Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement, and while I wish we both were having more productive hunts, at least I know my "average" hunts are not highly unusual
...and I can relate and agree with when you said: "I never have a bad day detecting even if the spot only yields a few coins." while someone who is not into detecting might not understand that, somehow simply just being out there hunting and digging is fun in itself even when the finds are average. I guess it's like how some people enjoy going fishing even if they don't catch much, they simply enjoy being out on the boat trying.
Thanks for the tip about active sports fields, while some of those areas themselves have reopened, I don't think they have been very active this year, the hunts I did near the end of August (and posted a thread about) at a county recreation park that includes a baseball field and concession stand I think yielded more coins than any other location so far, but still was not a lot of coins, and you could definitely tell they were not fresh drops
they all looked like they had been in the dirt for quite a while. So that kinda shows there likely have not been fresh drops, or very few, at least none that I could find.
I know what you mean about nickel VDIs, sometimes I think I'm going to dig a nickel but it's not, but one time when I was digging the motel permission and was about to finish up my hunt, someone came by and I was explaining a little about my detector and said if I get a "13" VDI it could be a nickel, it's no guarantee, but a reasonable chance it is, right after they left I detected another spot, got a 13 and it was a nickel
too bad they were not still there to see that
Interesting you should mention wooded sites, I have been considering trying some woods hunting too just to see if I might find some old relics, I don't have to go far as the edge of our back and side yards goes into miles of woods, but I also was waiting for it to get more into fall season, just wear bright orange or a reflective vest if there are hunters in the woods you detect.
Anyhow, we don't have any really large parks in our small town, but quite a few small mini-parks, but they don't seem to be active enough to replenish the area with fresh drops, what I'm really trying to stay alert for is opportunities to ask for better private property permissions as I think that might be the best chance at finding some really older coins, especially if you can get a permission that has not been hunted yet, or hunted very little.
When you said: "Not every spot is a winner. I’ve hunted a couple of older parks here and literally have found nothing but junk." it reminded me how I am determined to "try" to find at least one coin per hunt, if I don't I still have fun trying, but I had times I extended my hunt a little longer just trying to not leave totally coinless
(I think my "totally" coinless hunts have been pretty rare though with my Nox, even if it's just one or two coins
) Also, when I am ready to finish my hunt for the day, I like to have my last dig of the hunt to be a non-trash find, so sometimes I'll dig a few more targets trying to end my hunt on a coin and not trash
doesn't always happen, but fun trying anyhow
Hope your next hunt is better than average, but have fun anyhow !