• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

Not complaining, just curious

Garball77

Junior Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
45
Location
NW Louisiana
I hunt farms that have hosted decades worth of dove hunts. When I had my Tracker IV, some of the areas of interest were impossible to search because of the shotgun shells. Now, with my new handy dandy vanquish540, the shells don’t even register, which brings up two questions:
1. Why not?
2. Could missing brass potentially be a bad thing when relic hunting, and is there a way around it?

Thanks-
Gar
 
Do you have them discriminated out. The newer low cost shells now use steel bases instead of brass. 'Relic hunting' can be anything from digging everything, only large iron or everything above iron. It all depends on what you're looking for.
 
I hunt farms that have hosted decades worth of dove hunts. When I had my Tracker IV, some of the areas of interest were impossible to search because of the shotgun shells. Now, with my new handy dandy vanquish540, the shells don’t even register, which brings up two questions:
1. Why not?

As MuddyMo mentioned, make sure you don't have them discriminated out. I don't have a Vanquish, but on my Equinox, shotshell headstamps ring up anywhere between 10 and 18, depending on the condition, gauge, age, and/or manufacturer. The Equinox and Vanquish are similar enough that the VDI numbers should be similar on your machine. Much like a coin, brass shotshells are solid hits - repeatable in all directions assuming they aren't masked, broken, and/or on edge. The newer shotshells are a completely different story - as MuddyMo said, the new ones use steel, and won't register above the iron range.

2. Could missing brass potentially be a bad thing when relic hunting, and is there a way around it?

Absolutely - missing brass would be a really bad thing when relic hunting, assuming you're interested in finding brass relics :D Keep in mind, a large percentage of 19th century and later relics are made of brass/bronze. Most of the buttons I find will ring up similar to a shotshell headstamp, for example - it's pretty much impossible to call whether or not you've got a shotshell or a button under the coil until you dig. The only "way around" missing brass is making sure it's not disc'ed out, and digging the repeatable mid-tones at locations that have the right history.

If your machine is not alerting on brass, and you don't have mid-tones notched out, then something is likely wrong. Easy way to check is to air test some of the previous brass shotshells or buttons that you've dug, or even bury a couple and check that way.
 
Last edited:
This occasionally happens with my equinox when the shells are on their side. I'm thinking it has something to do with the primer?

I found a bright red, high “brass” shell laying on the ground and ran my machine over it with everything below 0 notched out. Not the slightest ping. Maybe this was because it was on its side, or maybe because it was newer and all steel. Going back out there tomorrow.
 
Back
Top Bottom