Hunting the frozen tundra

[cottonjim]

I received my new Ace 250pro at the end of tlast week, spent a little time getting used to the controls and the settings etc... Once I felt comfortable I hit the ground running, well, slowly walking but you get the idea. I am new to mding and I thought that the frozen ground could be a problem but i couldn't have imagined how much of a problem. Where I am at in Minnesota we just received our first measurable snow on Saturday night so the ground was bare on Saturday for my first hunt. I picked up on a target not 5 minutes into my search. I pinpointed the target and comenced digging.... kind of, more like chipping then pounding then cussing then home drinking. I gave up after 10 minutes of trying to break the topsoil with my small digging spade.
Long story short, does anyone have any suggestions or ideas of a good way to dig frozen soil or do all treasure hunters in Minnesota hibernate for the winter? TIA

 

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[Stacylee926]

As a new MD'er, I too am worried about the winter. I live in SE Virginia, and the winters are milder but still cold.
My suggestion is stick to tot lots and dig through wood chips so you can at least keep going until the spring!

 

[fishboymike]

drag a big kerosene heater with you, or take a trip south, or hibernate and live vicariously through the rest of us. welcome aboard

mike

 

[DetectorBase]

drag a big kerosene heater with you, or take a trip south, or hibernate and live vicariously through the rest of us. welcome aboard

mike

HA! Well said. We just have to wait for the thaw. I went out a couple of days ago, just to get a handle on my new SE. I was IDing and targetting.. no recovery. I didn't even try.

DB

 

[halfdime]

It depends on how deep the ground is frozen. If you are in a place where you can use a foxhole shovel, that will give you enough leverage to cut through a few inches of freeze, at least. I've seen them at flea markets. They aren't the most aesthetic, however.

 

[txkickergirl]

blow torch?

 

[Ridley]

Lowe's Home Improvement sells a "bricklayers" hammer. Mine cost $15.00.

One side is a regular hammer. The other side is an almost straight pick. The hammer or the pick side will smash through ice with ease. I use it in my
area for hardened compact clay and tree roots.

You can also hammer nails with it. Or lay bricks.



Ridley

 

[BuckleBoy]

Yeah, I guess it nixes detecting in someone's yard in the winter there. Sounds like it might be kinda messy. Other than that, I'd suggest dynamite.

 

[mountainman 2]

However you decide to get thru the frozen ground, its a good idea to wear safety goggles. That frozen material will fly everywhere.

 

[lonewolfe]

I'm in Michigan and I can tell you - once the ground freeze's (really freeze's) you might as well either forget it until spring

OR

get a "backhoe" because that's the only way! lol

I feel your PAIN brother in Minn - drink 1 or 3 for me!!

HH
Lonewolfe

 

[pokerbear]

I'm in Michigan...Three words....Coin Roll Hunting

It's too cold
There is too much snow
The ground is frozen
and where it might thaw some, it is muddy!

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

That post would be funny if it weren't for " I've been there myself " even here in Tennessee. Sometimes it freezes several inches deep and it's almost impossible to get your target without messing it up. 30 years of digging in the winter has gotten me a few messed up silver coins.

 

[MICHIGANJAY]

Dont get frusterated... patience is the key. If you cant dig through the snow, the winter is always a good time to find some prime locations-foundations... etc. J.

 

[goldencoin]

here is my suggestion, don't

I'vetried that before and you can seriosly damage anything if you chip away (i bent a nickle in half) also, it can break your shovel. If you mUst do it, either use boiled water or a heatin pad. (but be prepared to get strang looks from your niehboors(

HH
-GC

 

[RonNewbie]

I share your frustration. I'm in Nebraska and we've either had rain or snow (and lots of it) every weekend since I got my new detector. I'm ready for spring or Arizona...

 

[cottonjim]

Thanks Guy's. I'll use the winter to hunt for and research some potential site's that I can fill my summer with.

 

[Nana40]

Ask Ice Bergie! He knows!

Nana

 

[kcommandos]

ya i live in minn too may be a little more south then you and
its still frozen here too wait till spring don't want you to get to cold
out there try in the house where its alot warmmer just put some coins
on th carpit

 

[Pulltab Parson]

I feel your pain! I'm about 2 hours south of Buffalo, NY. I ahe about 2 feet of snow on the ground and its still coming down! They say around here that there is 2 seasons

Winter and August

 

[ringfinder]

Man I know what your going through. My partner and I did get out last week and hunted, but man it was tough.
I'm sending along a picture of me trying to dig out a coin in the frozen ground.

This week here in Ohio the weather turned Really COLD!!!!. The temp outside right now is like 4 above, guess that just about ends our hunting for this winter. We think we might be able to hunt a park that has a hill side covered with leaves that faces the south and very rarely freezes. Maybe you should look for a place like that, a hill side where kids play and it faces the south, has lots of leaves and maybe a good place to hunt. You also might want to buy a Stainless Steel digging trowel, from a local Detector dealer. Not one of those flimsy cheap trowels but a good kind, Stainless Steel.

Good Luck, Ringfinder

P.S. As you can see we both use a ACE 250 with a SunRay Probe attached