Help! Advice on hitting an old town site

[mfriday]

Hi everyone: long time lurker, very infrequent poster here. I have secured permission to hunt a site that was once the location of a lumbering town of about 500 people or so. Part of it has been developed, but much of it is still more or less as it was. All the buildings except a couple are gone. I found some old foundations and a well in the woods today and explored what was apparently an old privy, but that's another story.

The problem is that there is tons, and I mean tons, of iron here. I have the 5x8 coil for my ATP, but I'm wondering if anyone has a strategy for going after the good stuff in the midst of such debris. I have my iron discrimination maxed, listening for clean tones. Don't get me wrong, I like finding square nails from an era gone by, but after the 100th one or so they lose their appeal pretty quick!

Appreciate any insight anyone can shed... obviously there is good stuff here, as this was a very hopping little town 1860-1900 or so. But the iron! Oh the humanity!

 

[Red James Cash]

Think of going through the iron as a form of hard rock mining,youll only get out of it what you put into it.

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

You need to put on Iron Audio, go through real slow. Looking for those high silver or nickel hits. Hope this helps !!

Keep @ It and HH !!

 

[stefen]

Maybe finding iron is OK, assuming of course, that the town wasn't an Iron Mill Town...then you're screwed, so to speak.

Hell, the iron items found may be worthwhile finds.

Although I agree... digging square nails are boring long before you reach 100 count...

Digging former businesses may not be the same as digging former homes and out buildings...

If it was me I'd stick to the latter...

Oh, and don't forget to post pictures and videos...

 

[mfriday]

Thanks guys. I'll post some pics tomorrow of the ax heads I found today. Two of them, and one was right on the surface! There is soooooo much potential at this site. I have old maps that detail what was where in town - post office, store, homes, etc. The roads are mostly gone now so it is a bit challenging to try and figure out where those roads were located. This was a lumbering town with two mills which explains all the iron lol.

I did find a coin today though! A clad dime.

 

[Bobbyw]

There is a old site in the woods behind one of the stores I oversee. A couple of days ago I showed a guy at work the site and found myself painting him a mental picture of what it must have looked like back in the day. This was the third time I have seen the site but the first time I seen the driveway! It did not stand out before with all the trees in it. This evening I went back to the site for about 45 minutes and searched the driveway and from the driveway to the foundation. I managed to pickup a nice 1939 walking liberty, a 1956 dime and 7 wheat pennies. I never made it to the foundation where the biggest part of the iron is. However, keep in mind that iron can mask good targets and sometimes needs to be removed to find the good stuff. Also, I personally leave the back yards for last as they are typically full of trash with fewer good targets. Hope this helps.

 

[Pointman]

Its been awhile since I ran an AT Pro. The iron audio will help, if you can stand all the grunting. I would run the discriminate up some and watch the meter for the high targets. Personally I like the bell tones which will let you know when you have something worthy to dig. Pro mode will let you listen for the deeper signals. Also the 5 x 8" coil is really worth getting if you don't already have it. Just experiment till you find what works.