SECRETS of the IRON Brigade: Selective Hunting

BuckleBoy

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Jun 12, 2006
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Hello All,

In response to many folks who've PM'ed me or replied to my posts asking how we get out there and hunt such massive areas in order to find sites, I thought I would reply here with a couple of tips.

First off, all you really need is a record of an early house--be it in the deeds, wills, local history book, etc.


I've detected this sentiment in some of the replies I've received, but I'll go ahead and state it here: Geography can be your Friend, or your Foe.

Obviously we don't go out and hunt a half a mile square...but if that's what it would take, we'd do it!

What we do is what I like to call "Selective Hunting." This doesn't mean that I pick and choose what I dig. If it beeps, it gets dug. At sites that are as long-gone as these are, you won't be digging piles of aluminum junk in most cases. In fact, I've gone ten hunts in a row without so much as a pulltab. Also, on early sites, you can't be selective about what you dig--because there are many Fine (and Valuable!) relics waiting for you. You also have to dig the BIG iron out--since it masks good targets. In fact, when all is said and done and the site is "worked out," the only thing left will be nails, glass, busted stoneware pottery, and broken mud brick.

The Iron Brigade follows the Fastest route toward finding a site. If we have a record of where the site was, then GPS coordinates work well. If we have NO record of exactly where it was, except for the property boundaries--then we use that combination of intuition, observation, and hard work that I call "Selective Hunting."


1. Choose your sites wisely. Do not choose sites where there are houses that do not appear on any map, if there are any structures at all currently in that 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile square. It is a BIG disappointment to hunt the probable spots only to find that the one spot left was the one that has something built on top of it! Another word about site selection--if you choose areas that have some geography to them--hills, valleys, creeks, rises, streams, knolls, etc.--then Geography will be your Friend. If you choose an area where the land is Perfectly Flat, then your task will be more difficult.

2. Get permission from the owner(s) of all of the land on which the structure could've been located. If your total possible search area is spread across two properties, and you only get one "Yes" between those two owners, I wouldn't hunt it unless you're sure it is on that property. It is an awful feeling to hunt several owners' properties out of the total, original land grant, and then get turned down on the last remaining one.

3. Learn all you can about the site. Look at the deeds, records, etc. It would also be a Shame to think you've found and hunted the spot--when in fact the person that lived there 150 years ago was a blacksmith and there are actually TWO sites on the property--a blacksmith's shop AND an early homestead!

4. Look at the spot on Google Earth or some other similar server. Burn the way it looks into your mind--prepare yourself mentally for the hunt. Think of possible places that the site could've been. Get a topo map from online and print a color copy and take it with you--with possible locations marked on it.

5. When you arrive at the site, you will see Many things that you could not see from Google Earth. Mark these on your topo as well.

6. If the spot is a plowed field, don't even turn on the detector yet! EYEBALL the area first. Signs of habitation are near to impossible to erase. You'll see brick, glass, stoneware, iron, and other signs. Eyeballing is much Faster than hunting all of that area. Stay focused, and hit all of the points you marked on your topo map. If you still haven't found the site, take your research home and think about it some more, marking new spots to try again. Pay attention to rises, hills, or knolls. They should ALWAYS be on your list of possible sites for a structure. In some cases, I've found sites in Low spots--but looking at a topo map these made sense, because there was a spring there, or a small creek or branch. Parallel creeks or branches, just outside of flood level, eyeballing for signs. Springs should go on the list as well. Last of all, put sinkholes on the list. Sinkholes frequently function as giant Trash Cans for farmers. If you see any of the usual signs tossed in a sinkhole by either a farmer or early inhabitants, you'll know you're close.

7. If you find signs, turn your machine on. You should hear Iron. In fact, you WANT to hear Iron! Iron is the most Plentiful target at an early site--whether it is home site, mill site, camp site, shop, store, picket post or what have you. If you set your discrimination so high that you can't hear the iron, you could walk through a site three feet away from one Large Cent, and that Seated Coin might be mere inches out of the reach of your detector. In short--you could be ON the spot and not even know it.

8. Find the perimeters of your site. Congratulations, your research has led you to a spot. Your intuition has helped you find it. Now the fun begins! But first, find the edges of that iron patch. Walk in all four directions from where the iron is heavy, and mark where the iron ends (in fact, walk a little Past where the iron ends...). This way you'll have points of reference in such a vast area, and it won't feel overwhelming. The goodies ARE inside the boundaries that you've just found.

9. Then you get to find the site of the BARN. :o :thumbsup:


I hope there are some tips above that you will find useful in your hunting.


Regards,



Buckleboy
 

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godisnum1

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May 7, 2005
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Good stuff BB! Thanks for posting all the tips, though I know you've talked a little over some of your other posts.
I just need to get more acquainted with the topo's I suppose....
Thanks again!

Bran <><
 

kieser sousa/rip

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Dec 3, 2006
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good post Bucklleboy,after your done with 9....

10...find the privy
11..find the dump.
12..celebrate with something good ....Like cheesecake ! :D
 

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BuckleBoy

BuckleBoy

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Jun 12, 2006
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kieser sousa said:
good post Bucklleboy,after your done with 9....

10...find the privy
11..find the dump.
12..celebrate with something good ....Like cheesecake ! :D

OMG! I left these out! Thanks KS. :thumbsup:

#12 is the most important--because if you get to #12, then you did really well that day. ;D
 

kieser sousa/rip

Bronze Member
Dec 3, 2006
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upstate N.Y.
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BuckleBoy said:
kieser sousa said:
good post Bucklleboy,after your done with 9....

10...find the privy
11..find the dump.
12..celebrate with something good ....Like cheesecake ! :D

OMG! I left these out! Thanks KS. :thumbsup:

#12 is the most important--because if you get to #12, then you did really well that day. ;D

Heak I sometimes start with #12 ! ;D
 

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BuckleBoy

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,123
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Moonlight and Magnolias
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4
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
kieser sousa said:
BuckleBoy said:
kieser sousa said:
good post Bucklleboy,after your done with 9....

10...find the privy
11..find the dump.
12..celebrate with something good ....Like cheesecake ! :D

OMG! I left these out! Thanks KS. :thumbsup:

#12 is the most important--because if you get to #12, then you did really well that day. ;D

Heak I sometimes start with #12 ! ;D

Start with cheesecake, finish with BEER. :)
 

deepskyal

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Aug 17, 2007
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I should say thank you.

Since I've been on T-net, there have been a select few who I make a point of reading their posts. You are one of them.
I do the same kind of hunting as you guys do...been doing it for years. Sometimes a place pays out, a lot of times not. But seeing you guys...when I'm on a slow streak...I remember there's other places still there.
I haven't found a coin in a while...but I still dig neat old iron stuff that not that many people can appreciate but us crazies diggin for it.
And a couple miner tags from the mid 1800's...that's a cool find for me...2 of them. :thumbsup:

Al
 

bronco

Full Member
Mar 2, 2008
124
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Buckleboy,
Always appreciate your posts. I'm new to metal detecting but I can add a little to this discussion. I am a forester and there are a lot of homesite clues to be had when scouting in the woods.
Almost all the land in the Eastern US was cleared and farmed at one time or another. And I do mean all. If you are observant in the woods, you can tell home site areas by the mix of vegetion.
Old fence rows can be seen by rows cedars or cedar stumps. Birds eat cedar fruits and plant cedars along fence rows with their droppings. (That's why you always see cedars along farm fences.) Cedar is very rot resistant and stumps persist. Perriwinkle was commonly planted around homesites and and can persist for generations in the shade. Whenever we find periwinkle in the woods we look for old headstones and almost invariably we will find evidence of an old cemetary. We flag it of so it won't be disturbed when harvesting timber. Roses persist the same way. So does Ligustrum and privet. Any out of the ordinary plant can be a clue. Old homesteads commonly planted fruit trees, Pecans, Walnuts, honey locust crabapples, figs. Bulbs like daffodills can persist forever as well.
 

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BuckleBoy

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,123
9,688
Moonlight and Magnolias
🥇 Banner finds
4
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
bronco said:
Buckleboy,
Always appreciate your posts. I'm new to metal detecting but I can add a little to this discussion. I am a forester and there are a lot of homesite clues to be had when scouting in the woods.
Almost all the land in the Eastern US was cleared and farmed at one time or another. And I do mean all. If you are observant in the woods, you can tell home site areas by the mix of vegetion.
Old fence rows can be seen by rows cedars or cedar stumps. Birds eat cedar fruits and plant cedars along fence rows with their droppings. (That's why you always see cedars along farm fences.) Cedar is very rot resistant and stumps persist. Perriwinkle was commonly planted around homesites and and can persist for generations in the shade. Whenever we find periwinkle in the woods we look for old headstones and almost invariably we will find evidence of an old cemetary. We flag it of so it won't be disturbed when harvesting timber. Roses persist the same way. So does Ligustrum and privet. Any out of the ordinary plant can be a clue. Old homesteads commonly planted fruit trees, Pecans, Walnuts, honey locust crabapples, figs. Bulbs like daffodills can persist forever as well.

Thank you for your post. :)

Yes, daffodils and daylillies have different times for blooming, but their dead tops are obvious well after they've bloomed. Cedar stumps I have seen in the past, but didn't know about birds passing the seeds. As I look back and remember sites I've been on in the past, it has held true though--thank you for the excellent tips.

Regards,


Buckles
 

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