can download the tracks showing exactly where I traveled and save them to my map program.
4. I know exactly where the good spots to hunt are located because I mark them as a waypoint
I would be lost without my gps.