Lonestar and deep silver

[digthis]

Hello,
This machine is set in auto notch mode with discrimination and sensitivity set at five o'clock the signals are high pitched and repeatable but after I pinpoint the object and move the md away from area and then back I usually get that nickel low pitch sound? Then again there just might not be any silver if it can't lock-on the target without any other signal sounding off! Can't figure it out? Tia Steve

 

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[Ed in SoDak]

The disc setting seems kinda high to me. I'd take a sample of your typical most-annoying junk targets for a given hunting spot and adjust it to just reject those. Somewhere around 12:00 to 2:00 is what seems to work for most people. When you reject a target, it can still chime in as a high-tone if it's near the coil edge on a sweep. But it's not very repeatable there unless you have a very consistent sweep. Turn disc way down and scan those signals again, you may find you're off-center of the actual target and chasing a coil-edge false signal.Rusty iron can fake a high-tone, also bottlecaps and some other metals. They have similar conductivity to coins, but by dialing down the disc, they should read as iron if that's what they are. Aluminum cans read as a high ID, but usually their size means you can pull the coil away from the ground and still detect them at a distance that a coin would fade out.Try "bobbing" the coil up and down at the target, instead of sweeping side-to-side. I've found that helps get you centered over the signal since it won't signal that way until you are very close to dead-center on top of it. Rusty iron and bullet casings, bottlecaps and other junk will usually move down in ID to where they belong, and coins and other "good" targets read where they belong. So if you get a varying hi-low tone mix, try bobbing the coil. If ID shifts down to iron, you can be pretty sure that's what it is. Try it on some test targets tossed down on top of the ground. -Ed

 

[digthis]

Hi Ed,
I used a dime on the ground in which to disc out everything, I tried all of the above and still get the same results, Maybe there is no silver in this area! But there should be! I went out yesterday after a good rain still no luck!

 

[Ed in SoDak]

If you're specifically seeking silver, older areas are where you'll find it. I find mostly old rusty nails and bullets. If only it was the Lone Ranger who was target practicing around here instead of hunters and plinkers, I'd be set for life! Using a dime to set your disc will eliminate all but coins and rusty cans or aluminum pop cans or other junk that can give high-tones. Silver of any denomination should come in above a dime in ID. In a more practical sense, by seeking only silver, you might be missing many other interesting and worthy targets by having your disc set so high. Just for fun sometimes, search a small section of ground as you normally do. Then, go back over it with disc at zero and just dig the signals. There will be lots of junk, no doubt about it, but make the patch small so you don't get worn out and discouraged. I'd just be curious to hear what you found that was left behind after a high-disc hunt. As a further suggestion, when you try a new spot that fits the "silver age," try it first with zero or very low disc. Try to guess the relative age of what you're finding. Some areas have been used for many years continuously, so you may find both new and old trash and coins. But an older area will tend to have older types of trash to go with the older good stuff. If you only search with very high disc settings, you'll never learn these things about an area. So try low-disc until you're cussing out my bad advice, then dial out the worst of the junk and keep going. It usually doesn't take high disc setting to find silver, it takes finding the right location and lots of patience and digging. Good luck and keep at it, silver doesn't come that easy these days. -Ed

 

[Ed in SoDak]

To add a few thoughts to the above post. Don't forget about "target masking." That's where a nail or other low-ID junk item is nearby a good target. The junk can hide the good signal beneath, reading only as iron, even though a silver dime might be an inch or three away. Or, the two different items can be seen as one, intermediate ID that is neither iron nor silver, so far as what the detector thinks or says is down there. With a high disc setting, you'll never hear these odd signals to have any idea to check them more closely. Then there's gold or jewelry items which can read just above iron and foil. That's why so many people say to "dig it all." And after digging, if you're only finding a nail when the ID said pulltab, read the hole again. There might be a second or third target in the hole! When I first got my Time Ranger, I was confused by all the signals when hunting an early 1900's schoolground. I decided to switch to all-metal and dig every signal. In a spot that was only about a foot or so square, I recovered over a dozen small targets, from nails to an old pocketwatch part, and other odd bits. That really taught me a lesson, even if there was nothing that valuable, it was cool to see all the hundred-year-old junk and wonder how it all ended up on a forgotten hillside. -Ed

 

[digthis]

This is a parsonage and house that was built around 1875, I know the owner and he tells me he hasn't let anybody md on the property! I'm trying a different coin now! a 1877 seated quarter and I get a good signal up to 8''or so using airtest, no nickel sound after good signal. I want to get another md like the at pro or such, I'm not into digging a thousand holes and finding alot of junk would rather get a decent md to eliminate alot of the trash! Yes I'll have to dig somewhat but not interested in digging holes all day, especially around somebodies house! thanks for all the info Ed!