Gopher holes

[Jeffro]

When we were out detecting yesterday, I was getting signals all over the place. Good, REPEATABLE signals, nice and crisp and clear. Some were coins (did pretty good on the quarters yesterday). But here's the wacky part.... sometimes when I would probe, the screwdriver would get the normal amount of resistance in the soil, and then sink rapidly. I know I was hitting gopher tunnels, the dirt was in small piles all over the place.

I know that a lack of mineralization will sometimes create a false signal, ran into that all the time with my Goldmaster.

But my Fisher is a lot newer, and set for coins. And the signals were nice and crisp and clear, and repeatable.

What is up with this? Has anyone else ran across this before?

I wish I'd have taken pics, I mean the gophers were rampant out there. Must've been a whole gopher Metropolis under the grass out there!

 

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[Sandman]

Did you try to retrieve any of them signals?

I was called out to a campground once to find this ladies ring. She set it down on a rock while she washed her hands under a faucet next to their camp. She said a gopher snatched her ring and ran down a hole next to the fire pit. I tried but the holes were everywhere. No telling how deep it's burrow was.

Sandman

 

[stefen]

Were you signals moving each time or were they static?

The signal you are receiving is most likely squirrel dental crowns

 

[Jeffro]

Yes, I did try and retrieve several. After finding nothing but a tunnel on the first few, I concluded it was the void that was creating the signal, much like a "cold rock" when nuggetshooting. After that, whenever I'd hit a void, I figured it was a false signal. Thing is, they were repeatable and solid signals, no bouncing around or moving, until I cleared the dirt out clear down to the void, then it would disappear! Wacky, eh?

 

[stefen]

Interesting conclusion.

 

[bk]

I can remember that some of the older detectors would give a signal on abnormalities in the ground, especially on large tree roots. It would also do that on gopher holes. It's kind of a freaky feeling when you stick the knife into the ground and then it quickly sinks a couple more inches.

 

[stoney56]

Maybe a totally dissolved nail that had a halo signal but when the dirt was completely disturbed, it crumbled to dust.

 

[Monty]

I have dug a coin and while I was trying to scoop it out it fell into a gophers hole and disappeared! Monty

 

[bk]

I have dug a coin and while I was trying to scoop it out it fell into a gophers hole and disappeared! Monty

For good?

 

[Gypsy Heart]

A gopher will make burrows five to six feet deep with multiple tunnels and usually two escape doors......so who knows what all they have down there.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

They're stealing all our loot! Damn rascally varmints!

HH!
TBGO

 

[Jeffro]

Hmmmm.... maybe I'll try and dig out a couple of those gopher holes, maybe they're like packrats, eh?