digged out

Mutt

Jr. Member
Nov 18, 2005
40
1
I have been MD for a good 15 years or better. I have an older Garrett GTP1350. We have detected everywhere around my town. I have only found 3 silvers in that whole time. The first silver was behind the first church in Wills Point, Texas. It was built in 1870. I found my first silver coin on a empty lot behind the church, just after they bulldozed a house that was on the lot. It was where the sidewalk on the street, met with the sidewalk going from the house to the sidewalk on the street met, right in the corner. 1877 dime about 2 inches deep. On the opposite corner of the block, I detected a old house. I went there about 6 times and always walked away with a small handful of coins,etc. I found the next 2 silver coins in this yard. one next to a big oak tree, 1903 dime and the other across the yard 1912 dime.

Me and my hunting buddy have been every where we could think of in the town. We basically just find zincoln's that are on top of the ground or just slightly under the surface. I detected the old high school foot ball field under the bleachers, found a few handfuls of coins, but nothing old. I have found 4 or 5 1944 pennies around here tho.
My question is, we have just about burned out the few places we know of, I would like some opinions about where we can go in my area for a new challange. There was an old public swimming pool, but that area has been plowed over and a baseball field put in it's place. The only park is new (10 years old or so).

I went to the old Depot in town. There is a killer resource of info from 1937 (and updated in 1941) Wills Point Fire Insurance book that I looked thru. It shows every single house, business, carriage house, outhouse, etc in the town in that year. Many of the houses are still there, tho the carriage houses and outhouses and such are gone. Problem is, it's all private property and I am sorta shy about asking people to let me detect their yards. I hate getting turned down and I am sure I will. Can y'all experienced folks help me out here with suggestions?
Wills Point is a small town in Van Zandt county Texas, about 50 miles east of Dallas off hwy. 80. It was a major cotton selling place from it's inception in 1873 thru the late 50's. There were 6 cotton gins here at the same time. The original brick street thru the town is still in place as are many of the original brick buildings.

Thanks
Mutt
 

CincinnatiKid

Bronze Member
Nov 5, 2013
2,079
1,220
Cincinnati Ohio
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XP Deus, Garrett ProPointer
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Hi Mutt. Thanks for the time it took to post.
3 silvers in 15yrs!? Ouch. Most 'round here are upset with 3 silvers in one hunt?
The sites you've mentioned sound great. Nowhere, I mean Nowhere, is "digged out". Although older, your machine is quite capable. The depth at which you locate targets concerns me. Dimes at 6"+, should ring loud and true.
You may want to send it to Garrett for a "check up". Many things inhibit depth.
Research, Research, Research is the key to new sites.
Keep at it, your 4th silver is near!
GL
Peace ✌
 

DFX DAVE in M.D.

Hero Member
Oct 15, 2004
838
353
Upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I would try the new park, there could have been old silver lost there before it was turned into a park. I would try the baseball field also, coins will push back up from ground water. Which is a question I have, do you live in a dry desert area or an area with woods ? Woods sites can be great to detect.
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Years ago a smart man told me the way to approach a job where you are asking people is to collect "No's". Whether door to door sales, handing out resumes, or asking permission; it works. Expect you will get turned down and accumulate a lot of No's. You may just have to get a pile for every "Yes", so get busy. Ask for permission.
 

DonDigger

Full Member
Jan 11, 2013
247
193
Galveston Bay Area
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Teknetics, Whites
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Your Garrett should be as good today as the day it was made but you may want to have it checked and tuned up. Your actually not too far from their factory. I've been thru Wills Point on a few occasions and from what I recall you should be able to find some really good detecting sites. Your right up the road from Canton and as you probably are well aware of, the First Monday flea market is the oldest continually operated flea market in the USA. Its basicly a fair grounds that been in operation for about 160 years. It started operation in the 1850's and has grown to be one of the largest, if not the largest in the country. Since it is held over three days the first of each month there should be plenty of time in between to get permission and hunt the grounds. Guaranteed you will find a lot of junk and clad, but there has to be old silver there as well.
 

OP
OP
M

Mutt

Jr. Member
Nov 18, 2005
40
1
Hi Mutt. Thanks for the time it took to post.
3 silvers in 15yrs!? Ouch. Most 'round here are upset with 3 silvers in one hunt?
The sites you've mentioned sound great. Nowhere, I mean Nowhere, is "digged out". Although older, your machine is quite capable. The depth at which you locate targets concerns me. Dimes at 6"+, should ring loud and true.
You may want to send it to Garrett for a "check up". Many things inhibit depth.
Research, Research, Research is the key to new sites.
Keep at it, your 4th silver is near!
GL
Peace ✌


I've never found anything, except for maybe an old can or a piece of iron , anywhere deeper than 3 inches.
 

OP
OP
M

Mutt

Jr. Member
Nov 18, 2005
40
1
It's pretty dry here, but there's woods every where.
 

OP
OP
M

Mutt

Jr. Member
Nov 18, 2005
40
1
Yep, me and the bro-in-law have both been TH at first Monday. He has been many times. He says he has only found old wheaties, no silver
 

Jeremy S

Hero Member
Feb 27, 2012
515
343
God's Country
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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Sounds like you need to start knocking on some doors or watching for street/sidewalk tear-outs.

Silver can be tough to find, I have only found 5 this year. Spots have been cherry picked for silver over and over again for over 30 years now.

Do you think in 15 years that you have possibly developed some bad detecting habits that are keeping you from finding good stuff. Swinging coil too fast/high off the ground? Only retrieving solid signals and ignoring the deeper, iffy ones?

I see a lot of guys, like most others who detect in my area, simply toss whatever trash they find back into the hole and move on. That is about the dumbest thing someone could do if they plan to hunt the same spot multiple times. You will waste time in the future detecting the same trash over and over again, and often that trash will mask out another object. Some of my best finds have come from spots that I hunted multiple times, digging everything and hauling out all garbage that I find. Silver haven't been minted in around 50 years now, so they can be deep with a layer of nails, tabs, bottle caps,and other trash on top of them masking them out. Sometimes getting that trash out of the way really exposes the good stuff.
 

Jeremy S

Hero Member
Feb 27, 2012
515
343
God's Country
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Garret Ace 250, AT Pro, Garret Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
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Asking for permission to hunt is about like asking a girl out. If you are nervous and scared you will fail.

Know the property history and who owns it, dress nice, be polite, never ask over the phone/email/snail mail, and always respect the property. I often have better luck asking the husband versus the wife, not sure why.

I currently have around a 50% success rate asking for permission. I usually pack along trash bags and offer to pick up garbage, and that alone has been what secured me permission in a few cases.
 

pkb

Hero Member
Feb 10, 2013
587
316
Dallas
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Two Garrett AT PRO's, two Garrett pro pointers
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MD the schools in your area ? Are you in Wills Point ?
 

Higgy

Bronze Member
Jul 21, 2014
1,415
1,264
NH
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I've offered to mow the lawn for permission to hunt it. Win-Win.
 

Msbeepbeep

Gold Member
Jun 24, 2012
15,787
24,131
MA
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Your family and friends know people have them help you get permission to hunt.
 

Rawhide

Silver Member
Nov 17, 2010
3,590
2,185
SouthWestern USA
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Library can hold lots of info. I find the reference section a gold mine of info. While new drops at the city park is OK, old camps can be fun. Most folks are friendly in Texas, so make conversation then ask for permission. Research is key and a bit of luck. You have old trails and may have old forgotten towns also. Your own home could hold coins also.

Now 3 inches is just not deep enough. You may want to upgrade. Bullbdozed areas can be tough.

My most productive hunt was at a old dump. Most old homes have them. If I had a Nicole for every time I said, "I need to detect that". Good luck
 

Argentium

Gold Member
Feb 2, 2008
9,058
5,574
Santa Fe, New Mexico
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You said there were lots of woods around there - I'd be working the woods .The more you understand what was where 100 years ago,
the better you'll do , library research and some online research about your area is vital . I like the earlier post about offering to mow
the lawn in return for permission to hunt !

( I just did a flyover of Wills Point with Google maps , I highly recommend you do this too if you haven't
already - You may see areas that you had forgotten about /and areas you never knew about !)
 

Last edited:

DFX DAVE in M.D.

Hero Member
Oct 15, 2004
838
353
Upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Mutt, here is how I scout woods locations, it might not be your cup of coffee, but here it is. I take my dog hiking and keep my eyes open for old cellar holes and foundations, I can find them easier in the winter with the leaves dead on trees, even places I walked by in the summer and never saw because of the creep weed vines growing over them. My wife is a Geo-Cacher which goes into woods and parks often and I am scouting then also. Most people use the research route, when I would just rather research with my eyes. If you see old broken glass in ruts and dry run off creek beds follow it up hill, until you find the top point of the dumping activity, there was people there 100 years ago dumping it. By horse and buggy most likely. You can see old dirt roads that are now overgrown with trees, they may have pull offs for people that camped or used it as a lovers lane.
 

masterjedi

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May 24, 2014
1,757
1,349
Oregon
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Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I have been MD for a good 15 years or better. I have an older Garrett GTP1350. We have detected everywhere around my town. I have only found 3 silvers in that whole time. The first silver was behind the first church in Wills Point, Texas. It was built in 1870. I found my first silver coin on a empty lot behind the church, just after they bulldozed a house that was on the lot. It was where the sidewalk on the street, met with the sidewalk going from the house to the sidewalk on the street met, right in the corner. 1877 dime about 2 inches deep. On the opposite corner of the block, I detected a old house. I went there about 6 times and always walked away with a small handful of coins,etc. I found the next 2 silver coins in this yard. one next to a big oak tree, 1903 dime and the other across the yard 1912 dime.

Me and my hunting buddy have been every where we could think of in the town. We basically just find zincoln's that are on top of the ground or just slightly under the surface. I detected the old high school foot ball field under the bleachers, found a few handfuls of coins, but nothing old. I have found 4 or 5 1944 pennies around here tho.
My question is, we have just about burned out the few places we know of, I would like some opinions about where we can go in my area for a new challange. There was an old public swimming pool, but that area has been plowed over and a baseball field put in it's place. The only park is new (10 years old or so).

I went to the old Depot in town. There is a killer resource of info from 1937 (and updated in 1941) Wills Point Fire Insurance book that I looked thru. It shows every single house, business, carriage house, outhouse, etc in the town in that year. Many of the houses are still there, tho the carriage houses and outhouses and such are gone. Problem is, it's all private property and I am sorta shy about asking people to let me detect their yards. I hate getting turned down and I am sure I will. Can y'all experienced folks help me out here with suggestions?
Wills Point is a small town in Van Zandt county Texas, about 50 miles east of Dallas off hwy. 80. It was a major cotton selling place from it's inception in 1873 thru the late 50's. There were 6 cotton gins here at the same time. The original brick street thru the town is still in place as are many of the original brick buildings.

Thanks
Mutt

I would consider buying a new modern detector that will make all of your old sites new again...Fisher F75SE, DEUS, CTX 3030, Etrac...
Its a new world out there...
 

OP
OP
M

Mutt

Jr. Member
Nov 18, 2005
40
1
I would consider buying a new modern detector that will make all of your old sites new again...Fisher F75SE, DEUS, CTX 3030, Etrac...
Its a new world out there...


Any reviews on here about the Fisher F75SE?
 

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