Frozen ground and signal clarity, please

[NWMP]

I am getting twitchy to swing but the ground is still locked up tight here. And I have always wondered if ''pre hunting'', or looking for targets in frozen ground is viable ? I have done some snow detecting on sliding hills for clad etc. But I have had few opportunities to check frozen ground clear of snow, like this year is shaping up to be. So: Are signals weakened ?, distorted ? or generally messed up when detecting through rock hard frozen ground ? I was thinking that I could push in or just drop a golf T over a sweet signal in a certain field.....dunno, just day dreaming and feeling the itch. Any insight is appreciated.

 

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[GA_Boy]

Mark your good signals and dig later. You could red flag them if the wire will stick in the ground. That is if it is off the beaten path.
Marvin

 

[yardgoat]

I went out this weekend to a old school that I've detected many times before, The ground is still rock hard frozen (but thawing a little more everyday) I was trying out a new bullseye coil,. I found the signals loud and clear and did manage to dig 2 coins at 6.5" but marked a few more to dig when the ground softens a bit. I think it well worth the effort and it will get you out of the house. Good luck.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Last few winters have been brutal but for once the ground is bare and soft as **** here in Nova Scotia! [emoji2]

 

[driftless]

I bought a new detector in January and got it out for the first time on Saturday. A recording breaking warm day for southeastern Minnesota! It reached about 56 degrees (unofficial). I went to a recreational area that I've hunted many times, one southeastern facing exposure was thawed out enough to dig signals. The adjacent football field was a block of green ice! Too your post, the detector ground balance just fine, mild soils here. I received good signals all day and dug a little over $4.00 in clad. I went to the football field and got some good hits, dug a few down to about 3" in spots, some I couldn't cut through the green grass it seemed. I've wondered myself if it would work in frozen ground conditions, with the soil I have here it seemed to work well. Had a blast! Went back on Sunday and the field had thawed a bit more, didn't freeze over night. Dug a solid 20-21 all day, all directions, clear signal I had marked on Saturday. Dug a ring, ended up being old and plated with the main stone missing. I was wired the rest of the day. Two hours later the wind picked up and temp dropped from mid forties to mid twenties. Oh well, 15 degrees and 5" of new snow this morning.

 

[Old Dude]

Those of us living where the ground freezes will tell you this : use any excuse you can to get out. If you have to buy a can of fluorescent orange paint, do it! You will feel better than sitting in the house longing and wishing.

 

[SusanMN]

Yeah, you could mark them but parks or schools would probably frown on the spray paint but a golf tee might work, or make it a little easier for the next hunter that comes along. I find it is just too frustrating to find signals that I can't dig so I wait until there is at least a few inches of thaw where I am hunting. Sunny southfacing sloped areas are the first spots to thaw and be diggable. If it's been used as a sledding hill, there will be coins on the top too. At schools you can also check where there were snow piles from sidewalk shoveling or close to the building where kids congregate as soon as the snow melts. You can usually find coins and jewelry laying right on the surface if you beat other hunters to it.