How does hunting in the woods work?

[mr helton]

I read a lot of posts about people searching in the woods...how does that work? Do people just pick a random spot in some woods by their house and start detecting? I feel like the odds of finding anything metal in any random spot is basically nothing.

 

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[Minrelica]

The odds of finding anything metal in a random spot are 90% in favor of... The odds of finding something other than junk is probably more around 50/50 in my experience... Some people do research on the areas first, I do not but that's because most of the wooded areas I'm hunting are small and very close to developed areas which means that basically anywhere I hunt there's a strong possibility that it was a dumping grounds at one point. I found my first Merc in a random spot in the woods, also a key date V nickel, a lead soldier and a boy scout handkerchief slide. It's pretty cool to hear a "good" tone in a spot that you think there shouldn't be anything. I'll take finding something interesting in the woods over finding a silver coin in a park any day.

 

[LostinBolton]

Old stage coach roads have less trash but good relics and maybe old treasure.

 

[Marko0916]

If I had the money I would have a helicopter drop me off in the most secluded area in the USA and just detect for days, weeks.

 

[worldtalker]

The odds of finding anything metal in a random spot are 90% in favor of... The odds of finding something other than junk is probably more around 50/50 in my experience... Some people do research on the areas first, I do not but that's because most of the wooded areas I'm hunting are small and very close to developed areas which means that basically anywhere I hunt there's a strong possibility that it was a dumping grounds at one point. I found my first Merc in a random spot in the woods, also a key date V nickel, a lead soldier and a boy scout handkerchief slide. It's pretty cool to hear a "good" tone in a spot that you think there shouldn't be anything. I'll take finding something interesting in the woods over finding a silver coin in a park any day.

I have to agree with WIT,some of my Best finds came from the woods,look at old maps,use google earth,research man!!

 

[watercolor]

"WIT" has it right. . . there IS stuff there. . . the good
along with the bad.

Before Cook County (Chicago area) banned metal detecting in their Forest Preserves,
(because a few folks didn't fill their holes and remove their trash), this was one summer's "keepers"
in the woods. . . woods are good with some basic comparative research. Check out "HistoricAerials.com"
for aerial photography & topo maps of your area. Happy Hunting!

 

[mr helton]

That historic aerials is pretty neat, this disappeared road looks promising!

 

[worldtalker]

That historic aerials is pretty neat, this disappeared road looks promising!

View attachment 819967

That is a Super site!

 

[mr helton]

That is a Super site!

Yes I hope so! I just searched a topographical map from 1930 and it looks like that entire area was once a golf course too!

 

[worldtalker]

Yes I hope so! I just searched a topographical map from 1930 and it looks like that entire area was once a golf course too!

Now you have your work cut out for you! BEST of hunting man!

 

[BryanM362]

Old stage coach roads have less trash but good relics and maybe old treasure.

Where can you find information on stage coach routes?

 

[GMD52]

One has to remember that today's woods, were yesterdays farm and towns. In 1900, most all of the Eastern lands were farms except for the tallest Mountains, and they all had tourist Hotels on them, The land was only 30% forested. By the 1970's, most of these same lands,(70%) had reverted to forestland.

Like the others have stated, find the old maps, town tax maps, and Gazateers will help, since they show the old roads, farms, mines, businesses, and villages. Many that don't appear on today's maps. Good luck, and HH.

 

[treasurehound]

Research is your best tool. About 99% of the sites that I find are found on the internet. I spend hours on the computer and it pays off in the long run. I have found Sanborn maps, 1700's and 1800's maps. stagecoach roads and inns and much more. When you do an overlay of those maps to a current map most of the time you will find that they are located in a wooded area. You have done the hardest part of the research in just locating a site. Once you obtain permission your next test is to see if you can find anything. One thing that I find the most of is old shotgun shells. At first I was disappointed in finding them until I realized that some of them date back to the 1800's. You are going to need a good shovel like a Lesche to get thru the roots. Hunting in the woods is a great experience and I mainly do it in the winter or colder months. There is too much vegetation, poison ivy, spiders, snakes etc. to deal with in the hotter months. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Minrelica]

One has to remember that today's woods, were yesterdays farm and towns.

And more often than not, today's parks are yesterdays woods... I've found shotgun shell heads in almost every city park I've hunted.

 

[CoilyGirl]

Good luck Mr.Helton,let us know what you find in those woods!

 

[Davers]

Just hitting the woods [no matter how large the tract] can be rewarding ,esp, in the Civil War areas ,BUT one thing is for sure shotgun brass is in your future, I used to dump them but now I save them [as I save everything ] . PLEASE take them with you when you dig them ..p.s. All of my seasons hunts [not just the ones in the woods ] have never turned out the amount of silver coins ,nickels & cents ; as the post from "I believe the Chicago land area" but have turned up an equal amount of trash. N. IL. and the area around it , had and still has a much larger population than the Atlanta Ga. area which would lend it's self to the amount of valuables lost. GOOD LUCK AND BUG SPRAY IS A MUST.

 

[Davers]

Just hitting the woods [no matter how large the tract] can be rewarding ,esp, in the Civil War areas ,BUT one thing is for sure shotgun brass is in your future, I used to dump them but now I save them [as I save everything ] . PLEASE take them with you when you dig them ..p.s. All of my seasons hunts [not just the ones in the woods ] have never turned out the amount of silver coins ,nickels & cents ; as the post from "I believe the Chicago land area" but have turned up an equal amount of trash. N. IL. and the area around it , had and still has a much larger population than the Atlanta Ga. area which would lend it's self to the amount of valuables lost. GOOD LUCK AND BUG SPRAY IS A MUST. ooops.....DOUBLE POST SORRY

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I read a lot of posts about people searching in the woods...how does that work? Do people just pick a random spot in some woods by their house and start detecting? I feel like the odds of finding anything metal in any random spot is basically nothing.

No. You do not just go out to random woods, and start hunting, and expect to find anything good. About the only place where someone can do that (random woods or random cultivated crop fields) and expect to find things, is in Europe. NOT THE USA. Because we've had way too little history here, for random fumble finger drops to have simply built up in the middle of nowhere. And our cultivated fields haven't had enough history/time to be worthwile to just go "random", IMHO. (The indians here had no refined metals) Contrast to Europe, which has had thousands of years of history, and time for random fumble finger field worker losses, or random forest drops, to build up.

So over here in the USA, you need to know where something happened in the forest. Ie.: a campsite? An old homestead? A stage stop? a park that's now gone? etc....

 

[Potts]

I read a lot of posts about people searching in the woods...how does that work? Do people just pick a random spot in some woods by their house and start detecting? I feel like the odds of finding anything metal in any random spot is basically nothing.

I usually pick hill tops with the hopes of finding pocket drops or meteorite fragments. I've found some pocket drops out of the 70's but nothing older than ax head out of maybe the 30's. Hill tops is a location that people offen vist even in earlier times...

 

[LostinBolton]

Where can you find information on stage coach routes?

I grew up in a old town with history and my grandfather donated a preserve which I have right on until may 2052 with many old stage coach roads. Many of the old maps have been lost. I have been trying to locate some of them but I know where several are. But hunting is much better in colder time like real early spring. With snakes and vegetation it is tough in the summer.