Woodland Detectors
Gold Member
Hi folks,
----> http://www.minelab.com/usa/consumer/knowledge-base/news?article=40072
** Minelab has just released an article and stories of those who attended the D.I.V. this spring. This news article is read by many across the World!
Thanks again to everyone who supported us.
Michael Post
Woodland Detector Sales L.L.C.
Minelab Americas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News
29 Apr 2011
Diggin’ In Virginia Makes History Come Alive with the GPX 5000
diggin in virginia finds
The Diggin’ in Virginia XVII Hunt was held on March 31 to April 2 this year and was attended by hundreds of relic hunting enthusiasts. Here are a few highlights of the event from Minelab’s Rob Freeman and fellow attendees:
Thank you to everyone who participated at DIV’s (Diggin’ In Virginia) 3000+ acre hunt this Spring and for stopping by the Minelab booth to say hello at the dinner that Wednesday evening. The caliber of people I had a chance to meet there was impressive. I met expert detectorists and Civil War historians alike. These guys meant serious business. I was personally intrigued with this event especially since April 12th marked the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
For those not familiar with this area of the country the soil is a red clay base that consists of iron. This “mineralised clay” is found sporadically throughout parts of Virginia and a few areas in surrounding states, but the most extreme condition is found where DIV hold their events. This means that trying to use detectors with discrimination technology against junk or trash doesn’t work well in mineralised clay soil. You need to treat this type of soil like you would hunting for gold in the eastern part of the country. You need pulse induction with iron rejection technology.
This was the first year that Minelab has ever participated at this event. And to help generate a little extra for DIV’s charities, Minelab donated a new GPX 5000 for their raffle. “When Rose told me that you folks (Minelab) were donating a GPX 5000 for the raffle I about fell off my chair. The various raffles we had collected a little over $11,000 for various charities.” said John Kendrick, Diggin’ In Virginia co-founder. He estimated that the GPX 5000 raffle generated about $5,000 out of the $11,000 total that was donated to several local charities. And the winner of the GPX 5000 raffle went to Bill Hutchinson “Hutch”. Congratulations Hutch! (image middle right is of Bill’s first finds with his new GPX 5000).
Prior to Diggin’ In Virginia , Minelab’s GPX 5000 was only recognised as a “gold” machine. But with the help from Mike Post at Woodland Detectors and Don Dodson at North Georgia Relics, and the release of the video from Minelab’s engineering team in Australia (titled GPX Series for Civil War Relic Hunting), Minelab was able to introduce the GPX 5000 as a high performance coin and relic machine too. It didn’t take long after the hunt began for people to start to see how well the GPX 5000 could filter through the mineralised clay and still get tremendous depth. Weeks after the hunt I continue to hear about how the detectorists who used GPX Series detectors found hundreds of bullets, buckles and other rare relics in deeper areas where they had been hunted by non-Minelab machines years before.
Several Minelab users wrote about their experience at DIV and here’s what a few of them had to say. (With respect to the land owners and the founders of DIV specific locations have been withheld):
“The first hunt started with snow and then a warm day followed by a rainy day. I was very happy to say I had found around 35 bullets seven or 28 pieces of brass many of those were tent grommets also my first core badge a great find for anyone. Well the second hunt we move to another great farm and by the end of the three day I had recovered 71 bullets and 45 of those we 69 cal round balls found at depths of 8 to 12 inches deep. The round ball is a lot harder to find compared to a three ringer. The bullets were a mix of pistol bullets, three ringers a couple 69 cal . A New York coat button and a New York cuff button along with a coat flat button. These two hunts turned out to be my best two hunts ever and as far as finds go it was all made possible by the GPX 5000.”
- Jim Robertson
“As an emergency department physician, I know the importance of having the best available technology in my hands to do my job well. The same thing can be said for my hobby of hunting for civil war relics. Over the course of the last 15 years, I have held just about every major brand of metal detectors in my hands, including some of the newer pulse induction machines. Without a doubt, Minelab’s GPX Series has been by far the most amazing technology I have ever used. From the "red hot dirt" of Virginia, to the low mineralization plowed farmlands of West Virginia, I have been astounded by what the GPX Series pulls out of the dirt that other machines have missed. The GPX's raw power and depth is unmatched by its competitors and its ability to discriminate out iron sets it worlds apart from other PI machines. For me, the GPX's world class technology, depth and iron discrimination make its price an excellent value for the application I use it for. "Hunted out" plowed farmlands are almost like brand new again. The GPX opens up a whole new layer of civil war relics and coins that other machine just cannot reach! Thanks Minelab for opening up so much "new" old ground!”
- Dr. Rodney Cox
“When DIV came around I was confident in my machine to know I was going to do very well at the hunt. I used the Special timings on the GPX 5000 (Sensitive Extra). The soil is too mineralized for use of the Coin/Relic timings so we had to opt for other timings. Sensitive Extra proved to be extremely smooth operation, even around the numerous other PI machines around. I was pulling dropped Civil War bullets from the depths of 15-18 inches regularly and the deepest I dug one was a touch over 20 inches. It was two dropped .69 caliber three ringer Minie Balls down in the same hole. This is incredible depth! I dug over 100 drop bullets and other misc camp items. I actually had people that would come over to watch me dig down for the bullets and they'd just shake their heads at the depth I was finding them. On a few occasions as well, some guys with a competitors PI machine would ask me to call them over when I had a bullet signal for them to listen to. And on most of those occasions, they couldn't hear anything at all and would watch in amazement as I would pull another bullet from the 15+ inch range. The GPX machines have truly revolutionized the relic hunting world.”
- Daniel Teague (also known as Daniel Tn)
These are great examples of how using the GPX 5000 makes history come alive. I thank all of those who shared their great experiences and finds above and to those who submitted stories that I didn’t publish.
Minelab is proud to have been part of this event and is looking forward to future DIV events for years to come. To have access to the private land that still holds so much Civil War relics is a rarity in itself. And the enthusiasm Diggin’ In Virginia creates for detectorists is amazing to see, especially when they’re using the new GPX 5000 and find rare relics much deeper in mineralised clay. Even in areas previously hunted by non-Minelab metal detectors.
Rob Freeman, Minelab Electronics
----> http://www.minelab.com/usa/consumer/knowledge-base/news?article=40072
** Minelab has just released an article and stories of those who attended the D.I.V. this spring. This news article is read by many across the World!
Thanks again to everyone who supported us.
Michael Post
Woodland Detector Sales L.L.C.
Minelab Americas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News
29 Apr 2011
Diggin’ In Virginia Makes History Come Alive with the GPX 5000
diggin in virginia finds
The Diggin’ in Virginia XVII Hunt was held on March 31 to April 2 this year and was attended by hundreds of relic hunting enthusiasts. Here are a few highlights of the event from Minelab’s Rob Freeman and fellow attendees:
Thank you to everyone who participated at DIV’s (Diggin’ In Virginia) 3000+ acre hunt this Spring and for stopping by the Minelab booth to say hello at the dinner that Wednesday evening. The caliber of people I had a chance to meet there was impressive. I met expert detectorists and Civil War historians alike. These guys meant serious business. I was personally intrigued with this event especially since April 12th marked the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
For those not familiar with this area of the country the soil is a red clay base that consists of iron. This “mineralised clay” is found sporadically throughout parts of Virginia and a few areas in surrounding states, but the most extreme condition is found where DIV hold their events. This means that trying to use detectors with discrimination technology against junk or trash doesn’t work well in mineralised clay soil. You need to treat this type of soil like you would hunting for gold in the eastern part of the country. You need pulse induction with iron rejection technology.
This was the first year that Minelab has ever participated at this event. And to help generate a little extra for DIV’s charities, Minelab donated a new GPX 5000 for their raffle. “When Rose told me that you folks (Minelab) were donating a GPX 5000 for the raffle I about fell off my chair. The various raffles we had collected a little over $11,000 for various charities.” said John Kendrick, Diggin’ In Virginia co-founder. He estimated that the GPX 5000 raffle generated about $5,000 out of the $11,000 total that was donated to several local charities. And the winner of the GPX 5000 raffle went to Bill Hutchinson “Hutch”. Congratulations Hutch! (image middle right is of Bill’s first finds with his new GPX 5000).
Prior to Diggin’ In Virginia , Minelab’s GPX 5000 was only recognised as a “gold” machine. But with the help from Mike Post at Woodland Detectors and Don Dodson at North Georgia Relics, and the release of the video from Minelab’s engineering team in Australia (titled GPX Series for Civil War Relic Hunting), Minelab was able to introduce the GPX 5000 as a high performance coin and relic machine too. It didn’t take long after the hunt began for people to start to see how well the GPX 5000 could filter through the mineralised clay and still get tremendous depth. Weeks after the hunt I continue to hear about how the detectorists who used GPX Series detectors found hundreds of bullets, buckles and other rare relics in deeper areas where they had been hunted by non-Minelab machines years before.
Several Minelab users wrote about their experience at DIV and here’s what a few of them had to say. (With respect to the land owners and the founders of DIV specific locations have been withheld):
“The first hunt started with snow and then a warm day followed by a rainy day. I was very happy to say I had found around 35 bullets seven or 28 pieces of brass many of those were tent grommets also my first core badge a great find for anyone. Well the second hunt we move to another great farm and by the end of the three day I had recovered 71 bullets and 45 of those we 69 cal round balls found at depths of 8 to 12 inches deep. The round ball is a lot harder to find compared to a three ringer. The bullets were a mix of pistol bullets, three ringers a couple 69 cal . A New York coat button and a New York cuff button along with a coat flat button. These two hunts turned out to be my best two hunts ever and as far as finds go it was all made possible by the GPX 5000.”
- Jim Robertson
“As an emergency department physician, I know the importance of having the best available technology in my hands to do my job well. The same thing can be said for my hobby of hunting for civil war relics. Over the course of the last 15 years, I have held just about every major brand of metal detectors in my hands, including some of the newer pulse induction machines. Without a doubt, Minelab’s GPX Series has been by far the most amazing technology I have ever used. From the "red hot dirt" of Virginia, to the low mineralization plowed farmlands of West Virginia, I have been astounded by what the GPX Series pulls out of the dirt that other machines have missed. The GPX's raw power and depth is unmatched by its competitors and its ability to discriminate out iron sets it worlds apart from other PI machines. For me, the GPX's world class technology, depth and iron discrimination make its price an excellent value for the application I use it for. "Hunted out" plowed farmlands are almost like brand new again. The GPX opens up a whole new layer of civil war relics and coins that other machine just cannot reach! Thanks Minelab for opening up so much "new" old ground!”
- Dr. Rodney Cox
“When DIV came around I was confident in my machine to know I was going to do very well at the hunt. I used the Special timings on the GPX 5000 (Sensitive Extra). The soil is too mineralized for use of the Coin/Relic timings so we had to opt for other timings. Sensitive Extra proved to be extremely smooth operation, even around the numerous other PI machines around. I was pulling dropped Civil War bullets from the depths of 15-18 inches regularly and the deepest I dug one was a touch over 20 inches. It was two dropped .69 caliber three ringer Minie Balls down in the same hole. This is incredible depth! I dug over 100 drop bullets and other misc camp items. I actually had people that would come over to watch me dig down for the bullets and they'd just shake their heads at the depth I was finding them. On a few occasions as well, some guys with a competitors PI machine would ask me to call them over when I had a bullet signal for them to listen to. And on most of those occasions, they couldn't hear anything at all and would watch in amazement as I would pull another bullet from the 15+ inch range. The GPX machines have truly revolutionized the relic hunting world.”
- Daniel Teague (also known as Daniel Tn)
These are great examples of how using the GPX 5000 makes history come alive. I thank all of those who shared their great experiences and finds above and to those who submitted stories that I didn’t publish.
Minelab is proud to have been part of this event and is looking forward to future DIV events for years to come. To have access to the private land that still holds so much Civil War relics is a rarity in itself. And the enthusiasm Diggin’ In Virginia creates for detectorists is amazing to see, especially when they’re using the new GPX 5000 and find rare relics much deeper in mineralised clay. Even in areas previously hunted by non-Minelab metal detectors.
Rob Freeman, Minelab Electronics
Upvote
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It looks like a great hunt to be in. 
