How DEEP is too deep for you?

[BuffaloBob]

Or rather say you have a hard signal as deep as your device measures. Arond the Rockies Caliche is never something I want to dig. And have special digging tools just in case. Four inches is tough. Around hunting camps there are always spent bullets. And sighting in rounds buried somewhere. Mostly I search within a couple inches. For lost knives or easy stuff. Those lead bullets have a solid tone.

Same with small bird shot. So always thoughtful when near a fishing spot. Usually find more lost stuff by looking. Old lures... Ground around those spots may be easy digging or rocks with rattlers. So I'd rather Fish.

High plains I have searched have steadily increasing sand or top soil blown in every year. Maybe 8 inches of topsoil and sand to reach older untouched ground. Anything deeper than 8" or so would be special. Or large or I just can't find the signal. Sometimes I may never find the source. Well that is detecting where experience counts. And patience. I lack both...

The grasslands are something else. Grass fires uncover a lot of ground but otherwise hard detecting. I use a 5x10 narrow coil to snake around.

Dust devils can reveal artifacts. If you were ever around one you may think differently..

The PLAINS are always windy. Goggles and rain gear to keep sand out of your shorts help too. Dig your hole throwing dirt back of the wind. Digging is easi9er mostly due to lack of activity. Trees will always be near water. So will every other living thing in history. Check your maps..

Bents Fort was situated along the river. But rivers move. So looking for a site close to the river, in 1860 may be on open ground now.

Frost heaves bring stuff to the surface. And I have heard older Fort sites keep replenishing material year after year. Frequent flooding also uncovers stuff. Creek bottoms and ditches are fun to search. Out of the wind.. If you had an easy time slithering down the side of the creek, be certain you can get out fast. Flash floods just happen. And some I've seen arrive with trash and tree limbs and brush.. Water will follow but always have a plan.

A scout camp was wiped out last year in Arizona. Kids in their tents washed away. The power of moving water is incredible.

I am planning on creek bottom walking depending. Ever run into six feet of sage brush or that other stuff (TUMBLEWEED)
. Oh and a prarie fire will move like the wind. And running through the flames may be your best bet. Enjoy your Spring detecting..
BB

 

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[Frankn]

The detector is my limit. I have gone down 4' on the beach for a boat anchor. I have gone 2' for a license plate. I have found a 50cal ammo box at a bit over 6', but that was when I was walking on top of a stone wall with a 2 Box, so I merely had to climb bown and remove it from the wall. The thing is , if I am getting a signal, I just have to know what it is. Frank The inquisitor.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I rarely dig deeper than a foot. Granted I am a coin shooter and would love to find a cache of coins, but the deepest target I have ever recovered was a tractor part about 14 inches deep when I was field hunting.

 

[Limitool]

I've dug down close to a foot to recover 1/2 a horseshoe. And that's REAL HARD WORK HERE!!!! I'm like Frankn... if the machine is beeping I gotta know what's there.

 

[Newfiehunter]

I have to admit, I hate to give up on a deep target especially if the signal is really good....A couple of years back I was detecting with my CZ5 and got this faint but really good signal that was just a whisper....I dug down to a foot and the signal was still there but I started to think it had to be a really large piece of metal rather than a coin and was going to give up on it but I dug a little further and at 13 inches, it turned out to be a large British Copper from the early 1800s....It was about the size of a silver dollar and it was embedded at the bottom of the hole...Just recently about 3 weeks ago I was at another site and got another signal...Dug down and there were two huge stones and thought there is no way a coin can be underneath those rocks, but there was a little gap in between them...I managed to pry one of the rocks up a little and believe me, it was hard work...I was rewarded with an 1824 British copper....The moral to the story....Don't give up so easily on deep targets...You just may be rewarded..

 

[kingskid1611]

Up to 6 feet. Wait I mean it really depends on where I am hunting and what kind of finds I am making. We have a man made lake from the 30's here and it follows dog creek. There was cliffs on both sides of the creek before the lake flooded it in the 30's. So when the lake is down I may dig down deeper in hopes of a good find.

 

[Cletus]

as long as the signal is there i usually keep digging.

 

[diggingthe1]

Colorado has some tough places to detect. I would have a pile of broken garden trowels if I kept them. I like to use a sturdy small shovel that will hold up to a lot! Its so frustrating to leave a good signal, you never know what yor leaving behind. Most of us have probably left some good treasures for someone else. I know I get frustrated to the point of leaving the signal rather than destroying it getting it out. It takes a lot of self control for me to stay inside when the ground is frozen. That's a good tip about the trees especially out on the flatlands! I can't wait for spring! Happy hunting!