What would you try first?

DeerhunterSD

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Messages
34
Location
Western South Dakota
I'm new but super anxious to get out once the ground thaws! I've spent many nights recently researching historical maps and such and there are so many places to go. I mean days of hunting I'm guessing. I've got a small town along the Missouri River. In the 1870's there was a wagon train that passed through the edge of town. It eventually leads to a wooded area with remnants of an old bridge and road grade(there is a creek flowing into the river). I know of two old concrete foundations in the area as well. Back to the edge of town there is an old baseball field that I know has been there since atleast the 40's because my Granddad used to play here. Adjacent to this is an old city park that's probably the same age. This is a town of like 300 people.
My question is, where would you all start first? I don't have a whole lot of time to get back there. Maybe I'm just a newbie with high hopes but I'm pretty anxious to get out there!
 
Ballpark it is. Do most MD's enjoy coins rather than relics? Don't get me wrong old coins would be great but what drives me are relics. Or do most relics fall under protection from the law? Anybody out there find an artifact and only "observe" it? Seems silly to me but I'm sure this subject has been hashed out many times over in these forums.
 
Start a notebook , keep finding potential spots , often ball parks and places are in use as you drive out of the way to get there. Use winter to build plan B .... and C and D E fghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz :)
That's my advice .
Your gonna have a blast ! And don't forget to come back and give us reports . We love stories and photos of treasures .
Oh and guys have been doing this for what 40 or 50 years . Even the smallest patch of dirt can hold a keeper . Even the smallest little patch of tall grass can hide that big Buck! You won't kick him up unless you step on himšŸ˜Ž
, Dew
 
There's an old prairie dog town down by the river. My Granddad grew up down there in the 30's and 40's. He once told me when he was a kid he used to walk around that prairie dog town and collected a box of old relics and stuff. Used to be a camp for a wagon train.He said the one that stuck out the most was a little "gold" snake. Unfortunately he went to war and came back to find out that box had been stolen. It really irked me to hear that but maybe I'll have luck there too all these years later. After all, he didn't have a metal detector! Either way, I will post any good finds. Thanks for the advice!
 
At the old ball field, check along the outside of the fences past the dugouts. That's where people used to stand (and smoke) during the games. Their kids would come ask for money for drinks or candy, and coins would be dropped. I've found more that way on old ball fields than where the stands are/were. A lot more trash near the stands and if the stands were taken down, there will be a LOT of old screws, bolts, washers, etc. Good to eventually hunt, but not where I would start. Then check the basepath around second base. Lots of sliding into second. The outfield is generally the cleanest - not much trash - but only us lowly outfielders who fall down going for a fly ball would be dropping anything out there! If you can locate where the concession stand was, check the path between the fence where the standers were and the stand. I LOVE hunting old ballparks!
 
Every Winter I make a list of places I want to hunt early in the Spring.
I go to the sites that grow in or get planted first - ( abandoned houses, cellar holes, crop fields, etc.).

It's much easier to swing your machine in the woods before ground growth, sticker bushes and leafs start growing !

You can hunt the mowed grass sites all season long.

Once you have spent some time with your machine and feel comfortable with it maybe keep this in mind ...

If possible - use a smaller coil at the abandoned houses, cellar holes and in the woods. Small coils are much better at finding good targets in a junk metal environment and they are much easier to swing in tight spots.

A larger coil is usually better for Parks and Ball Fields - more ground coverage and they hit deeper. Parks and Ball Fields are what you could call "High Priority Targets". It's very rare to find one that hasn't been hunted countless times by others in the past. If your lucky ... a larger coil will help you go deep enough to find the targets the other guy's missed !

Good Hunting !
 
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They all sound good

The ball field and park would be less trashy than an old foundation and a good place to learn
 
If you are just starting out I would start in the wooded area first. The ballfield will probably be the best area but a little practice with your machine would make it where you donā€™t destroy the ballfield.
 
Every Winter I make a list of places I want to hunt early in the Spring.
I go to the sites that grow in or get planted first - ( abandoned houses, cellar holes, crop fields, etc.).

It's much easier to swing your machine in the woods before ground growth, sticker bushes and leafs start growing !

You can hunt the mowed grass sites all season long.

Once you have spent some time with your machine and feel comfortable with it maybe keep this in mind ...

If possible - use a smaller coil at the abandoned houses, cellar holes and in the woods. Small coils are much better at finding good targets in a junk metal environment and they are much easier to swing in tight spots.

A larger coil is usually better for Parks and Ball Fields - more ground coverage and they hit deeper. Parks and Ball Fields are what you could call "High Priority Targets". It's very rare to find one that hasn't been hunted countless times by others in the past. If your lucky ... a larger coil will help you go deep enough to find the targets the other guy's missed !

Good Hunting !

All excellent advice!
 
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