06-28-2014, 01:41 PM
Guys, curious as to how others approach their hunting. There are many strategies we can use; gridding, cherry picking, digging it all, digging everything above iron, working in all metal, discriminate, hunting open areas, hunting off-the-beaten-path spots, etc., etc., etc. I'll kick start it...
I hunt with my Safari exclusively in all metal. I like to hear everything in the ground - the good, the bad & the ugly. I can count on one hand the times I've hunted in discriminate. Reserved only for the trashiest of trashiest of spots.
As I've mentioned numerous times already, I'm a cherry picker going after the high conductors. Unless it's a very old site, free of modern trash, I generally prefer to dig signals that are a minimum of 5+ inches. Here in NJ, that's a pretty good starting strata of where the older coins start popping up. Anything shallower is clad 95% of the time. Now, I will & do dig some shallower targets if the dirt is very compact (less sinkage), if I'm near a tree or the soil is quite rooty (roots prevent coins from sinking far), or if a shallow target simply has 'that tone', the one that sounds mighty good. In general though, I'm mostly digging deep high tones.
I'm not a gridder. My strategy is to roam around freely, looking for 'hot spots'. If I start finding wheats, a silver or two, buffs, Indians, or, even just indicators (objects from the era of old coins I'm looking for) like makeup compacts, bullets, etc., I will then slow down to a crawl and investigate every signal I get from that general area. If nothing else is coming up, I start roaming outward again, and repeat the process as needed.
Some of my favorite spots to hunt are hills/slopes & around very old trees.
Here's a tip: I've trained myself to be aware over there years, when driving somewhere new, to look for open areas with old, big trees WITH THE ROOTS SHOWING (no fill dirt). So, I occasionally try and take different routes to work, to the mall or whatever. I've run into more little picnic groves, small parks & lots to shake a stick at, by doing this. Just be aware. If I pass a good looking spot, I'll break out my phone and jot the intersection down in the notes section. I found a killer spot last year this exact way, and wound up finding a seated dime, a seated quarter, an Italian lire, and numerous other stuff over the course of a few hunts
Joe
I hunt with my Safari exclusively in all metal. I like to hear everything in the ground - the good, the bad & the ugly. I can count on one hand the times I've hunted in discriminate. Reserved only for the trashiest of trashiest of spots.
As I've mentioned numerous times already, I'm a cherry picker going after the high conductors. Unless it's a very old site, free of modern trash, I generally prefer to dig signals that are a minimum of 5+ inches. Here in NJ, that's a pretty good starting strata of where the older coins start popping up. Anything shallower is clad 95% of the time. Now, I will & do dig some shallower targets if the dirt is very compact (less sinkage), if I'm near a tree or the soil is quite rooty (roots prevent coins from sinking far), or if a shallow target simply has 'that tone', the one that sounds mighty good. In general though, I'm mostly digging deep high tones.
I'm not a gridder. My strategy is to roam around freely, looking for 'hot spots'. If I start finding wheats, a silver or two, buffs, Indians, or, even just indicators (objects from the era of old coins I'm looking for) like makeup compacts, bullets, etc., I will then slow down to a crawl and investigate every signal I get from that general area. If nothing else is coming up, I start roaming outward again, and repeat the process as needed.
Some of my favorite spots to hunt are hills/slopes & around very old trees.
Here's a tip: I've trained myself to be aware over there years, when driving somewhere new, to look for open areas with old, big trees WITH THE ROOTS SHOWING (no fill dirt). So, I occasionally try and take different routes to work, to the mall or whatever. I've run into more little picnic groves, small parks & lots to shake a stick at, by doing this. Just be aware. If I pass a good looking spot, I'll break out my phone and jot the intersection down in the notes section. I found a killer spot last year this exact way, and wound up finding a seated dime, a seated quarter, an Italian lire, and numerous other stuff over the course of a few hunts
Joe