2016 Civil War Finds

[smokeythecat]

Best year ever. Take a peak. Not everything is pictured.

 

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[Peyton Manning]

that haul would suffice for a career, not just a year

 

[smokeythecat]

Here are some more pics from stuff in 2016. Pics are hidden everywhere in my computer.

 

[smokeythecat]

Here's some more, in no particular order. I have this year's stuff scattered EVERYWHERE. In the first picture, on the left top is some charcoal from a hut. Thought I'd keep some this time, these pieces are larger than normal. This batch was found last Saturday.

 

[ironhorse]

Smokey, you "smoked" it this year!

I just checked out a whole bunch of your posts, you sure know what you're doing!
My hats off to you

 

[smokeythecat]

I'm just hardheaded and am out an average of 14 or so hours a week.

 

[Davers]

A CS Tong & Wreath , C.S.A. Plate ,& a Breast Plate all in one year. WOW!

Did you do any DIV Hunts? or other hunts of that type?
You got some great sites to hunt .

I think 2017 will be the year , I "Just Do It" & Ask as many Property owners for permission that I can.
& Get my "Scattered " but labeled Relics into Cases & clean & Seal the Id-able Iron pieces I have fallen behind on.
Hope you have a better year/Season in 2017 , but imo those Confederate Belt plates are gonna be hard to top.
Thanks for the great post.
I love Cat's more than most people . FWIW lol.
Davers

 

[smokeythecat]

Yes, I did a DIV. Couldn't compete with the guys with the $3k machines, but it was a lot of fun. I found a couple things. I may try the one in the spring if I can the time off. I also belong to a local club but they don't have any CW sites. Now you have to understand, I dig anywhere between 10-14 hours a week, I haven't really nailed the exact times down. Plus travel time. Plus tasty treats. And I have a $369 machine. My secret is, 1st always have permission and 2, I am digging very hunted out sites. I am beating down briers, snagging lots of aluminum cans, shotgun shells, ration can pieces, bumping trees, digging up rubbish piles, new bullet breeding grounds, moving big pieces of new metal out of the way to find if anything is underneath, bumping rocks, going in the water, etc. ALL of my plates were found very shallow at the bases of trees (different ones, more than one state) and there was either an aluminum can or CW ration can (Large piece) laying either on top, under or next to each. It ain't easy. As soon as I can I'll post a pic of Sundays stuff, including the junk, but the aluminum has already been thrown away. These next pieces came out of someone's front lawn, and I got invited back! I do not EVER leave a mess. Not long ago I dug a hole 4' x 6' x 1' deep immediately next to the property owners' driveway. When done, he happened to come home, and I jumped up to say hi. I had filled in the hole, so I said do you see the really big hole I just dug here? And he looked at me like I was stupid or something. Gotta make your evidence you were there invisible. The tongue and wreath was at a tree base, with a can, 10' from a big, paved road. With a horseshoe too. People skip the first 50' of a site and go out farther into the field or whatever and miss a lot that way.

 

[smokeythecat]

Here's Sunday's stuff. Pile of modern bullets, some CW, camp lead, CW nails, modern casings, shotgun shell bases. May be able to date some of those but this stuff has not been cleaned up. The flat discs are the shotgun slugs. The shiny thing on left bottom is a new dime.

 

[Davers]

You hit the Square Nail on the Head.

Yes, I did a DIV. Couldn't compete with the guys with the $3k machines, but it was a lot of fun. I found a couple things. I may try the one in the spring if I can the time off. I also belong to a local club but they don't have any CW sites. Now you have to understand, I dig anywhere between 10-14 hours a week, I haven't really nailed the exact times down. Plus travel time. Plus tasty treats. And I have a $369 machine. My secret is, 1st always have permission and 2, I am digging very hunted out sites. I am beating down briers, snagging lots of aluminum cans, shotgun shells, ration can pieces, bumping trees, digging up rubbish piles, new bullet breeding grounds, moving big pieces of new metal out of the way to find if anything is underneath, bumping rocks, going in the water, etc. ALL of my plates were found very shallow at the bases of trees (different ones, more than one state) and there was either an aluminum can or CW ration can (Large piece) laying either on top, under or next to each. It ain't easy. As soon as I can I'll post a pic of Sundays stuff, including the junk, but the aluminum has already been thrown away. These next pieces came out of someone's front lawn, and I got invited back! I do not EVER leave a mess. Not long ago I dug a hole 4' x 6' x 1' deep immediately next to the property owners' driveway. When done, he happened to come home, and I jumped up to say hi. I had filled in the hole, so I said do you see the really big hole I just dug here? And he looked at me like I was stupid or something. Gotta make your evidence you were there invisible. The tongue and wreath was at a tree base, with a can, 10' from a big, paved road. With a horseshoe too. People skip the first 50' of a site and go out farther into the field or whatever and miss a lot that way.

Yes sir, many Night Hawks Stay away from roadsides also people think of 40 years of Can's being thrown out on road sides. I found some nice stuff near roadsides, but these day's you just gotta deal with the trash.
I avg about 8-20 hours (Swing Time) myself & also have found CW Pieces near an old tin can in the Brier's on Steep Hillsides 'Wearing Cleats' In "Hunted Out" Sites Under Old Thick trees fell 20 or more years ago 'now mere Pencil Sticks'.
I always at-least try to Scout most any area I can. Dig Everything in CW Areas.
In the New Year I have Got to get the Gual to ask Permission , every time I want to ask a landowner to hunt a Site it's like I'm going to ask for their 'Firstborn' . lol . All they can say is no or h -no but I can handle that.

Also my machine is a 20+ year old XLT (used in new or trashy areas) & a Used $400 Tejon for those Hunted hard Sites Where mostly little targets & Fairly Deep ones Remain.
My Head Phones are Radio- Shaq 1980? Somethings But the have a long chord & do the Job.
I got a Top brand Pin-pointer.
My 1st Machine was a $379 Whites Classic 3 with no screen , 1998-2002 , I wore that thing Out; I hunted almost everyday day during that time , I found a-lot of good stuff but looking back I likely missed a good few buttons ( Non Cast) back then cause after 50 sg hulls ,I just discriminated them out. & I though it was tough to find Civil War relics then .
I quit hunting as much from 2002 - 2011 With personal issues & no Drivers Licenses being my main Hurdle.

I also know what u mean about the DIV , As most stuff (IMO) in those Camps are buried Deep in Hut Sites , Fire Pit's, Camp dumps, Out Houses , Trenches ,etc. + The HOT Rock.
I thought about getting a 'Pulse' Machine but there is only a few Sites Still Accessible that have Super Hot rock or Filled in trenches , pit,s . So I would not use it that much , a few guy's use them around here GPX Series Mostly with great Results , but they are for the most part Veteran Relic Hunters with 20+ years of experience & the Knowledge of sites that have given up relics over the Decades . That said I'd like to do a DIV, just for the Experience, as I have never relic hunted outside of GA.
Well thanks for your response & hope u enjoy my Rant.
Merry Christmas & Have a Great 2017 of Relic Hunting.
Davers

 

[Davers]

More nice Bullets & CL

Here's Sunday's stuff. Pile of modern bullets, some CW, camp lead, CW nails, modern casings, shotgun shell bases. May be able to date some of those but this stuff has not been cleaned up. The flat discs are the shotgun slugs. The shiny thing on left bottom is a new dime. View attachment 1391889

Another Great Hunt IMO , Love those Gardner's , I don't find many of them down here, a-lot of 'Slicks' tho ie, Enfield's ; That I also Love to dig.
&
Scrap brass is ,Common Silver Money.

 

[smokeythecat]

Got two Sharps today, both perfect. Drops, one with the line at the base, one without. A whole CW bottle and about 30 pieces of another, but not quite enough to put it back together again. I started with a 1980's Whites. I got whooped real good in SC by some guys I dug with and switched to Tesoros. They have been workhorses. I just got a XP Deus WS4 and have had it out, and it's like no one had been in the hunted out sites before. I had a White's PI machine, but couldn't learn it and it loved iron, so I parted ways with it. The cat's too old to dig a nail 10" deep. The PI worked really well, but I needed a lighter weight machine.

It's getting harder, for sure. My Tesoro will be my go to machine for fresh or salt water beaches, and for unexplored large land areas. The Deus I think will be best in hunted out areas or places where you really don't want to dig every signal.

 

[smokeythecat]

Bumping this to the top for drooling purposes. I don't have pics of the bottles and last weeks' stuff yet. Haven't cleaned it up yet.

 

[Peyton Manning]

Iffn I found one bullet from a possible civ site I would be happy

 

[Peyton Manning]

Find one spot with a couple bullets, save it till I get a chance to go with you

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a spot tomorrow near York, PA. NEVER hunted. Think it was a lookout spot. COME ON DOWN. I'm serous. Don't want to go by myself. My friend found a US cartridge box plate and we found about 10 dropped minies, I want to move to the other little knoll but don't want to go by myself. I have 55 acres of untouched land.

 

[smokeythecat]

Jeff, I have a new spot. Get yourself down here. ASAP. Found a few bullets and a breastplate in there and it got dark, then I've been digging another site, will be going back soon. I do NOT DIG in the summer.