Advice before heading to old site

[Crunchyhippo]

Next month I'm going to be at a reunion at an old, small church in the middle of nowhere, and it has a large cemetery in the back. It was built in 1881, and I'm almost certain that it's never been detected because of its rural location. So, there's been 144 years of foot traffic on that site. Just imagine the things dropped and lost in that time. My only issue is that so far, I've only beach detected. I do have a digger and a pointer, but I've never used them. If anyone has any advice they could give beyond the obvious to help me find the most things, I'd appreciate it.

 

[robertk]

Well first off, respect the cemetery. But the road and paths leading to it, the edges around the fence, and so on, are probably OK. Secondly, don't assume just because it's very rural that it hasn't been detected. If it's visible from a road, findable on a map, or known to the locals, it may very well have been detected, and probably more than once. But that doesn't mean there can't still plenty of things out there. Around the church itself, look for areas where picnics and social gatherings may have been held, wagons and cars were parked, or areas where children may have played.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I would say ...

(1) - Hunt the heavy traffic areas first - along walk ways, paths to outbuildings, etc.
(2) - Bring a few different sized Slotted Screwdrivers with you if the Parking Lot is stone - they are often overlooked - much easier then using a Digger.
(3) - Dig clean Plugs on the Lawn - only go 1/2 to 2/3 around - leave a "hinge" of grass or all the grass in the Plug will die.
(4) - If you have to go deeper to get to the target - leave as much dirt as possible in the hole - don't pile it on the lawn.
(5) - Take all the trash with you - even if it's not yours - glass, can slaw, pop tops, nails, etc.
If you leave a site cleaner then when you got there - there's a good chance you'll be welcomed back in the future.

Good Luck !

 

[TORRERO]

Next month I'm going to be at a reunion at an old, small church in the middle of nowhere, and it has a large cemetery in the back. It was built in 1881, and I'm almost certain that it's never been detected because of its rural location. So, there's been 144 years of foot traffic on that site. Just imagine the things dropped and lost in that time. My only issue is that so far, I've only beach detected. I do have a digger and a pointer, but I've never used them. If anyone has any advice they could give beyond the obvious to help me find the most things, I'd appreciate it.

I wish you the best of luck, don't let me burst your bubble, but back in the 80-90s I had a map of the counties in NC and SC and all I did was stop at old churches in the middle of nowhere... if true, and never been hunted (I doubt) you can expect some Awesome finds.... lots of wheats and silver..
but if you don't get many signals it's probably been hunted before... don't get discouraged... walk outside the main grounds, try the woods behind the church, if the front has a BIG yard, hunt closer to the road.. further from the front door...
Please let us know what you find !! Good Luck !!

Other advise, dig the hole... plug.. and then use your pinpointer to locate the target, BE VERY CAREFUL BECAUSE SILVER SCRATCHES EASILY !!

 

[Terry Soloman]

GRID! 10-foot by 20-foot grid searching. Go Slow overlapping your FLAT swing scraping the grass length wise, then do it again width wise. Take your time. 3/4 Sensitivity, too much and you'll lose some depth.
Good luck and Big Gold!

 

[Crunchyhippo]

GRID! 10-foot by 20-foot grid searching. Go Slow overlapping your FLAT swing scraping the grass length wise, then do it again width wise. Take your time. 3/4 Sensitivity, too much and you'll lose some depth.
Good luck and Big Gold!

Wouldn't gold be fabulous. But I've found nothing except trash so far with my Manticore, so I don't expect much. I'll post again after I've been to the site.

 

[djackson7348]

Wouldn't gold be fabulous. But I've found nothing except trash so far with my Manticore, so I don't expect much. I'll post again after I've been to the site.

We all dig trash so don't let that discourage you. It's just something that goes with finding the good stuff. Never forget, if there is trash, people have been there and people mean dropped/lost stuff.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

GRID! 10-foot by 20-foot grid searching. Go Slow overlapping your FLAT swing scraping the grass length wise, then do it again width wise. Take your time. 3/4 Sensitivity, too much and you'll lose some depth.
Good luck and Big Gold!

Yes, Terry's 100% right - methodically Grid search the area if time allows.
Swing speed is up to you and how fast the recovery speed is on your detector.
But ... one thing is for sure - at most sites - the slower you walk - the more you find.
Walking slow allows you the hear the deeper faint targets that you might miss at a faster pace.

 

[invent4hir]

All excellent advice above. Before heading to the site consider looking at old aerial photos to see how things use to be. If you're lucky they might be on the county engineer's website or at their office. If not, then check the historic aerials website. In addition to going lengthways and widthways, consider diagonals as well. Depending on the type of coil(s) you have (circular, oval, DD, etc.) and how the artifact is positioned in the ground, your detector may respond better. When was the church last used? Wonder if any locals can give you any insight. Even possibly the county history book. Good success!

 

[Crunchyhippo]

When was the church last used? Wonder if any locals can give you any insight. Even possibly the county history book. Good success!

It's used every Sunday, but it's almost out of use; there's only about 25 members and slowly losing those. The meeting my Dad, brother, and I are going to there doesn't begin until about 10:30 on a Saturday. I technically don't have explicit permission to detect on the grounds, but I don't think anyone is going to care. It really is in the middle of nowhere. My Dad is going to drop me off there two hours before the meeting starts, and I'll see what I can find in that period of time. I won't be back to this remote area for years.

 

[pepperj]

Probably if it can be seen from the road, it's been detected.
I grew up in the rural and schools, churches, halls, parks were 1st on the list to be detected.
That started in 1970 for us, so it would be a rarity of your church have not been hit a few times.
Best of luck, go low and slow.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Probably if it can be seen from the road, it's been detected.
I grew up in the rural and schools, churches, halls, parks were 1st on the list to be detected.
That started in 1970 for us, so it would be a rarity of your church have not been hit a few times.
Best of luck, go low and slow.

I'm not sure if a remote, rural Alabama countryside accessible only by a narrow unmarked, paved road counts as having already been detected. I guess I'll find out.

 

[ecmjamsit]

Next month I'm going to be at a reunion at an old, small church in the middle of nowhere, and it has a large cemetery in the back. It was built in 1881, and I'm almost certain that it's never been detected because of its rural location. So, there's been 144 years of foot traffic on that site. Just imagine the things dropped and lost in that time. My only issue is that so far, I've only beach detected. I do have a digger and a pointer, but I've never used them. If anyone has any advice they could give beyond the obvious to help me find the most things, I'd appreciate it.

Take a large magnet. If you encounter lots of nails, this is a quick way to eliminate them from confusing signals. Get a cheap magnet from Harbor Freight or a anothe discount tool place.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Take a large magnet. If you encounter lots of nails, this is a quick way to eliminate them from confusing signals. Get a cheap magnet from Harbor Freight or a anothe discount tool place.

I don't follow. You mean when I get a signal, put the magnet in the hole and see if it pulls a nail out?

 

[ecmjamsit]

I don't follow. You mean when I get a signal, put the magnet in the hole and see if it pulls a nail out?

No, if you dig a strange signal and get a bunch of nails, use the magnet to pick them out. I had this problem with a bunch of old square nails once and gave up because I did not have a magnet.
There were just too many nails in the hole to make sense of it.