Beretta M-1934

Stringtyer

Sr. Member
Jul 29, 2017
361
894
The Old North State
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Tesoro Cutlass
Bounty Hunter Tracker II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
While not a true Today’s Find, I think it is interesting enough to post.

This story starts 55 years ago when my cousin and I buried an ammo can in his back yard. The can contained, among other things, a stuffed monkey named Zippy, a model airplane and a 45 rpm record. All our relatives living in our home town have passed away and we are working toward selling our respective home places.

We got together over Christmas and started talking about childhood memories and, naturally, the topic of Zippy came up. We decided that I should take my metal detector and try to find the can containing Zippy. The search was on. Alas, no Zippy. I figure that the ammo can has probably rusted away and Jeff (cousin) thinks we buried it pretty deep (2 feet or so). If that is the case, my old Bounty Hunter Tracker II will never see it.

Here’s the interesting part. While sweeping the yard I got a strong signal. Since I did not have a pinpointer at the time, I used my probe to gently poke around the area and soon got a solid hit. I dug down about 2 inches and was surprised to find a Beretta pistol. The hammer was back an the safety was on. It was extremely rusted.

For safety reasons and because of the possibility of the gun having been used in a crime, I called the police. They came and, after much discussion, took the pistol for investigation.

Jeff and I started talking about the gun and, with his sister’s input, we believe the pistol was a war souvenir brought home from Italy by my uncle Rocky. We are waiting for the police to conclude their investigation and return the pistol to the family.

IMG_4824.JPG
 

Upvote 0

treblehunter

Gold Member
Jun 18, 2013
9,675
11,295
New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excalibur II
XP Deus
Garrett pro pointer
XP Deus MI-6 pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That's very interesting that the hammer was back. I'd love to hear what the police think? Cool find, that looks like a nice pistol, I hope the police give it back to you.
 

TooManyHobbies

Bronze Member
Dec 24, 2007
1,935
2,015
CT
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT,
DetectorPro HH Underwater
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I hope you got a receipt for it, or you will never see it again.
 

OP
OP
S

Stringtyer

Sr. Member
Jul 29, 2017
361
894
The Old North State
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Tesoro Cutlass
Bounty Hunter Tracker II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I hope you got a receipt for it, or you will never see it again.

Got a receipt and have been tracking it through the system. I’ve already talked with a friend who is a judge about writing a petition for return of property following the investigation.
 

Worm-Slicer

Hero Member
Jan 6, 2013
633
1,099
SouthwestVirginia
🥇 Banner finds
2
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Hey I had that stuffed monkey named Zippy as a kid! He has really big ears and says "Zippy" on his shirt. lol I wasn't around that time though 55 yrs ago, mine was from the late 70's. I guess Zippy has been around a while. Interesting find with the Beretta though!
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,460
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
thread moved to Metal Detecting, please remember "Today's Finds" are for today's finds or very, very recent finds.
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
In NC you must have a permit to purchase but not own a handgun.

It will be interesting to see if this ever comes back to you.

Good luck!
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looks like you'll need a better detector to find Zippy...
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Savin’ up for a new one next month. Still fighting with myself between AT Pro and Equinox 600.

What do you think is the advantage of an AT Pro over the Equinox? I can't think of one.
 

OP
OP
S

Stringtyer

Sr. Member
Jul 29, 2017
361
894
The Old North State
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Tesoro Cutlass
Bounty Hunter Tracker II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The only advantage I can see is longevity on the market. I’m also reading about frequency affect on target acquisition and ID and am questioning the benefit of the lower frequencies offered by the Eq. My wife insists that I research too much and should pick a machine and get busy finding her some jewelry.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Lower frequencies are better for depth and high conductors (copper, silver) The Garrett GTI 2500, White's Coinmaster, and Fisher F75 (and others) have been around even longer, but, that doesn't make them a better machine. Nothing "wrong" with them, they're just a bit dated and are being out-performed by the competition. If you do any ocean hunting at all, forget the AT Pro.
 

LawrencetheMDer

Hero Member
Feb 22, 2014
978
2,386
Ohio and Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Manticore, Minelab CTX3030 w 11" and 17" DD coils,
Minelab Excalibur II w 10" coil, Equinox 800 (4) w 11" and 15" coils,
Troy Shadow x2 w 7" coil, Pointers; Garrett Carrot, Pro Find 35,
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
AT Pro is a bit less expensive than the NOX600 and the AT Pro has been around and proven for 20+years or so. It is a solid machine.
The NOX 600 is more versatile and is good w salt water. And multifrequency is better than VLF for target detection, depth and noise reduction.
 

BuffaloHunter

Full Member
Jun 26, 2017
192
156
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600. Garrett ProPointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Lawrence, the At Pro has only been around since 2011ish.
 

OP
OP
S

Stringtyer

Sr. Member
Jul 29, 2017
361
894
The Old North State
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Tesoro Cutlass
Bounty Hunter Tracker II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
News on the pistol ... I just heard from the police department that has the gun in custody. They say it has been declared unsafe so, in order to get it back, I have to petition the court for its return. I suppose it was the right thing to turn it in for examination but it has turned into a lot of work to get it back.
 

bologna321

Bronze Member
Aug 26, 2017
1,153
2,816
SW MO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT PRO, Garrett Ultra GTA 500, Equinox 600
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
More likely someone at the PD wanted it for their collection.
 

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
More likely someone at the PD wanted it for their collection.

This type discussion has come up when/if trying to fulfill Lost & Found laws. Would you really get stuff back ? Or they say "someone claimed it" , or "It's evidence", or some other sort of stone-walling ?

And here's another quirk to possibly "not getting it back": I've talked to both WWII veterans and Vietnam veterans. And *technically* : Soldiers were not supposed to be collecting souvenirs. ESPECIALLY to be bringing live firearms back to the states. So even if you could trace a direct lineage to it being a "war souvenir, and even if it were perfectly functional, I wonder if someone in govt. still couldn't say "you can't have that " ?
 

Last edited:

junkhunt

Sr. Member
Feb 21, 2017
314
349
North Central Arkansas
Detector(s) used
white's eagle spectrum , White's Spectra V3i, Garrett AT Pro. Garrett AT Pen pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
While not a true Today’s Find, I think it is interesting enough to post.

This story starts 55 years ago when my cousin and I buried an ammo can in his back yard. The can contained, among other things, a stuffed monkey named Zippy, a model airplane and a 45 rpm record. All our relatives living in our home town have passed away and we are working toward selling our respective home places.

We got together over Christmas and started talking about childhood memories and, naturally, the topic of Zippy came up. We decided that I should take my metal detector and try to find the can containing Zippy. The search was on. Alas, no Zippy. I figure that the ammo can has probably rusted away and Jeff (cousin) thinks we buried it pretty deep (2 feet or so). If that is the case, my old Bounty Hunter Tracker II will never see it.

Here’s the interesting part. While sweeping the yard I got a strong signal. Since I did not have a pinpointer at the time, I used my probe to gently poke around the area and soon got a solid hit. I dug down about 2 inches and was surprised to find a Beretta pistol. The hammer was back an the safety was on. It was extremely rusted.

For safety reasons and because of the possibility of the gun having been used in a crime, I called the police. They came and, after much discussion, took the pistol for investigation.

Jeff and I started talking about the gun and, with his sister’s input, we believe the pistol was a war souvenir brought home from Italy by my uncle Rocky. We are waiting for the police to conclude their investigation and return the pistol to the family.

View attachment 1575804
Good luck on getting it back from the police.
 

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,976
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I used the AT PRO for 2 years and it paid for itself in 17 months. Of course that was while I was still living in NYC, and it was not unusual to come home with 100 clad coins on many hunts. The VLF can not compare to FSB technology that Minelab uses. I was stuck on brand loyalty for many years but after I bought my Etrac, there was no going back.
 

Last edited:

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top