How would you deal with railroad spikes and relics?

[gsxraddict]

I just want other people's opinions.

I run hot 2.5 and I'm pretty good at telling iron from non-ferrous but these railroad spikes are driving me insane, they are mixed in with good relics.

I run hot 2.5 reactivity, silencer -1, disc -3, freq 17, full tones.

I mainly use my ears for discrimination but need something else to get the relics out in between the spikes and nails.

 

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[vferrari]

Some folks consider railroad spikes relics too, it's all in the eyes of the recoverer. lol.

Just an occupational hazard like dealing with round iron, once the object gets large enough it is going to ring up nice. One thing you can do is use the built in pinpointer or a pitch program to get a handle on how large your target is and make a dig/no dig decision. That will give you a clue as to whether you are dealing with a large object. Also getting the spikes out of the way could unmask a good target.


I also wish they would make the xp such that it could tell you the difference between a nickel, pull tab, and gold ring, too, but that ain't gonna happen.

 

[Blak bart]

Down here in the keys there was only the flagler railroad. I used to leave them where they lay, and then I would hit them again the next time. So now I dig them all up. At first I would pile them all in a spot I could remember. Then I saw one in the tourist shop all cleaned and preserved and for sale for 10$. It had a small wood stand and plaque that read something like "genuine railroad spike from the historic flagler railroad". Now I moved the piles to my yard and am taking everyone I can find. Ive cleaned up some areas where you would have to use a detector to find any more. Some relics were in such close proximity that you wouldnt know unless you dig. Its helped to get these spikes out of there, and now they are in my possession in case they become desirable as relics. I guess this railroad is more historically significant than most others.

 

[Tpmetal]

Im with bart. They are going to ring up nice so you gotta dig them and see whats around it.

 

[Calabash Digger]

Sometimes iron does give a good response but SOMETIMES it has a nuance in that signal and your ears get in tune with it. BUT sometimes the shovel is the only answer....

 

[Tedyoh]

Also if you do not include iron or ferrous in your definition of relics, then turning up the silencer to 4 or 5 will help, along with lowering the frequency.

 

[gsxraddict]

I could dig hundreds in my spot.

The ground can keep em, I've already pulled out more than 100.

Down here in the keys there was only the flagler railroad. I used to leave them where they lay, and then I would hit them again the next time. So now I dig them all up. At first I would pile them all in a spot I could remember. Then I saw one in the tourist shop all cleaned and preserved and for sale for 10$. It had a small wood stand and plaque that read something like "genuine railroad spike from the historic flagler railroad". Now I moved the piles to my yard and am taking everyone I can find. Ive cleaned up some areas where you would have to use a detector to find any more. Some relics were in such close proximity that you wouldnt know unless you dig. Its helped to get these spikes out of there, and now they are in my possession in case they become desirable as relics. I guess this railroad is more historically significant than most others.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Pinpoint can help. As can lifting the coil, to see if the target is big.
When doing "the wiggle" (pinpointing technique) some iron breaks up near the end - a good sign of iron.

 

[TORRERO]

Try all your different frequencies and LISTEN closely to how they sound in each.... I have noticed the XP is hot on large iron, but in freq 74 it’s much less so... also even for iron it won’t discriminate, sometimes you can hear a clear difference between iron and non ferrous targets. They give a very abrupt hard signal... helps me...

 

[gsxraddict]

An interesting historical fact I've discovered by this.

I'm hunting a civil war block house, they tore up the railroad and destroyed it here, I'm finding burnt char all around 2 ft deep.

I've discovered how they destroyed the tracks, when they ripped up the tracks they purposely ripped the heads off the spikes to get the rails off the ties, then put all the wood ties together and burned them with the spikes still in them missing the head.

That's why I'm finding so many. I'm also finding bullets, buttons and personal items in the same spot.

 

[vferrari]

Since the spikes were annealed during the fire, I bet they are not as corroded either. Just going to have to deal with them to get to the goodies.

 

[gsxraddict]

Since the spikes were annealed during the fire, I bet they are not as corroded either. Just going to have to deal with them to get to the goodies.

That's true most of them are not as corroded as the rest of the large iron.

 

[Davers]

I could dig hundreds in my spot.

The ground can keep em, I've already pulled out more than 100.

Are they the Smaller , Civil War era Type ?

Or the Larger ones that I have found since the early 1980's

I keep & clean the oder ones. Ony got a handful tho.

 

[Davers]

An interesting historical fact I've discovered by this.

I'm hunting a civil war block house, they tore up the railroad and destroyed it here, I'm finding burnt char all around 2 ft deep.

I've discovered how they destroyed the tracks, when they ripped up the tracks they purposely ripped the heads off the spikes to get the rails off the ties, then put all the wood ties together and burned them with the spikes still in them missing the head.

That's why I'm finding so many. I'm also finding bullets, buttons and personal items in the same spot.

Sounds like a fun but tuff site to hunt.

I should have read all the posts before asking the 'Civil war era ?.

Rippin Heads off spikes , some strong & hardened Men back then.

 

[pepperj]

An interesting historical fact I've discovered by this.

I'm hunting a civil war block house, they tore up the railroad and destroyed it here, I'm finding burnt char all around 2 ft deep.

I've discovered how they destroyed the tracks, when they ripped up the tracks they purposely ripped the heads off the spikes to get the rails off the ties, then put all the wood ties together and burned them with the spikes still in them missing the head.

That's why I'm finding so many. I'm also finding bullets, buttons and personal items in the same spot.

Now that's a makes me go why they ripped the heads off the spikes when it would taken less effort just to pull them with a spike puller. Total destruction of the spike-was the reason so not to be repurposed again?
Find any of the spike heads? The questions on why something was done that doesn't make comments sense has me wondering if the heads were repurposed for something else. Was all this done while the Civil War was raging? (asking because I'm not familiar with the timeline of the war history and this occurrence)

 

[gsxraddict]

Now that's a makes me go why they ripped the heads off the spikes when it would taken less effort just to pull them with a spike puller. Total destruction of the spike-was the reason so not to be repurposed again?
Find any of the spike heads? The questions on why something was done that doesn't make comments sense has me wondering if the heads were repurposed for something else. Was all this done while the Civil War was raging? (asking because I'm not familiar with the timeline of the war history and this occurrence)

Yeah I find the heads also, but I find them within 10 yards of the track. They burned the ties about 40 yards away from where the blockhouse was. The land has been farmed since the war so the tiller has drug the headless spikes all over the field but they're still sorta concentrated

 

[vferrari]

Yeah I find the heads also, but I find them within 10 yards of the track. They burned the ties about 40 yards away from where the blockhouse was. The land has been farmed since the war so the tiller has drug the headless spikes all over the field but they're still sorta concentrated

As someone said before - sounds like a fun yet frustrating place to detect. I'm sure you have pulled some gems out of there. Keep hitting it with the new coil and try some unmasking techniques to see what else pops out.

 

[mindcrime1988]

I read through the thread a few times and I do not believe anybody has discussed notching. Just throwing it out there because I'm always learning and sure others could benefit as well but why not just notch out the rail road spikes? Say for instance the spikes were registering 78-80, why not just notch out that set of numbers? True anything else that is within the same set of numbers will be silenced as well but unless the relics you're looking for are within the same numbers, that is what I would do.

I'm sure others will chime in which is what I would like because as I stated I'm always learning how to get the most out of my Deus.