Big Boys Hobbies

How do you find sites?

Relichunter3

Relichunter3

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2013
Messages
794
Location
Mount Orab, Ohio
I am not new to detecting, but I am new to detecting in the United States. I am completely lost as to how you find your locations to detect. In Germany, it was fairly easy, however here I look at a map and all I see is a piece of paper. Im amazed at how you guys find civil war era camps and other random areas to detect.....How do you do it??

Derick
 
Google Earth is a great way to find vacant lots & the pro version lets you see
when the house or building was built. Even though a lot is vacant there may
have been a residence there at one time. Sometimes I just drive around & look
for old houses & ask for permission to hunt the yard, this works sometimes but
not always. Good luck.
 
Another place to start the local Historical society small towns usually open once a month , just be chatty
HH
 
If you can talk to some local people who have been around for a while, they might be able to help you.

It depends on what you're looking to be hunting for.
 
Historic aerials, Historic Map works, David Rumsey Maps, and go to the county GIS department and get a landowners map. Sometimes they also have a historic map
 
Originally Posted by BufordCityDawg View post
Find a local club. They will have great info on the local area. Also, you can plant tracking devices on their cars.


BCD



Mud-puppy said:
:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:
Click to expand...

You think I'm kidding. I planted on on Sandy's car. Now I know what parks not to hit because he's already cleaned them out. It's depressing really. Dude gets around more than a well... We'll just leave that alone. This is a family forum after all.

BCD
 
BufordCityDawg said:
Originally Posted by BufordCityDawg View post
Find a local club. They will have great info on the local area. Also, you can plant tracking devices on their cars.


BCD





You think I'm kidding. I planted on on Sandy's car. Now I know what parks not to hit because he's already cleaned them out. It's depressing really. Dude gets around more than a well... We'll just leave that alone. This is a family forum after all.

BCD
Click to expand...

Wanted to clarify this. I re-read it. It wasn't intended as a dig on Sandy. He's been a great hunting buddy. Just kidding around as he has much more time than I do to hunt and that Deus of his can pull a dime from a foot or more.
 
Our club meets once a month in Springfield at 7pm. 417 relic hunters club. However, good luck getting any of them to say jack about where they hunt. You would be better off asking a complete stranger. :lol: We meet the first Tuesday of the month. 3-1-16 is our next meeting.

Ive got your number, I'll give you a call when I can spend a day hunting versus just a couple of hours like my last few hunts have been.

G2M
 
LRL! That's right, dowsing rods or a pendulum for map work.

Actually finding good sites is a skill all its own. That is why you find some who are reluctant to divulge these secret sites. I would say 85% of the great sites I have found came from reading about local history and talking to old timers. I also spend a lot of time looking a Google Earth and the signs of long past activity.

Some 30 years ago my research for sites consisted of getting in my car and driving around looking for vacant lots and sidewalk stripes that were calling my name. By far the best find I made came from private yards. I would look for the signs of age, foundation of the house, size of the trees etc., and then first I'd do the strip out front and if it was really good I'd ask to hunt the yard.
 
I really like how Brother 'beephead' finds his sites and gains permission...its not all 'researchy'...he just up and goes and does it...day after day..bold as brass!

Just getting out and driving around looking for opportunities is better than nothing, probably way more productive than doing a whole lot of research and never leaving the house! :laughing:

Accidentally stumbled upon Sidewalk tearouts, parking lot scrape offs, water lines, Hab for Humanity construction sites...who knows? Once a guy is out hunting, one thing simply leads to another...

Mud
 
I could tell you folks how I find my most productive Gold hunting sites but I would just be lying.
If I told you where I was it would be a lie, and if I told you where I planned to be tomorrow that would be a lie too.

Good hunting out there folks! :grin:
 
Irons said:
I could tell you folks how I find my most productive Gold hunting sites but I would just be lying.
If I told you where I was it would be a lie, and if I told you where I planned to be tomorrow that would be a lie too.

Good hunting out there folks! :grin:
Click to expand...

Yep...same as fishing! :laughing: Sure the google maps get a guy familiar with old sections of towns and water. Old maps and whatnot on Historic Aerials or whatever. No end of research!
As simple as it sounds, just being out driving around and keeping an eye out for opportunities cannot be discounted! Sure you sort of have an area targeted....But you only have a very few hours to hunt a parking lot rip out, old street for sewer install, School construction addition, or a sidewalk tearout in an old area of town...that dirt has been buried for 50+yrs, and it will shortly be buried again for another 50..the windows of opportunity are small and are only open for very short periods! Even where Irons hunts, he only has a few days out of the year where conditions and weather are just perfect...In lieu of research, just get out and go for a drive..:lol:
Mud
 

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I live on Fort Leonard Wood and they are always doing some sort of sidewalk or road repairs in the housing areas. But I hear horror stories of guys getting locked up for detecting here. Not worth the risk in my opinion. Hell, even had a LT get arrested for doing training with his Soldiers with mine detector gear in a baseball field on post becaue they said he was "detecting"
 
If you do a search here in the forums and on the rest of the web, you can probably find in relatively little time, a list of types of places to hunt - places like old schools, churches, etc. There's a bunch of them out there.

Go to an old (as old as you can find) city directory (library) and make a list of all of the schools, for example, that were in existence (in the town you are looking to hunt) in 1900 or whenever you determine the cut off point to be. Check the addresses in Google Earth or Google Maps to see what's there now. Maybe have a look at a Sanborn map, if available, to see where buildings sat on the lot (if they aren't there anymore), Get permission, if needed, and go hunting.

I've simplified the thought process somewhat for the sake of brevity, but it pretty much covers the gist of one way of finding places to hunt.
 
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