Lost Scout

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.

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.

It keeps raining here. Started back to work and then more rain. And snow. And rain. It let up this afternoon so I continued to dig up the yard. It's one big target. Here are a few finds from the last week. I'm digging up just about everything just to eliminate target sounds. And that's why I found the silver button. Corroded iron on the back so it was a goofy signal. I'm surprised that we haven't found any older coins. A penny from 1918 but everything else is 50's up. House was built in 29.

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

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.

Mule deer mostly, but the whitetail have been moving in. The cartridge was popular for elk here. One other case is what I'm guessing is 32 long rifle.

I found quite a few melted aluminum nuggets today... Is there a market for those?

We were able to get out and hunt the lake beaches today. Enough snow has melted and they haven't started to fill the lake yet. Tough day though. Not much worth showing from the tourist swimming hole. Had hopes but only a few clad coins and trash. Drove to the head end of the lake to find only a little beach not snow covered. Trash, melted aluminum, fishing sinkers and some more clad coins. BUT I found one cartridge I knew was old. Cleaned up a little I was able to make out the numbers. It's a 40-82 Winchester. They stopped loading for it in 1935. This part of Idaho is remote and wasn't really settled untill the early 1900's. So I found something old. Im stoked! Then on the way to the pickup, I found a nice whitetail shed. Good day in a beautiful spot.

Thanks for input. I'm getting better at the audio signals and have dug almost everything to this point. Went out today and really paid attention to the sounds. Turned my recovery speed down and was able to tell a lot more about the targets. I'm getting there. Didn't dig as much iron today. But lead and aluminum with solid signals have to dig. A pic showing not so much iron. My stuff on the left, my fiancee stuff on the right.

So the yard is one big target. Old ranch house built in 29. Can't even turn on the 4500 or sweep the GB2. Really excited to get the Nox for this kind of thing. Taken it to other sites and have put at least fifty hours in. ( The lawn looks a little rough now😂). For this spot I've settled on field 2 with 5 tones. Horseshoe on. Iron volume at 2 and the other volumes at 20. Recovery at 7. Iron bias f2 and playing with the setting. Sensitivity around 17.

Ahhh... And I thought it was the Vikings who followed the Salmon runs...

So being new to the Equinox... Seems to me the audio is super important. I can hear the tone chirp among the iron grunts. Maybe no I'd #s but still the audio signal. Even if sweeping different directions still only gives a coin audible and no Id# but audible is consistent, do dig it?