TCosbyJr
Forum Supporter
Finishing up my custom pouches/belt setup and I'm looking for the right last tool to add. Many sites I hunt have either a gravel pull off to park near the street, a parking lot itself made of gravel, or gravel driveway leading to the area.
The problem is the gravel is typically nearly concrete on how well/hard it is packed, and a pick axe is out of the question. It is all packed very hard from use over the many years, and small gravel size.
In the past I used a boot knife and at best was able to slowly break 1/4" chunks at a time deep (besides wedging the rocks loose) or doing little more than scrapping. After about 5 finds averaging 2" down, and about 10 minutes to dig each target I was done. My hands were red and sore for days afterwards for the wheats I recovered. There were many other good signals, and deeper ones too in the gravel.
I have no doubt those gravel areas are likely hiding some of the better finds, as no one has bothered to detect them, but the recovery is extremely slow going. Does anyone know of a tool that will dig better in such gravel conditions? Anyone else dig finds in gravel areas?
So far I also ruled out rock hammers due to the noise of using it (no to mention the weight). It looks like the best I have found is a screwdriver style pry bar, which has to be loads better than any knife or soil/root digging tool.
The problem is the gravel is typically nearly concrete on how well/hard it is packed, and a pick axe is out of the question. It is all packed very hard from use over the many years, and small gravel size.
In the past I used a boot knife and at best was able to slowly break 1/4" chunks at a time deep (besides wedging the rocks loose) or doing little more than scrapping. After about 5 finds averaging 2" down, and about 10 minutes to dig each target I was done. My hands were red and sore for days afterwards for the wheats I recovered. There were many other good signals, and deeper ones too in the gravel.
I have no doubt those gravel areas are likely hiding some of the better finds, as no one has bothered to detect them, but the recovery is extremely slow going. Does anyone know of a tool that will dig better in such gravel conditions? Anyone else dig finds in gravel areas?
So far I also ruled out rock hammers due to the noise of using it (no to mention the weight). It looks like the best I have found is a screwdriver style pry bar, which has to be loads better than any knife or soil/root digging tool.
