F350Platinum

Looking forward to your impression of the coil. I am dumbfounded by the thing, going to have to wait until fall to hit some areas I previously grid searched. Not only will it be handy because they planted corn this year, but I'm now positive I will find stuff I missed even in my grid search areas. The hill behind my house showed me that.

Doggo, I have dug one Trime. I hardly find any silver, and that seated half dime would sure make me dance a jig. Might even post it. I didn't know what it was until I got back home and looked it up. You... will... find one. A Trime is as difficult to pick out as a half Real, and it's even smaller. It's gonna be a 16/17 at best. Great stuff. I woulda been happy with the Civil war IHPs and the button! 👍

Gotta get my RV ready for a trip to the beach, this month going to Emerald Isle for my annual "Wife's Birthday" trip. It was hot and humid this morning, the deer flies are nearing the end of their parasitic lifespan, so they were ravenous. Despite lots of bug spray they hit me over and over. The trick is to let 'em land and bite, they are reluctant to let go so you can kill them. Left quite a few in the dirt today. Unlike ticks, mosquitoes and chiggers, they don't leave an itchy welt. Went back to the hill for about 4 hours, it's not that big an area but I wanted to get one more dig in before spending the rest of the week doing chores. The hill is about 60 feet above the river, what is behind me is about the same size. There was a house here by old records. The evidence is brick and lots - lots - of nails and junk. Dug quite a bit of trash, some of it masking the good stuff. Didn't find much but it was surprising, due to the fact that I have been over this area a lot of times with the standard Equinox coil. Only dug 4 keepers. Silver plated spoon, 1930 wheat, 1936 dog tag and the biggest surprise, a gold plated mid 1800s to 1900s button (I think). Even the shank was plated, the back says "EXTRA RICH" and the company name. I should mention that it was a 12 in a pile of iron nails, the Coiltek 10x5 "sniffed" it out. I haven't found a button in a while so this made my day. It's the best gold plated button I have found. Next up: Beach Road Trip! 😀

Here's a photo of my 'cuda next to that 25 year old spade that has been to Helenback with me. I've been using the Barracuda since my wife bought it for my birthday. My Grandfather was a serious gardener, he had the most beautiful yard I have ever seen, and his tools were immaculate. I think it skips a generation. 😀 I remember Dexters, they made boots for the Army too. These days I wear Merrells. Wish they made them here. 🇺🇲 There was a used TRX on eBay from England at a decent price recently, but the shipping made it unobtanium. 😵 I have my fingers crossed for Garrett too...

I keep Repel 100, Skintastic (picardin) and Cutter 15% DEET in the golf cart. Despite all this, I've plucked at least 10 ticks and nymphs off me so far this year. We used to joke in the army that Cutter was an attractant. Now the ticks are all grown up, so I haven't seen any in the past few days. My big problem is that the deer flies are nearing their demise, so they are ravenous. I was out this morning and they were like F-16s. Chiggers and mosquitoes make up the rest of the summer. 😵

Thanks GB! Minimal is my preference, but remember I have a golf cart that I keep a lot of stuff in. 😀 Water and bug spray in particular. I have only detected on beaches near the RV parks I go to, so stuffing a water bottle or 2 in my cargo shorts is how I hydrate. Run out of water and it's time to quit. I'm jealous of your TRX, been reading about that pinpointer, shame they're about as hard to get as a Coiltek 10x5. I see you take really good care of your digger, bet your Sampson is clean too. I have a 25 year old spade I used initially in the farm fields that looks new, it gets a coat of WD-40 after every dig. Take care of your tools, they will take care of you. Wrangler came out with a line of shorts, long pants, and insulated long pants a few years back that have cell phone/water pockets. Sometimes I separate my finds in the cargo pockets and use the pouch for trash. Just about everywhere I go I'm wearing them in some form. They're cheap at Walmart and Amazon. They even have colors other than camo 🙄 The main gist of this thread is for getting an idea of what people use, and ideas for additional gear. Bring it on! Yeah, prospecting rigs are probably a bit bigger... 😀

Thanks Cap'n! Nice unique rig. I never saw a Cache Pro before. I've seen the Berry and bird tools, they are great for being careful in parks. Maxpedition gear is tough stuff. 👍 Recently I've talked a couple of RV parks into letting me detect there, no sense in leaving a bad impression. My blade of choice is a Benchmade mini Barrage, but I have a Gerber Paraframe.

Thanks GB. I thought of doing this a while back, it's going better than I expected. Decided to wait until I had a bit more experience and whittled my stuff down. 😀 I am considering some of the tools/gear others are posting as well. I am glad some of the heavy hitters are jumping in and throwing all their stuff on the floor/ground for a photo! 👏

Are all your hand tools made by you? That is one thing I never tried in my life - welding. 👍

😀 There are a lot of gravel roads where I live, I've gone after an Equinox 30+ ID a few times in them. There are tools that make that a bit easier: I've always found the coin. It takes a lot of patience. Do you want to know what that target is? Some might say "Why would I want to spend $100+ on a shovel?" I never want to know the answer to that. 😉

Thanks for the post! KAC's hand digger is unique for sure. I've considered it but want to get a Ranger first. That Grave Digger shovel looks like a really tough one. It's important to have the strongest one you can get, when they break you are done, literally until you can get another. Cool! I'm sure everyone who reads this will be interested in what the difference between the two pinpointers is? 🦆I also have 2 Carrots but only bring the second along in my gear bag on long trips as a backup. Mine both work the same, they didn't until I realized one was set to less sensitivity than the other. Learned recently via video how to adjust the Carrot in water.

I have a pruner, sometimes I'll bring a lopper on the golf cart when I know I'm going to be digging in root areas or have something specific to dig. Most try to dig around roots to avoid damaging a tree or bush. Always remember on a permission what's there isn't really yours! 😀 The places I have permission to dig are poorly maintained, so sometimes I have to also get permission to maintain them. Mowing, trimming overgrowth for access, that sort of thing. Here there are laws regarding cutting brush near waterways. Looked at that saw, it is really nice. 👍

Good question! Because I have both, I'll try to make sense. The Lesche Sampson is a great shovel, you may even be able to get it with single or dual serrations. It was the first shovel I bought for digging in my back yard. For that it is excellent, it's a great plugging shovel for turf. You can dig clean plugs and not leave a trace - exactly what I need on public grounds. It is light, compact, and strong. I have pried some large iron with it, but I don't recommend it. The problem comes when you get in the woods or around old growth. The Sampson tends to "bounce off" roots, and more pushes apart the thicker stuff than cutting it. That's where a digging tool like the Barracuda comes in handy. It goes through smaller roots like they are butter, really rips. The larger ones can be cut with some effort, I also use it to "stab and split' even bigger roots. This is of course where I can. This type of shovel is less likely to be re-directed by more solid obstructions due to its more radical wedge shape. It is a noticeable advantage in the woods. Remember too that Predator Tools is an offshoot of Lesche, I believe a family member or relative. It's a "better mousetrap" if you will. They're both strong and reliable. The reason I want to get a Predator Ranger is that it has a longer/wider shovel span than the Barracuda - it is 5.75 x 11" where the Barracuda is 5x9. It also has a "D" handle which I think inherently offers more torque than a "T" handle shovel, and is a bit easier to hold. A lot of my targets are deeper than the Barracuda or the Sampson will dig, and digging is time. Accept nothing less! HTH

Aw man, that is a sad story. No way to put the battery in backwards or something simple? It's a shame that even expensive stuff can arrive DIB (Dead In Box). I've seen it many times with high tech gear in my career. 😵

Here's my winter rig: White's double serrated digger. This thing is a tank, glad I got one before they folded. Craftsman cut resistant insulated gloves, These are the warmest gloves I've found and I need 'em. They only come out around Christmas and sell out fast. Otis gun brush set, and FooFoo spray bottle, both in 9mm double stack mag pouches. I found silver in the winter 😀 I use my Predator Barracuda for most of my digging, but in the field I used an Ames D handle spade most of the time. This winter it's gonna be a Ranger. I have an old Garrett pouch for finds and trash.

Thanks for the post! Love that Lesche Sampson, I bring one to the RV parks because it fits in my gear bag (Yes - the Equinox fits 😀) and is probably the least intimidating of my other digging tools, a White's hand digger and a Predator Barracuda. I plan to get an even more scary shovel this year - the Predator Ranger. That monster can dig an 11" hole in seconds, even in roots. Seems I'm not alone when it comes to the Fiskars composite trowel, on the beach it can't be beat. It's not great for roots or clay but in sand and salt it's perfect.

Outstanding. 👍 I'm glad someone is finding coins. 🤣

I couldn't find a post of this sort so I thought I'd start one. Seems like things get kinda slow here when we're not in rivers or on the beach. I hope others will add to this, the are a lot of clever people here. I have an optimized fall/winter rig that I'll post when I have a minute. Different tools, and heavier stuff.

Thanks. Saw photos on the site of people with Frisbees and pans. Wondered how I was gonna carry something that large around. Here's the link for it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ALIXT6 It's not cheap but rolls up, you can keep it in a cargo pocket.

I'll keep an eye on Aptx-LL earbuds and headphones, and I'll post again here. It will show up in unread posts every time. It only lasted 2 or 3 days.

Haha Joe, it's feed/seed corn or for ethanol. Unless you get it early, it's kinda tough. 😁 The bird is a mockingbird, they have taken over. Built nests in my porch ferns, drove the Bluebirds and crows out, threaten everything that comes near em. They attack too. 😵 They do get rid of flying insects tho. It did look cool when I took the pic this morning. There are Eagles here, but I'd be nervous if I had the dog with me. If you're heading up this way feel free to pm. 🙂 🇺🇲

I'd get me a nice wide beam boat and motor for river hunting. Maybe one with a platform so I can just sit there and detect and scoop from the boat. 😀 I think 8 grand would do it. 🤔 No gold here.

Those gloves are nice. Would be a good air layer too. Amazon has a ton of stuff for reasonable prices, my ballistic nylon came from there, used it for my water sifter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06Y3QK95Y Got some left. Maybe I should make my own bag. 😀

Took me 2 seconds to find this cloth on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Durable-200gsm-Kevlar-Density-100x30cm/dp/B07CV6GQL1 It's Aramid. Tough stuff in its own right. Another quick search found these: https://www.amazon.com/Tac9er-Tactical-Gloves-Large/dp/B079FC8BDF come to think of it, the cloth I have is ballistic nylon OD. Still really tough. HTH

Summer in the USA, the fields are planted, the ground is turning to concrete, the rivers and beaches are either off limits or full of people and boats. Some boats are on the beach too. 😁 Heck you have to mow or bush hog your own spots to detect! I've been refining the amount of stuff I carry, trying to make it as light and simple as possible. For the Summer I have it down to this: Calces365 bag with the mesh on the keeper pocket and the trash pocket, it drains out the sand/water from your finds. On the belt is the Carrot, and a Doc's deep bag for my composite trowel, a brass wire brush, and a Kong rubber Frisbee for dogs that rolls up for putting the dirt in. Makes it easy to clean up, and isn't too big. When rolled in the bag the trowel fits right in. One knee pad, and the best warm weather nitrile gloves I could find, they are 5 bucks at Lowes. I can use my cell phone while wearing them, sorta. They will save you from cuts and poison ivy. The only other thing I might add to this rig is a 9mm MOLLE mag pouch with a spray bottle for the silvers but I don't find so many of them. 😀 If Doc ever reads this, the trowel bag could use some mesh on the bottom to drain water and sand, may modify it soon but I'm not good at sewing. Got some spare OD Kevlar though... 🤔 Edit: Please don't think that I'm pushing minimalism in any way. That's just my preference, the whole point of this thread is to show what ya carry, and tell why in some cases so others can get ideas for possible substitutions. The bigger the better. Lots of people browse this forum for ideas. Gear is a big part of what we do. I've seen some pretty big rigs, and totally understand them. Remember I just walk out my front door to detect and use a modified off road golf cart! 😀 I can bring a lot of stuff if I want.