Search Pattern Question

[bigfish313]

Was wondering how many of you do your detecting in a search pattern form?
I try to discipline myself and stick to a pattern but before long I go off course.
It always seems like the grass is greener over there, so maybe that's where the treasure is.

There is a field near me that I have found gold and old silver in, but every time I go there I'm like a hummingbird on espresso.
I was thinking about laying down a couple parallel ropes on the ground and digging everything in between. After that moving one rope over the other rope one swings width away and continue to dig until done with the field. This would take a year at least...

Just wondering how others conduct their searches.

Thanks! HH

 

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[vilechild]

If I'm in the woods on old house sites I usually just do all the pain in the neck areas first ie: heavy underbrush and roots then I move to the easier areas. I do the open areas as if I was cutting grass with a push mover but instead of doing laps I go in straight lines. Then go back the opposite direction after I finish one way... Hope that makes since

 

[scotty544]

If I have all the time I need on a site, I dissect it in a grid pattern. If time is limited I hit the obvious areas first and work out from there, covering as much territory as possible. Good luck

 

[killroy]

gps tracking on a metal detector or a app on i phone to tell you aprox where
you have already have detected hopefully these things can happen in the
near term

 

[JrMack]

Try to dycect the field into smaller squares, that might help if you routeinly go there. I like to hunt cellar holes in circles and then do a grid over it again as to not miss anything, also the frost in the ground pushes up deeper objects in the spring thaw so even if its been gone over during the summer its worth checking the next spring.

 

[TheSleeper]

Go to home depot or similar and get you some of those small utility flags, you know the ones on a 12" flex rod with the little flag on top. Stick them into the ground in a pattern you want to hunt, like say a 12' x 12' box (don't go wild with the flags they draw attention to you) 4 will do. Search that area thoroughly then move two of the flags to form a new 12' x 12' section, wash, rinse, repeat.

Yes there is the possibility another section will be better, but you will never know unless you put the coil to the ground and search it. You could very easily walk away less than 1' from a great find to search another section that turns up nada.

 

[bill from lachine]

I try to do an grid area at a time....since I keep hitting the same sites over and over again I also try to overlap my swings so as not to miss anything.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[CanadaGold]

I use a Tesoro 5.75 coil for all my hunting in the woods and parks. I try to walk in a straight line using a nice wide
arc swing back and forth walking slow but not a at crawl speed. I then turn around 180 and go back over my tracks.
This way I don't have to be worried so much of overlapping such a small coil. One thing I make sure is that the
coil stays parallel to the ground at all times through the wide arcs. This works great for me and I don't miss much.
This will cover about a 5 foot swath if your coil shaft is fully extended. I then move over 5 feet and make another 5 swath
say in lengths of 25 feet long.

 

[Skippy SH13]

If I'm hunting a big area, I'll set aside 1/2 the time for a grid (that gives me something to stick to, without feeling like I might miss out on things). Then I'll work it methodically, like mowing a lawn. Straight lines, slight overlap, nothing missed. If the findings are great, I'll stick with it past the half-way part. If not, then I wander around for a bit thinking about where people would have been, while swinging along the way.

I've found great finds both ways. Hummingbird is fun if you don't have a clue where anything might be, and things are always changing (like in a park)... Grids are great if you want to rule out an area for the future (or for a while). They also are especially useful for small areas. If you know you've "cleaned" an area, anything that shows up in the future is worth a dig!

Cheers,

Skippy

 

[bigfish313]

Thanks for all the input.

Go to home depot or similar and get you some of those small utility flags, you know the ones on a 12" flex rod with the little flag on top. Stick them into the ground in a pattern you want to hunt, like say a 12' x 12' box (don't go wild with the flags they draw attention to you) 4 will do. Search that area thoroughly then move two of the flags to form a new 12' x 12' section, wash, rinse, repeat.

That's a great idea, Thanks! A lot less cumbersome then a couple hundred feet of rope too...

 

[bigfoot1]

personally I follow my gut,I wander.I'm fast and cover maximum square footage.My wife is very careful to grid and hoover one area at a time.over the course of a year I dont really see any advantage to either method.At least I can always go back to an area that produced and slow down,bottom line....whatever method is more enjoyable is the method for you.

 

[Mudball]

I like the flag idea. Im new to this so that sounds easy and besides I already have some flags on hand.
Thanks

 

[cudamark]

Personally, I like little red cones better than flags. They're just easier for me to move over to the next section. If I'm hunting an area I know has old coins, I grid and overlap about 25%. If I'm looking for a fresh loss for someone, I also grid and overlap 50%. A new area has me zig zagging until I find a hot spot, then, grid if it stays good. Huge areas that I can't cover in one day, like the beach, I'll only grid (with only a 10% overlap) if I'm finding lots of good targets. Otherwise, I don't overlap if the targets are few. I figure it's better to cover more fresh ground than worrying about missing something that probably isn't there to begin with. If I hit a hot spot, I'll start overlapping again until it dries up. Modern parks, I don't overlap as a general rule. I tend to ignore zincs and just go after the "sex sounds"......you know.....Silver Screamers and Gold Groaners! If I miss a few tiny silver rings or chains that hit in the zinc range, so be it. More Screamers and Groaners will more than make up for it!

 

[Slingshot]

Depends on the size of the area, available time, and when if ever I will be back as to whether I pattern hunt or not. I'm presently working a park close by on a long term hunt and try to get by a few times a month. I am working a grid pattern there, keeping notes, and when I leave I take aluminum bottle caps all cleaned out and hollow that I have saved from my digs, and push them down into the ground with my foot to mark an ending line that I can pick up on again when I return. So when I come back, I locate my old ending line and retrieve my bottle caps as I start my new pattern. Repeat as necessary.
Working a gridded pattern with tight coil advancing swings and overlapping the edges of your search area is the best way to retrieve the most goodies, but if I'm in a hurry I'll just follow my hunches. Cheers!!

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I use the same trick I use mowing an airfield or plowing soil. Pick a point on the horizon and keep walking towards that. You can't go straight while looking at the ground. When you get to the end, turn around, take two side steps, pick a point that far from the spot you started and head back towards that.

As far as a pattern - first I chose an area and determine the patter based on the size and shape. If I'm searching around an old tree I'll spiral outwards around the circumference. BUT, if I have been there before I may try searching the area under the tree in diagonal, parallel lines to cover the same area. You will find things you miss if your swing passes from a different direction - guaranteed. Few of us have the patience to scan every square inch of the layer 8" below the surface even if we have passed the coil overhead in what we feel is a thorough manner. We leave LOTS of gaps.

Grid is good if your really want to be thorough or have an idea something may be there. I tend to cover more of an unknown area and then concentrate where there were targets; hoping some past feature may have concentrated losses there.

If I'm doing something like a pre-planting field I work with whatever allows me to sweep closest to the soil (usually perpendicular to how it had last been cultivated).