Lost Scout

I'm lmao. Great post. I'm always amazed at the life and death scenarios when they they are running excavators. I run excavators for a living and didn't know how much I was living on the edge!

I'm am jealous of Parkers gold hunting trips. If he can make money on this, good for him! And searching for a lost phone that belongs to a girl on a ski trip makes perfect sense in my world.

Do they make a detector that's good to ten meters in the snow?

More likely an adventure novel than a treatise. It probably starts something like " Danby couldn't believe what he had just overheard in the dark corner of the bar...he told himself it was a bar rumer. Still, he may have have to travel up to this bench off the left fork of Goat Creek. If there were nuggets as big as your thumb...

Even with the magnet against the handle shaft it will eventually break when you hit a rock just right. Epoxy will too. I assume you don't weld since you are going this route. I would suggest paying someone to weld ( a six pack would probably be enough) butting against the shaft,  a collar/ Short piece of pipe just big enough to accept the magnet. Just the surface would be showing. Any further towards the end interferes with digging. Just my opinion. 

One of my cool detecting finds was a VERY strong magnet. After getting the signal and scaping a inch or two down the signal disappeared completely. Took me fee minutes to notice it stuck to my pick.🤨

Ok so I'm sitting here drinking.... First off , really cool finds.  Button is cool. But as someone who used too make a living riding horses and packing mules... If I found a horseshoe with the nails still in it I'm thinking " the horseshoer needs to make his clinches bigger."  I know that's technical and trade related but unless the shoe is really old ... It's just a thrown horseshoe.

I am however jealous that you are in an area with the potential that an old horseshoe could be significant. 

And getting permission on that property is 😎 awesome.👍

10 hours ago, oneguy said:

Cool pics!  If you haven't been up the Yankee Fork yet and seen the dredge it's worth the trip, I didn't take the tour but should have....

Haven't been there. Looks like I need to from the picture. There's a partial dredge in Warren Idaho I've climbed on. Know a guy who's farther ran it. As a kid he used to walk the tailing piles and find specimen rocks and sell them to people in the bar/ restaurant so he could buy soda pop.

3 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Is the ring gold? Great stuff. My yard finds were mostly colonial out back, that's what got me going. As I got closer to the house, it was all construction material, mine was built in 2008. Really learned to plug the ground well as I am a bit of a "lawn nut" 😀 Button definitely looks late 1800s-mid 1900s. 👍

Never was big on machine pinpointing myself, after a while I got really good at spotting the center by eye, and the hand pointer did the rest. 🙂

The ring is silver and gold plated. Very thin plating. I think onyx stone in the middle.

My fiancee says the silver button is most likely from the 20's to 30's.

6 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

Nice finds, I always swing in different directions to pinpoint more closely with the 800.

Good luck on your next hunt.

I swing from different directions  and then start to pump. If there are two targets you can  tell by the tone changes when the coil is moved to one side or the other while pumping easier than with just a swing. The strongest signal is right in the middle of the coil. 

Forgot to add that I have have decided that my favorite way of pin pointing with the Equinox has become the " pumping method" . Seems accurate, fast and will give an idea of target ID without listening to the scream of the pin point button.

They used to make some awfully small derringers for ladies to tuck into their garters.

5 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

And we wonder why their stock price is dropping.  😲  Nice example of "damning with faint praise."  (Not a negative criticism of you, BTW.)  This thread is currently five days old, 12 pages long, but I'm just getting around to reading it.  As a non-6k owner I can sit back with a bowl of popcorn plus a glass of vino and (try to) see the big picture.  It sure appears to be a mixed bag....

Oh God... Popcorn and wine? They don't mix!

Phrunt, I've been following the thread. You don't know me and I know less than you about detectors. But I'm giving free advice about your situation based on my life experiences and past mistakes. SEND IT BACK FOR A REPLACEMENT. You will never trust the machine at this point. Give Minelab the chance to make it right. Give yourself peace of mind. As I read the thread I feel sorry for you, the money put out and hope you don't cheat yourself.

If I was Minelab and read this thread I would have your replacement ready to go and be contacting you for your shipping address.

Consider this situation with the big picture in mind. Happy hunting!

Probably off a head stall. Cool finds.

Troutsnouter , I can't resist. With a moniker like that you should be able to detect all kinds of lures and fishing weights. I'm not the expert here but you are starting an adventure. Get ready to dig. There is a learning curve even with advice. I have three detectors, one of which is a goldbug 2. I like it. But I would go with a dues 2 or equinox 800 first. Both fairly sensitive and can be used for other things. Wish I had got my nox sooner. 

Wow! I'm going back and read your other threads. Interesting and you write really well! And you've found gold. I'm hooked.

Pool sticks? That's cool!

The forks were for poking them to see if they were done after spoon feeding them.

I almost posted crap apple branch!🤯

Probably use a shovel handle next. It should be close to 1 1/4 pipe and be stronger than the 1". And I may have a seasoned crab apple branch to try. 

Went out and dug up some more of my yard and the handle isn't too bad! I was hoping for a little more of the red heartwood but happy it's going to work. The spring leaf l used is super strong and i may go ahead and make another or two. One short and one long. 

What are you using for the collar?

The homemade pick I have used for quite a while and really happy with stopped working Sunday. I decided a slightly larger handle would last longer.     Can't remember what I made the original handle from. The pick itself is carved out of a leaf spring and I welded a 1"inside diameter pipe on for a collar. It balanced well. It was tough. I liked it. Then the handle broke.  Cut the old collar off and welded an 1 1/4" piece on that is a little longer, you know, for strength. Then I couldn't find any of my broken shovel handles, I usually have one around. A piece of manzanita l had would make a cool handle. Unique. 

I screwed it up I think. Now the head looks out of proportion and it doesn't balance like before. I'll try it today and see.   

I've read some of the other posts on picks looking at designs, ergonomics, function etc. Does anyone else have a home made digger? I did see the post using plow discs.

Awesome finds! I don't think I'm going to get anything quite that old in Idaho...

Obviously you are doing things right. Question though, since objects can dropped or lost most anywhere, what would key you in an area for a hoard? Not just where someone lived in the past  but do they turn up being associated with anything in particular? I'm ignorant of this area of detecting. And maybe I misunderstand the term "hoard".

Looks like an adventure.