Hello from Mexico

[Gringo]

I live up in the mountains of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Our area abounds with stories of buried treasure, abandoned and working mines, and plenty of gold and silver.

Over the years I have purchased silver coins and gold amalgam from local people. So I know there is plenty of precious metal around to find. Also the early miners lost a few mule trains of silver and gold to the Apaches. One mule load of silver would be enough to make me pretty happy I realize that I am probably going to find lots of trash before I find anything worth keeping.

The best relic I have purchased here was a Winchester 1892 .44-40 which based on the serial number I believe was manufactured in 1896.

I have absolutely no experience using a metal detector but figured that with all the stuff around here I would a fool if I didn't give it a try. At the least I can sell the detector for far more money than I paid for it. A friend of mine paid $1000 for a "Time Ranger" which appears to be a pretty cheap machine. I found myself a Radio Shack 63-3006 at a consignment auction in the USA for $45 and it appears to be unused. The bottom of the search coil looks new without any scratches on it at all.

Several hours from my home I own a very old stone house which is in ruins. This house is located near the second most productive gold mine in Mexico and was the home of the owner of a silver mine. I can probably also detect around at least some portions of the gold mine. The current owner is a fellow I want nothing to do with... dangerous and politically connected. However a friend of mine owns a house that was formerly used by the mine and is surrounded by the mine. I'm pretty certain he would be happy to let me detect his property for a share of the finds.

A friend of mine has several sites he would like to take me to to search one is a cave where he found skeletons among bullet pocked rocks.

Another location I wish to search is a cave and campsite on the Camino Real.

Am I wasting my time searching with the Radio Shack 63-3006? Do I need something better. I don't know anything about metal detecting except for a few things I have read online today.

I am after gold and silver coins, ingots, and relics preferably swords and rifles. I know one fellow who found a sword by tripping over it while walking near one of the foot paths in this area.

An acquaintance of mine wants some help finding some pots full of silver clad coins he buried a number of years ago. He had a cement slab poured over them and doesn't want to bust up the whole floor looking for the coins, but if we can pinpoint the locations he might be willing to cut a hole and sell the silver.

[billiard rich]

Welcome to the forum.

I'd love to have any one of those sites to search. You've got it made!

As far as that machine goes, I don't know a thing about it. Best advise I can give you is to keep the discrimination as low as you need to (less discrimination is better than more) and turn the sensitivity up until the machine becomes unstable - then back it down until it's quiet. (When the sensitivity is up too high, it will give you random beeps. You'll swing over a spot, it will beep, swing over that spot again, the beep is gone, or seems to have moved. You dig looking for an item and you don't find anything. Scan the diggings and the hole and the detector doesn't beep. Having the sensitivity up too high can drive you nuts.)

Here is a link to reviews of different metal detectors. You can search by brand or application: http://metaldetectorreviews.net/

Hope you find lots of loot!

[RickO]

With the potential of your area, I would invest in a better machine... take the advice above and do some research. Good luck... RickO

[Ed in KC]

Welcome to the forum! With the places you have to detect, I'd definitely get a better detector--Radio Shack detectors are not very good quality.

On a side note, one of my Great Grandfathers owned a silver mine in Mexico along with some other men, but lost it after the revolution--I have no idea where it was located.

[Gringo]

The revolution of 1910 was a pretty bad deal for a lot of Americans who owned property down here.

What kind of machine would you choose for detecting the kind of places I have mentioned? Our soil here is generally heavily mineralized.

I figure that I an sell this metal detector for $600 to $800 here so that I would have some cash to work with. Perhaps I should detect the easy to access sites with it before I add a competitor to the .hunt.

Is it realistic to hope that this hobby will turn a profit, if I invest in good equipment and work it hard when ever I get a chance?

Are there any books I should read on treasure hunting that would be helpful?

I enjoy studying our local history and I know that should help me find some more places to detect. The first Jesuit mission in our area was founded in 1656 that should produce some treasures if I can get permission.

[Carol K]

How exciting! Welcome to the forum Gringo.

You may want to look in Tesoro line of detectors. They are easy to use, break down, and pack for hiking.

Definitely do as much hunting on your own as you can. You need practice, not a treasure hunting book.

Best of luck, can't wait to hear what you find.

[xtrain]

good luck hope you find lots

[Gringo]

Originally Posted by Carol K

You may want to look in Tesoro line of detectors. They are easy to use, break down, and pack for hiking.

I like the idea of a detector that breaks down for hiking! Two caves I want to get into can only be reached by rappelling down from the top of a cliff. One of my good friends was shown some gold coins which were found at the foot of one of the cliffs. Supposedly coins occasionally fall down to be found at the base of the cliff but the trail to the cave is washed out. Local legend has a treasure hidden in the other cave. MDing a cave has the advantage that nobody can see what you are doing.

One of the local superstitions is that who ever digs up a buried treasure will go crazy and die because of a toxic vapor that forms when gold is buried a long time. I decided to play along with this to cut down on the competition. I picked up a miner's 1/2 hour air supply tank and mask kit in a hard plastic case.

Another belief is that spirits and glowing lights will make themselves visible in locations where a treasure is hidden. I have spoken with a number of people who claim to have seen these first hand. I don't criticize I just listen and avoid saying what I think... I want to keep the stories coming I have quite a collection of stories to investigate and sometimes I hear two versions of the same story. I am certain that quite a few of the stories are just stories but there is truth in others. I once went with a neighbor to recover a heavy sack of gold coins he had found and re-hidden in a cave only to find an empty hole someone else had got there first. He was pretty disappointed. The trip was worth it to me because one of the other caves nearby was a Tarahumara burial cave. When I looked in the opening there were human bones scattered about the floor, someone had already taken the skulls. I did not enter the cave out of respect for the dead.

The other reason I would like a break down model is for operational security. Gossip travels fast here and we are in the middle of a pretty intense drug war. Last week saw at least 26 people killed here locally. Creel, which is a major tourist destination, had 14 people killed outside a school this past Saturday. Needless to say the tourist trade has plummeted. The stuff happening in Juarez is making the news in the USA but what is happening here is just as bad but will probably never make the news. It would really stink to make a nice find and get held up on the way out. Highway robbery and hostage taking seem to be on the rise again.

Where would you recommend buying a Tesoro metal detector?

[Gringo]

Would the Silver Sabre µMax be a good choice for what I want to do?

[zander10]

welcome to the forum gringo!

i don't know what to recomend for a detector. my advice is to get the one that "lights" you up. that is it draws you to it and makes you feel good.

you might try browsing at different online detector stores.

i love the stories about the spirits around the buried treasure!

i read allot of books by charles garrett and he has has been quite successful treasure hunting in mexico and all over the world for that matter.

[txrider]

After reading your posts, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" comes to mind.
Wish I could join you.

Dave

[Gringo]

Anyone who wants to come detecting here and is an expert at MDing is quite welcome to come. I'll arrange to go to some interesting sites, you teach me how to do it and we split the find 50/50.

Some sites are physically VERY challenging to reach and others can be reached in a car.

[txrider]

Originally Posted by Gringo

Anyone who wants to come detecting here and is an expert at MDing is quite welcome to come.

Well that leaves me out. I'm new at this. I speak a little Spanish and like tequila though...does that qualify me?

[beerdoodle]

Originally Posted by Gringo

Anyone who wants to come detecting here and is an expert at MDing is quite welcome to come. I'll arrange to go to some interesting sites, you teach me how to do it and we split the find 50/50.

Some sites are physically VERY challenging to reach and others can be reached in a car.

Where do I sign up? Sounds like some good potential for research and patience.............................

[zander10]

is that john travolta on the right?

[beerdoodle]

Originally Posted by zander10

is that john travolta on the right?

Burton Gilliam................How you get John Travolta out of Burton Gilliam is beyond me............

[txrider]

Blazing Saddles is one of the funniest movies ever made.

"We don't need no stinkin' badges."

[foreverRich]

Welcome to our detecting family. Sounds like an exciting place to hunt. Could be a little on the dangerous side. Hope you have a friend to go with you to watch your back. The Tesoro sounds like a great choice for hunting your area. Good luck, stay safe and let us know how you do.

[KellycoChick]

Hello Gringo,
Welcome to the forum! I'm excited for you! Great location, you’ll be cave hunting? Sounds like a 2 box detector like the TF 900 would be best, you may want to watch if there's rebar in that concrete floor, they may not be a detector that would help that. Hope this helps with your decision. As always if you have any questions we are all here to help. You can also email me.
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/disc...discovery.html
Thanks,
Kellyco Chick

[GiGi]

Welcome to the forum, Gringo. I don't have a suggestion about what type of detector to get, however, if you are MD'ing in an area that other people may be around, you want to be sure to get headphones if you don't already have them. It helps to not draw quite as much attention if they can't hear the beeps of the MD. If anybody asks what you're doing, just tell them you're checking for radiation, that will scare them off! Good luck, and please keep us posted!
GiGi