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Park Hunting Styles

B

BarberDan

Member
So I gotta ask.....are you a Gridder or a Wanderer? I find myself wandering around at parks. I'm wondering if that is the wrong strategy. The ones around me are so huge, it is hard to imagine trying to grid something so large. I know you can break them down into smaller sections.......but is it worth it? At home sites I find myself gridding, because the space is much more manageable. Opinions.....please.
 
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I wander also and grid around large trees people ,Go to the trees and hang out in the shade or get away from the rain,picnic etc. I have found alot of good things around the large trees.But in a a open area I tend to wander aimlessly!!
 
I seem to grid when I hit a park for the first time but kind of wander around willy nilly when I go back to a place I have been a few times before. If you have a GPS that records a breadcrumb trail you will learn a lot about how much of a park you miss when you just wander around. Idigid
 
I start off wandering, but with a purpose. I try to think about people would have been years ago-ball diamonds, playground equipment, under trees(I also look for depressions where trees were dug up).

Once I find old coins, I go over that place until there isnt much left, but even then I don't do a regular grid, I just wander over that particular area intensively.
 
Some of both I guess. Wander at first but if I find a good spot it's grid time.
 
I wander around till I find something old, then grid all around that area real tight looking for any of his friends :thumbup:
 
I will scan the place to see if there any distinguishable features (old trees, houses, playgrounds, etc.) around. If there are, I will grid that area. If not, I will wander until I find something good and then grid the area where I found it. I try to keep a mental picture of my wandering, so not hit the same spot twice, at least until I've covered the entire area once.
 
I look the place over and mentally break it down into smaller areas and then decide where to hunt by areas/sections of these parks I can grid over then go on to the next section. It's all good to me, never know till you get a coil over it, so I try not to prejudge been surprised many times. Never know what may have been on that ground way in the past unless you research right.

This way it's like "How do you eat an elephant"?? Answer "One bite at a time"!!

So I mentally break it down into small areas then grid, this way you have no doubts about hopefully cleaning out that spot and have plenty of spaces to look forewards to left to hunt for a long time to come. You can always go back over again a couple years later to see if anything turns up.

I have 2 parks one on each side of where I live not very far down the street. One is small and the other is fairly large so this is what I'm doing and then I will move on to further out spots (another nearby park) to hunt.

This way after I get out of work I can get to detecting in about 5 minutes as these parks are near where I work too, and I'm lucky enough to live near where I work also so I can hunt till dinnertime and get 2-3 hours in a day after work. Very relaxing way to end the day..
 
I bought my E Trac in April of last year and it was very different from the last machine . So I resigned myself to hunt a 3 acre park 2 blocks away until I got the hang of things. I moved in August and have a 20 acre park near by and have been there many times. I work areas that look most promising first and then move to the next area. Always working strips back and forth. I live in Nebraska and not too many people do Metal Detecting so I always on the lookout for promising areas. This year I intend to branch out into some of the smaller towns with a much higher probability of being near virgin territory. I hear talk of digging all signals and laugh there is no way I could ever dig all the signals in an area it would be totally dug up. I have to be selective and learn what new sounds and signals to dig one by one. I owe a HUGE DEBT of THANKS to all of you on here for teaching me the in's and out's of the machine and the things to look for !
 
If it is an unknown area to me I will often wander with a purpose like some have already said and just be in the cherry-pick mode looking for older stuff. Once better stuff is found then start the grid process.

Typically though I grid 90% of the time. I also use the morning dew on the grass to help me grid good lines in the larger open areas.
 
I am a chronic wanderer, but I enjoy this hobby more for getting out and turning my brain off:happy:
 
When I hunt a new location for the first time I like to just wander around and get an overall feel for the place.
If I do find a good old target or two - I get serious and hunt it on a grid from at least two different directions until I feel the area has been thoroughly covered.
 
There are 2 excellent books out on this very topic. I really like and endorse Clive Clynicks Site Reading For Gold and Silver. It gives you very specific strategies for approaching a site and what should guide you in your pursuit of treasure. The other book is the Urban Treasure Hunter by Michael Chaplan. Both books are very informative and give you lots of things to consider and take into account, so you don't just wander around aimlessly. Good luck!
 
The first thing I do is research the park first. If I can't find any history on that park I run a straight line through. If I hit a hot spot I will start to grid. If you don't grid you will waste a lot of time going over and over again. When I leave a park I want it to be clean out. You half to be thorough. So I guess that makes me a GRIDDER!!
 
I have the same dilemma with large parks because it seems to take forever to cover a large park (or school) if you grid the entire park, but then I've never had much luck just wandering around (if you miss a coin by an inch it might as well be by a mile). Like most everyone else I try to get a feel for where people would congregate and wander around there a bit and if I find older coins then I'll grid that area. I like to check google earth for a current view of the park and then look at the historical views to be aware of changes over time.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like for the most part we are all doing the same thing.
 
I wander when scouting, then grid when I am ready to dial in. I may also sweep around what look like "hot spots." Then, I do a one-direction grid in open spots until I cover the area, then turn 90 degrees and do a second grid pass. In thick trees, I do a spiral pattern around each tree.

I know gridding takes a while to cover a spot, but it ensures that I hit all the dirt.
 
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