I would have liked to post this hunt sooner...as it was on 12/22...but the next day 12/23 I hunted with Brad and Dave again so I didn't have time to upload pics and do the write up.
Then that same night of (23rd) my Dad got very sick during the night...and in fact we took him to the hospital Christmas eve morn. where he spent the night and all of Christmas day and evening....so my Christmas was a mess because I didn't get to spend it with either parent as I feared would happen.
At this point we think he might have suffered a light stroke...but he went ahead and came home very late Christmas evening... and seemed to be doing better UNTIL the middle of the night last night 12/28.
He called and said he was getting dizzy and having some chest pains again...so we took him to the hospital...and within 30 minutes they did not like what they "saw" so they sent him by ambulance to another hospital 60 miles away in Champaign, IL that is better equipped to handle heart problems.
As of now I'm running on 3 1/2 hours of sleep and have to clock in to work at the gym in 45 minutes...and work noon to 6:00...yippee!!
All I know at this point is that he will probably be there overnight again while they monitor his heart and do some testing.
What a way to spend the holidays!
Anyway I want to get this hunt posted so here goes....on December 22nd Dave, Brad and I decided to hit our "Field of Dreams" once more before the ground froze on us.
This place has been a lifesaver for us this season and has given us a few seated coins but even more importantly...some cherished memories.
Even more important yet...Herky gets to dig as much and as deep as his heart desires.
Trust me... many trips here we get nothing...so it's worth the price of admission just watching him fire out dirt from between his back legs.
Good thing we went on Saturday because the next day the temps dropped from the 40's down to the teens which will probably harden up the field soil in a hurry.
We hunted for well over 2 hours and had nothing in the pouches.
I finally got a nice, deep hit so I called Dave and Herky over to give it a listen.
The SE nulled badly on much of the coil passes but I could definitely hear a nice coin hit through the silence.
I switched over to ferrous/ all metal and messed with the signal as I often do out in an open field hunt...but all I got was a low iron grunt most of the time...with only an occasional high blip on 1 out of every 3 or 4 passes.
I then switched back to conductive and the high "warble" stuck out like a sore thumb through the silence on almost every pass.
We were all (Herky included) pretty sure it was gonna be silver but the question was...seated or Barber?
I was obviously hoping for a seated...but a Barber would have been fine too.
Dug down quite a ways in the moist soil...almost like a mud/sand mix that just seemed to "blob" together like clay or playdough when I dug the hole.
We were both excited but the excitement didn't last long when I pulled a big, rusty bolt from one of the mud blobs at the bottom of the hole.
I was both ticked off and let down because I would have bet $$ that I heard a coin crying through the iron nulling.
We both looked at each other with disappointment..said a few choice words...then chuckled a little and I said "How'd you like my mighty silver find buddy?"
As we were both laughing at the rusty bolt in my had....I ran the probe at the bottom of the hole out of habit as I always do before filling it in...and it screamed silver.
I reached down and plucked out the two remaining globs of mud at the bottom of the hole...and sure enough...one of 'em sang.
I touched...pushed...poked...and prodded the probe all around the mud blob until I found the spot I thought the target was closest to.
We then started rubbing a little bit at a time on that side until we caught the glimpse of the silver rim peeking out.
[attachment 253006 bustfield.jpg]
We both had big smiles on our faces now and Herky got fired up too and decided to widen the hole....a BUNCH.
[attachment 253011 bustfield6.jpg]
After Dave and I sat there for a few minutes like a couple of kids at Christmas time admiring the clod...Dave blurted out "Well you gonna pop that thing open?...I can't take it any more"
I peeled off the top and this is what we saw.....
[attachment 253007 bustfield2.jpg] [attachment 253008 bustfield3.jpg]
I have no words to describe the look on our faces....our mouths dropped wide open but neither of us could speak.
The only thing I remember is Dave finally broke the silence by saying "Holy crap...that is a bust"...and me just staring at the eagle for what seemed like an eternity until I finally said..."that is just nuts"...."I'll never forget this one".
[attachment 253009 bustfield4.jpg]
I honestly don't remember much else other than finally flipping it over to see the front....after dropping it on the ground the first time I tried...because my hand was trembling so badly.
[attachment 253010 bustfield5.jpg]
I'm so glad Dave, B-Rad, and Herky were there to share everything with me...and as usual Herky helped with the recoveries.
I love this hobby.
Then that same night of (23rd) my Dad got very sick during the night...and in fact we took him to the hospital Christmas eve morn. where he spent the night and all of Christmas day and evening....so my Christmas was a mess because I didn't get to spend it with either parent as I feared would happen.
At this point we think he might have suffered a light stroke...but he went ahead and came home very late Christmas evening... and seemed to be doing better UNTIL the middle of the night last night 12/28.
He called and said he was getting dizzy and having some chest pains again...so we took him to the hospital...and within 30 minutes they did not like what they "saw" so they sent him by ambulance to another hospital 60 miles away in Champaign, IL that is better equipped to handle heart problems.
As of now I'm running on 3 1/2 hours of sleep and have to clock in to work at the gym in 45 minutes...and work noon to 6:00...yippee!!
All I know at this point is that he will probably be there overnight again while they monitor his heart and do some testing.
What a way to spend the holidays!
Anyway I want to get this hunt posted so here goes....on December 22nd Dave, Brad and I decided to hit our "Field of Dreams" once more before the ground froze on us.
This place has been a lifesaver for us this season and has given us a few seated coins but even more importantly...some cherished memories.
Even more important yet...Herky gets to dig as much and as deep as his heart desires.
Trust me... many trips here we get nothing...so it's worth the price of admission just watching him fire out dirt from between his back legs.
Good thing we went on Saturday because the next day the temps dropped from the 40's down to the teens which will probably harden up the field soil in a hurry.
We hunted for well over 2 hours and had nothing in the pouches.
I finally got a nice, deep hit so I called Dave and Herky over to give it a listen.
The SE nulled badly on much of the coil passes but I could definitely hear a nice coin hit through the silence.
I switched over to ferrous/ all metal and messed with the signal as I often do out in an open field hunt...but all I got was a low iron grunt most of the time...with only an occasional high blip on 1 out of every 3 or 4 passes.
I then switched back to conductive and the high "warble" stuck out like a sore thumb through the silence on almost every pass.
We were all (Herky included) pretty sure it was gonna be silver but the question was...seated or Barber?
I was obviously hoping for a seated...but a Barber would have been fine too.
Dug down quite a ways in the moist soil...almost like a mud/sand mix that just seemed to "blob" together like clay or playdough when I dug the hole.
We were both excited but the excitement didn't last long when I pulled a big, rusty bolt from one of the mud blobs at the bottom of the hole.
I was both ticked off and let down because I would have bet $$ that I heard a coin crying through the iron nulling.
We both looked at each other with disappointment..said a few choice words...then chuckled a little and I said "How'd you like my mighty silver find buddy?"
As we were both laughing at the rusty bolt in my had....I ran the probe at the bottom of the hole out of habit as I always do before filling it in...and it screamed silver.
I reached down and plucked out the two remaining globs of mud at the bottom of the hole...and sure enough...one of 'em sang.
I touched...pushed...poked...and prodded the probe all around the mud blob until I found the spot I thought the target was closest to.
We then started rubbing a little bit at a time on that side until we caught the glimpse of the silver rim peeking out.
[attachment 253006 bustfield.jpg]
We both had big smiles on our faces now and Herky got fired up too and decided to widen the hole....a BUNCH.
[attachment 253011 bustfield6.jpg]
After Dave and I sat there for a few minutes like a couple of kids at Christmas time admiring the clod...Dave blurted out "Well you gonna pop that thing open?...I can't take it any more"
I peeled off the top and this is what we saw.....
[attachment 253007 bustfield2.jpg] [attachment 253008 bustfield3.jpg]
I have no words to describe the look on our faces....our mouths dropped wide open but neither of us could speak.
The only thing I remember is Dave finally broke the silence by saying "Holy crap...that is a bust"...and me just staring at the eagle for what seemed like an eternity until I finally said..."that is just nuts"...."I'll never forget this one".
[attachment 253009 bustfield4.jpg]
I honestly don't remember much else other than finally flipping it over to see the front....after dropping it on the ground the first time I tried...because my hand was trembling so badly.
[attachment 253010 bustfield5.jpg]
I'm so glad Dave, B-Rad, and Herky were there to share everything with me...and as usual Herky helped with the recoveries.
I love this hobby.
