"Plug Diggin"

[slink]

TH said it practice..notice I said art/skill it does take practice.Once you have it down its very quick.The set of tools TH has looks awesome.Frankn sumed up the procedure nicely.If your getting nice coins bury clad in your own yard to practice to get it down without damaging your target.

 

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[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Everyone,

I agree about the perpendicular plug cutting procedure. There are also other methods of cutting a proper plug (horse shoe, slit…etc) that can be used. I have the pleasure of hunting old historical homes, very old privately owned homes and town sites. IMO the two most important things needed to learn are how to properly pinpoint and size a target. These two things reduce the trauma to the lawn (smaller plug) and reduce the fears of curious onlookers. I always use a cloth or small towel to place the removed dirt from the hole. Also, I only “dig” in the spring and fall at these sites since the ground is usually moist from rain and the heat is a minimum. In working on these sensitive sites perception is everything and the grass must look as it was before you were there. Lastly, I always share or give my finds to the home owner or town historical society. This always gets me an invitation back and more homes to dig due to word of mouth. To me it’s the fun of recovering something from the past and scratching it off my finds list.

Happy Hunting

 

[bzbadger]

I've seen many people do the horseshoe plugs and most are terrible and that whole idea that leaving one side uncut somehow saves the grass is a farce. I've spoken with landscapers and a client who owns a sod farm and landscape company..what I learned was to cut down deeper than the roots leaving as much soil in the plug as possible. I use my own purpose built diggers, very sharp so it cuts clean and not bluntly punching in the ground. I cut a square, as I plunge the shovel I then push forward towards what will be the plug and do this like a compass..north south east west and it compacts the dirt and comes out intact. I've never had a problem with dead grass and those in our club who were getting spoken to for their piss poor plugs were shown how I do it and don't have issues anymore. Its all about taking your time to do it right, I'm sure there are many techniques but its just doing it right and not being lazy about it.

 

[mikeraydj]

Watch Dirtfishing on youtube. He uses a gasket scraper that works really well.

 

[Jeremy S]

I use this most of the time in manicured grass and parks: Garrett Treasure Probe Metal Detectors For Sale - Kellyco



I also carry a cheap Harbor Freight screwdriver to help push the coins up when needed. For deeper targets, over 4", the probe is very difficult to use. Sometimes I'll cut a slit in the sod, kind of pry it up to expose the dirt below the roots, and use the probe to find the target.

Once you get good using a brass probe you will be able to retrieve targets very fast and leave no mess.