Myers Depot Metal Detectors

So Disappointed in MO

ollievon

ollievon

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
814
Location
Upstate NY
So, last week my family drove from NY to Missouri to visit friends on their farm. The farm is from the 1860's and they own 45 acres, so plenty of space to hit and there must be at least one relic or coin to be found. Despite the bleak the targets in endless hayfields, the heat was probably the one thing that really put a damper on my drive to detect. There's hot, then there's "Mid-West Hot"...OMG.

Sadly there was nothing to be found on their property in the hours I put in other than rotting iron horse tackle. I did try hunting the woods around their house that bordered a creek, again nothing other than 1 Lone Star Tick crawling up my pants (of which cause the victim to have allergic reactions to red meat...yikes!). Another reason, despite the heat, to always wear long pants if in the woods.

There were abandoned old houses in the area, but no posted signs...so since I'm not one for poaching I didn't risk hitting the yards...and God were these amazing abandoned old houses just sitting there in the middle of nowhere asking to be detected. Our friends said that despite the absence of posted signs, trespassing will get you shot, so another reason to just pass on poaching. There are definitely a lot of opportunities in the western rural towns outside St. Louis...but without knowing anyone or being able to identify property owners to ask permission, it's pretty tough.

I suppose the biggest disappointment was the lack of response on this forum to meeting up with someone while out in the St. Louis area...not one person was interested in hooking up, I was bummed.
 
ollievon said:
...The farm is from the 1860's and they own 45 acres, so plenty of space to hit and there must be at least one relic or coin to be found. Despite the bleak the targets in endless hayfields, ....
Click to expand...

Bummer that you didn't find goodies. But this is a testament to the frequent md'ing forum topic of the merits/demerits of md'ing "random ag. fields" in the USA :

I have always been of the opinion that it is not worth the time for us USA hunters to hit "random furrowed ag. fields". Instead, there needs-to-have-been something going on there. Eg.: stage stop, picnic site, cellar hole/habitation, etc....

Because to simply go out for "random fumble fingers ag. worker drops" is needles-in-haystacks. Not worth the time. The USA is too new for there to be any appreciable finds to accumulate for such reasons. Contrast to Europe, where a cultivated field might have seen continuous cultivation for 2000 yrs. Then ... sure ... you'll get "random drops" to make it worth your while.
 
Where at in Missouri were you visiting.

ollievon said:
So, last week my family drove from NY to Missouri to visit friends on their farm. The farm is from the 1860's and they own 45 acres, so plenty of space to hit and there must be at least one relic or coin to be found. Despite the bleak the targets in endless hayfields, the heat was probably the one thing that really put a damper on my drive to detect. There's hot, then there's "Mid-West Hot"...OMG.

Sadly there was nothing to be found on their property in the hours I put in other than rotting iron horse tackle. I did try hunting the woods around their house that bordered a creek, again nothing other than 1 Lone Star Tick crawling up my pants (of which cause the victim to have allergic reactions to red meat...yikes!). Another reason, despite the heat, to always wear long pants if in the woods.

There were abandoned old houses in the area, but no posted signs...so since I'm not one for poaching I didn't risk hitting the yards...and God were these amazing abandoned old houses just sitting there in the middle of nowhere asking to be detected. Our friends said that despite the absence of posted signs, trespassing will get you shot, so another reason to just pass on poaching. There are definitely a lot of opportunities in the western rural towns outside St. Louis...but without knowing anyone or being able to identify property owners to ask permission, it's pretty tough.

I suppose the biggest disappointment was the lack of response on this forum to meeting up with someone while out in the St. Louis area...not one person was interested in hooking up, I was bummed.
Click to expand...
Been very hot here last few weeks in the St. Charles county area . Today they are saying it will be the hottest week so far this year. The humidity has been supper high making long detecting trips not much fun. Been sticking to short hunts my self. A couple of my regular places ended up underwater due to flooding , another is thick with skitters and ticks. Been hunting mostly smaller parks that are fairly close lately till we get a little break. To bad you didn't get a few good finds on that old property.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
Bummer that you didn't find goodies. But this is a testament to the frequent md'ing forum topic of the merits/demerits of md'ing "random ag. fields" in the USA :

I have always been of the opinion that it is not worth the time for us USA hunters to hit "random furrowed ag. fields". Instead, there needs-to-have-been something going on there. Eg.: stage stop, picnic site, cellar hole/habitation, etc....

Because to simply go out for "random fumble fingers ag. worker drops" is needles-in-haystacks. Not worth the time. The USA is too new for there to be any appreciable finds to accumulate for such reasons. Contrast to Europe, where a cultivated field might have seen continuous cultivation for 2000 yrs. Then ... sure ... you'll get "random drops" to make it worth your while.
Click to expand...

There are exceptions Tom, but you have to be in the right area. My brother and I hunt fields allot. Sixty five percent of our detecting. Our area was settled in the 1600's. When the field is right, down to stubble, freshly plowed or hayed off, although the finds are certainly few, they are often fantastic. US silver, Spanish silver and plenty of LC's, KG's etc, even buttons. Yes, you walk allot, dig allot of horse tack but, when you get that 12-49 0n the CTX, you know you're gonna be doing the dance.
Certainly not for everyone, it's tuff.
Back then people used the fields, creeks running through them and areas that couldn't be plowed as thoroughfares. Interestingly, one of our best locations is often the highest mound in the field, it's human nature. Had one such knob that turned out to be where apparently they poured all their musket balls. It was an excellent spot. Most of my Reales came from fields.
So, even with fields, it's location.
Nice fall day, freshly harvested field, easy, fairly clean swinging, I'll take that field all day long.
 
flyguy784 said:
.... Sixty five percent of our detecting. Our area was settled in the 1600's. When the field is right, down to stubble, freshly plowed or hayed off, although the finds are certainly few, they are often fantastic. US silver, Spanish silver and plenty of LC's, KG's etc, even buttons. ....
Click to expand...


Naturally, the east coast of the USA has better chances of "walking any random direction in-the-middle-of-nowhere", and finding something.

But still-though : I'll bet that you and your brother will "hone down" on portions of those ag. fields that had some historical activity. Eg.: A home/habitation had been there (as evidenced by brick, crockery, etc... in the furrows). etc...

I was at the VA hunt, south of Richmond, last Nov/Dec. And it was @ 500-ish acres of furrowed ag. fields. And ... even for that east coast site (dating possibly all the way back to colonial) : The vast majority of the targets found, by the hundreds of hunters, was at the locations where activity-had-been. Eg.: the 3 or 4 homestead sites which had been there , or the CW sentry outpost foxhole sites and skirmish zones, etc.... But once you wandered away from those zones .... it was needles-in-hay-stacks.

Contrast to Europe, it's true that *any* random furrowed field ... will eventually produce a coin.
 
The heat is excessive here at times, especially with the humidity. My issue in Southern Illinois is the ground gets hard as a brick, and digging anything is not only a chore, but at times impossible. My hunting time drops considerably in the summer. Tom is right about the fields around here too. I have hunted the fields, and have had some great finds, and a lot of disappointing trips as well. You have to find the sweet spot - needle in a haystack.
 
People don’t quite understand how oppressive and different the heat in the Midwest and upper Midwest can be. It is a “withering” heat, EVERY ounce of energy just gets zapped out of you. Hunting early morning or at night are the only ways to escape it!
Hunting a “is there anything here” field around here is useless...just not enough history or action and NO chance of anything other than what I can find in an old park. Seated is as old as it gets, with the “blue moon” older LC or small silver coming along twice in a lifetime, maybe. There’s no Spanish silver or Bust coins, so the effort it would take to have a 1% chance of EVER finding anything better than what I already do just doesn’t make any sense. Fields on the east coast or Europe? Different deal, especially Europe! Here? No. Missouri? No.
You just caught people in a heat wave Ollie, I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.
 
Very little hunting in this heat unless you are in h2o!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
hot midwest right now.

IDXMonster said:
People don’t quite understand how oppressive and different the heat in the Midwest and upper Midwest can be. It is a “withering” heat, EVERY ounce of energy just gets zapped out of you. Hunting early morning or at night are the only ways to escape it!
Hunting a “is there anything here” field around here is useless...just not enough history or action and NO chance of anything other than what I can find in an old park. Seated is as old as it gets, with the “blue moon” older LC or small silver coming along twice in a lifetime, maybe. There’s no Spanish silver or Bust coins, so the effort it would take to have a 1% chance of EVER finding anything better than what I already do just doesn’t make any sense. Fields on the east coast or Europe? Different deal, especially Europe! Here? No. Missouri? No.
You just caught people in a heat wave Ollie, I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.
Click to expand...

Been getting most of my hunts in early to try and beat the heat , often take the dog with me, have to watch he doesn't over heat either. I always bring him extra water and a container. Pretty soon I will have to leave him at home unless it is a real short hunt. Like to include him when I can he likes the trip and pretty good partner.
 
looked up Beaufort Missouri

ollievon said:
So, last week my family drove from NY to Missouri to visit friends on their farm. The farm is from the 1860's and they own 45 acres, so plenty of space to hit and there must be at least one relic or coin to be found. Despite the bleak the targets in endless hayfields, the heat was probably the one thing that really put a damper on my drive to detect. There's hot, then there's "Mid-West Hot"...OMG.

Sadly there was nothing to be found on their property in the hours I put in other than rotting iron horse tackle. I did try hunting the woods around their house that bordered a creek, again nothing other than 1 Lone Star Tick crawling up my pants (of which cause the victim to have allergic reactions to red meat...yikes!). Another reason, despite the heat, to always wear long pants if in the woods.

There were abandoned old houses in the area, but no posted signs...so since I'm not one for poaching I didn't risk hitting the yards...and God were these amazing abandoned old houses just sitting there in the middle of nowhere asking to be detected. Our friends said that despite the absence of posted signs, trespassing will get you shot, so another reason to just pass on poaching. There are definitely a lot of opportunities in the western rural towns outside St. Louis...but without knowing anyone or being able to identify property owners to ask permission, it's pretty tough.

I suppose the biggest disappointment was the lack of response on this forum to meeting up with someone while out in the St. Louis area...not one person was interested in hooking up, I was bummed.
Click to expand...
Looks like you were close to a lots of small towns that were on the old route 66 now highway 44 , plan to get out and explore some of them when I can spend a whole day, about a good hour drive each way.
 
That's not hot. Down here in the Devil's jockstrap aka Georgia we have heat. Lol. Yes I have been to the mid-west. I use to drive all 48 states as a OTR owner Operator.
 
WildDigger said:
That's not hot. Down here in the Devil's jockstrap aka Georgia we have heat. Lol. Yes I have been to the mid-west. I use to drive all 48 states as a OTR owner Operator.
Click to expand...



Georgia summer ain’t no joke! Walking outside feels like walking into a dang oven lately.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Heat here in Missouri

Beachhunter said:
I lived in OK and Texas as a kid and you guys just reminded me of that oppressive heat. I don’t miss it one bit. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Rainy last 2 days here, but heat advisory for next 5 days with tempatures in the upper 90s and humidity making it feel like 100+ , hard enough just to get the outdoor things that have to be done like cutting grass and yard work. Try to get the dog out for a walk early before9 AM,before sun heats up the pavement to bad to walk on. Still planning lots of early short hunts this summer mainly in the mornings ,but no long hunts till we get a few cooler days. Seems like we went right from winter to summer this year. At least the garden, flowers , and peaches are growing good so far with lots of watering needed.
 
well, it's good to know it wasn't me (having just plain bad luck) or my coil on the fritz (always blame the machine not the user, LOL).

Beaufort, MO is pretty bleak...even the creek near their house had little sign of human activity, so I guess on one hand it's pretty untouched, but I had larger expectations to be honest. I think it's the plain simple fact at lack of activity, although I did drive up a road called Methodist Hill Road which was all dirt and took me to a plateau where a lone chapel built in 1871 still stood, it was amazing and gave me hope...but without clear permission to detect it I just held off. The small cemetery was all German immigrants who started farms in the Missouri area, who knew?

Tom is right though, I brought my East Coast expectations with me since I regularly hunt colonial farm fields and hit things all the time, I should have had a moment of clarity about the Mid-West...and that it was developed far later with fewer people who were more spread out.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
The USA is too new for there to be any appreciable finds to accumulate for such reasons. Contrast to Europe, where a cultivated field might have seen continuous cultivation for 2000 yrs. Then ... sure ... you'll get "random drops" to make it worth your while.
Click to expand...

Even here in the UK you can be on a hiding too nothing..

I (and about 40 odd others) attended a club dig over the weekend on an old Horse racing course (active mid 1700's to mid 1800's) and there was high hopes. It was now hay fields and it had not long been cut..

We knew where roughly the grandstand was and the finish line ect...All in all, the history and research suggested we should expect a *lot* of pre-decimal coins from the era , but in reality we found hardly any..

There are lots of potential reasons for not finding, and sometimes its hard not to be disappointed...
 
missouri

ollievon said:
well, it's good to know it wasn't me (having just plain bad luck) or my coil on the fritz (always blame the machine not the user, LOL).

Beaufort, MO is pretty bleak...even the creek near their house had little sign of human activity, so I guess on one hand it's pretty untouched, but I had larger expectations to be honest. I think it's the plain simple fact at lack of activity, although I did drive up a road called Methodist Hill Road which was all dirt and took me to a plateau where a lone chapel built in 1871 still stood, it was amazing and gave me hope...but without clear permission to detect it I just held off. The small cemetery was all German immigrants who started farms in the Missouri area, who knew?

Tom is right though, I brought my East Coast expectations with me since I regularly hunt colonial farm fields and hit things all the time, I should have had a moment of clarity about the Mid-West...and that it was developed far later with fewer people who were more spread out.
Click to expand...

You might do better in some of the old riverfront towns that were serviced by the steam boats. Many have been bypassed by highways and just about disappeared now being small towns and cities . St .Louis was by far not the only big river town at that time. ( wouldn't hunt St.Louis unless I had someone with a gun covering my back. Very high crime and murder rate over 100 murders this year already ).Lots of the old smaller cities have a ton of history and worth looking in to.
 
Last edited:
For sure the heat is a deterrent this time of year, nothing worst than sweating and batting the bugs away.

I'd like to make a point about Ag. fields that separates the northern portion of our country and the southern Ag. fields of the south.
Its obvious that the northern states were colonized and developed before the southern states, thus longer time for early drops does give us northerners an advantage. Tom is so jealous.... ;)

Here's the difference between the northern states and southern states Ag. fields in MY opinion.

The northern fields have been worked by land owners and land owner hired labor (free people with coins and valuables in their pockets) and the southern fields have been worked by mostly slave labor :mad: that had little to any real money to lose.
This is my theory for the lack of valuable field drops in the south compared to the north.


Good luck to everyone and be careful in the heat.
 
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