Rotten day at the Old Town

[Old Katz]

I went back today to this old town I had been detecting.
I started by locating this ancient cemetery I had found in the old part
of the area. I was told about it by one of the locals so I went to Maps
and sure enough found an aerial view and located it outside of town.
I parked the car and started MDing down the creek bed with the Ace 250
but it was a real mess and the banks were so over grown with brush
it was almost impossible to move the coil in and around the ground. The
grass, weeds if you will, were so thick it was hard to move. I finally found the cemetery
and tried MDing around it but found nothing except for an odd size bullet that may
have been a 22 caliber but not sure. There was an incredible amount of junk in
the ground and I could not get any DEEP targets. everything was about 2 inches on top.
What a wasted day. I got some photos of the Cemetery. You can see how thick the
weeds are around the head stones.

Later I went back to a location in town and got permission to MD around an older house
but found nothing. Again everything seemed to be only 1 to 3 inches deep.
I switched to the sniper coil and found a junk ring and a Wheat Cent 1955 and thats about all.

So how do you deal with all that think brush? This is the first time I've tried to
detect such an area.

Katz

 

[Old Katz]

n/t

 

[NM5K]

Not much you can do except try to go in the winter to reduce green stuff,
and maybe take some kind of whacker to cut brush. Or even a lawnmower if
you really wanted to get serious.
I've got one of those weed whackers that has a wrinkle edge blade with a fairly
long wooden handle on it. You can get them at any of the home depot type stores.
You can whack brush down fairly well with those.
Like that long stuff in the cemetery.. That whacker could knock that stuff
down pretty easy. I also keep a machete for ornery branches, vines, etc.
That's a pretty old cemetery. 1810, 1840, etc..

 

[RickIowa2009]

Good Luck

 

[DJR]

Katz

Man as old as that site is there should be something there. Were there any big trees in this cemetary? Here are some suggestions: back in those days from what I have read the family members used to go out (on Sundays usually) and picnic with their deceased relatives. I would detect around the big trees if there are any. Maybe see if there is remnants of an old wagon road into this place and detect along it especially in the cemetary itself. Just like now a days they droppped things getting into and out of the wagons or horses. Try a flat area along the creek as this may have beeen used for a picnic spot as well.

Don't give up!

Don

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Hell of a mess you have to work in.
That would be discouraging enought to take up

 

[flash5153]

You know what you need to do if you want to detect it. It's alot of work. Got to ask yourself?? Are you feeling lucky"?

Myself have never taken a mower with me in order to detect. But I would if I thought it would pay off. In order to do that I would have to know that I would be able to detect this place when ever I wanted and have free access to it at all times.
I have used a sickle (i believe that is what it is called) and cleared areas b4. From the pics,, I say do it,, if you can. Maybe just a small area at first and see what turns up.

If you find some gold teeth, you are digging too deep.

 

[born2hunt]

Wait till Spring, just after the ground thaws. All the weeds and tall grass will be flat and there will be a lot of moisture in the ground. Anything that's there now will surely be there then.

 

[metalhead]

We've gone so far as to pay some migrant workers to clear land for us to detect. However, this is only when it is suspected to be a promising site. Best of luck to ya'. Happy Hunting!

 

[flash5153]

Migrant workers?? Nothin like that in my area. Do you pay them with burn up zincers and crusty quarters?

 

[Old Katz]

I might invest in the weed wacker.
Its quite a racket though and I'd hate to attract any attention.
But you were talkling about the one you swing kinda like the detector?

The cemetery is
not far from some of the houses in the old part of that town. I might go the
quiet route and take one of those big pruning sheers you see people use on hedges
and work around the cemetery. Its really small.

I'll look for the big trees but again its a real mess around the area.

I wonder if we have snakes out here in Indiana. It never occured to me
until today when someone mentioned it in a private message.

Katz

 

[Old Katz]

n/t

 

[NM5K]

The whacker I was talking about was the kind you swing. Doesn't make much noise.
BTW, the whacker can be a dual purpose machine. Would probably ruin the day
of most snakes.
I could take a picture of it, but I think I left it up at my OK place the last time I was
there. It's got a wood handle maybe 3 ft long, and a blade on it at about the
same angle you would swing a detector. I think the blade has a couple of
brace bars on it to keep it intact. I got it at home depot which was also where
I got the machete. The machete is good for whacking vines, branches, etc
that are in the way.
I imagine you have a few snakes out there, but I doubt they would mess with you
much. Another reason to hit places like that in the cooler months. The snakes
will be sleeping.
You can also wear the snake protectors, chaps, etc if you hunt during the snake
months. I have a set of the green plastic snake protectors that I wear when snakes
are on the prowl. They are fairly cheap at Academy, etc..

 

[metalhead]

Migrant workers?? Nothin like that in my area. Do you pay them with burn up zincers and crusty quarters?

Man, we travel all over the country and see them all over the place standing out in front of the Home Depot and whatnot waiting for work. They'll work hard for cheap and do good work. Happy Hunting!