Nickle shooting with MXT and digging properly.

[arizonaames]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBHREnhjBtw

 

[Nancy-IL]

Why not use a screwdriver to retrieve the coin since it was so shallow? You wouldn't need to dig any and leave the ground basically untouched. Also when we dig, we make a horseshoe cut and open the plug like a hinged door. That way the roots of the grass aren't damaged and ALWAYS use a rag to put the dirt in when retrieving a target and then funnel it into the hole. Easy as mud! JMHO, Nancy

 

[arizonaames]

Not when it is mud, Nancy. But then again, you seem to know more about the ground conditions in the video than me.

 

[Nancy-IL]

I'm not cutting you down and I think you made a great video. I was stating how different targets can be retrieved. Maybe with all of the ideas on how to retrieve targets we won't be faced with people making large holes and destroying our hobby. Little by little it all helps in the end. I do appreciate your video. HH, Nancy

 

[BarberBill]

I use a screwdriver as much as possible. If that doesn't get the job done I try to cut a horseshoe or triangle shaped plug that is hinged on one side. However, once in a while in rather wet turf in spite of my efforts I end up with a true plug as shown and when that happens I handle it as done in the video. I've gone back over the same areas later and haven't been able to tell where I've been, but I believe it helps a great deal when the area is quite damp and/or watered regularly.
BB

 

[bula]

I agree Nancy, I have been doing this for a while now & have not dug a plug in a lawn yet. With the trusty screwdriver & a little practice popping a coin out at 6' is a snap. Maybe the soil conditions here are different but just the other day I & another fellow were hunting the same dirt lot. He using a large shovel & I using my screwdriver. He got two Rosie's & a few wheat's I got a Merck & 7 wheat's, not bad with just a probe.

 

[HuntinDog]

Maybe one of you could make a video on how to use a screwdriver for retrieval.
I haven't tried one and would be interested on how it is done.
I would think that there would be a higher chance of damaging the coin with the end of the screwdriver.
There are many ways to retrieve a target and no one way will work all of the time.

 

[Topo]

nice video, is that overload on pinpoint usual with that coil?

 

[bula]

Maybe one of you could make a video on how to use a screwdriver for retrieval.
I haven't tried one and would be interested on how it is done.
I would think that there would be a higher chance of damaging the coin with the end of the screwdriver.
There are many ways to retrieve a target and no one way will work all of the time.

Give me a manual task & I can complete it, make a video would be like flying to the moon for me. I agree there are many ways to get at the object in the ground & what ever works best for you stick with it. Using a brass probe will reduce the chance of damage, all I do is pin point the object, use the screwdriver of brass probe (if the ground is soft) to locate it. Then push the driver along side of the coin & make a slit in the grass, pushing it off to the side, get the driver or probe under the coin & using a finger to hold it to the blade of the driver pull up. There's you coin. It does take a little practice so try it on those clad penny's.
At most you might end up with a hole about the same size as you would have if you aerated the lawn with one of those plug machines.

I guess the main reason I like doing it this way is that I have seen the look on someones face when the Md er shows up with a garden shovel & asks can I dig in you lawn. A screwdriver is less intrusive.

 

[Larry (IL)]

That is a very good point Bula. We hunt a lot of peoples yards and a screwdriver in our hand is a LOT less intrusive than a digger or worse yet, a shovel. Don't laugh, we have seen that....a garden spade, not only in peoples yards, but on school property too. We are very conscientious of the image we present to the public. I use the DX-1 to pinpoint the coin and a screwdriver to pop it out, down to a couple of inches anyway, besides, it saves a lot of time recovering targets. You can learn to be pretty fast with a screwdriver.....and almost all surface targets I don't worry about dinging them anyway, almost always clad.

 

[arizonaames]

Now, to be honest, I have seen scratched and ruined old coins that Nancy and Larry have pried out of the ground with a screwdriver but like Larry says, most will be clad and not important. Also, whether you dig a full plug or a "horseshoe", you will disrupt the grass in a dry season. In fact, you will do as much damage pulling on the roots by folding a plug back as you would cutting the full plug out of the ground. The point, however, is to leave as little damage as possible and to fill in your holes and leave the area like you were never there. There are more and more parks and schoolgrounds that are not allowing MDing because folks are not filling in their holes.

 

[Old Katz]

I'm afraid I have not gotten the hang of digging with the screw driver, and what if its
a deep coin 5 to 6 inches. I had several targets yesterday that were in fact deep; only
a hand full were in the 2 to 4 range.

Katz