Where do you hunt?

[NuggetBucket]

My partner and I have been detecting for about a year, almost on a daily basis - we each have V3s as well as an MXT, TDI, Surf PI, and Beach Hunter. Since we are still fairly new at this, we read forums, books, websites, etc. etc. to learn how to use our machines as well as finding places to hunt.

We have found a lot of great information on looking for sites to search but my question is to all of you is what do YOU look for when locating a site to hunt? I am curious to know from all of you about what your criteria is when finding a site to hunt. Do you do research? How many hunt old home sites? What is your process?

As I said, we are still very new to this and mainly hunt sportsfields and beaches (lakes, ocean, etc.). I would love to know the process that others go through to find their treasure areas. Thank you all in advance for your responses

Nugget

 

[Larry (IL)]

We like to hunt virgin private property whenever we can. Many times we will eyeball a likely place that we would like to hunt and knock on the door or see the homeowner out in the yard. Sometimes we will spot an older house for sale and call the listing agent to contact the owner for us. We don't get as many yeses dealing with a third party as we do asking in person, but still worth the effort. Research is almost always worth the time, we just recently got permission to hunt where an old train depot used to be and the surrounding businesses that used to be on the other side of the tracks, this site dates back to the 1800's and has recently been graded............looks prime..........lots of broken glass where we want to hunt which is always a good sign.

 

[NuggetBucket]

Thanks for the detailed response, Larry, this is extremely helpful! We pass many homesites that we'd love to detect, but we're a bit shy about asking, but we're getting there. We recently discovered an old site that we would love to check out (we've done a little research on it) but, as the land is for sale, it will be one of those third-party contact situations, but we're going to give it a shot anyway.

We're curious on something in your post - how does broken glass at the site indicate that it is a good site?

Thanks again

Nugget

 

[Larry (IL)]

Yea Nugget, go for it on the old house, they can only say yes or no, they don't beat you up any more like they used to for asking questions............

OH..broken glass........ that tells me that there was once a building or a dump at that location and when it was burnt or bulldozed down, the glass and foundation rocks are all that is left. That is what we look for in plowed fields or in the woods for old house sites.

[attachment 166128 Hunt20003.jpg]

Who would have thought this was a Civil war camp 150 years ago if someone didn't look for the right signs................Yep, broken glass all over the place.

BTW, that is Rob (V3i Moderator) out there looking for pieces of history............

 

[NuggetBucket]

Ohhhhh, okay, I get it :O Thanks for the excellent explanation, it makes total sense of course. I would never have thought to look for those kind of signs - I really do appreciate the tips! We'll keep you posted on whether or not we get permission to hunt. It's 120 acres with some old building sites located throughout the property - it was bought in the mid 1900s by a religious community that was planning on turning it in to the Bible Storyland. It is now being sold as grazing land, so yeah, it can't hurt to ask...

 

[Larry (IL)]

Good luck and say Hi to Kate for us..................... Kate.

 

[GoGoGopher]

Look for public land along old streams or creeks (criks)...I look at bing maps and look for what look like rock walls, or square or rectangular bare patches of ground...This usually indicates the sites of old mills, or buildings...

HH,

 

[NuggetBucket]

Larry, Kate says hello back at ya!

Thank you GoGoGopher - we appreciate the tip. It's great to receive such wonderful information from more experienced hunters. We are starting to use maps and satellite imagery in our searches but not sure what we're looking for! Thanks again

Nugget

 

[srf2112]

My most successful method for securing private home sites to hunt is to ask friends and relatives to search their lots. Then I ask them to ask their friends for me. Once they SEE what we actually find in the ground, they're surprisingly enthusiastic about finding me new places to search. One approach I thought of but haven't been able to employ because of a back injury is to bring a lawn mower in my truck and offer to cut a prospective homes lawns in exchange for permission to hunt. Gives the homeowner something in return AND prepares the site for hunting. Win/Win as far as I can see. Feel free to try out this approach and let me know how well it works. Good luck.
HH
Scott

 

[nw1886]

In "hunted out" sites, prioritize with perimeter areas and under bushes first. These places tend to not get the same attention as higher traffic areas and they are more likely to produce scattered (but good) finds. This same concept can be used at fresh water parks and beaches too...by hunting areas where beach activity is not the focal point for a gathering. (Another plus is these places are less littered and a better place to learn your filtering, recovery delay adjustments etc...) Sound like you guys are having fun and good luck!