FliesOnly
Senior Member
OK, I have sort of a strange question that’s tangentially related to me trying to get permission to hunt an old farm house property that’s been around since the early 1800s. It’s owned by an “older” couple (gotta be in their late 80s or early 90s), but they do not live at the home I’m interested in detecting…the wife inherited it from her sister when she passed…so it just sits there, abandoned. They live about 15 miles away from the property. Anyway, I drive by the place every day on my way to work and just stare at it longingly, hoping against hope to one day walk around there with my detector.
I have stopped by the couple’s home twice now, asking for permission. He’s all for it, but his wife is reluctant. Last Fall, when I visited for the first time, even after I was told no, I stayed and talked with the husband for about 30 minutes. When I say “talked with” what actually mean is that he started talking and telling me stories about the history of the area and his family, who have been there for decades…and I just stood there and listened. He loved telling me his stories.
I stopped by again about a week ago. He couldn’t remember my name (not too surprising) but he did say how very happy he was that I had stopped by again. I was hopeful that perhaps maybe they had had a change of heart, but alas, he still said that “they” were reluctant to let me detect. Still, he started in again with more stories of the area, and I spent about 40 minutes with him.
So here’s my question. He asked if I could do him a favor. Someone, a couple years ago, buried a chainsaw out on the back of their property. It was accidental, and there’s really no need to go into the details. He asked if I would go see if I could find it. What I’m wondering is how deep will a detector be able to “spot” something the size of a chainsaw? He has a pretty good idea of where it will be, but has no idea how deep it is. Do I even have a chance of finding it if it’s four feet down? Three feet? Two feet?
He did ask what I’d do with the chainsaw if I found it. I looked at him and said: “What do you mean…it’s yours…I give it to you”. He was surprised by my response…I think he thought I’d just take it home. I saw his surprise as an “IN” to once again clarify that anything I found at the old farmhouse was technically theirs too, and that I’d show them whatever I found. My hope is that if I somehow manage to find the chainsaw and then give it to him, maybe he will say I can go detect on the old farmhouse property. I just don’t know what chance I have it it’s over a couple feet below ground? I mean, a chainsaw is pretty big with lots of large(ish) metal parts…but I have no idea if my detector will see it beyond more than a foot or two.
I have stopped by the couple’s home twice now, asking for permission. He’s all for it, but his wife is reluctant. Last Fall, when I visited for the first time, even after I was told no, I stayed and talked with the husband for about 30 minutes. When I say “talked with” what actually mean is that he started talking and telling me stories about the history of the area and his family, who have been there for decades…and I just stood there and listened. He loved telling me his stories.
I stopped by again about a week ago. He couldn’t remember my name (not too surprising) but he did say how very happy he was that I had stopped by again. I was hopeful that perhaps maybe they had had a change of heart, but alas, he still said that “they” were reluctant to let me detect. Still, he started in again with more stories of the area, and I spent about 40 minutes with him.
So here’s my question. He asked if I could do him a favor. Someone, a couple years ago, buried a chainsaw out on the back of their property. It was accidental, and there’s really no need to go into the details. He asked if I would go see if I could find it. What I’m wondering is how deep will a detector be able to “spot” something the size of a chainsaw? He has a pretty good idea of where it will be, but has no idea how deep it is. Do I even have a chance of finding it if it’s four feet down? Three feet? Two feet?
He did ask what I’d do with the chainsaw if I found it. I looked at him and said: “What do you mean…it’s yours…I give it to you”. He was surprised by my response…I think he thought I’d just take it home. I saw his surprise as an “IN” to once again clarify that anything I found at the old farmhouse was technically theirs too, and that I’d show them whatever I found. My hope is that if I somehow manage to find the chainsaw and then give it to him, maybe he will say I can go detect on the old farmhouse property. I just don’t know what chance I have it it’s over a couple feet below ground? I mean, a chainsaw is pretty big with lots of large(ish) metal parts…but I have no idea if my detector will see it beyond more than a foot or two.
Good luck.
