First Real Find

[Trapper John]

As a newbie up until today I have been gathering the usual beginner's clad and junk from beaches along the Columbia River. Today the blue sky and 60ish tempatures gave me cabin fever so I ducked out to an abandoned homestead that I have been researching just to get my bearings, so to speak.

Within five minutes after firing up my md I got a mixed tone and 30-something reading close to the surface. I have gotten fairly good at discriminating between bottle caps and other ferrous junk, and this read-out gave me a certain "feeling." I decided to dig and I pulled out an expended bullet - the actual round and not the shell casing. It appears to be a thirty caliber round that shows a deformation where it struck something, probably a tree branch. The bullet had mushroomed in a way that makes me think it was a hollow point. I'll take a few measurements after I clean it up a bit.

I also found a tantalizing target that I've got to go back for tomorrow. I won't say more until I have it out of the ground.

 

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[Roadrunner007]

Good Luck on your follow up hunt

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice find! You'll be cured of cabin fever in no time! GL. HH!

 

[relicmeister]

Good start T.J.a lot with cabin fever here!

 

[46Wheat]

good luck

 

[Trapper John]

I said I would get back with a report on my recent find, so here goes.

As last reported I was working an old homestead - early 1900's - and got a very sweet and solid 81 reading at 10 inches. I am working with an AT Pro and using the 5x7 coil in PRO mode. I had iron discrimination off, sensitivity maxed. More about that later. I carried only a pinpointer and standard digger. I knew from the depth that my hole was going to be deep, and the size of the object suggested it would be long as well. I started to dig a "test hole." Sure enough, about one foot down I was rewarded withe the sound of metal on metal.

I worked carefully to open up the hole, which took some time. Finally I cleared about a four-x-four inch area which allowed me to see a rust-free metal surface. A few light taps resulted in a hollow sound. A cache? Strongbox?

A child's coffin?

Since I was running out of energy and daylight, I refilled the hole and rearranged the forest duff to conceal my work. I returned home and spent the next several hours researching coffin hardware and markings from the early 20's - just in case.

The next day I returned to the site with a small, inconspicuous folding shovel in my gear bag. I redug the hole and bit by bit increased the visibility of my find. I carefully found the edges, then two corners, then a third corner. All the time my mind was retracing "find" stories and videos. Based upon the apparent size and seeing no indication of casket hardware, I ruled out that possibility. I reached for my rockhound pry bar with the intent of working along the edges to determine how thick/deep my object was.

To my disappointment the object was about an eighth of an inch thick. Just enough for structural rigidity and allowing for the "hollow" sound produced when I tapped it. Now I used the pry bar to lift one corner, then one edge, until I could grab the metal plate and wrestle it from the earth. It measures 13" by 18." After I clean it up I'll weigh it and take a picture.

Now for a couple of points. Once I extracted it my plate registered a more sensible 41 on my detector. Bear in mind I am still on my learning curve, but with proper ground balancing the only explanation I can come up with is that given the large surface area my extreme sensitivity setting simply overexcited my machine. Yet, without that setting I might not have located the spent bullet mentioned earlier.

The other point is purely psychological. I was overly impressed with my own prowess in finding the bullet. I got a large ego boost and became a bit too cocky. Otherwise I might have varied my machine settings and "observed" the object from several diffent electronic perspectives.

In the end, though, I probably - no, definitely - would have dug anyway. After all, it could have been a cache box.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

A good test for large objects is to raise your coil up and swing that is how I eliminate aluminum cans but being that you were in the time frame of the 1900's I would have dug it also.