I have not posted in a while, but wanted to share my good fortune in a hunt two Saturdays ago, the 18th of October. Much of my detecting is relic detecting. I detect in Northern Virginia and recently gained permission to hunt several private properties that are each about 3 acres, mostly fields and a house on each property, most of the land is grass but relatively untouched from the original farmland that it was during the Civil War. The land is located near a battlefield area, about 3 miles away, but in an area that troops crossed and some may have overnight ed on. It is easy digging when a target is detected. I spent about 8 hours detecting with two friends and we all came away with great finds. I use a GTI-2500 with the 9.5 inch coil that I prefer over the 12 inch even when there is a lot of clear ground to cover. I mostly detect in all-metal mode and listen for the tones and look at the meter. I have added the new Garrett Pin-Pointer to my arsenal and it has proven itself to be a fantastic pin-pinter, the best I have ever used. I have changed my methods because of it. I used to dig a target and spend several minutes removing clumps of dirt, checking, rechecking and digging some more. The new Pin-Pointer has ended all that. Now I dig a few inches of depth and use the Pin-Pointer in the hole and the removed dirt and usually that ends it. The only times the Pin-Pointer has not alerted on the target has been when the target was especially large and was located deeper than expected.
So my finds----Three iron buckles and two rings, one oval and one round. I also found a super saddle bridle shield---unmarked which could mean Confederate, but not definitely---and several smaller period pieces. I've never found a saddle bridle shield, glad to now have done so. In the picture, on the left side, below the saddle shield is a large cent, which cleaned up a lot better than expected and turned out to be 1817, worn, but most of the Liberty is present and the date is clear. Very exciting find! I also found the one bullet casing. My bullet total was 16 bullets! One of my best bullet days. And a very nice variety to boot. I ended up with: 2- 3 ring .54s; 5- .56 Sharps, 4- .54 Burnsides; 4- .52 Spencers and one of these still has part of the cartridge attached to it; and 1- .44 Potter. I also found a new quarter, a penny and two dimes, all recent. All the finds were between 3-6 inches deep.
Garrett makes awesome detectors and I expect to be using mine for many years to come.
So my finds----Three iron buckles and two rings, one oval and one round. I also found a super saddle bridle shield---unmarked which could mean Confederate, but not definitely---and several smaller period pieces. I've never found a saddle bridle shield, glad to now have done so. In the picture, on the left side, below the saddle shield is a large cent, which cleaned up a lot better than expected and turned out to be 1817, worn, but most of the Liberty is present and the date is clear. Very exciting find! I also found the one bullet casing. My bullet total was 16 bullets! One of my best bullet days. And a very nice variety to boot. I ended up with: 2- 3 ring .54s; 5- .56 Sharps, 4- .54 Burnsides; 4- .52 Spencers and one of these still has part of the cartridge attached to it; and 1- .44 Potter. I also found a new quarter, a penny and two dimes, all recent. All the finds were between 3-6 inches deep.
Garrett makes awesome detectors and I expect to be using mine for many years to come.
I found some Spencers in a corn field here in Vermont. They must have been from a gun that a vet brought home from the war.