Funny things that have happened to you while metal detecting

truckinbutch

Silver Member
Feb 15, 2008
4,607
1,035
Morgantown,WV
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Landstar
Had a young skunk come pilfering in on an old homesite I was hunting that followed my tracks and dug out every hole I had so carefully covered .
 

FCCDFEd

Hero Member
Sep 29, 2007
857
566
Terra Bella, Ca.
Detector(s) used
DFX, IDXPro, MXT, Lobo St., At Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Funny this thread/question should come up now. Today I was in a local park detecting and in this park the geese and ducks forage through the grass looking for a meal. Well as I worked my way down most of the geese took off and left, except this one goose, he stayed but kinda kept his distance. As I worked the area and dug the targets I noticed he started getting closer with each dig. I continued to detect and after a while it was apparent that each time I found a target and swung over it reading the VDI, the sound, the depth, and pinpointing, this goose would come right up to the detector and wait for me to dig the target. He had figured out when I was going to dig a target. Imagine that. Then as I would search the hole for the coin with the pinpointer the goose would get his head right down in the hole and go through the roots and dirt foraging. This went on for about an hour and then he started pecking at the pinpointer, my hand and targets. I finally got tired of my partners antics and whopped him several times to get rid of him. Well like a lot of MDing partners he didn't get the hint immediately but after a few more whoppings and no change in behavior I got up and left. I fixed his goose.

fccdfef
 

OP
OP
dpitt8

dpitt8

Hero Member
May 2, 2008
534
1
wa
Ed---

thats funny

I have this same type of thread in a different MD forum so figured I would start one here and see what other stories I get.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
My buddy and I were detecting inside the fence at a country farm-house lawn. A stage stop used to sit on what is now the lawn of this country home. A truck pulls up along the country road, on the other side of the fence. He rolls down his window and asks if we can do this at his yard, when we're done at this location. We said "sure, we can possibly do it at your yard too, but first, ........ how old is your house?" He thought for a moment, as if that was an odd question, and responded "built in the 1950s I think". To which we replied "hmm, well, ok we'll do it, but we usually only do older properties." Next he asked "how much do you charge?" To which we gleefully replied "nothing! it's free, because we enjoy doing this as our hobby :hello2: " He seemed surprised by that, and insisted that he pay us at least something to do his property.

This confusing back & forth conversation went on for a full minute or so, before it finally became apparent to both of us ...... He thought we were weed-wacking! Doh :tongue3:
 

SouthArk

Jr. Member
Mar 23, 2005
83
14
South-Central Arkansas
Detector(s) used
Detector Pro Pirate, Troy Shadow X-5, Fisher F75
Having twisted my ankle pretty bad on a previous hunt, two relic hunting buddies and I were metal detecting an old haunt of ours. We'd all made a few decent finds.... dropped bullets, etc, and I was limping along, happy to recover a few good targets. I got a good signal..... sounded deep..... but, a repeatable good signal....... possibly another drop. I stuck the Lesche shovel into the ground and pushed with my injured ankle and foot ( right footed digger)..... stomped through a small root, and buried the shovel blade into the dirt. I withdrew the blade and was repositioning it for another go, when all of a sudden a swirling mass of angry yellowjackets appeared and began administering their punishment for me so rudely disturbing their home! Next thing I knew....... survival mode kicked in. I started running out of the woods, my sprint altered by my gimpy ankle...... hit the dirt road we had walked in on..... and continued until I thought I had reached safety. My buddies saw me running by and pretty well knew what had happened...... I had been stung 22 times just a couple of months prior helping clear 4-wheeler trails on our deer lease...... this time, I only got hit 6 times..... but, it kinda ruined the day!
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
FCCDFEd said:
Funny this thread/question should come up now. Today I was in a local park detecting and in this park the geese and ducks forage through the grass looking for a meal. Well as I worked my way down most of the geese took off and left, except this one goose, he stayed but kinda kept his distance. As I worked the area and dug the targets I noticed he started getting closer with each dig. I continued to detect and after a while it was apparent that each time I found a target and swung over it reading the VDI, the sound, the depth, and pinpointing, this goose would come right up to the detector and wait for me to dig the target. He had figured out when I was going to dig a target. Imagine that. Then as I would search the hole for the coin with the pinpointer the goose would get his head right down in the hole and go through the roots and dirt foraging. This went on for about an hour and then he started pecking at the pinpointer, my hand and targets. I finally got tired of my partners antics and whopped him several times to get rid of him. Well like a lot of MDing partners he didn't get the hint immediately but after a few more whoppings and no change in behavior I got up and left. I fixed his goose.

fccdfef

He could have given you the goose.................
 

Da Sand Crab

Bronze Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,361
247
Far, Far Away
This is sort of funny and kinda weird... I was detecting in the back of an old church and got a large signal. upon probing I hit a target at about 6 to 8 inches. I dug a small hole and saw a round object about 5 to 6 inches in diameter. I could'nt pry it out of the ground, it seemed to stuck or attached. I cleared a little more dirt away and tried to free this mysterious target, but to no avail. As I wiped it off still stuck in the ground I exposed a picture of a person on it. I dug the hole wider to see what was keeping it stuck in the hole and saw that it was attached to stone or concrete. Thats when I realized I had unearthed a buried tombstone... I quickly covered it back up. I was able to notify the church and they found out that there were graves buried in that area that they never knew existed. Creepy and kinda funny too.
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well, this topic has been up before and I got in trouble for referring to a person as a "Retard". So, there are no retards in this story! Fair enough?
Anyway, when I first started detecting, I was digging at a site where an old pre-WWII house had been demolished. I found all kinds of neat things including coins, old toys, a railroad switch lock, and many others. One of my best sites. I kept getting a strange signal that sounded different than any of the others but it seemed to be fairly large and deep. So, I kept digging mostly out of curiosity. I came upon a tightly sealed green plastic bag. Something heavy inside. I opened it carefully and smelled it before I saw it. It was a very large dead cat!. I didn't poke through the mess to see what was metallic inside for obvious reasons. So, I reburied it and went about my business. Now there were several other sites along this same street I wanted to investigate so I returned to the area several days in a row. To my surprise the next day, the green dead kitty bag was dug up and laying right over the spot where I dug it up. So, I thought hmmmmmm, what's the deal? So, I reburied it in a different place and went on. Well, the next day it was right back on the same spot where I originally found it! Now it was getting eerie! Same thing happened several days in a row until after about the 5th burial it didn't reappear. I was relieved to say the least. About a month later I met up with Stoney 56 who was passing through town. I bought his lunch and we chatted a while in the KFC across the street and up the block from the dead kitty lot. I was telling him about it and we looked over there and dang! It was back! I can't explain it. But this time I just left it and in the next few days it disappeared. It is located on a heavily travelled thoroughfare and I never go by there without looking. I just can't help it. But so far the "haunted" dead cat hasn't come back. True story I swear! Monty
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My brother- in-law just came in and read my last post. He said the cat was probably on top of a jar full of coins so noone would dig them up! Dang, I never thought of that! I wonder if I should go back after 4 years? I never rechecked the hole like I do now! Monty
 

vibes

Bronze Member
Aug 20, 2007
2,092
54
Northern Indiana
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1280x Aquanaut
I've shared this one before so here we go again:



A couple of years ago I discovered an old schoolhouse (late 1800's) and just had to hunt the site!

I would drive by on occassion hoping to catch someone in the yard as it was obviously a residence. That day FINALLY arrived and I pounced on the chance to ask permission to hunt the grounds. In my sweetest voice I explain to the middle-aged man of my intention to metal detect his yard, he said that it's his mom's house and to come in and ask her.
So in the house I go. I met a delightful, chatty elderly woman. She gave me a YES, do hunt and then handed over newspaper articles on other school houses in the area. Wow! What a great day!

I hunt the property and after my 2nd visit (to return articles) I notice the old lady hasn't been around. Her son told me that she's in the hospital (surgery). He told me to hold onto the newspaper clippings as she'd like to talk to me.
Now fast forward a couple of weeks, I return to visit her...as I was sitting on the sofa, she proceeds to tell me about her surgery...then adds, "would you like to see my incision?" I said, "um, no, that's ok"...she ignored my reply and pulled up her shirt and then pulled down her sweat pants...OMG...there 'it' was... I was in shock and wanted to be polite but what DOES one say when faced with an 80+ yr. old musky biscuit?

i swear I'll never forget that moment...even after years of therapy!

Sidenote: I didn't find much, except, well a lesson in old lady anatomy.
 

FCCDFEd

Hero Member
Sep 29, 2007
857
566
Terra Bella, Ca.
Detector(s) used
DFX, IDXPro, MXT, Lobo St., At Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Monty said:
Well, this topic has been up before and I got in trouble for referring to a person as a "Retard". So, there are no retards in this story! Fair enough?
Anyway, when I first started detecting, I was digging at a site where an old pre-WWII house had been demolished. I found all kinds of neat things including coins, old toys, a railroad switch lock, and many others. One of my best sites. I kept getting a strange signal that sounded different than any of the others but it seemed to be fairly large and deep. So, I kept digging mostly out of curiosity. I came upon a tightly sealed green plastic bag. Something heavy inside. I opened it carefully and smelled it before I saw it. It was a very large dead cat!. I didn't poke through the mess to see what was metallic inside for obvious reasons. So, I reburied it and went about my business. Now there were several other sites along this same street I wanted to investigate so I returned to the area several days in a row. To my surprise the next day, the green dead kitty bag was dug up and laying right over the spot where I dug it up. So, I thought hmmmmmm, what's the deal? So, I reburied it in a different place and went on. Well, the next day it was right back on the same spot where I originally found it! Now it was getting eerie! Same thing happened several days in a row until after about the 5th burial it didn't reappear. I was relieved to say the least. About a month later I met up with Stoney 56 who was passing through town. I bought his lunch and we chatted a while in the KFC across the street and up the block from the dead kitty lot. I was telling him about it and we looked over there and dang! It was back! I can't explain it. But this time I just left it and in the next few days it disappeared. It is located on a heavily travelled thoroughfare and I never go by there without looking. I just can't help it. But so far the "haunted" dead cat hasn't come back. True story I swear! Monty

Reminds me of the book "Pet Cemetary"
Kinda spooky
 

SusanMN

Silver Member
Jun 1, 2007
4,534
4,098
Minnesota
Detector(s) used
Tiger Shark, Xterra 705, Makro Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
One of the places I regularly hunt with my Tiger Shark is a clean lake that is also regularly hunted by lots of others. So, when I went a really long time without getting a hit, I didn't think much about it, cause that happens alot. Then I discovered that when you don't turn your detector ON, especially when its a silent search kind, you are extremely unlikely to get any targets. I'm in the habit now of running my water scoop under the coil every now and then if I'm not getting hits - just to make sure I've actually turned it on.
 

arizonaames

Hero Member
Dec 13, 2008
508
25
Michigan
Detector(s) used
MXT, TDI, Whites Dual Field, Goldmaster VSAT, Fisher CZ 21
truckinbutch said:
Had a young skunk come pilfering in on an old homesite I was hunting that followed my tracks and dug out every hole I had so carefully covered .


Yeah...likely story for not filling in your holes! :laughing7:
 

underdogger

Hero Member
Sep 24, 2009
755
4
Syracuse n.y
Detector(s) used
Whites / Prism II/Prism IV/V3i /Surf master II
Got stung by a wasp and passed out while talking to another m.d. Who did not know me. freeked him out then after I came to went and found a mercury dime . I think he was a little hot about that.
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Careful Rando, that word can get you a reprimand. Just ask me if you don't believe it. M :tongue3: nty
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
PETA? Oh man that's just as bad! Quick thinking man! :hello2: Monty
 

OP
OP
dpitt8

dpitt8

Hero Member
May 2, 2008
534
1
wa
perhaps you have a story to post in here Rando....got something that fits the thread??? :icon_scratch: :wink: :wink:
 

scrubber

Full Member
Apr 1, 2009
203
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Was metal detecting a beach. A woman approached and asked if I would MD her head. She had a metal plate put in years before. I did -- it beeped strongly -- she was happy. :dontknow:

scrubber
 

underdogger

Hero Member
Sep 24, 2009
755
4
Syracuse n.y
Detector(s) used
Whites / Prism II/Prism IV/V3i /Surf master II
scrubber said:
Was metal detecting a beach. A woman approached and asked if I would MD her head. She had a metal plate put in years before. I did -- it beeped strongly -- she was happy. :dontknow:

scrubber
Shut up lmao
 

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