My 1st. homestead site

[fdl]

Here in S.E. Wisc. I got permission to md a pre 1880 homestead site that now is just a plowed field located on high knoll. The house that was there was moved to it's current site sometime around 1880 & is about 800 yards away & is occupied by the owners who gave me permission to hunt. I went there today & they pointed out the general location of where the house use to be,so I grabbed my X705/3kHz 9'' concentric & my 7kHz 10.5" DD & headed for the plowed field looking for any signs & low & behold found pottery & glass shards. The only problem is that I didn't come well prepared because all I had for digging with me was my Lesche digger but I did find 3 square nails & a pipe stem from a settlers pipe. I am invited to come back again but I want to be well prepared. My questions are:
#1 What type of shovel should I buy for plowed & hay fields? O.K. dumb question but what do others use?
#2 The soil GB in the mid 20's so I'm going to use my 7.5 kHz 10.5'' DD. Correct? I have both of the 9" concentric coils.
#3 Depth. In plowed fields am I expecting coins to be as deep as 10" plus? maybe deeper?
I'm able to crank up the sensitivity to 25-27 without chatter & I'm using positive tracking GB offset of +3 thinking I'll get better TID accuracy-still feeling this feature out. I also know that this area produces Indian artifacts so copper spear points may also be found(now that would really make my day). This is my 1st. time detecting on an old homestead so any other thoughts would be nice to hear. Thanks.....

 

[mapper65]

My answers which I expect will be just one of many:

#1 - Nearly anything will work but I have a Predator Tools Piranah which will dig through almost anything.

#2 - You should be good with the 10.5" MF or the 9"LF. I would put time in using both coils starting with the 10.5". The soil in my area is typically the same around 26-28.

#3 - I typically do not use an offset so I can't say if your idea of +3 will be a good idea. I'm sure Digger or Old Longhair will give you their opinion on that.

It would be nice if you had a 6" coil. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out based on finds where the old house was. A 6" coil is sometimes key for old homesteads but I expect that using one of the 9" coils may help if you get in a trashy area.

Can't wait to hear what you find. Have Fun!

 

[tometusns]

good luck!

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

Cool, you have a home stead to MD.

1. I use the small 3 foot tall shovel and I wrapped a heavy wire " coat hanger " a round the handle and bent a hook in it so I can hook it on to my pouch.it kind a hangs behind me.

2. 10.5 MF DD coil is the only one I use.

3. do not expect to find coins much deeper then 4" but some times you will. They just have not had enough time to get the halo effect.

I would just set your GB where the MD tells you it's the best. also dig everything that beeps above iron. In most farm fields you will not get a very good ID. that's because the coins can be at all kinds of angles and no halo effect. Another thing, when you are doing your grid pattern, keep kicking the ground. That will help you to keep in line when you do your return pass or use marker flags.

Good luck and have fun

 

[Digger]

You've already received some great advice. One thing I would add would be to not get in a hurry using an offset to your ground phase. Sometimes it does more harm than good, such as those square nails you mentioned. Until you "get use" to what the X-TERRA is telling you with the appropriate ground balance, I'd suggest not tweaking something that could create more ground noise or false signals.

Mark's point about dragging the shovel behind you is a good one. Not only does it stay out of the way when you walk or sweep the coil, it leaves a trail on the ground that helps guide you on the next pass. HH Randy

 

[Pennypacker]

Just to clarify, as I have just learned. running a positive offset would actually mean a setting of -3 on the MD. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

I use a surplus military shovel, or a "transplanting" type of shovel, both are basically small spades, you have your choice of a straight handle or a "D" handle.
That's a good idea about having a hook to hang it on, although I have always just carried mine in my left hand. Hanging behind your back would be best, just don't fall on it lol. I will be adding a hanger because it would be nice to have that hand free and I don't have to hold the blade away from the coil.

I actually use this same shovel everywhere, although I do feel a little self conscience at times carrying it into some sites, lol. I can sure cut a plug in a hurry, easily too.
Admittedly, I am going to try a smaller hand held shovel for parks etc, but if I recall correctly, it sucks digging holes that way.
In the past I have even cut down a full sized shovel blade to a more appropriate size. Customised the handle length as well.

The DD sounds like a good choice, 6" is great if the iron is really dense, but hopefully the plowing action has spread the targets out a bit, you will still find a lot with the larger coil.

 

[Old Longhair]

I'm pretty much lock-step with Mark on this.

My shovel is one that I customized. Just find one that works for you. The Piranha, Sampson, and Shark are all premium tools.

Take all the coils that you have, but start with the MF. You're going in blind, and until you know more about the actual conditions where target density is highest you want something that is honest to make your assessment.

Again, I would go in "neutral" with no offset to begin with. Farm fields are unlike any other ground around your area. Farmers put very little back compared to what they take from the ground. Out in the field it can be sandy clay that they break up by adding lime, while 30yds away in the fence row if you stick your shovel in it's the consistency of tobacco. Point being that as with the coil selection, you won't know for sure what you're up against until you get there and have some time to check it out.
And Mark is right about the depth of most finds too, but some can be as deep as 8" or so. There is typically a hard pan about 8" down that tillage equipment scratches at, and farmers are always hoping to "break through". With chisel plows and Graham Hoeme plows they work at it, but even they don't get down much more than 8", so things that settle or get stuck there tend to not go deeper.
Depending on the size of the equipment used, hills and dips can be interesting. The big guys will pull 34ft of tillage behind 235hp six-wheel drive tractors, and a lot of those soil tool frames are rigid in field mode, so there are places that they go deep as well as places that they don't go as deep depending on the lay of the land.

 

[fdl]

Thanks everyone......great advice & I'll be going to the local Army surplus store for that shovel-like the idea of hanging it behind me. As far as ground balance is concerned I'll go back to auto or tracking with no offset -kind of getting back to basics.
I like the 10.5" DD for more coverage-this site is not that trashy. When I look at a field that's been plowed for decades that soil has been dug down at least 8-10" which by my way of thinking means artifacts could now be at least 10" down. If that's the case going slow & digging any hint of a high tone would be advisable. That's why I brought up question #3 or am I wrong in my thinking?

 

[fdl]

Old Longhair.....it is interesting detecting in plowed fields especially when there deep plowed due to the ferrows. You sweep just above the soil then the soil dips into the ferrow & the coil is now 3" above the soil. 10.5" coil sometimes doesn't fit into the ferrow. I'll be going back there no later then this weekend before the farmer works up that field so if I find something good I'll post it........Thanks again.

 

[Old Longhair]

The best times to get on the fields is after harvest before they chisel it up, or in the spring before they fit it to plant.
Bean, wheat, and hay fields don't have furrows, so they are easier to hunt. Corn stubble is a pain to work around.

 

[Digger]

Just to clarify, as I have just learned. running a positive offset would actually mean a setting of -3 on the MD. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

For the sake of clarity, lets recognize the difference between a setting and an offset......

If you adjust your ground balance by making the ground phase number larger, you have created a negative ground balance situation. If you adjust your ground balance by making the ground phase number smaller, you have created a positive ground balance situation. And that holds true for all of the X-TERRAs that allow you to set a ground balance.
However, there is another function in the 705 that makes this even more confusing......Tracking Ground Balance Offset......Setting a positive number into the Tracking GB Offset will provide a more negative ground phase than the number the detector selects as optimum. And setting a negative number into the Tracking Ground Balance Offset will provide a more positive ground phase than the number that the detector determines to be optimum. Check out page 22 of my FREE eBook for a complete explanation of Tracking Ground Balance Offset. And pages 17 - 21 for a thorough explanation of what ground balancing is.

HH Randy

 

[fdl]

Hi folks....Saturday morning I was headed to my "1st. homestead" but on the way there I went by this old farm that is no longer operating. The farmhouse that once stood there had been removed about 10 years ago & all that's standing is the barn,grainery,& 3 dilapidated sheds. I knew the folks that lived there many years back (1970's) but they were getting up in age at that time. The whole farm was sold to an area farmer who I also knew & they gave me permission to detect it. The area where the house once stood (it was bought & moved down the road to a new location) is grown over with grass/weeds that at this time is anywhere from 2-5" tall plus the same for the area around the other buildings. Everything you see here was found on Sat.&Sunday morning. This is by far my best finds in the little time I"ve been MD'ing. I must of dug a couple dozen beer&soda cans along with alot of tin,steel & iron junk. No coins except for one modern penny but with old relics like these I'm not complaining. I'll try to explain what I found:
1st. picture: a Cheek Rouge compact made by Irresistible Inc. Jersey City,N.J. & some kind of buckle-maybe for a belt or purse? Not sure what it's made of-pewter,silver-I'll get it checked out...40TID.
2nd.: a religious pendant?( this is front side-back side in #3 picture) & a military Great Seal button made out of bronze-I think.
3rd.: back side of pendant which has "DUBROVNIK" printed on it. Dubrovick,I found, is a city in Russa. Will need to do further research on this one-maybe pewter....36TID.
4th.:A Champion 6-Lever lock made of bronze. Found they were made from 1902-1938.....I think....lots of these out there for sale.
5Th.: Looks to be a decoration off of an old cabinet & still has the mounting hardware...bronze or brass & in very nice shape. At the bottom is a: broken whatchamacallit....any guess?
Anyway it's been a great weekend detecting & thanks to all for helping me understand my X705....to be continued............

 

[tometusns]

cool finds

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

Will you found yourself some cool relic's, wtg

I'm sure if you work that place over somemore you will find some old coins. Most times at places like that if I am finding relic's like that I'm finding some old coins. Keep working that place..

 

[fdl]

Will you found yourself some cool relic's, wtg

I'm sure if you work that place over somemore you will find some old coins. Most times at places like that if I am finding relic's like that I'm finding some old coins. Keep working that place..

Mark....I read alot that people go back & check over the same place,over the same areas. So what do you different in the same area that you already detected? Different coils? Different detector? It's weird I didn't find old coins but I"ll give it another shot. I used my 3kHz 9" concentric because I ground balanced from about 30-45 although early this morning with wet grass I was seeing lower GB #'s,by the time the grass dried the GB #'s climbed-does that make sense? Next time I'll use my 10.5" DD coil.

 

[fdl]

n/t

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

I only use the 10.5 M DD coil so it's up to you if you use a different coil. Most ppl will tell you to use a different coil when going back over a place. As far as the GB numbers changing from wet grass to dry grass, I'm guessing that when you re GB you was in a lil different type of soil. I have no clue if you will get different GB #s from wet to dry grass. but if you do go back to that place I would go cross ways from your first grid pattern. If I am able to, I will go back over a yard 2 to 3 times unless I feel that the yard is a waste of my time.

 

[mapper65]

It's always a good idea to switch coils and change directions as Mark has mentioned above.

We've been going over a mid 1800's property very close to our house for about two years. I've used every coil that I own on this site. We went a few weeks without fining anything and then right in the middle of one of the main areas using my 6" HF coil that I used a ton of times there, I found a 1910 Barber dime and an 1887 Indian on the same night about 8-10' apart. Talk about a head scratcher.

I'd say the most important thing is putting the time in. Switching coils is probably second. I thought we had everything out of this property and I went there for the first time with the new Digger coil and within an hour I found a 1900 V nickel very close to where the Barber and Indian were. I have to believe that switching coils in this instance was key based on crossing over that location probably 100's of times with other coils.