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Several probes field tested, but not by me .....
- Thread starter Ray-Mo.
- Start date
Ray, is that your video? Didn't know there was locations to hunt from the 1700s here in Missouri. Was surprised the Sun Ray probe only went an inch. Both of mine will go three inches in the ground. The pistol probe is a find hand held unit. The best there is.
jimmyk in MIssouri
jimmyk in MIssouri
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
I loved the extensive field testing of the SunRay...........
Really, how many experienced hunters rubs the dirt off of a deep large silver?
Really, how many experienced hunters rubs the dirt off of a deep large silver?
grumpyolman
New member
Sure wish folks would cut a flap and not jerk a big plug out of the ground. It's also good to put the dirt on a piece of ground cover so you can get it all back in the hole.
If he would have used a predator raptor instead of the digging tool he had, he could have had that out of the ground twice as fast. Sorry!! Nice find but I have never had do dig a hole that big to recover something that deep. Pinpointing with any of my machines would have allowed a hole about half that size.
http://www.predatortools.com/item_details.asp?ID=3
Maybe it was somebody's private property. Couldn't tell from the video. Dig like that in a park or a school ground and it's over for everyone.
Am I just the obnoxious one? Does anyone else think we better start monitoring our digging before detecting is only allowed on private property?
A really good find and happy he found something nice. Now if he'd only dig responsibly. If it was private property that should have been noted so newbies or anyone just cruzing on detecting sites don't get the idea that's how everyone digs. Jim
If he would have used a predator raptor instead of the digging tool he had, he could have had that out of the ground twice as fast. Sorry!! Nice find but I have never had do dig a hole that big to recover something that deep. Pinpointing with any of my machines would have allowed a hole about half that size.
http://www.predatortools.com/item_details.asp?ID=3
Maybe it was somebody's private property. Couldn't tell from the video. Dig like that in a park or a school ground and it's over for everyone.
Am I just the obnoxious one? Does anyone else think we better start monitoring our digging before detecting is only allowed on private property?
A really good find and happy he found something nice. Now if he'd only dig responsibly. If it was private property that should have been noted so newbies or anyone just cruzing on detecting sites don't get the idea that's how everyone digs. Jim
I use both the Detectorpro Pistol Probe and the Uniprobe and with them you can pop half the targets out with a probe and the other half only requires a very small hole. I think some people open these caverns because it is easier than trying to work in a small hole or its easier viewing for their movie. I have been monitored by the grounds people in my city parks and since they have watched me dig we have established a repoir and I have actually been asked to help locate their covered sprinkler heads and base pad mounts on the baseball fields. I also agree with Grumpyolmen, if I had dug one hole like the video shows, that would have been the end of my MDing in any of the parks in this town. HH Nampa 23
I'm right there with both Grumpy and Naptha. I'm too watched like a hawk in my NYC parks. The pred not only does a cleaner job digging. It also dosnt look like a big knife. Pistol probe is out the window too unless you want one of the trigger happy finest capping you. A kid got shot because he had a musketeer candy bar in his hand. Any way I have to be clean quick and descreat about my recoverys.
Altamaha
Member
Nice find, but boy I just can't understand why someone would rub a nice coin like that. I always take a small bottle of water with me so I can rinse the coin if I just can't wait to see what it is. Also we really should use forums like this to educate hobbyist on the proper way to dig holes/make recoveries, else the hobby will soon be ruined for all of us. I've been detecting for almost thirty years now and more and more recently I've been denied permission because the property owner has had a bad experience with some previous detectorist digging craters as they put it on their property. If done properly you should be able to recover finds even on well manicured lawns, without any sign that you were there. I think that especially when we post videos we should keep this in mind because so many people now have access to the internet and this is a really quick way to give our hobby a bad name!
and both would find a coin sized object at 3" easily. SunRay makes excellent probes.
As for recovery methods, in lawns for deeper targets I dig a 4 or 5" diameter trapdoor plug to the same depth and flip it back. Removed dirt goes in an extra lg frisbee. The frisbee makes it easy to isolate a removed target from anything metal underneath it. Shallow targets are isolated with a probe.
I would be asked to leave most areas I hunt if I started using a shovel or taking out twelve inch plugs. Don't leave trash and clean up the recovery area so it isn't obvious you were there. Stop by a week later and see how your handiwork looks. If it isn't so good find a better way. Quick.
As for recovery methods, in lawns for deeper targets I dig a 4 or 5" diameter trapdoor plug to the same depth and flip it back. Removed dirt goes in an extra lg frisbee. The frisbee makes it easy to isolate a removed target from anything metal underneath it. Shallow targets are isolated with a probe.
I would be asked to leave most areas I hunt if I started using a shovel or taking out twelve inch plugs. Don't leave trash and clean up the recovery area so it isn't obvious you were there. Stop by a week later and see how your handiwork looks. If it isn't so good find a better way. Quick.
Critterhunter
New member
You've hit on several recent messages I posted so maybe you guys can help. First, I've got a ProPointer and it's great. Supertuned I get 3 1/2" in my garage and it should be even more in the field due to less interference causing auto sensitivity to adjust too far down. The regular depth is more than enough without super tuning but with it super tuned you can really get down there to pop clads or other targets with a screwdriver real quick without digging a hole.
I started a campaign in the metal detecting forum to get people to start using a screwdriver on most targets less than say 5" deep. Otherwise we are going to lose are rights if people keep digging plugs when they don't have to. No reason to dig a plug for something at least less than 3 or 4", and it's very possible with deeper stuff provided you use a long enough screwdriver to get the right angle on it.
I use a very long screwdriver so I can get the right angle on deeper targets. I also like to lay my digger down at a 90 degree angle to the screwdriver and then push the screwdriver down onto the digger's handle for leverage, which allows me to put more force on the target and pop the real deep ones out using this "sea saw" or "teeter totter" method (which I'm sure I spelled wrong).
Some guys will say "I don't want to scratch a good coin". Come on, that's a cop out. Most silver at most sites is 5" or deeper unless it's virgin ground and even then you can usually tell if it's a silver coin if you know your detector. Round off the tip of the screwdriver and you aren't going to scratch it. Probing also has other benefits like faster recovery to rack up quick clad totals. People ring hunting in sports fields better start probing or we will lose those places. Shame your friends into popping targets. Even if they don't have a pinpointer they can probe outward from the center with a spiral until they hit the target. I used to do it that way without a pinpointer and you can still find it quick.
The other thing you guys hit on that I was just recently asking about is a digger that will allow me to dig deeper plugs without the need to make a really wide hole. What it comes down to is I'm using what I think they call a Sabre Tooth Trowel with the black handle. They are probably the most popular diggers on the market. It's served me well for years but it's blade is only about 7 1/2" long with an overall length of I think 12". With deeper targets I find I have to put the handle down into the hole, which also means I have to widen the hole more than I want to. I like to keep my plugs about as big around as a medium size soup can, a bit bigger than the top of a pop can...maybe 1 and 1/2 times the diameter of a pop can.
Anyway, I'm also not a big fan of those small shovels with handles on them that look like what the military carries. Carrying those around is very intimidating to the public because people think you are going to dig huge holes. Perception is everything in this world so I hope more of us will start discouraging fellow detectorists from using those. If you're so lazy that you don't want to get down to dig a hole then you better find a new hobby like stamp collecting where you can sit on your *&S even more. Even those shovels with very short handles that will fold up or holster to your hip are a big turn off to the public's eye. For all those reasons I want something longer than my current digger but not with some kind of shovel handle on it that looks unfriendly to people. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know. That Predator looks interesting but it's only a half inch longer than my current digger.
I started a campaign in the metal detecting forum to get people to start using a screwdriver on most targets less than say 5" deep. Otherwise we are going to lose are rights if people keep digging plugs when they don't have to. No reason to dig a plug for something at least less than 3 or 4", and it's very possible with deeper stuff provided you use a long enough screwdriver to get the right angle on it.
I use a very long screwdriver so I can get the right angle on deeper targets. I also like to lay my digger down at a 90 degree angle to the screwdriver and then push the screwdriver down onto the digger's handle for leverage, which allows me to put more force on the target and pop the real deep ones out using this "sea saw" or "teeter totter" method (which I'm sure I spelled wrong).
Some guys will say "I don't want to scratch a good coin". Come on, that's a cop out. Most silver at most sites is 5" or deeper unless it's virgin ground and even then you can usually tell if it's a silver coin if you know your detector. Round off the tip of the screwdriver and you aren't going to scratch it. Probing also has other benefits like faster recovery to rack up quick clad totals. People ring hunting in sports fields better start probing or we will lose those places. Shame your friends into popping targets. Even if they don't have a pinpointer they can probe outward from the center with a spiral until they hit the target. I used to do it that way without a pinpointer and you can still find it quick.
The other thing you guys hit on that I was just recently asking about is a digger that will allow me to dig deeper plugs without the need to make a really wide hole. What it comes down to is I'm using what I think they call a Sabre Tooth Trowel with the black handle. They are probably the most popular diggers on the market. It's served me well for years but it's blade is only about 7 1/2" long with an overall length of I think 12". With deeper targets I find I have to put the handle down into the hole, which also means I have to widen the hole more than I want to. I like to keep my plugs about as big around as a medium size soup can, a bit bigger than the top of a pop can...maybe 1 and 1/2 times the diameter of a pop can.
Anyway, I'm also not a big fan of those small shovels with handles on them that look like what the military carries. Carrying those around is very intimidating to the public because people think you are going to dig huge holes. Perception is everything in this world so I hope more of us will start discouraging fellow detectorists from using those. If you're so lazy that you don't want to get down to dig a hole then you better find a new hobby like stamp collecting where you can sit on your *&S even more. Even those shovels with very short handles that will fold up or holster to your hip are a big turn off to the public's eye. For all those reasons I want something longer than my current digger but not with some kind of shovel handle on it that looks unfriendly to people. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know. That Predator looks interesting but it's only a half inch longer than my current digger.
grumpyolman
New member
Thanks for the support on the way we should dig holes to protect our hunting areas that are still left.
http://www.rodenator.com/rodenators-accessories-products
Scroll down the page on this site to the fourth object...It's the Gopher Shovel. It's not heavy. I carry it parallel to the ground and from a distance it looks like a short walking stick. I might use it 3-4 times an hour, most of the time I use just the Raptor, but if I get one deep and I don't want to make the hole bigger, this allows me to go straight down the sides of the hole I dug and loosen more soil deeper. I then go back in with the Raptor and use the wide shovel part to clear out the dirt this thing loosened. Where I am digging and with what I am finding, not much like the experts on here, somebody would have to watch me for a half hour before they ever saw me working with anything except my screwdriver or my Raptor.
If you haven't tried the Raptor, man it's great. It moves lots of soil and the angle on the handle was well thought out as it gives you max leverage to move the flap up and folded back on itself. I rarely have to grab dirt by the handful as the 'shovel' part of the Raptor hold about 5 times as much as you can get on the blade of the 'regular' Lesche/Predator tools. I did sharpen it a bit so it cuts faster and cleaner but I suspect most sharpen their regular diggers. Bryce on the Explorer forum field tested one and that motivated me to try one. It's made in the good ol USA and is aircraft quality material. It won't break. It is NOT good in the hard dry soil. But so is nothing else except a pick. Jim
http://www.rodenator.com/rodenators-accessories-products
Scroll down the page on this site to the fourth object...It's the Gopher Shovel. It's not heavy. I carry it parallel to the ground and from a distance it looks like a short walking stick. I might use it 3-4 times an hour, most of the time I use just the Raptor, but if I get one deep and I don't want to make the hole bigger, this allows me to go straight down the sides of the hole I dug and loosen more soil deeper. I then go back in with the Raptor and use the wide shovel part to clear out the dirt this thing loosened. Where I am digging and with what I am finding, not much like the experts on here, somebody would have to watch me for a half hour before they ever saw me working with anything except my screwdriver or my Raptor.
If you haven't tried the Raptor, man it's great. It moves lots of soil and the angle on the handle was well thought out as it gives you max leverage to move the flap up and folded back on itself. I rarely have to grab dirt by the handful as the 'shovel' part of the Raptor hold about 5 times as much as you can get on the blade of the 'regular' Lesche/Predator tools. I did sharpen it a bit so it cuts faster and cleaner but I suspect most sharpen their regular diggers. Bryce on the Explorer forum field tested one and that motivated me to try one. It's made in the good ol USA and is aircraft quality material. It won't break. It is NOT good in the hard dry soil. But so is nothing else except a pick. Jim
Critterhunter
New member
Thanks for that tip. I just started a thread in the metal detecting forum to pressure people into not using huge shovels and to probe targets whenever possible. That shovel you posted doesn't look nearly as intimidating as the type most people will carry with bigger/fatter shovel head or super long shovels. I think I just saw one just like that at Big Lots a week or two ago. I remember picking it up and saying "Hey, this thing looks pretty darn strong". It's got a small "shovel" on it like that and looks the same but with a red handle and it's only $5. Matter of fact I think I'll shoot up there and grab one of those so long as it still looks like it will hold up. The handle is maybe 3' long so I'll just shorten the handle down to like maybe a foot at the most. If it doesn't look very sturdy with my closer look this time I'll probably opt for the one you suggested unless somebody has other suggestions.
It's a problem on multiple levels when some tool posts a video excavating craters.
First of all, it's showing many newbies and wannabe dirt fishers who don't know any better the wrong way, a wrong way they may very well follow.
On another level, it's providing ammo for politicos and archies who will use it as evidence that many of us are pillaging and despoiling public lands.
First of all, it's showing many newbies and wannabe dirt fishers who don't know any better the wrong way, a wrong way they may very well follow.
On another level, it's providing ammo for politicos and archies who will use it as evidence that many of us are pillaging and despoiling public lands.
I agreed with you critterhunter about using a probe to pop targets out until this afternoon. I used a probe on a penny signal and it turned out to be a delicate .925 silver ring with a pear cut amethyst stone at less than 2 inches and I totally destroyed it when I applied pressure from the probe to pop it out. I'm afraid I will have to continue cutting small plugs unless I positively know what is in the ground first. Live & learn, Nampa 23
NebTrac said:marcomo said:
Not to mention if a dog starts chasing you, you maybe able to get him to chase the frisbee while you make a run for cover...
NebTrac
That's a good one!
But for anyone detecting who doesn't know, the absolute WORST thing you can do with a bad dog is run from it.