Is it even worth hunting in NM?

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Well you can find clad, gold and silver jewelry anywhere and there has got to be some old coins there also just don't get your hopes up for finding 200 yr old stuff. And if you're new to the hobby I would not suggest spending $1000 on your first detector, you can get a nice one for $200-$400 that is about as good as the expensive ones just without the bells an whistles. I would look into the Fisher F2 or Garrett Ace250. JMHO hope this helps

shaz13 said:

Hi all, I am new to this and have been getting very excited to join this incredible hobby but am now wondering (based on what I read) if New Mexico is even worth hunting. Most of your stories are based in the east. I rarely see southwest finds of any significance.

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Nope. Nothing of interest anywhere near the southwest...particularly in NM. Might as well not even bother looking.

You are kidding, right? Just thinking about all the history in that state makes me want to go exploring--the Old Spanish trail ran there, there are dozens of ghost towns, stories of lost mines and treasures, etc. Modern people are constantly dropping stuff. If you're not swinging, it's a lot harder to find.

I would love to be able to take a month or 3 to detect NM. All the western towns and Spanish history makes me drool.

Ok....haha. How do I get started then? Been looking on the internet for places to hunt in NM but dont see anything. Should I join a club? doesnt seem appealing to us to go hunting in a group but possibly.

Do yall just knock on doors and ask permission? Seems like all the land in the SW is fenced off

Any ideas on a good detector for my area? Was thinking Garrett AT pro or minelab X-terra 705. I dont want to have to upgrade later, but it would be good to get one capable of gold, silver, meteorites, etc.

Thanks for the advice....

New Mexico would be a great area to hunt. I guided down there for a few years and although I was not detecting at the time came across many neat and abandon homesteads. Some great history in The Gila. Research yes. I have the best luck (initially) by just talking to old timers about the area...."Ya, well, there used to be an old homestaead by the spring up this draw." or "My grandfather showed me where a group of men had a mining camp over that hill when I was a kid." It depends what you want to find. relics, clad, gold, jewelry. Where there has been people, there are things to be found.

I'd start at the library. Find the historic maps section and the newspaper archives. Spend quality time there. The old maps can tell you where things were back in the day, and the newspapers will hint at what was going on at the time.

shaz13 said:

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You dont need to bump here, the threads are slow.


Also yes its worth it. Private yards, and you can go out in the middle of the desert somewhere and find gold.

Your kidding....right?

New Mexico has one of the oldest cities in America, Santa Fe. It's probably in the top 5. Founded in the early 1600's. Should be some Mexician silver someplace.
GL & HH.

Just the western history of NM, AZ, etc; sounds very appealing to me. I'd start with old maps, aerials, local historical societies, etc; and find old properties. Then, just talk to people, send emails, and be seen around detecting and stuff will start to fall in place. At least it does for me!

Hi Shaz, to a small degree you are correct. There is much more old stuff in the ground here in the east. I bought a metal detector as a wedding present for a buddy forty years ago and he lived in Colorado. People out there were happy when they found wheat pennies and he got depressed when we were finding large cents back here. He moved back east and has found really nice old artifacts and coins. BUT, he is now retired and guess what he does?? He goes out tho the southwest and detects for gold, meteorites and around old gold and silver diggings in remote areas.
Like previously stated here, people are always losing jewelry and coins so there is a constant refreshing of valuable targets out there for whoever keeps their coil to the ground. If you four-wheel into remote areas, there are cool places out there that a lot of folks won't go to . Same if you're into horseback riding. Also the advice on spending a lot of money is good, you needn't spend a grand to find out if you like the hobby, there is a ton of patience involved. I hope you do get a machine and that someday we all see something really cool you found posted on here!!

hi

I live in new mexico south east in lovington and was reading up on my home town when it started back in 1900s.I have not got my fisher f2 yet it is coming in the morning but when it gets here im going to try and find some places to hunt. There is a lot of open space here so i dont think ill have to talk to people for permission to hunt.I bought my MD for 275.00 and i am looking forward to using it. Good luck and HH.

OK there IS at least *one* organized MD club here. The New Mexico Treasure Hunters Association. They appear to have membership statewide. What they do is to go out as a group to prospect old homesteads, ghost towns, et cetera. Start there. They do have a site with forum and so on, on the Internets.

Once I get my detector, I will VERY likey join them. Hope to see you! I live in Santa Fe, but am legally blind so I do not drive.

Yes, the NM laws on MDing and THing are VERY... VERY... strict! With good reason. Our history goes back thousands of years. You've heard of the Clovis Points, as some of the very OLDEST stone arrow points ever discoverd? Clovis NM. From paleolithic times to the present, New Mexico has been inhabited continuously and thus has a RICH history of fossils, artifacts, relics aned more. But we MUST protect them so that future researchers have something to dig!

Not only that, but there is a great store of cultural history which must be respected. Many pueblos take a VERY dim view of people out thre digging up their lands.

Fortunately... and sadly... the laws are VERY clear. On federal land or state lands, national forests and so on, NO artifact can be removed. PERIOD. You are not permitted to gather pottery from the surface and you are definitely forbidden to dig for it. This goes for tuff as recent as Victorian mining equipment and such.

The GOOD news is that this club evidently knows where they may legally hunt and goes to such places. Also, I *think* that private lands are NOT covered by the laws. There are a LOT of ranches, farms, old homes, and homesteads in addition to ghost towns on private property which are evidently hunted by the club.

I do not have a detector YET (sold my Tesoro 10 years ago for food and am having to save a LONG time, perhaps a year or more to get a new one) but once I do have one, I intend to hunt my own back yard. I live in a house that began life over 100 years ago as an old adobe. I can't IMAGINE what my yard contains! YOW!! Talk about having a hard time waiting!

So yes, NM is a hard place to hunt in, but it is also a very VERY rewarding place if you follow the laws and go with a group that has already navigated the tough legal areas and knows what is permitted and what is not.

What do *I* want to find in NM? Seriously... an old rosary! Parts or fragments of old rosaries. I make them for a living and sell them, so tourists may definitely purchase "local made" rosaries instead of China junk... and I would LOVE to find old Spanish religious stuff. Even if I couldn't keep it, I'd photograph and then donate to museum. Then I would hand make a copy to sell as a tribute to the ancient Spanish colonialists.

SageGrouse

Sounds like you need an AT Gold or Fisher Gold Bug.

G2M

I never MD'ed in NM but as a teenager my family would make a road trip from Mass to Las Vegas, NM to visit my grandparents. We would go to ??? I think, Story Lake and I remember finding all sorts of fossils and old arrow heads. We would go to other public park areas and walk out in open areas and find all sorts of old iron stuff like horse shoes and big iron rings for cattle. As stated NM has a lot of old history And snakes. I'd loved it there. HH & GL

Get with these guys, they'll probably help you...

http://www.amdaclub.com/

Ya now owe me some Hatch HOT.... And yeah, I can handle it, lived in the "Q" from '83 to 2010.

Welcome aboard from NW Florida!!​

WOOT! Just a few seconds' search got me THIS

www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/nm.html

It's a page listing New Mexico ghost towns by county!

There are other states listed on their main page.

SageGrouse

wow

Very good i was looking for something like that great work thank you

Worth the time to hunt - yep - just learn the laws and keep a copy in your viehicle just in case.

With the ground so hard out there (lived in Clovis for 6.5 yrs) the coins wont be too far down so an average MD should work out fine.

I'd get a small rock hammer (baby pick ax) and a strong hand shovel.

Hit the mountain trails!! Many of them have been used for 100's of years.

Use your phone / GPS to save your "hot spots" since there is a ton of wide open areas.

GL & HH