Tiftaaft

Yes, definitely one of the best conditioned Buffalo's I've dug. I was using the 10x12" DD coil. I also have the deep seeker, but haven't unleashed that monster on the turf yet (... yet). The only reason my trash pile was as small as it was, is because of all the hours I have previously spent with my VLF's... but most likely either ignoring the low iron tones (by design/setup) or some too small at the depth for the particular machine I was using. It was between 10" and 11"... and yes, that may be the deepest coin I have recovered there. A few of the other oldies were in that 8 - 9" range, but this was a solid 10"+. The site has been pretty dry from a keeper standpoint over the past week or two... so I was surprised to find a coin last night. I'm not sure of the owl variety...Could be a Barred Owl, but the way he was sitting on the ground, I couldn't see his underside. I assumed he had his evening meal on the ground, which is why I didn't try to get any closer.

Nice Gerry, I haven't had that kind of success with my 15" yet - but that is about me... and not the coil. Looking forward to giving it mine a good workout on some fertile soil. Though, I don't expect to have a day like you did... awesome collection of silver! I'm also looking forward to getting my 10x5 when they are available, especially reading Chase's notes above. ~Tim.

GBA, I couldn't help it... spent most of the day thinking about it, and decided to spend the waning hour and a half of daylight at my old school ground with the ATX. Only I can fully appreciate the plethora of hours, machines, coils and settings I have hit this particular 9x9 target patch with... but let's just say a lot. As I expected, I was getting hard and faint signals using a medium-ish sensitivity (8 for those of you that know the ATX), sweeping slow and digging any tone with sharp edges (even if the signal was faint). While my target area was 9x9, I probably really focused on an area about 6x6, digging tones progressively more faint than the last in the same general vicinity. As you can see from the picture, I was digging more shallow modern trash that turned I to aged iron at depth, bits of nails, a couple pieces of large iron, the .22 casing and pellet were each about 7". The snap was at 8" at hit solid, the staple was at about 7" and was a hard hit. Between two loud signals, I heard a separate softer signal. Similar to the nail bits I had been digging. I got down to about 8" in my hole with no response from the carrot, and even stood up to re-sweep the hole. Nice soft but defined dead center over my hole. Went down another 2" and got a hit with my pin pointer. Loosened the bottom of the hole with my lesche and pulled out the dirt with my hand and there was the Buff. 1936. So, GBA, I owe that Buff to you and this thread. 🙂 On my way out, I saw I had a friend watching me. I gave him a wide berth as I left the site. I love my ATX, it is a great Machine, I just wish I had more opportunities to use it. I'm not saying my VLF machines wouldn't have hit that nickel, but I am saying they hadn't yet... my opinion is that it was masked and without digging a few bits of iron around it, it would still be masked. But that is just my opinion, I'm not trying to convince anyone except myself. ~Tim

Yep, I have two trigger fingers after a long day of detecting... thought it was just me too!

haha. nice KAC!

Yep - that's the one, changed the way I look at detecting for sure.

Hey GBA, As I've posted about, I have a similar site that I am hunting. Old ground (early 1900's), lower yields due to massive detection over the years, over fill (old coins recovered at Depth with a capital D - 10 -11"). I have attempted the PI run a few times, but discovered I need to work more at clearing the upper layer of trash before attempting it again. No question in my mind that the PI will go deeper than my coin machines, but it does find every small bit and bob in the soil... so be ready to dig. There was an incredible post by Tom D. on his site years back, talking about clearing a turf site with a pi machine, and his finds... it was fascinating and worth a read if you haven't already. I am about ready to take another run at my site with the ATX after spending some time with other machines clearing trash. When I fire up the ATX on the turf, I'm not thinking about conventional discrimination - even though the ATX does have the ferrous/non-ferrous tones (it is only accurate to a certain depth, which is actually above the layer I'm trying to punch down into) , so really what I try to do is set the sensitivity where the 12" target will give me a faint signal... and I use that to "manually discriminate" the digs. I don't mind digging iron... when I'm in the mood for digging iron... so I need to be in the mood for the ATX on the turf. I may be in the mood again soon. I'll post my finds. I don't know the TDI too well, but speaking strictly PI, I think there is a place for it if you are up to a long day with maybe a good find or two. I am interested to hear how you do at your old site (both with the large coil on the EQX and with the TDI if you decide to give it a go).

I resemble that remark. 😆

You can't beat that view F350P! Beautiful!!

Very nice Tom!! That military button looks to be in great shape! With a V and a War nickel to boot! ~Tim.

And again.

You said it better than me KAC in a lot less words.

I agree with better performance with less manual controls. However, to the dedicated detectorists... the more manual adjustments, the easier it is to separate a seasoned and experienced detectorist from a "Newbie" or "Weekend Warrior" (with no offense intended to those just starting out or those that are only able to hunt occasionally). Everybody wants to turn on the machine, swing twice and find a gold cache. For those who have taken the time and extreme effort to learn the more complex machines (some mentioned above.. Blisstool, CTX, V3i, etc), finding the correct combination of settings, is almost as great a reward as finding that valuable target that nobody else has. The gateway is the question "what settings are you using", which in some is an attempt to make a manual control machine... more automatic (I am guilty of asking this question, though, I have tried to use that is information in my own research, rather than just plugging and going). We all know, every region, every site, every target, is a little different... so a hunter really needs to understand the settings to tweak accordingly. These tweaks are being made in the more automated machines, eliminating the need for a user control. I am guilty of both, so I guess I can be criticized from both sides. I want an easy machine (at times), but I also enjoy learning a complex one (and really feel rewarded by finding a valued target at a hard hunted site with a more manual machine). But the advancements in technology really should create "bigger,better,faster" with more automation. So, to the original question... the future of detecting is most assuredly more automation, less controls, and better performance.

All major brands are good in their own way (I haven't tried any of the copy-cat/off-brand pointers). For all around and reliable performance, my Carrot is always in my holster when I walk out of the house. .My F-Pulse is currently at Fisher getting serviced... so my current co-pointer/backup is the Whites TRX.

I'm not sure if this is related to your question above, but at an old site I'm currently hunting, I have been getting deep faint signals in the zinc to copper penny range.. On more than one occasion, I have thought to myself "IHP"... but alas.... Texas Brick from the old schoolhouse that previously resided near this site. The depth of the bricks have been between 6-8" inches, and will absolutely set off my carrot... but I run on sensitivity 3 most of the time... I will test in a lower sensitivity to see if my brick reacts the same as your clay. Just wondering if the clay used in the brick is similar to what you found in your backyard. These bricks may be "high mineralization" too.

Whoa! That is some great glass there Abenson!! They look to be in perfect condition for the age. The Great Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root is my fav!! Of course, my last name is Root, so that may be why 😉.

That sounds like a fun hunt and I love that the Girl Scout relics were given back for the museum. My kind of hunt!! Thanks for sharing DWD!

I usually target parks during the week days, either early in the morning (daybreak until the park goers start arriving) and some in the evening. Usually parks are a little less busy during the week. On weekends, I steer clear of parks for that same reason. I look for aged school grounds on weekends and holidays. Of course, my work schedule doesn't always cooperate with that plan.

Thanks Popeye. After a a few hours I realize I have "a lot of learnin' to do" on beach detecting. I will be re-reading all the beach detecting posts with a little more context. My finds today look like I would have expected for first time out... clad and trash. I was lucky enough to find a '64 Rosie.. that was unexpected! I definitely need to study up on how to read the sand, and whether to hunt the wet sand or the water (waders). This beach is pretty flat, and no visible cuts today. Trying to figure out how to work the "washboard" sand, as those areas seem to be the most noticeable difference from flat, smooth areas. Just need more practice. :) had a great time today.

Nice!!

Thanks for the information. I'm hanging up my Lesche for a few days and headed down to Surfside, TX this weekend and will give Gulf Detecting my first go since moving to Texas. Hopefully more beach hunts in my future this year. I'm only an hour or two away from the Galveston to Corpus coastline, so I have no excuse except dedicating the time. Any suggestions welcome! ~Tim.

GBA, you never fail me. I always know your questions about numismatic value are short to follow old coin finds. 🙂 The tonnage of what I don't know about coins!!

Love this quote. Just wanted to bump it again. ~Tim.

Can't wait to hear how you like it Mike... and I'll live vicariously through you until I get mine :). I see you are just north of me (I'm in the Energy Corridor area of Houston). How is hunting up in Magnolia? I'm new to Texas and still trying to learn my way around the good detecting areas. Mostly, I stay at the one spot close to my home, but would like to find some other old ground to hunt. Happy Hunting! ~Tim.

Thanks Tom, I have just had bad luck pulling dates on copper older than the 1920's - let alone in the early 1800's. I'm sure there are areas around Houston that have historic aged targets (again... that 2 reale is incredible!) but my research skills seem to be even worse than my detecting skills 😄 . Keep the great finds coming Tom!! ~Tim.