The Diggin in Virginia hunts are FIRST CLASS events. They are always held on known Civil War camp/battle sites and there are always tons of relics found. The cost is $250 per person for three days and it includes a BBQ lunch and raffles on day three. They will not guarantee that you'll find relics, but they will promise you that you will have a great time. Everyone associated with the hunt helps everyone out. If you're not finding anything, they'll try to help you get on a spot to find something. You won't find that at any other hunt you attend.
You do have to arrange your own hotel as that isn't included in the $250 fee.
This is an invitation hunt. There are sign-ups on the DIV forum on the mytreasurespot forum page. The sign-ups usually last about 2 weeks and are usually started about a month or so after the currently scheduled hunt. So, sometime in April, they will probably have sign ups. Sometimes they'll automatically select the first few hunters that sign up, so it pays to get in early. They usually select a lot of folks they know or have hunted before in other DIV events, but they always try to invite some new faces to join in as well. The number of participants will depend on how large of a hunt site has been leased. Usually between 250 and 350, sometimes 400 participants will be invited. The alternates list usually gets used up, but it hasn't for the upcoming hunt.
I have hunted in 3 and I'll be hunting in the one coming up. While I've never found sacks full of relics, I've seen sacks full of relics found. At the last hunt I attended, on day one I saw a gentleman lugging a sweatshirt he was using as a sack, it was loaded with 188 mini balls that he had found in one hole. At the same hunt, a sword was found, numerous belt plates and buckles. Lots of bullets, buttons and other items. I've found bullets: 57, 69, 69-buck & ball, 44 colt, 44 round balls, friction primers, j-hooks, button backs, small buckles, rivets, grommets...
The dirt in that hunt area is very mineralized and most VLF detectors with ground balance capabilities will work OK but you do loose depth, but you have to dig every signal you get to get the goodies. Bullets sound like iron and iron sounds like iron. Shallow nails sound like bullets, and shallow bullets sound like bullets... You just have to dig it all. For the best return on relics, a Pulse Induction detector is recommended. The White's TDI is not too bad but the king at DIV is the Minelab GPX series detectors. They'll dig bullets at 18+ deep that the other detectors can't hear.
If you decide to give it a try, good luck getting in. If you do, it's worth it!
