Such a thing a too trashy?

[TCAWarriors]

I had an opportunity to hunt a late 1800's home today. It was the most frustrating experience of my detecting life. There was so much trash and iron in the ground that if I masked it out the detector was silent. If I left it open it was unbelievable! I could pick out any targets because of the noise. Any suggestions? Are there some sites that you just have to pass on? I don't have permission to go back enough to clean it all out, which I believe would just about be impossible anyway.

I use an E-trac by the way.

 

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[donj]

get the smallest coil you can and go slow

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a house site I'm digging dates before the Revolution. After 2 and a half years (not every week, mind you), I finally got through the aluminum layer and dug some colonial buttons and an 18th century rifle ball. Just gotta dig the garbage out, then the goodies will magically appear.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes. IMHO there are sites that just aren't worth it. For whatever reason. No matter HOW MUCH colorful history could be connected to the spot. I research out lots of spots that "should be" good (based on the anecdotal data points). Yet, for whatever reason (fill dirt, modern influence, hunted to death, etc...) just don't pan out.

Yet the 10th site turns out to be a honey hole that gives up seateds, reales, a gold coin, etc... So I concentrate on those spots. And don't loose sleep over the other 9 that didn't produce.

 

[Rawhide]

Get a F75 or AT Pro.

 

[CoilyGirl]

I have hunted an old site that was definitely way too trashy,but then again I pulled out an old brass key near where the foundation was that was really nice.My mister gave up long before I did. I also pulled a WLQ out of a horrendous site thinking it was yet another aluminum can top. I like the challenge of finding at least one decent relic on any given site. Funny thing is I'm all over the place and never really make myself cover one area before I move on and I've found some pretty decent relics. I also tend to skip to another area if I'm solely finding present day junk and my fairy flirting approach has served me well.

 

[smokeythecat]

I don't dig where needles are lying around. Fortunately, I've only seen 1 at the beach since 2012. I did find a large knife "planted" blade straight up I the air this past fall. Bad guys responsible?

 

[releventchair]

I've hit some crazy sites with a near solid layer of trash.
Starting at an edge each visit I chip away a while then leave it.
These are newer sights and the trash is modern.
If a mixed or old site I'd peck away a little each visit in a similar fashion as the odds of interesting recoveries would be good.
Got to punch through modern layers sometimes to hit whats below.
I'm not that skilled and don't run the best detector but have found silver below iron. Was not nearly a solid silver signal though , and jumpy.

Metal siding trim pieces ,nails,pull tabs,bottle caps,foil wads ,bread twist ties all are in one of those annoying spots.
A desired target gets well scrambled among the signals. So bit by bit , trash gets pulled.
Meanwhile the whole time , other places beckon!

 

[bigfoot1]

if I really have a good feeling about an overwhelming site I break out the sifter for a day or two and am able to learn much about the site.

 

[digger27]

I LOVE hunting sites that cause most others screaming into the night.
I am also very anal about learning my detectors and target behavior more than well and have the patience to experiment and try all kinds of settings to try to hit on the best most productive ones to conquer each type...normal park trash, extreme iron, heavy mineralized.
So far I have been more than successful using several detectors but my F70 has dropped my jaw more than any others and has gotten me some bucket listers among many other treasures.
I learned a couple ways to do this including using some way out of the box thinking but hey...what works, works.

 

[ScubaDetector]

Have you downloaded and tried Bills Trashy Park Program? I think it is fantastic. If you need help finding it PM me. I don't think I can upload it here. I haven't wavered from it and it is deadly on coins, not iron.

 

[TCAWarriors]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I have never given up on a site. Gonna go back with a small coil and hope to post some good finds.

Skippy SH13- Your response was so funny. Thanks for the laugh.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[tony curnick]

Have you downloaded and tried Bills Trashy Park Program? I think it is fantastic. If you need help finding it PM me. I don't think I can upload it here. I haven't wavered from it and it is deadly on coins, not iron.

I for one would appreciate link to Bills trashy Park program...

 

[Frankn]

Well, I use a 15 year old Whites XLT. I can adjust just about anything in the computer circuits. I set the target response to be very short. That gives me the ability to see several targets on each swing that are locked in on the screen. Yes the ID#s jump, but the graph shows all targets from the swing. I don't know if the MXT retained this ability. There are a lot of tradeoffs on newer detectors. Frank

 

[fistfulladirt]

Having hunted dozens of old homes and farmyards, I can say many are just a bust, plain and simple.
Either lots of trash and noisy, or quiet and barren.
I'd say maybe one out of five yards might be worthwhile, in my case.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I have to ground balance on the strip of grass by the road before I can start searching my field of trash! Then I hunt by sound alone because the vid is like a Jack rabbit & jumping all over the place. Its a very slow search.
I've found, silver, musket ball and other nice things. It just requires a lot of patience and persistance...and I believe I'm the only one who detects there.:sly:

 

[Driftwoood]

I'm currently on a early-late 1800's site where a house (and probably several sheds) was burned down after many times flooded, then dozed out. LOTS of nails and some bigger iron (horseshoes, oxshoes, weirdies, etc.), lots of melted metal blobs, but not a lot of modern trash... I have found that going slow -REALLY slow- makes a huge difference. Also, I don't discriminate anything out... it makes for a nerve wracking experience, but often there are little squeaky signals between the bonky nail signals.

 

[against the wind]

Old Home Sites dating back to the early 1800's are in all probability loaded with all sorts of iron. From nails to horse shoes.
I really like the idea of isolating a "Heavy Iron Spot. "
Try a 12 foot by 12 foot area and sift out the signals to see how deep you have to go to get to a good target.
Good luck with the search.

 

[Rawhide]

All good post. Trash equals finds as you know people were there. Old home sites are not done in a day. The parks with a lot of trash I do fairly well at as others cherry pick or give up. Foil and iron(hair pins) will change the value of a good target if nearby. The slow swing does help. Switching different modes also help. The Iron Audio on my AT Pro is about worthless in such trashy settings as there is always Iron close by. My F75 does very well in All Metal mode. I can hear it all and still pull good targets all day. I do not hunt at the bases of trees, around trash cans and the such. Ten foot makes all the difference as you have to hunt where folks havent hunted before some days. Ten foot will get you away from most of the trash. I hunt the edges, and love sidewalks, but again if its too trashy I just move over about 4 feet and hunt it that way.

 

[cactusman]

If you feel there are good finds to be had at the site, then I say it's worth working, unless you have something better to search first. Use a small coil, and grid the area, twice, at 90 degrees from each other -- you'll be amazed at the extra finds. And the more junk you clear the more good stuff you will find.

As for sites that are too trashy to hunt, I would say yes, there are. If the area is full of junk, has no history of people being there other than just dumping things, (not lots of people potentially losing things, or someone hiding something), then you have to weigh the time factor -- is it worth your time? Only you can decide that one. As for your site, it is old, so there could be old coins there as well as relics of value.