Soil Changes

[ryanchappell]

You always hear that you should return to places where you previously found silver. After finding 4 silver coins at a hunted out site, I might have one theory as to why a return visit might suddenly yield targets that were previously invisible. We have very hot and dry summers with soil with iron content high enough to hide coins as shallow as 2-4 inches.

This particular site is a courtyard where I have recovered 25-30 silver coins in a dozen visits. The median depth was about 2.5 inches, with only a handful varying a up to 5 inches in depth. I have been noticing that there all the deep targets I dig, over 6 -12 inches deep, tend to be heavily rusted nails, predating the building which was built in the late 1920s. Writing this makes me realize that the layer containing the nails likely has some targets that I will have a lot of trouble detecting, but that is another topic.

What occurred to me last night was that the Fall rains (which arrived late this year) soaked this underlying layer of nails for what is likely, the first time this year, dampening their interference as well as that of their residue and the heavy mineralization in our soil. I have been detecting this site all year after rains, but these rains have not been penetrating down below 6 inches, like they are now. Hope this adds to your own theories in some way. If the fall rains are just now hitting you, and the ground is not frozen, go back to that hot site and let us know what you find. HH!

 

[NebTrac]

Nice finds Ryan. I know you've got it rough with your soil conditions. I think the best thing is your attitude....and I like your theory. We haven't had any moisture to speak of and in a severe drought here, I guess the good thing is we don't have the mineralization at all.

Thanks for the pictures.

NebTrac

 

[utahshovelhead]

I am certain about the "theory" of the damp soil. I have hunted one spot in our mineralized Utah soil countless times over 8 years now. Though I don't find much in this place anymore I can tell you that when damp conditions exist I will still pull out good keepers. When Dry conditions exist I first started moving around more looking for newer areas that were not as hard hit but after so many times I stopped hunting there when the ground is dry.

In addition I have wonderd about the effect of cold on targets. I have a pretty good hunch that the same effect that shrinks metals and objects when cold also tightens the oscilation of sound within the object itself. I know this sounds funny but the hits are very sharp when I hunt in the cold. That is as long as the ground is not frozen as I try hard not to do much digging in that. LOL.

This does not mean that I don't hunt at all when its dry, Just that I'm smart about where I hunt when its dry.

 

[Goes4ever]

Killer hunt Ryan, congrats on 4 silver!

 

[niterider_58]

Nice looking silver Congrats.

 

[ryanchappell]

Thanks guys.

In addition I have wondered about the effect of cold on targets. I have a pretty good hunch that the same effect that shrinks metals and objects when cold also tightens the oscillation of sound within the object itself. I know this sounds funny but the hits are very sharp when I hunt in the cold. That is as long as the ground is not frozen as I try hard not to do much digging in that. LOL. This does not mean that I don't hunt at all when its dry, Just that I'm smart about where I hunt when its dry.

The sharper sounds my be from less interference from iron. I know the cooler temps here allow the moisture to stay in the ground for weeks and not just days, like it does in the summer, but in the summer heat the memorial pennies register a lot higher on the VDI, 12-44 to 12-46, and seem to be lower in the winter. Right now the mercs are a little higher for some reason 12-45 bouncing to 12-44.

A lot of guys around here water detect in the summers and dirt hunt in the winters only, but that is probably more for comfort.

 

[nge]

Okay, now it's my turn for a proven theory. Try hunting the day before, the day of, and the day after a full moon. Yes, the signals ARE better. Don't believe me, try it then post back here......nge

 

[Sooper Dave]

Great going on some awesome finds! I have heard that you can detect deeper in wet soil. I know I like to get out after some good showers, mainly because it's easy digging, but I do believe it helps with "seeing" the targets. Thanks for sharing your info.

 

[ryanchappell]

Okay, now it's my turn for a proven theory. Try hunting the day before, the day of, and the day after a full moon. Yes, the signals ARE better. Don't believe me, try it then post back here......nge

Interesting. I don't doubt it, could be the earth's magnetic field? I have noticed better finds after sunset as well. My friend hunts with an XLT, and he says the rain doesn't help him. In this case, an E-trac, in bad soil surrounding retired iron ore mines, and this site with a matrix of nails every 6 inches, about 2-4 inches under the coins, it is like pouring water on a cloaking circuit.

 

[nge]

Ryan, we first noticed this phenom when hunting with the old Fishers. We would hunt a small area one week in dry conditions, then come back in dry conditions again but, on the day before a full moon and the signals would blow your ear drums out. One of the college kids in our group asked one of his professors about it, and he said it has to do with the moon's gravitational pull, it is probably moving coins flatter in the ground than when they were normally on an angle or str8 up and down. We have low tides during a full moon. Some geologists say that big rocks under ground move 1 to 2 feet up or sideways during a full moon, so I figure, why not coins and other detectable goodies. We have a very cold hard rain right now, changing to S*%#, after midnight, so playing with the moon is over for this year for me......nge

 

[ryanchappell]

Okay, now it's my turn for a proven theory. Try hunting the day before, the day of, and the day after a full moon. Yes, the signals ARE better. Don't believe me, try it then post back here......nge

Interesting. I don't doubt it, could be the earth's magnetic field? I have noticed better finds after sunset as well. My friend hunts with an XLT, and he says the rain doesn't help him. In this case, an E-trac, in bad soil surrounding retired iron ore mines, and this site with a matrix of nails every 6 inches, about 2-4 inches under the coins, it is like pouring water on a cloaking circuit.

The coins are not moving flat in the soil. Too much resistance. It probably has to do with the atmosphere or solar winds, that is what I meant not the magnetic field.

This 1945 news article supports the concept that reception is better around a full moon:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19450105&id=9IwpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=92kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5209,312627

If that is true then it is probably safe to say that sunset helps as well, as the improved AM and shortwave radio reception at night has long been known and taken advantage of. There are a handful of AM stations in the US that are licensed to boost their signals at night and serve listeners for 500-1500 miles. I could get the St Louis and Pittsburgh stations from here and listen to my team's Baseball games when they played those teams.

Were your observations during the day, evening, or night? The article sounds like it only helps when the moon is observable. I think a full moon is observable from 6pm to 6am, but I am not sure.

 

[nge]

Strange that you should mention that, I forgot to say that we noticed the moon high in the sky on a beautiful clear day around noon till 2 pm.

 

[nge]

You know, it could be that when the sun is gone in the evening that there is less EMI visible to your coil......night time only. I used to run ham equipment on 11 meter bands and also between freq's. so I know what you're talking about, man could I ever talk long and far, even when skip wasn't running...nge

 

[ryanchappell]

Strange that you should mention that, I forgot to say that we noticed the moon high in the sky on a beautiful clear day around noon till 2 pm.

At noon the sun is directly overhead. (In winter the moon is lower to the south, if you measure how high it is in degrees from the horizon due south, and won't be straight up in the middle of the sky) In order for the moon to be full it has to be exactly 180 degrees around the earth from the sun, so at 2 pm it would not be visible. It would not be visible until roughly sunset or a little after.

When the moon is high in the sky like that around noon it would have to be a crescent, or a new moon.

Maybe there is some radio reception benefit to just having the moon in the sky, and it gets even better when this occurs at night. Interesting line of research here...

 

[Thrasher]

you guys are hurting my brain... but very interesting to read none the less. I think I may actually be learning something.

 

[flinthunter]

I've felt for some time that I make more and better/deeper finds during a full moon. My theory is that just like the moon phases affect the tides they also affect the size of the halo that surrounds coins.