Hunting sites

[Goio]

Any metal detecting buddies around Hammond, Indiana or south side Chicago? I would also like any information on places that metal detecting is allowed.

Thank you.

 

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[boomer46901]

Still just me in Kokomo. And I still just hunt the school yards and parks.......don't know of any designated public hunting areas...*S*

 

[serpent]

Tough area, very urban. But you know that you have all of that Lake michigan shoreline to hunt. Also there are alot of historic sites off the map. Old school houses, amusement parks and ghost towns in northern Indiana. I remember when i was a kid seeing a guy find buffalo head nickels at a grade school on calumet avenue, north of the expressway. Its been redone since those days but i was impressed by that guy. Go to the Lake County public Library in Merrilville and hit the local history room, theyve got alot of goods.

 

[Goio]

Hi Guys.

This is area that I am planning to search. there are plenty of open spots and beaches. Does anyone know if we require a license to metal detect in Indiana?

 

[shootist]

Sorry all the way down in Indy here. No license that I have ever heard of is required to detect,but I think they frown on detecting in the parks up in Chicago from what Ive read. The places that I have had my best luck as well as easy access are old boarded up houses and around houses that have been or are being torn down. The demos I usually try and hit in the evening or on the weekend when Im sure noone will be working. The boarded up houses are almost exclusively in the bad neighborhoods so caution is advised,its a bit risky but when you live in the city that is where the good stuff is. Try and hunt those spots early in the morning before the locals are out and about.Also dont stay in one spot for very long. Try and hit the high traffic areas first,around walkways,porches anywhere people get in and out of cars. Coins and other items can usually be found under the clothesline as well as around the mailbox. Happy hunting,keep your eyes peeled and stay safe out there...Shoot

 

[Goio]

Hi Shoot,

Thank you for the info. How do you like your Minelab detector? I have been thinking about a new metal detector and looking at either the White's DFX or the Minelab Explorer SE. I am also interested in the Minelab Excalibur 1000 metal detector for beach hunting.

 

[shootist]

Im sold on ML,I see you are allready a Whites man so you may be better off with a DFX,I know they are wonderful detectors,lightweight and not a whole lot different than the XLT from what Ive read,also I know they can make the finds. The explorer is quite heavy and sort of cumbersome at times also you have to work them very slow,I think they take a bit longer to switch between targets. If you do go with ML I would be more than happy to try and help you learn it somewhat with tips and such. As far as a water detector I dont think you can go wrong with an Excal they are supposed to be very sensitive to gold and as deep as you want to dig,though Im sure Whites makes some good water detectors as well it seems the best water hunters use excal or are switching to Aquasound,HH...Shoot

 

[GodOfRustyNails]

Any metal detecting buddies around Hammond, Indiana or south side Chicago? I would also like any information on places that metal detecting is allowed.

Thank you.

You know I have found some really cool stuff and places to hunt just by hopping in the car and driving in and around South Bend. I have been keeping track of the places on Google Earth. I found one spot on a major city road where a house once was. It was knocked down fifteen years ago. It is enclosed by a wrought iron gate with ivy all over it. Whoever owns the property still keeps it maintained. Because of these circumstances, I can easily detect there because I am not seen by passers by (also I introduced myself to the neighbors). I have been going there for a little over a year and found some pretty neat items. This is just one instance of finding places to hunt just by keeping a sharp eye out. I know Hammond is not all that big, but there has to be locations you pass by everyday but have never thought twice about. Good luck!
Steve

 

[Goio]

Hi steve,

Thank you for the tips. I got permission to hunt a neighbor's yard and been finding mostly clad with my XLT, still waiting on a silver hit.

Hey Shoot,

What minelab detector do you have? I went ahead and purchase a Minelab Explorer SE with a Coiltek WOT and the Coiltek Joey I also got the new Vibra Probe 570 pinpointer, lesche digging tool, a pair RATphones and two lower shafts for the explorer. I have only used the explorer twice and is soo much different then the whites. I have dig nothing but iron with it but I know I need to get used to the sounds. do you have a Sun Ray X-1 Target Probe for Explorer SE? I have been thinking of adding one to my explorer.

BTW, I joined the MIDWEST HISTORICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
CHICAGO ILLINOIS http://mhrsillinois.50megs.com/
http://www.chicagoron.com/index.htm.

Great group of people!!

 

[shootist]

Hey Steve,glad to see you went for the Minelab. I think they stand head and shoulders above the rest in the heavy trash areas. The trash laden areas are seldom hunted very much because of all the sounds. When I first got my Explorer I dug a lot of deep iron nails and such,the thing that really turned it around for me was switching to FERROUS sounds. Its difficult at first because a lot of the sounds are reversed but the coins still sound the same. My favorite thing about the Explorers is that they dont false,the sounds are consistantly true. If there is a coin under the coil you will get a coin sound. The work begins when there are other items under the coil as well. The sounds will blend together where you can hear part of the coin and part of the trash,its hard to describe but over time you will start to get it. I dont have the Sunray probe but it is the next thing that I am planning on buying. I wish I had one just about everytime I hunt. The really deep signals are a lot of the time very difficult to locate and many times I just give up and move on cursing myself for not having a Sunray. the machine will go very deep but the pinpointing on deep targets isnt so great. I too use the Vibraprobe and it is a wonderful tool,very sturdy and rugged has saved me many times over so they are a good thing to have,the Sunray will detect items from a further distance and are a lot more help in locating the target. here is a link to a site you should start reading at http://www.findmall.com/list.php?10 it is hands down the largest repository of Explorer information to be found on the web. Feel free to message me with specific questions or for general information. The machine will be pretty frustrating at times but eventually you will start to get it and you will know what all the hype is about. Above all work the coil very slowly and put in the time in no time it will be part of your arm,HH...Shoot

 

[QUICKSILVER (appletree)]

Nope no licence needed for Indiana, if you go to the Indiana dunes you have to have a permit from the park ranger on site, then of course you can only hunt a certain time of the year and only the part of the beach to the left of the bath house. But the rest of what you want to hunt there is cool, with Private property always ask permission from the owner, try to get it in writting! whats good is old maps, Platte maps of your area or all of Lake county, find where there were old schools, up there on Hohman ave just north of down town Hammond is the over pass, on the east side of the over pass is a large empty lot with weeds and trees just before you get to Michigan st., that is where the Hammond library was back in the late 1800's, also Harrison park and Pulaski ( originally Douglas park) park have been around since the late 1800's as well and contain very old silver and other relics, you just have to do some research and find out were people gathered in the park, Harrison park use to have a footbridge that went over the pond on the north end, and there were boats, baseball games were a favorite as well, at that park I would concentrate my search along the shores of the pond and work my way out, Pulaski park has had a football field on the north end of the park for many many years, my oldest find at that park was a 1916 mercury dime, and that was about 12 years ago, I was still getting to know my detector, plus it a big park I meandered around, check around big trees, plus there was an old entrance road that entered the park from the southeast that headed to the northwest, it was still visable when I was there, oh yeah I also remember finding a Susan B. Anthony $1 coin in the soccer field on the east side of the park. The important thing though is research, Hammond use to be alot different back then than it is now, find the old sites, then seek permission, hit those park with full force, and check out the old library site, there are a lot of sites, you just have to learn how to find them! Good luck, QUICKSILVER(appletree)

 

[Goio]

Hi QUICKSILVER,

I am a couple of blocks from Pulaski park. there sure is a lot of old sites in hammond and you are right, it does look a lot different now. I have been wanting to check the site where Hammond Distilling Company used to be on Calumet and 150th street. I am located on Calumet and Huen (140th street).

http://www.hammondindiana.com/history/industry.htm

 

[True_Metal]

Hey Gojo.

To hunt in the beaches in the indiana dunes you do need a permit.

My uncle hunted the beach onetime and had to get a permit.

It was free back then, not sure now though?

Not sure about the ones out your way?

The ones by my house are public and i never needed one when i went.

 

[Goio]

hey True_Metal,

Yes, I heard that you need a permit to hunt the in Indiana dunes. I do want to hit the dunes this summer. I hunt the Whihala Beach beach last fall just a couple of times but there are a couple of beaches that I want to explore this summer. http://www.northwestindiana.com/beaches.htm

 

[True_Metal]

I can remember playing in the sands at the dunes state park when i was a kid one time and finding a worn buffalo nickel and other coins. Theres stuff there to be found

We need to get some people together and hit that place hard!.

My uncle found a watch that day. That was back about 1979 or so before metal detecting even interested me.

I think i found a cool spot. Do a search on Byron Indiana, it might turn out to be cool.

Found it in indiana ghost towns, but its not the same one i was wondering about in that other post.

 

[QUICKSILVER (appletree)]

Is it Goio or Gojo? can't tell sorry! With the dunes when I went about 12 years ago tha permit was $5 and it was good for a couple short weeks! but there is a catch! You can't do it in the summer!!!! The only time you can do it is in the fall, in the off season, after their team of people with detectors go over the whole beach! And they will tell you if you find anything you have to turn it in at the Rangers station where you pickup your permit. When I went I found your everyday clad, nothing else, and I did not turn anything in!!! I did not think it was worth it, so I never went back, the dunes rules are to strict!!!

 

[QUICKSILVER (appletree)]

See if you can find some old photos from Pulaski park at the library, photo copy them and go to the park and place them! findout that way where the people gathered, then knock the socks off that park, its a big park, there has to be some old silver, I'm still thinking the the south end in the part with the big trees and then cover the south west corner!
Here is a google earth image of Pulaski park, the large open space to the north use to be a football field, the black line I put in was an entrance road that lead into the park to the football field, and everything in red you should hit hard, those areas should produce for you!!!! And here is some information on the old farm that stood where BP tank farm now is, Aged Miser-recluse John A. Thompson killed himself in 1906 at his farm, a few miles east of Hammond. It is said that he had a fortune buried near or in his house that has never been recovered. When I went to the librarys Indiana room I looked at the 1890's platt map and it showed the Thompson farm was with in the boundries of the BP tank farm, so if there is still a cache out there, and it has never been found, its somewhere around or under those tanks!

 

[QUICKSILVER (appletree)]

Tru-metal, Byron Indiana,
BYRON


NAME: Byron
COUNTY: La Porte
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 1
CLIMATE: Normal Midwestern Climate
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime COMMENTS: A few houses remain in what was Byron. It is a small community of mostly elderly farmer types.Just one mile south of Rolling Prairie off Highway #2 in North East La Porte County, Indiana
REMAINS: A few houses and two churches.
Laid out in May of 1837 on the lands of Steven G. Hunt and Hiram Orum. A post office existed there from 1835 - 1853 when it was moved to nearby Rolling Prairie. In its heyday, Byron boasted a population of some 800 residents, a fine scholl, a hotel, grain warehouses, one tavern, a blacksmith shop, and two churches. The railroad killed this town. It was located about 1 mile north to where the present town of Rolling Prairie now stands. Submitted by: Sol L. Gorrell

BACK

Here is a photo of what was once Byron Indiana, just to the north is Rolling Prairie.

 

[True_Metal]

Wow, good work Quicksilver!

I know right where that is, it's not far from me.

Seems like the town was right where present day state road 2 is

Lots of woods and fields

Might not be hard to get permission as there wouldnt be digging in peoples yards so it looks right now.

Might be worth checking out.