silverfreak
Silver Member
- Aug 9, 2007
- 4,062
- 1,077
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorers and E-Trac
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Received my new 12 x 15 SEF coil and was more than anxious to try it out. If it was anything like my 10 x 12...I knew I would be a happy camper.
I planned on taking it to some different sites...some of which I have previously hammered during field tests and hunts with other coils....so I knew it would be a challenge.
I also planned to do this field test with both the E-trac and the SE....just to see how it performed on each machine.
Hunt #1 came at a private yard that Yeti and I got permission to hunt last summer. We pulled a few keepers from there before when I was using the SE w/ 10 x 12 SEF coil and he was using his XS w/ 10 x 12 SEF coil.
This time I used the SE while he used the E-Trac. My machine equipped with the 12 x 15 and his equipped with the 10 x 12.
We had the pleasure of a little kid following us around and pestering us the whole time. It was HIS house though...so I guess he had the right...lol.
We worked very hard for over 2 hours and I was able to pull out 2 more wheaties in the 8" range and one shiny Roosey tipped straight on edge at about 7"
While I was digging the Roosey I thought I heard the kid...who was over pestering Yeti as he dug something...say "what's that junk".
I also I heard Yeti say...."Shhhh...."Shut up".
I then hear this loud bellowing which can ONLY come from the Yeti. He says "I got a ring....I got a ring".
I turned his way in excitement only to see him holding up this stupid, BIG rusty iron ring which weighs a good 2 lbs or more...lol.
Yeti then said.."I wasn't gonna show you the ring...but this little brat ratted me out"...lol.
What happened next was pretty amazing though...'cause he pulled 2 wheaties from underneath the "Ring of shame"
It was really cool for me to watch it unfold as he dug beneath the indentation where the big iron ring was. I saw it with my own eyes though fellers'.
Hunt #2 came the same day my coil arrived. A hunting buddy of mine...Kennon (silverfix)...had gotten permission for us to hunt some private property in the Champaign-Urbana area. The landowners were gracious with permission to others as well and told us it had been hunted a few times before...but that we were welcome to give it a "whirl"
I had gotten call early that morning that really shook me up. My aunt called and told me that my dad had been in a reck coming home from vacation in Huntsville, Alabama. She was contacted by dad who at the time was in an emergency vehicle on the way to the hospital...and all he told her was that he "thought" he was okay...then she got cut off.
It was driving me nuts worrying so I decided to go hunt to try and clear my head until I heard from someone.
I headed out to meet Kennon and took the ONLY the SE equipped with the 12 x 15 coil
I hunted all afternoon but It was now nearing sunset. I had 5 wheaties in the pouch from depths of 8" to as deep as 10"...but still no silver. It didn't matter to me though because hunting had cleared my head from worrying about my dad even if only for a few hours.
It had now hit me though...the day of hunting was almost over...so I began to get a little sick to my stomach worrying about Dad again.
Less than 5 minutes later as I was creeping back to the car with the SE...I got a tiny, chopped chirp through the pro gold headphones.
I piddled with the signal for a couple of minutes...then figured what the heck. My head was about to explode worrying about Dad...so might as well dig the target and clear my head one last time before quitting for the day.
I kinda' figured it could be deep iron...but it did hit in one little sweet spot...and I liked the sound...so it also had a very good shot at being a deep coin.
As I dug the plug...I didn't care...' cause it cleared my head again for a short time.
I got down about 8" and ran the probe. I was rewarded with a very sweet warble off to the bottom side of the hole.
I carefully rubbed a little bit of mud at a time away from the sweet spot. Another 1" down I caught the glimmer of silver standing nearly straight up.
I stuck the probe tip to the reeded rim...and the top of the probe was level with the rim of the hole...so from 9" down...and on edge...here is a good sized silver rim peeking up at me.
As I'm sitting there just enjoying seeing the rim peeking at me...still embedded in the hole...my cel phone rings so I grab it out of my pocket.
I glanced at it before answering it...and nearly passed out seeing the name flashing on the screen to show me who was calling. It said "MOM".
I can't explain to you what that did to me...but it literally made me sick...because as many of you know...my mom passed away nearly 2 years ago....and I have never had the courage to erase the name out of my cel phone contact list.
With trembling hands I answered it...and it was my Pops telling me he was okay
...and that his phone was damaged in the reck...so he had to call me from Mom's old phone which he kept charged...and tucked away in his travel bag anytime he went anywhere in case of emergency.
I didn't even know Mom's phone existed anymore..but it was just a very moving experience for me to get the call on "her" phone right at the exact time as I found the deep quarter on edge with the 12 x 15 SEF coil. Thanks Mom..and thanks for letting me know Pops was okay.
I ended up with the 5 wheaties and one VERY TIMELY silver quarter.
The next day I went to site #3 with the E-trac... the old cabin site where in the past I have pulled out 2 bust dimes...seated dimes...seated quarter...etc. I was excited to see how the 12 x 15 would perform there.
When I got there I was disappointed though because the grass was already just too tall to get my coil close enough to the ground to do any good. I hunted for nearly 3 hours and must admit...I got skunked...completely. This had nothing to do with the coil or machine though. I was already losing nearly 4" of depth because of the tall grass before I even got started...so I never truly had a chance to hit any deepies.
A couple of days later took me to site #4 which I owe to "Heavy D" (Deeponedge). Thanks to my truck drivin'...droopy pants wearin'...research king...he found us a spot which is gonna' be a WINNER.
He's been looking for nearly 10 months for the exact location of this place...finally got it narrowed down...AND obtained permission for us to hunt it pretty much anytime we want as long as we check in with the owner before entering.
It had early activity...then was an old stagecoach stop for a while...then continued to thrive somewhat after the stage lines shut down. Looks to have had a lot of activity of some kind as early as the 1830's up until around 1920.
I can't tell you what it means to me to have a few friends who do the research "work" ...then are gracious enough to invite me into the "permission" ring.
Heavy D has also been kind enough to let me put many hours on his E-Trac which let me know just how easy to use it is.
My sites are drying up because I have pounded them doing field tests...parks are depleted...churches are off limits unless proper permission is obtained...my driving time to sites is very limited...so help from some true friends getting some sites lined up for me is truly appreciated.
After a quick "Howdy"...some excellent conversation with a super nice feller' (landowner)...then an appreciative hand shake...off Heavy D and I went.
We're not sure if we have the exact location pinned down...but Darrell feels he is very close. A lot of the area we had to hunt was pretty much like the cabin site...already grown too tall. There was a small stretch though that we could get our coils close enough to do some damage.
Todays weapon of choice was my faithful and favorite machine...my SE.
It wasn't long before Heavy D called me over to listen to a signal he had gotten with his E-Trac while using my Sunray X-12. I ran the SE and 12 x 15 combo over it...and got a pretty decent Injun' hit...and deep...around 8". I was impressed with the way the 12 x 15 locked on to the signal for such a large coil. I wasn't a weak signal...but it wasn't a strong signal either. What the 12 x 15 did though...was absolutely LOCK on...and I mean dead on.
Sure enough Heavy D popped out an 1882 Injun' so we got fired up.
After some fist pumpin' we both got down to huntin' again.
I was covering a LOT of ground with the 12 x 15 even though I was creeping along. I'm a firm believer that with the Explorers...the slower you go...the more previously masked deep coins you'll find. Within 20 minutes I got another dead on, locking signal. I thought it was an Injun' hit again...but was a little lower tone than the one Darrel had.
After digging down to right at 9"...out popped another Injun'. Mine though was a well worn 1880. I think this has to be my third one of these 1880's this year. Why couldn't it have been just 1 or 2 years older...lol.
30 minutes later Heavy D popped out his second Injun...this one an 1884...so now we knew we were in the right area to search.
We then went on an hour long dry spell before I finally got a very deep warble..and this one had the little high pitched "tinkle" to it that makes any silver hunter's hair stand on end. Again this signal wasn't soft...but it wasn't loud either. It just simply LOCKED on the mellow high pitched warble for me...and continued to lock on as I circled the target. The 12 x 15 SEF hits...then LOCKS on targets for me. It's gonna' do some damage on deep silver at some more of my sites.
I dug a plug and Heavy D started to help me carefully scrape away at the dark dirt. At the 9" level I ran the probe...and got the sweet warble right dead center at the bottom of the hole. Rubbed a little more dirt away...and from nearly 10" down came this worn old barber dime...and it was laying perfectly flat in the soil.
Heavy D and I will definitely be going back to this place when we have more time. We now know we have a gold mine just waiting for us....and I feel confident that there are some older coins there to be found.
The fourth day took me to site #5...a park where I found an 1856 seated dime last year.
I met up with a good friend and we didn't get there until 4:00 and hunted til we couldn't see anymore (8:00).
Fellers'...it was tuff huntin.
After 2 hours I had only ONE lone wheatie in my pouch...a 1910.
Finally I hit a very mushy spot that has water standing nearly every time we hunt here...so it hasn't been hit as hard. Last time I pulled a nice seated quarter love token from the wet muck while hunting with Crowduck and John Deer digger.
I hit a dead null in the mush...and got a very faint warble popping out of it. What was strange... was that after every warble and every pass...I got a low pitched pop from the 12 x 15 SEF coil which told me this target was right on the limit of detection depth. The depth meter showed only 6" though??
I carefully dug a plug in the muck and then ran the probe. I was rewarded with a warble that read 6-39...7-40...5-39 on the E-Trac. Now even on the E-trac...I hunt STRICTLY by sound alone. The only reason I am mentioning numbers is because they are flashing and annoying me while I'm glancing at the depth meter...lol
Anyway...from only 6" down...BUT slanted and at the bottom right of the hole...comes this tiny silver disc. I popped on my buddy's glasses...rubbed some wet muck off...and we could see I had a half dime.
The date of 1854 goes right along with the 1856 dime I found here last year... and truly dates this site. From the research I did...the earliest and heaviest activity ocurred here in the early 1850's. It was just really cool to find two old silvers from here that truly dated this place.
I have to honestly say that if this thin, little 1854 critter was even another 1/2" deep...I don't think I would have hit it. I was truly amazed that a coil of this size could find a target this tiny...while being slanted at the bottom of the whole. The mark of a GREAT coil...and it also was very stable in the iron field.
What happened next?...well my buddy decided he needed to help me hunt my spot like I helped him when he found the Barber half last year. In fact that's exactly what he told me...lol. He helped so much so that he was actually running his coil over the exact plug...lol. What did he get?...dead null just like I did...only the silver squeak was no longer there...'cause' it was in my pouch.
A short time later we called it a day. G and I then discussed our finds...and got a good laugh.
I said "buddy...we got 2 fellers here....8 hours of huntin' between us...over $3000 worth of machines...and we dug up a bucketfull of crap....and just 2 coins.
Hey...we had fun though.
As for the 12 x 15 coil...all joking aside...it is an ABSOLUTE BIG COIL KEEPER!
It covers LOTS of ground...goes DEEEEP.... is VERY stable...VERY sensitive to small targets..and the hot strip in the center of the coil gives incredible SEPARATION for a large coil.
After I arrived back home...Herky was worn out. He jumped up on my bed...rooted until he messed up the blankets just how he wanted them...then plopped down on his side...giving me the goofy look you see in the pic. 8)
I planned on taking it to some different sites...some of which I have previously hammered during field tests and hunts with other coils....so I knew it would be a challenge.
I also planned to do this field test with both the E-trac and the SE....just to see how it performed on each machine.
Hunt #1 came at a private yard that Yeti and I got permission to hunt last summer. We pulled a few keepers from there before when I was using the SE w/ 10 x 12 SEF coil and he was using his XS w/ 10 x 12 SEF coil.
This time I used the SE while he used the E-Trac. My machine equipped with the 12 x 15 and his equipped with the 10 x 12.
We had the pleasure of a little kid following us around and pestering us the whole time. It was HIS house though...so I guess he had the right...lol.
We worked very hard for over 2 hours and I was able to pull out 2 more wheaties in the 8" range and one shiny Roosey tipped straight on edge at about 7"
While I was digging the Roosey I thought I heard the kid...who was over pestering Yeti as he dug something...say "what's that junk".
I also I heard Yeti say...."Shhhh...."Shut up".
I then hear this loud bellowing which can ONLY come from the Yeti. He says "I got a ring....I got a ring".
I turned his way in excitement only to see him holding up this stupid, BIG rusty iron ring which weighs a good 2 lbs or more...lol.
Yeti then said.."I wasn't gonna show you the ring...but this little brat ratted me out"...lol.
What happened next was pretty amazing though...'cause he pulled 2 wheaties from underneath the "Ring of shame"
It was really cool for me to watch it unfold as he dug beneath the indentation where the big iron ring was. I saw it with my own eyes though fellers'.
Hunt #2 came the same day my coil arrived. A hunting buddy of mine...Kennon (silverfix)...had gotten permission for us to hunt some private property in the Champaign-Urbana area. The landowners were gracious with permission to others as well and told us it had been hunted a few times before...but that we were welcome to give it a "whirl"
I had gotten call early that morning that really shook me up. My aunt called and told me that my dad had been in a reck coming home from vacation in Huntsville, Alabama. She was contacted by dad who at the time was in an emergency vehicle on the way to the hospital...and all he told her was that he "thought" he was okay...then she got cut off.
It was driving me nuts worrying so I decided to go hunt to try and clear my head until I heard from someone.
I headed out to meet Kennon and took the ONLY the SE equipped with the 12 x 15 coil
I hunted all afternoon but It was now nearing sunset. I had 5 wheaties in the pouch from depths of 8" to as deep as 10"...but still no silver. It didn't matter to me though because hunting had cleared my head from worrying about my dad even if only for a few hours.
It had now hit me though...the day of hunting was almost over...so I began to get a little sick to my stomach worrying about Dad again.
Less than 5 minutes later as I was creeping back to the car with the SE...I got a tiny, chopped chirp through the pro gold headphones.
I piddled with the signal for a couple of minutes...then figured what the heck. My head was about to explode worrying about Dad...so might as well dig the target and clear my head one last time before quitting for the day.
I kinda' figured it could be deep iron...but it did hit in one little sweet spot...and I liked the sound...so it also had a very good shot at being a deep coin.
As I dug the plug...I didn't care...' cause it cleared my head again for a short time.
I got down about 8" and ran the probe. I was rewarded with a very sweet warble off to the bottom side of the hole.
I carefully rubbed a little bit of mud at a time away from the sweet spot. Another 1" down I caught the glimmer of silver standing nearly straight up.
I stuck the probe tip to the reeded rim...and the top of the probe was level with the rim of the hole...so from 9" down...and on edge...here is a good sized silver rim peeking up at me.
As I'm sitting there just enjoying seeing the rim peeking at me...still embedded in the hole...my cel phone rings so I grab it out of my pocket.
I glanced at it before answering it...and nearly passed out seeing the name flashing on the screen to show me who was calling. It said "MOM".
I can't explain to you what that did to me...but it literally made me sick...because as many of you know...my mom passed away nearly 2 years ago....and I have never had the courage to erase the name out of my cel phone contact list.
With trembling hands I answered it...and it was my Pops telling me he was okay
...and that his phone was damaged in the reck...so he had to call me from Mom's old phone which he kept charged...and tucked away in his travel bag anytime he went anywhere in case of emergency.I didn't even know Mom's phone existed anymore..but it was just a very moving experience for me to get the call on "her" phone right at the exact time as I found the deep quarter on edge with the 12 x 15 SEF coil. Thanks Mom..and thanks for letting me know Pops was okay.
I ended up with the 5 wheaties and one VERY TIMELY silver quarter.
The next day I went to site #3 with the E-trac... the old cabin site where in the past I have pulled out 2 bust dimes...seated dimes...seated quarter...etc. I was excited to see how the 12 x 15 would perform there.
When I got there I was disappointed though because the grass was already just too tall to get my coil close enough to the ground to do any good. I hunted for nearly 3 hours and must admit...I got skunked...completely. This had nothing to do with the coil or machine though. I was already losing nearly 4" of depth because of the tall grass before I even got started...so I never truly had a chance to hit any deepies.
A couple of days later took me to site #4 which I owe to "Heavy D" (Deeponedge). Thanks to my truck drivin'...droopy pants wearin'...research king...he found us a spot which is gonna' be a WINNER.
He's been looking for nearly 10 months for the exact location of this place...finally got it narrowed down...AND obtained permission for us to hunt it pretty much anytime we want as long as we check in with the owner before entering.
It had early activity...then was an old stagecoach stop for a while...then continued to thrive somewhat after the stage lines shut down. Looks to have had a lot of activity of some kind as early as the 1830's up until around 1920.
I can't tell you what it means to me to have a few friends who do the research "work" ...then are gracious enough to invite me into the "permission" ring.
Heavy D has also been kind enough to let me put many hours on his E-Trac which let me know just how easy to use it is.
My sites are drying up because I have pounded them doing field tests...parks are depleted...churches are off limits unless proper permission is obtained...my driving time to sites is very limited...so help from some true friends getting some sites lined up for me is truly appreciated.
After a quick "Howdy"...some excellent conversation with a super nice feller' (landowner)...then an appreciative hand shake...off Heavy D and I went.
We're not sure if we have the exact location pinned down...but Darrell feels he is very close. A lot of the area we had to hunt was pretty much like the cabin site...already grown too tall. There was a small stretch though that we could get our coils close enough to do some damage.
Todays weapon of choice was my faithful and favorite machine...my SE.
It wasn't long before Heavy D called me over to listen to a signal he had gotten with his E-Trac while using my Sunray X-12. I ran the SE and 12 x 15 combo over it...and got a pretty decent Injun' hit...and deep...around 8". I was impressed with the way the 12 x 15 locked on to the signal for such a large coil. I wasn't a weak signal...but it wasn't a strong signal either. What the 12 x 15 did though...was absolutely LOCK on...and I mean dead on.
Sure enough Heavy D popped out an 1882 Injun' so we got fired up.
After some fist pumpin' we both got down to huntin' again.
I was covering a LOT of ground with the 12 x 15 even though I was creeping along. I'm a firm believer that with the Explorers...the slower you go...the more previously masked deep coins you'll find. Within 20 minutes I got another dead on, locking signal. I thought it was an Injun' hit again...but was a little lower tone than the one Darrel had.
After digging down to right at 9"...out popped another Injun'. Mine though was a well worn 1880. I think this has to be my third one of these 1880's this year. Why couldn't it have been just 1 or 2 years older...lol.
30 minutes later Heavy D popped out his second Injun...this one an 1884...so now we knew we were in the right area to search.
We then went on an hour long dry spell before I finally got a very deep warble..and this one had the little high pitched "tinkle" to it that makes any silver hunter's hair stand on end. Again this signal wasn't soft...but it wasn't loud either. It just simply LOCKED on the mellow high pitched warble for me...and continued to lock on as I circled the target. The 12 x 15 SEF hits...then LOCKS on targets for me. It's gonna' do some damage on deep silver at some more of my sites.
I dug a plug and Heavy D started to help me carefully scrape away at the dark dirt. At the 9" level I ran the probe...and got the sweet warble right dead center at the bottom of the hole. Rubbed a little more dirt away...and from nearly 10" down came this worn old barber dime...and it was laying perfectly flat in the soil.
Heavy D and I will definitely be going back to this place when we have more time. We now know we have a gold mine just waiting for us....and I feel confident that there are some older coins there to be found.
The fourth day took me to site #5...a park where I found an 1856 seated dime last year.
I met up with a good friend and we didn't get there until 4:00 and hunted til we couldn't see anymore (8:00).
Fellers'...it was tuff huntin.
After 2 hours I had only ONE lone wheatie in my pouch...a 1910.Finally I hit a very mushy spot that has water standing nearly every time we hunt here...so it hasn't been hit as hard. Last time I pulled a nice seated quarter love token from the wet muck while hunting with Crowduck and John Deer digger.
I hit a dead null in the mush...and got a very faint warble popping out of it. What was strange... was that after every warble and every pass...I got a low pitched pop from the 12 x 15 SEF coil which told me this target was right on the limit of detection depth. The depth meter showed only 6" though??
I carefully dug a plug in the muck and then ran the probe. I was rewarded with a warble that read 6-39...7-40...5-39 on the E-Trac. Now even on the E-trac...I hunt STRICTLY by sound alone. The only reason I am mentioning numbers is because they are flashing and annoying me while I'm glancing at the depth meter...lol
Anyway...from only 6" down...BUT slanted and at the bottom right of the hole...comes this tiny silver disc. I popped on my buddy's glasses...rubbed some wet muck off...and we could see I had a half dime.
The date of 1854 goes right along with the 1856 dime I found here last year... and truly dates this site. From the research I did...the earliest and heaviest activity ocurred here in the early 1850's. It was just really cool to find two old silvers from here that truly dated this place.
I have to honestly say that if this thin, little 1854 critter was even another 1/2" deep...I don't think I would have hit it. I was truly amazed that a coil of this size could find a target this tiny...while being slanted at the bottom of the whole. The mark of a GREAT coil...and it also was very stable in the iron field.
What happened next?...well my buddy decided he needed to help me hunt my spot like I helped him when he found the Barber half last year. In fact that's exactly what he told me...lol. He helped so much so that he was actually running his coil over the exact plug...lol. What did he get?...dead null just like I did...only the silver squeak was no longer there...'cause' it was in my pouch.
A short time later we called it a day. G and I then discussed our finds...and got a good laugh.
I said "buddy...we got 2 fellers here....8 hours of huntin' between us...over $3000 worth of machines...and we dug up a bucketfull of crap....and just 2 coins.
Hey...we had fun though.
As for the 12 x 15 coil...all joking aside...it is an ABSOLUTE BIG COIL KEEPER!
It covers LOTS of ground...goes DEEEEP.... is VERY stable...VERY sensitive to small targets..and the hot strip in the center of the coil gives incredible SEPARATION for a large coil.
After I arrived back home...Herky was worn out. He jumped up on my bed...rooted until he messed up the blankets just how he wanted them...then plopped down on his side...giving me the goofy look you see in the pic. 8)
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the sixth one,posted here, in the past month and a half " may be the ,only, half dime" ! One of my favs. 
I can't agree more about the 12x15 SEF its great. 
I think the new coil is going to be a winner. Congrats on all of your finds and good friends. Glad you DAD is doing great. Have a good one and good luck on your next hunt !!!
HH
