AirmetTango
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I'm pretty new to metal detecting (almost two full hunt seasons now) and even more noobish when it comes to detecting farm fields - I only started hunting fields this year. I got my first field permission in the late winter, and hunted the heck out of it until the crops were planted. I was also fortunate to be able to hunt a couple other fields in the Spring. In the process, I learned a few things - signals in a field are definitely less consistent than yards and parks. Mineralization seems to be a greater factor, plus these field sites are ghost towns, so iron is everywhere. Signals were less solid, depth was curtailed, and many plugs would get turned only to find that the signal disappeared. Be that as it may, I got used to the differences between fields and yards pretty quickly and had some very successful and enjoyable hunts. And once the crops were planted, I was immediately looking forward to the fall harvest to get back out there!
So now it's fall, and my original field permission has been chisel plowed. I hunted it for the first time since Spring earlier this week, and I was amazed at the difference in signal quality. Very little was even remotely repeatable, unless it was large or within an inch or two of the surface - a major difference compared to earlier in the year. I made a few coin finds there this week, but two were close to the surface. One was in the 3-4" inch range, but it was the kind of signal that if it were a yard, I'd likely never dig it.
Here's the real interesting example: in the Spring at this field, I found four big, solid brass spheres across several hunts. They varied slightly in size, but each was found at about the 4-6" range, and each one was an obvious "dig me". Absolute solid signal in all directions in the low 90s...I was sure I had an awesome coin each time, and each time they were easily the best signals I ever got in the field. Yesterday, after the chisel plow, I got over an extremely rough signal. The signal varied in every direction, sometimes high tone, sometimes mid tone, but never less than 40 or so on the VDI. It truly sounded like junk...the only thing exceptional about the signal was that it was one of the very few that didn't go iron in at least one direction, or worse, just disappear. So I dug it, and to my surprise, 5" down I pull out a brass sphere just like those great sounding targets from Spring. Granted, once I got 3" of soil off the top, the signal had cleared up to solid upper 80s - but initially, the same target type in the same field at the same depth suddenly sounded like absolute junk instead of an insanely good target.
Anyway, all this got me to thinking - what the heck has caused the signals in this field to all turn to junk?? Is this what experienced field hunters deal with on a regular basis? Does a chisel plow introduce so many air pockets and disrupt target halos enough to do this? Do I need to wait and give the ground a chance to settle down and compact again? Or just get used to digging even crappier signals?
So now it's fall, and my original field permission has been chisel plowed. I hunted it for the first time since Spring earlier this week, and I was amazed at the difference in signal quality. Very little was even remotely repeatable, unless it was large or within an inch or two of the surface - a major difference compared to earlier in the year. I made a few coin finds there this week, but two were close to the surface. One was in the 3-4" inch range, but it was the kind of signal that if it were a yard, I'd likely never dig it.
Here's the real interesting example: in the Spring at this field, I found four big, solid brass spheres across several hunts. They varied slightly in size, but each was found at about the 4-6" range, and each one was an obvious "dig me". Absolute solid signal in all directions in the low 90s...I was sure I had an awesome coin each time, and each time they were easily the best signals I ever got in the field. Yesterday, after the chisel plow, I got over an extremely rough signal. The signal varied in every direction, sometimes high tone, sometimes mid tone, but never less than 40 or so on the VDI. It truly sounded like junk...the only thing exceptional about the signal was that it was one of the very few that didn't go iron in at least one direction, or worse, just disappear. So I dug it, and to my surprise, 5" down I pull out a brass sphere just like those great sounding targets from Spring. Granted, once I got 3" of soil off the top, the signal had cleared up to solid upper 80s - but initially, the same target type in the same field at the same depth suddenly sounded like absolute junk instead of an insanely good target.
Anyway, all this got me to thinking - what the heck has caused the signals in this field to all turn to junk?? Is this what experienced field hunters deal with on a regular basis? Does a chisel plow introduce so many air pockets and disrupt target halos enough to do this? Do I need to wait and give the ground a chance to settle down and compact again? Or just get used to digging even crappier signals?