CZconnoisseur
Active member
Went to a rural wedding this weekend and got to see some family I haven't visited in 15-20 years. My daughter and I started out from Memphis on Saturday morning, where is was already 85 degrees and humid. The further north we went, the cooler it became - by the time we arrived it was 60 degrees and raining - and I was enjoying every second of it! This was an outdoor wedding and it started off soggy, but when it got down to getting ready for the ceremony, the weather suddenly improved as if it was on demand...possibly the result of many prayers 
Anyway, once the reception started and as the drinks were getting kicked back, I snuck off about 1000 feet from the Elks lodge and obtained permission to hunt a small community garden that my aunt said had been used since the 1930s. Turned on the Deus in the usual 4khz program and hit a goofy target right off the bat, bouncing around in the 30s and 40s but wasn't deep - out came a 1943 war nickel. Every other target around that garden was rubbish - pieces of can slaw in various sizes and configurations hit from the 30s to the low 60s and got a little disappointing at first. Decided to go back to the lodge and eat some dinner and see how out-of-hand the wedding party was getting...but before I left I looked into the bushes and thought I saw a house...didn't think too much of it at first but when I drove past, it was evident that it had been abandoned several years ago but the yard was still mowed.
Back at the lodge everyone was having a good time...music was playing, people were dancing, my 8-year old daughter found a group of kids to eat cake and go crazy with (much like I did 30 years ago at the very same lodge!). I can't handle loud music and conversation at the same time, and most of my relatives that I know well aren't big on that either, so a group of them mozied outside and found a picnic table. Talked with them a while and found out that the house belonged to such-and-such who was a dear friend of someone my aunt knew...and if I wanted to check it out "go find some gold coins for us!" was the reply
So I returned to the garden, and it was around 6:00 which meant I had about 2 hours of daylight remaining. I wanted to start in the front yard and then work around the back. The house sits on an acre of land, right next to the railroad tracks. I thought it may have been a conductor's house or some other railroad employee since it sat "off in a corner" in the middle of town, if that makes any sense (a pic would help!)
4 kHz, reactivity 3, silencer 0...This is my starting point for most of all my recent hunts - and it seems to work very well. Small targets like the buttons and small hemweights (?) the Deus sung out on very clearly, I also think Audio response = 5 helps those small targets come alive, especially when 4 kHz isn't as responsive on these smaller items. Was really surprised to be picking up these little guys, but not complaining! I walked up to the sidewalk and got a sharp "zing!" which was the sterling damaged ring. After this target, I knew that this place hadn't been touched with hardly any detector, maybe never. Popped out some zincolns, then a green Wheat dated 1919. Bam! Then another greenie came up, a worn 1920 D Wheat. Time to slow down and breathe. Got a higher tone, 77-81 and didn't want to settle, only about 3" deep. Out came a beautiful 1914 D Barber dime which would grade close to "VG" had I not grazed it with the digger. By now I'm excited and looking to find another...it was started to get dark and I didn't want to night hunt this place being an unfamiliar (somewhat) face in town. Scored a few more Wheats and decided to wrap it up for the day - but tomorrow's battle plans were getting laid out now!
So tomorrow came this morning and my daughter and I had a nice breakfast and visit with family; discussing politics, catching up on cousins and second cousins, etc and we bid farewell around 11:00. This skies were deep blue, it was in the upper 60s with a nice northerly breeze - just perfect for a hunt! We returned to the house and I picked up again in the front yard. For some reason I decided to change to a similar 8 kHz program, but then started finding Clorox and regular bottlecaps. Switched back to 4khz and set to finish scanning the front yard. I got closer to the house and then received a bunch of squirrely signals that were hard to isolate. Changed reactivity to 4, silencer 0 and this helped - pulled some clad and a Wheat or two away from the very edge of the porch, and it took a little while to zero in on the coins due to the amount of nails, washers, screws, etc in the same hole. Found a brass barrette in the same hole as a Wheat - and that signal in particular sounded great one way, and 90 degrees it was clipped.
There was a fair amount of pulltabs and a few bottlecaps among the two hunts, and the tabs seemed to like the low 40s for VDI. There were a LOT of irregular blobs of lead, and some brass (which I keep); but these rarely "sound" like coins although the VDI is similar, but not "committed" (like a coin), usually. I strayed away from the house in the middle of the yard (got lucky here)...received a mere peep of a repeating high-tone. My daughter decided to "help" recover this one. I dug a 6-7" hole with the Lesche, and she indicated it was a the bottom of the hole with the Propointer. A little deeper and it got stronger. Around 8" deep the Propointer went solid, and out came a square piece of metal - and I was hoping for a soap token...turns out it WAS, and is my first!
She wanted to "help" dig the target because she was getting bored. "OK, OK 2 more old coins!" I said. Found a 1971 quarter and she thought it was old...sigh..."OK ONE more OLD coin!" I stipulated. Not 10 feet away I got a funny 50s to 60s signal, and only 2" deep was a Wheat. "Tell the me date on that coin" I told her - she pulled it out of the hole and began rubbing off the dirt, "1913"..."OK that definitely counts" The pinpointer was still going off in the hole, got excited initially but it was only a chunk of lead about 2" deeper than the coin, which was a surprise
Then the two of us began the infamous walk-back-to-the-car where many stories have started. Got another signal and dug a clad dime. She was twenty feet in front of me..."Come on! Time to gooooooo..." as only an 8-year old can say. Then I got a low-toned "boop" and dug out a pretty little citrine pinky or toe ring. "Hey I found a RING!" I said. This got her to stop and regain interest...she walked over and I asked her to put it on - it fit well and was in good shape. But this was only mildly satisfactory and a promise was a promise. Turns out the ring is 18K "Heavy Gold Electroplate" so the fine gold escapes, once again. She's not really into jewelry (yet) but maybe I will find that right thing one day to pique her interest in treasure hunting. One can only hope....
Anyway, once the reception started and as the drinks were getting kicked back, I snuck off about 1000 feet from the Elks lodge and obtained permission to hunt a small community garden that my aunt said had been used since the 1930s. Turned on the Deus in the usual 4khz program and hit a goofy target right off the bat, bouncing around in the 30s and 40s but wasn't deep - out came a 1943 war nickel. Every other target around that garden was rubbish - pieces of can slaw in various sizes and configurations hit from the 30s to the low 60s and got a little disappointing at first. Decided to go back to the lodge and eat some dinner and see how out-of-hand the wedding party was getting...but before I left I looked into the bushes and thought I saw a house...didn't think too much of it at first but when I drove past, it was evident that it had been abandoned several years ago but the yard was still mowed.
Back at the lodge everyone was having a good time...music was playing, people were dancing, my 8-year old daughter found a group of kids to eat cake and go crazy with (much like I did 30 years ago at the very same lodge!). I can't handle loud music and conversation at the same time, and most of my relatives that I know well aren't big on that either, so a group of them mozied outside and found a picnic table. Talked with them a while and found out that the house belonged to such-and-such who was a dear friend of someone my aunt knew...and if I wanted to check it out "go find some gold coins for us!" was the reply
So I returned to the garden, and it was around 6:00 which meant I had about 2 hours of daylight remaining. I wanted to start in the front yard and then work around the back. The house sits on an acre of land, right next to the railroad tracks. I thought it may have been a conductor's house or some other railroad employee since it sat "off in a corner" in the middle of town, if that makes any sense (a pic would help!)
4 kHz, reactivity 3, silencer 0...This is my starting point for most of all my recent hunts - and it seems to work very well. Small targets like the buttons and small hemweights (?) the Deus sung out on very clearly, I also think Audio response = 5 helps those small targets come alive, especially when 4 kHz isn't as responsive on these smaller items. Was really surprised to be picking up these little guys, but not complaining! I walked up to the sidewalk and got a sharp "zing!" which was the sterling damaged ring. After this target, I knew that this place hadn't been touched with hardly any detector, maybe never. Popped out some zincolns, then a green Wheat dated 1919. Bam! Then another greenie came up, a worn 1920 D Wheat. Time to slow down and breathe. Got a higher tone, 77-81 and didn't want to settle, only about 3" deep. Out came a beautiful 1914 D Barber dime which would grade close to "VG" had I not grazed it with the digger. By now I'm excited and looking to find another...it was started to get dark and I didn't want to night hunt this place being an unfamiliar (somewhat) face in town. Scored a few more Wheats and decided to wrap it up for the day - but tomorrow's battle plans were getting laid out now!
So tomorrow came this morning and my daughter and I had a nice breakfast and visit with family; discussing politics, catching up on cousins and second cousins, etc and we bid farewell around 11:00. This skies were deep blue, it was in the upper 60s with a nice northerly breeze - just perfect for a hunt! We returned to the house and I picked up again in the front yard. For some reason I decided to change to a similar 8 kHz program, but then started finding Clorox and regular bottlecaps. Switched back to 4khz and set to finish scanning the front yard. I got closer to the house and then received a bunch of squirrely signals that were hard to isolate. Changed reactivity to 4, silencer 0 and this helped - pulled some clad and a Wheat or two away from the very edge of the porch, and it took a little while to zero in on the coins due to the amount of nails, washers, screws, etc in the same hole. Found a brass barrette in the same hole as a Wheat - and that signal in particular sounded great one way, and 90 degrees it was clipped.
There was a fair amount of pulltabs and a few bottlecaps among the two hunts, and the tabs seemed to like the low 40s for VDI. There were a LOT of irregular blobs of lead, and some brass (which I keep); but these rarely "sound" like coins although the VDI is similar, but not "committed" (like a coin), usually. I strayed away from the house in the middle of the yard (got lucky here)...received a mere peep of a repeating high-tone. My daughter decided to "help" recover this one. I dug a 6-7" hole with the Lesche, and she indicated it was a the bottom of the hole with the Propointer. A little deeper and it got stronger. Around 8" deep the Propointer went solid, and out came a square piece of metal - and I was hoping for a soap token...turns out it WAS, and is my first!
She wanted to "help" dig the target because she was getting bored. "OK, OK 2 more old coins!" I said. Found a 1971 quarter and she thought it was old...sigh..."OK ONE more OLD coin!" I stipulated. Not 10 feet away I got a funny 50s to 60s signal, and only 2" deep was a Wheat. "Tell the me date on that coin" I told her - she pulled it out of the hole and began rubbing off the dirt, "1913"..."OK that definitely counts" The pinpointer was still going off in the hole, got excited initially but it was only a chunk of lead about 2" deeper than the coin, which was a surprise
Then the two of us began the infamous walk-back-to-the-car where many stories have started. Got another signal and dug a clad dime. She was twenty feet in front of me..."Come on! Time to gooooooo..." as only an 8-year old can say. Then I got a low-toned "boop" and dug out a pretty little citrine pinky or toe ring. "Hey I found a RING!" I said. This got her to stop and regain interest...she walked over and I asked her to put it on - it fit well and was in good shape. But this was only mildly satisfactory and a promise was a promise. Turns out the ring is 18K "Heavy Gold Electroplate" so the fine gold escapes, once again. She's not really into jewelry (yet) but maybe I will find that right thing one day to pique her interest in treasure hunting. One can only hope....
I thought it funny how you are in 'metal mode' during conversations...steering the conversation into perhaps getting a tip on a location to hunt! I have a problem with this as well...
