Bullets N' Buttons

[F350Platinum]

Went up to the racetrack again yesterday, thought these finds deserve a post of their own. There is a small plot of land next to where the house stood. It had a barn and the cemetery behind it. It's about a half acre. Lots of corn stalks 😵

At first the going was kinda risky, the wind was blowing about 20 mph, big low off the coast. I had to search under trees in the background and these were falling everywhere.

If any of you have ever been hit in the head by one of these Black Walnuts, you know what the fun part is. They were coming down like rain. I suppose I could have waited a few more days but hunting season starts soon. The trees are about 50' or more, and they get a bit of velocity. 😀

I really didn't expect to find much at all, a scout search last spring gave no indication there was anything good here, but I was determined to grid something out of it after my finds from previous days.

This is another example of "persistence pays off". All of these relics are very old. A pistol ball, an as yet unidentified fired ~45 cal bullet (the sharp end is throwing me off).

The first button says "Gilt Colour" and something else on the back and still has some thread. Second has a triangle on the front and possibly some other marks, and says "Plated" on the back. The third is my favorite, an ancient convex Tombac with some off-center engraving. It has a square shank boss on the back.

By afternoon someone was shooting a handgun in my direction, must have fired about 100 rounds. I didn't hear any "snaps" so I presumed the shooter was on a lower elevation and hoped there was a backstop. 🙄 Guess I'm gonna have to get a boat horn. 😵

Another bit of excitement was coming across two of these "little" guys building webs across the corn stalks in front of me.

The Yellow Garden Spider can grow to 1 1/2 inches in body length. They rarely bite but if they do you know it, those fangs flip out. I'm glad that metal detectors are out in front. 😀 I let them both carry on... 😬

 

[GB_Amateur]

Another (less painful but still annoying) metal detecting downside to searching under walnut trees this time of year is that when on the ground the fruit interferes with smoothly moving the coil during the swing.  On a couple occassions I spent several minutes picking them up and piling them away from my detecting area (easier on the squirrels, too...).  Speaking of squirrels, I've had them re-dig my filled-in holes when I've detected near walnut trees.  I don't know exactly why but I can think of multiple reasons.  Worst result is who gets blamed for the pot-marked landsacpe; hint: it's not the squirrel.

You've done well with relics/artifacts in that old site, buttons in particular.  I'm still steamed that some detectorists beat you to it by cheating (i.e. without permission).  But steam doesn't find new targets so I remind myself to do what is within my control and forget the rest.

[F350Platinum]

 

You've done well with relics/artifacts in that old site, buttons in particular.  I'm still steamed that some detectorists beat you to it by cheating (i.e. without permission).  But steam doesn't find new targets so I remind myself to do what is within my control and forget the rest.

Thanks. That means a lot. 🙂 I'm glad to be finding relics again, it's been coins all summer. This area is 200 acres, most of which shouldn't have been searched, it was planted in the time when the other people were here. The areas I'm gridding now only amount to about 5 if that. However, it will take breaking it up into smaller search areas where there "might" be something. From scouting experience the detector stays quiet but for an iron blip now and again.

I'm also hoping they will at least do some tilling to knock down the corn stalks, they turbo tilled the other farm but it's a long way from here, and they'd have to transport the machine. Chase and I pretty much cleaned the other place out once it got easy. No site is ever hunted out supposedly but the pickin's are slim now. Same here in the high probability areas.

I have 3 farmhouse sites I want to visit with the 10x5. All three I went over with the 11", but I know now I will find much more. It has proven that many times over. It all depends on what the farmers do, I really dislike corn stalk hunting, and know that I'm still leaving stuff behind under the roots.🤷‍♂️

[Joe D.]

   So that's what black walnuts look like!! Never seen one, or been hit by one!🤪🤕 We do have Mahogany trees down here, and as kids, we use to pretend they were hand grenades due to them breaking apart when thrown! But they hurt if you were hit by one, falling or thrown!😂

   And nice saves on the artifacts! Hope you find many more, with some coins mixed in!!🍀

     I'm still waiting on my backordered 5×10!! Been a month and a half! 😬 Though my emanate move a few hours North may limit my prime "winter" detecting time this year!! Oh well! At least I will have many new parks and beaches to detect next year!!😀 I'll just have to detect vicariously through you guys for awhile! So keep finding stuff for me Bob!!🤞👍👍

   

[F350Platinum]

 

   So that's what black walnuts look like!! Never seen one, or been hit by one!🤪🤕 We do have Mahogany trees down here, and as kids, we use to pretend they were hand grenades due to them breaking apart when thrown! But they hurt if you were hit by one, falling or thrown!😂

   And nice saves on the artifacts! Hope you find many more, with some coins mixed in!!🍀

     I'm still waiting on my backordered 5×10!! Been a month and a half! 😬 Though my emanate move a few hours North may limit my prime "winter" detecting time this year!! Oh well! At least I will have many new parks and beaches to detect next year!!😀 I'll just have to detect vicariously through you guys for awhile! So keep finding stuff for me Bob!!🤞👍👍

   

The worst part about black walnuts is not so much being hit on the head but the nasty permanent brown stains you get on your hands and clothing when the outer shell decomposes. You remember the hit but your clothes are toast. They're not so great for lawnmowers either, they can bend your blades. I've never seen a mahogany tree. We also have gum trees with those spiky balls. I remember having fights with them when I was a kid. 😀

I'm hoping for a great detecting season (November to April) this year, last year was incredible for my first. Hopefully it will be a mild winter again. I have a lot of places to revisit and some new ones.

Here's hoping the new location for you has some history! 🍻 🇺🇸 And parks and beaches 😀

[Joe D.]

   May very well have an RV parking spot there next year, and we are allowed to cruze the neighborhood streets in golf carts, so......! And the northern most 1715 fleet wreck site is about forty minutes away......👍👍

[Tom_in_CA]

I like the landscape shots, and the gilt button.  Nice job .

 

[F350Platinum]

I've pretty much narrowed the pointed bullet down to .44 Colt, ca. 1870s.

[kac]

Very nice buttons. The bullet could have been made locally and not necessarily a brand.

Ever check the woods at all? Look for patches of trees that are the same size will usually indicate that the area was cleared at one point. Age of the trees tell you when.

Last suggestion, check around for a hockey goalie uniform or football uniform, the padding should soften the blows from those walnuts 🙂

[F350Platinum]

 

Very nice buttons. The bullet could have been made locally and not necessarily a brand.

Ever check the woods at all? Look for patches of trees that are the same size will usually indicate that the area was cleared at one point. Age of the trees tell you when.

Last suggestion, check around for a hockey goalie uniform or football uniform, the padding should soften the blows from those walnuts 🙂

Sad thing is almost all these places drop off to a deep ravine where the tree line is. There are a couple of places have a 60+ foot drop right behind the trees! This is why they push the houses off the farm instead of carting them away. If I can I'll get a photo sometime.

What I did was zip by the tree when the wind calmed down 😀