Civil War Dream Field Day 1 - 3 Plates, 100+ bullets.

staydetuned

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Aug 27, 2007
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Hey everybody. I don't post here too often, but have to post this one up!

In short, I got a scholarship to the Minelab/Montpelier project and got my dad and 2 hunting buddies, Ron and Jim, to tag along (we're all from CA). We tacked on a few extra days around the project to do some extracurricular hunting. 1st day I got 12 bullets at a site - my intro to Civil War hunting. After Montpelier we spent 2 days an unproductive sites. Then we got permission for this one.

We had an idea there might be something on it, but nothing like this. Small site, about half a football field. Started wandering and hit a pretty shallow bullet. Then a couple deep ones... Then we got tuned in. High sensitivity on the Minelabs, no iron, trash, or shallow signals in the ground. Bullets were coming out at 10", all over the place, but particularly in one small area. Then Ron got a bullet signal and dug a hole that was much deeper than it should have been for a bullet, with the probe singing at the bottom. It was a big circular disk, crumbling - an Eagle Breast Plate. After a bunch of shouting and whooping we were back on it. Not 15 minutes later, 10 feet away, another deep bullet signal deeper than a bullet could have been. This one was dug out carefully; an oval, rotting away, with clips on the back - the US buckle. We knew we had the whole package here, and it wasn't another 20 minutes before there was another super deep signal singing at the bottom of the hole (these were all around 16"-18", and we have them all on video :) ) - the final piece, the cartridge box plate, in much better condition than the other 2.

All in all we got over 100 bullets, and the 3 plates, and some other assorted bits (hook, finial, etc.) That was yesterday. We spent all day hitting it again today and got almost 200 bullets, many in large spills (vast majority were 3 ringers, dropped - which would point to a camp site). Tonight is our last night here in Virginia, and I'm typing from the hotel. It's been a crazy whirlwind... The best part is - we got it all on multiple GoPros and phone cameras, including a head mounted GoPro with the detector audio jacked directly in so you can hear the initial hit and dig from beginning to end (I got the breast plate from signal to dig!) Some of these bullets - the original signal and depth, you simply would not believe unless you saw the videos. This place has been cleaned out to 8"+, but there was a lot more there, and I'm sure there are still HUNDREDS of bullets, and more plates, out of range.

I'll post some pics here, but it might be a while until we can get everything together for a proper post. It's been a long 11 days I'm exhausted and still need to pack... We certainly got spoiled with our first trip out here - it's been an absolutely incredible experience, and I still can't believe we got on this amazing, amazing field.

Ok, that was A LOT longer than I intended... Enjoy the pics! I'll let you all know when we get something up on YouTube; the footage is fantastic :D
 

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staydetuned

staydetuned

Full Member
Aug 27, 2007
217
136
San Francisco, California
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Explorer II
Thanks for the replies guys! Just got back a couple days ago and been working the last 2 days - got my 13 pound package I mailed to myself in the mail yesterday :P A lot of lead!

Videos may take a while as I'm working 7 days straight (work in a bar across from where the SF Giants play), but I'll let you guys know when we get something up, and post more info then.

Spudnuts, you'll hear when we get the videos out - many live digs, with direct detector audio from first hit to the excavation... The majority of the bullets though were just barely perceptible breaks in the threshold, they were so deep. Shallower ones ring up in the wheat penny / screw cap range (tone-wise, on the Explorer II), but 'feel' larger than a coin...

Thanks for looking guys!
 

pl8man

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Mar 18, 2009
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Looks like you all had one super hunt ! Congrats Jayson !
Glen
 

Davers

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Jan 8, 2013
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Awesome dig guy's ..
MAN! those Plates are in rough shape but much better than never digging one .( LIKE ME)
At least the Cartridge Box is whole , A Great bunch of Minies & other Relics .
With that mean ass soil the buttons are likely long gone.
All the more reason these relics need to be saved.
Good Job
Davers
 

beez0404

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Jan 4, 2014
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Parsonwalker, I was thinking the same thing. I live in NC and neighbor VA but wouldn't have a clue where to go up there to look for CW relics. So travelling across the country and finding a place like that is a once in a lifetime stroke of luck. I am envious and very jealous! But also very happy for your success.
 

OP
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staydetuned

staydetuned

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Aug 27, 2007
217
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San Francisco, California
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Yeah guys, we got very lucky. We had permission for one spot before we got there, which produced a few bullets... then we went knocking on doors. We were excited for one large piece of land, our first permission, that turned out to be a total dud. The second we weren't expecting much, then all of this turned up. We did get VERY lucky to randomly get on a really good site.

Glen, good to hear from you! :)
 

dirtydig

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Oct 7, 2013
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virginia
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good luck asking where lol! but its always nice to see good recoverys, reminds me of the 80 S, that looks like a regular weekend back then.
 

markp

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Dec 3, 2013
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nice assortment of bullets and other CW items. That's a hunt of a lifetime
 

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