OutdoorAdv
Bronze Member
- Apr 16, 2013
- 2,457
- 3,350
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 1
- Detector(s) used
-
XP Deus,
GPX 4500,
Equinox 800,
AT Max
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Steve and myself were invited by our good buddy Abe for a few days of hunting in his neck of the woods. My hunts are usually last minute, so I typically head out alone, however hunting with two great friends is a highlight for me. Between the hiking and laughing, we all managed to find some keepers and by the end of the trip we were all completely exhausted. I really can't thank Abe enough for such a great trip we all had. Steve was on fire nearly the whole time, and his digs were my motivation to dump another pouch of iron and press on. It's so much fun for me to hunt with friends and get to see their finds come out of the dirt.
The first couple days I tested out a strategy I had been thinking about prior to the trip. It involved a lot of hunting with my GPX, which I did well with, pulling a deep US pewter from an area we beat up as well as a bunch of musket balls and various relics. I finally decided to use my Deus to finish a trash pile\pit section I discovered last year and that's where the bulk of my finds came from. I methodically used my 405lb magnet to remove the iron and I was rewarded with 5 more marked 1812 pewters. For 6 in total. (Albert's book images cropped below each button to show what they should look like)
They aren't as photogenic without the lighting just right.
My two favorites are the UNITED STATES 13th Regiment cuff, and the Eagle 3rd Regiment cuff.
My magnet pulled up a really cool blacksmith forged S hook with a nice twist. I am fairly sure this is part of an outdoor open hearth iron cooking set, used to hang pots over a fire for cooking.
Another killer piece of iron is this blacksmith forged wing nut with threads still visible. I can't wait to get the S hook and Wing Nut into my electrolysis tank.
Some nice pipe stems and a drilled shank tombac turned up as well.
A variety of musket balls and buck and ball, mostly fired with maybe one drop - courtesy of the GPX.
Another site produced the smallest shoe buckle I have ever seen...
...and an interesting designed pewter. By far my favorite time on that day was helping Steve retrieve his smokey gray British flints and musket balls from a long lost cartridge pouch in the woods. It was a highlight of the trip for me and I didn't even find it! The Deus did sniff out another musket ball and 4 buck and balls when he was done, but those went into his pile to be displayed as a group... what a find!
I love going to hard hit sites, so Abe took us to a spot he has done very well at and absolutely pounded. He gave us a challenge that we couldnt find "2 keepers" each there, which I thought wouldn't be any problem at all... I was wrong... it was insanely hard hunting! I dug a few bits here and there, pulled some really nice rose heads and then witnessed Steve dig his insane farthing, which had me running to the truck to get my GPX. I then proceeded to dig perk site deep plugs
and got a thimble and this rattail spoon and some cufflinks, all out of range of VLF machines. I called Steve and Abe over to show them the spoon and thimble and they were astonished with how deep they were.
Relic hunting in the woods with the GPX is exhausting for those who have been there. It weighs a ton, gets caught on every branch and root, and requires me to move so much dirt and rock... after a while its frustrating and with so much iron and listening to it scream, I would give up on a signal every now and then. These links were one of those signals. After many deep nails I apparently removed this signal from the plug and left them in the dirt, giving up to move on. Abe recovered them for me not too long after and insisted that I take them. A great friend
Finally some of the rose heads that I will tumble. Always enjoy seeing the hammer marks on the nail head (circled on the left). These will look great after a day or two in the tumbler.
I have 30lbs of iron that I will sort through later. Much of it was sucked up by the magnet and hopefully there's some interesting items in the mess. I also took a box of Abe's iron home to process for him with some really interesting items I look forward to preserving and shipping back to him. Another awesome trip with two great friends. Thanks a ton guys.
The first couple days I tested out a strategy I had been thinking about prior to the trip. It involved a lot of hunting with my GPX, which I did well with, pulling a deep US pewter from an area we beat up as well as a bunch of musket balls and various relics. I finally decided to use my Deus to finish a trash pile\pit section I discovered last year and that's where the bulk of my finds came from. I methodically used my 405lb magnet to remove the iron and I was rewarded with 5 more marked 1812 pewters. For 6 in total. (Albert's book images cropped below each button to show what they should look like)
They aren't as photogenic without the lighting just right.
My two favorites are the UNITED STATES 13th Regiment cuff, and the Eagle 3rd Regiment cuff.
My magnet pulled up a really cool blacksmith forged S hook with a nice twist. I am fairly sure this is part of an outdoor open hearth iron cooking set, used to hang pots over a fire for cooking.
Another killer piece of iron is this blacksmith forged wing nut with threads still visible. I can't wait to get the S hook and Wing Nut into my electrolysis tank.
Some nice pipe stems and a drilled shank tombac turned up as well.
A variety of musket balls and buck and ball, mostly fired with maybe one drop - courtesy of the GPX.
Another site produced the smallest shoe buckle I have ever seen...
...and an interesting designed pewter. By far my favorite time on that day was helping Steve retrieve his smokey gray British flints and musket balls from a long lost cartridge pouch in the woods. It was a highlight of the trip for me and I didn't even find it! The Deus did sniff out another musket ball and 4 buck and balls when he was done, but those went into his pile to be displayed as a group... what a find!
I love going to hard hit sites, so Abe took us to a spot he has done very well at and absolutely pounded. He gave us a challenge that we couldnt find "2 keepers" each there, which I thought wouldn't be any problem at all... I was wrong... it was insanely hard hunting! I dug a few bits here and there, pulled some really nice rose heads and then witnessed Steve dig his insane farthing, which had me running to the truck to get my GPX. I then proceeded to dig perk site deep plugs
and got a thimble and this rattail spoon and some cufflinks, all out of range of VLF machines. I called Steve and Abe over to show them the spoon and thimble and they were astonished with how deep they were.
Relic hunting in the woods with the GPX is exhausting for those who have been there. It weighs a ton, gets caught on every branch and root, and requires me to move so much dirt and rock... after a while its frustrating and with so much iron and listening to it scream, I would give up on a signal every now and then. These links were one of those signals. After many deep nails I apparently removed this signal from the plug and left them in the dirt, giving up to move on. Abe recovered them for me not too long after and insisted that I take them. A great friend
Finally some of the rose heads that I will tumble. Always enjoy seeing the hammer marks on the nail head (circled on the left). These will look great after a day or two in the tumbler.
I have 30lbs of iron that I will sort through later. Much of it was sucked up by the magnet and hopefully there's some interesting items in the mess. I also took a box of Abe's iron home to process for him with some really interesting items I look forward to preserving and shipping back to him. Another awesome trip with two great friends. Thanks a ton guys.
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