Winter hunting...a whole nother game!

[mudpuppy]

Well, snowing again today...Do you all check your local Craigslist under lost and found for ideas and an education of where things are lost? Some lady just posted a lost 24k heavy bracelet lost in a parking lot she thinks...a few rings posted also lost in parking lots...ANYWAY...Snow piles!
You can zoom in by satellite on any particular store to get an idea of where the snow may be pushed...thats the spot you will want to hit during and shortly after the melt. Even in the summer, you can approach a parking lot with a plow drivers eye, and go over there to verify your instincts. There will be keys and junk and coins and jewelry! I hunt schools a lot, and always hit the teachers parking area, main entrances, travel patterns, etc.
Sledding hills are great too, but it seems that a lot of jewelry is lost in parking lots! Hunting from the house and getting ready for this weekend snowfest days!
Your friend, Mud

 

[rick in mi]

Right on mud.Whent for a ride with my son the other day and he showed me where the dump all there snow from the malls.You never know.!! Well back to ice fishing!!.....hh rick in mi.

 

[mudpuppy]

Boy, a bucket of gills or perch would sure hit the spot right now!
Mud

 

[buzzbarto]

Newbie here. Using an F2. Does hunting frozen ground effect depth or accuracy? I'm in Illinois and there's a lot of moisture frozen in the soil right now. I don't seem to be getting much depth, maybe 3" on max sensitivity, disc. out Iron. Found a couple wheats, a few newer pennies, one clad quarter and a bunch of shallow junk. Oh, and my water shut off valve near the curb. Only hunted my yard so far.

 

[mudpuppy]

Hey Buzz! First, Welcome to the forum! Second, Yes I have noticed frost in dirt, or even on woodchips or grass scatters the signal around somewhat. Third, take it from a Northern gravedigger, there is NO easy or quick way to unthaw frozen ground! Even though I liked your idea about having your wife sleep outdoors! Never tried that...wouldn't even dare! Shooting through 4" of snow into unfrozen ground works just fine, as does shooting through snow itself, but for some reason I have also experienced what you are saying about frozen dirt or chips. Looks like a warm ups coming for next week, so mark your hits and go back and get them, or if you MUST hunt, go and find some target heavy areas to go back to in the spring!
Mud

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[jim tn]

Talking about frozen ground, snow and snow piles, I am glad to see ya all can still smile. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. HH jim tn

 

[mudpuppy]

Man! My main truck broke a couple weeks ago...and broke very much badly I must say, (head gasket)...'course it had 220000 on it. So right before this snow storm started last Sunday, I sold the busted truck to a Craigslist pirate, and traded into a '97 Subaru Outback for a little cash and that redwood paddleboard I made last summer with another!. It should be a perfect metal detecting vehicle...Its sort of like ME!...dependable, good on gas, rusty and banged up, high mileage, not at all a chick magnet, and it smokes a little! We couldn't have got through this week of snow without it!
Snows really coming down now! I'm gonna hit the winterfest hills super early tomorrow with the F70 and bagged coil!
Mud

 

[rob]

n/t

 

[blade310]

Mud do you mean to tell me that with all the clad you found this year, you didn't go out and buy a brand new Escalade? Hey guys I think Muds back yard is full of buried fruit jars full of clad

 

[mudpuppy]

n/t

 

[mudpuppy]

Got a penny and two balls of gum foil at 5am today...should have been very target heavy from a big winterfest yesterday, but it was'nt!
I dont know what happened...I even followed the rope tow to the top, theres generally all sorts of loot up there since its an awful hard climb. The snow cat did run last night, groomed everything, but even still I've never had such a poor hunt on this hill in the past! I dont think anybody could have possibly beat me to it or swept it this clean if they did..maybe one of you guys slipped a wire in my coil cover?.
Mud

 

[jim tn]

You maybe got ahold of one of tabmans coil covers. Is that hill lighted? Jeez, a 5 am hunt on the tundra!!!!!! You are a tough and good man, mud. HH jim tn

 

[mudpuppy]

Theres a little sort of concession and warming building at the bottom of the hill that has a weak light inside, so I usually fire up the 70 there, check settings, and clean up clad around the outside of it for a little, the main hills are not lighted, so a fellow cant see the screen, but can hear tones and see an object in the snow without any trouble. Theres nearly a full moon right now, so it makes it a lot better than not, even then, in a real dark night, the snow sort of lights up a target such as a coin once you dig it out, and the tones sort of give you an idea what denomination it is, the only difference is copper penny/dime, and quarter/dollar coin, nickles and zincs read true and easy...last year, I cleaned up very well on this hill, including a 5 dollar bill, the outline of it was easy to see even at night. Dont know what happened today, I cant believe nothing was dropped, so I have to reason somebody worked it late last night before the snowcat guy ran, since there were no tracks but his and mine today...
Mud

 

[stilpony]

I gotta know, what machine are you using that detects $5 bills? LOL

Couple of things here I have questions on after reading
1) is it a good idea to "bag" the coils when out in the snow?
2) I have those snap on protective covers for my coils, am I losing depth with those? (main reason for using is I plan to upgrade machine at some point and want to make sure it's in nice shape)

Any comments/help/questions/criticisms/insults are greatly appreciated!

 

[stilpony]

I gotta know, what machine are you using that detects $5 bills? LOL

Couple of things here I have questions on after reading
1) is it a good idea to "bag" the coils when out in the snow?
2) I have those snap on protective covers for my coils, am I losing depth with those? (main reason for using is I plan to upgrade machine at some point and want to make sure it's in nice shape)

Any comments/help/questions/criticisms/insults are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Pony

 

[mudpuppy]

You'll see what I'm talking about the first time you try to hunt in snow that sticks to your coil! It makes it weigh about 10 lbs! Seems real cold dry snow is not that big of a deal, but when it starts to get warm and you want to hunt, that snow will just jump up and stick to your coil something awful! then it will freeze if the air is cold, and the only way to get it off in the field is to rinse it off with some warm water...body temp water if you get my drift, we all generally carry a fairly good amount with us! That coil cover you mention is to protect the coil from the normal wear and tear, no you dont lose any depth at all.
Mud

 

[stilpony]

I think I'll be bagging my coil, gotta save the "body temp water" for rinsing coins.