My typical scouting hunt that doesn't produce!

[OutdoorAdv]

This is a different type of post compared to my usual ones, about a hunt that I typically don't share on here. The reason is that it was a bust as far as the finds went, but it was a victory in regards to spending an afternoon in the woods.

After work on Tuesday I was determined to locate a cellar hole that had somehow stayed hidden on my 4 previous attempts to find it. In the past few years, I had easily located the 3 cellars I marked with an X on this map, but the last one with the ? I simply could not locate. In past hunts I had done countless overlays, studied topo maps and hiked all over the mountain side with a GPS... couldn't find it.



After work on Tues I bungee corded my Lesche to my old mountain bike and headed up the mountain.







After considerable bushwacking I finally located what I believe to be site. I had high hopes of pockets full of buttons and coppers... but it was quiet! Couldn't even find a flat button, but many shotgun hulls that sound just like them.



So that's my typical scouting mission, that almost always turns into just a day in the woods. It was still fun, but would have been a lot cooler if I came back with some keepers.

To make up for it, I did get out to my other site last night and found some keepers which I'll share in the next few days once preservation is complete.

Happy Hunting everyone and good luck finding those long lost sites.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice research and determination! There may be goodies still around, so don't give up yet!

 

[trapperart]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Loco-Digger]

A bad day detecting is still better than a good day at work. Glad you got out and enjoyed the woods. Did you do a spiral pattern from the center of the site until you hit a target and then concentrate in the area?

 

[against the wind]

Nice research and field work. You certainly put in the time and effort. Maybe next trip will bring home the coppers, old silvers, and buttons.

 

[joeyfresh]

Yep, that's about right. They all can't be winners but it's nice to check them off the list and move on to the next one. That being said, you would think there would be more there given it was a house site.

 

[johnnyblaze]

Nice Brad i scouted a cellar on the mountain bike Sunday..Big one too soon i will hit it..Due diligence pays off in this hobby..Just keep your chest puffed out like Joey!

~Blaze

 

[Gridwalker306]

Sooner or later the guy that puts the work in has big success. Maybe you just missed it and it's still hiding there. At any rate sounds like a fun scouting mission!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice Brad i scouted a cellar on the mountain bike Sunday..Big one too soon i will hit it..Due diligence pays off in this hobby..Just keep your chest puffed out like Joey!

~Blaze

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Thanks everyone! Just wanted to do an atypical post for me since I know you all can relate to these "hunts". Like my tnet name suggests, my main goal in every hunt is just to be outdoors. Then I'm never let down... but its alway great to combine the outdoors with saving history. I did spend the last two evenings at my main site sifting... so I'll post those results in a couple days after some iron is preserved.

A bad day detecting is still better than a good day at work. Glad you got out and enjoyed the woods. Did you do a spiral pattern from the center of the site until you hit a target and then concentrate in the area?

Totally! This place was weird. After looking for an hour I was about to hike back to relocate a different hole I found hiking that's not on any map. As I was leaving I saw a large stone wall, so I hiked along it. Then I saw the cabin site... it wasn't a cellar, but had 8 large stone stacked footers that were a few feet above the ground. The iron was in tiny patches and I dug some nails just to verify they weren't modern wire nails... perhaps I was at an out building foundation and I haven't found the main site!? I will return for one more try. I had hit the other three cellars years before and they were pounded... I squeezed out a few buttons from between the iron, but whoever hit them was pretty good.

 

[Scrappy]

Very nice post Brad. I enjoyed the play-by-play in real time over texts - I hope we got you pumped! Lol. That said, I also enjoy your post because it demonstrates hunts we've all had. It represents the typical and frequent hard work dedicated hunters do behind the scenes and often out of view of the forum.
Some people probably say, "oh that Brad is always finding amazing ****!". I know I say that about your finds too, but I also know you work your arse off for your finds. I know you'll be on your next awesome site soon. Cheerio!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Very nice post Brad. I enjoyed the play-by-play in real time over texts - I hope we got you pumped! Lol. That said, I also enjoy your post because it demonstrates hunts we've all had. It represents the typical and frequent hard work dedicated hunters do behind the scenes and often out of view of the forum.
Some people probably say, "oh that Brad is always finding amazing ****!". I know I say that about your finds too, but I also know you work your arse off for your finds. I know you'll be on your next awesome site soon. Cheerio!

You guys definitely helped me get excited to locate this site again. I learned a lot from Abe up in ME about what to look for when there is no cellar hole. Those long lost cabins, with no physical evidence left, can be some of the best hidden spots out there. Right before I rode off the mountain, I did locate some brambles that I want to go inspect some more in the future.

I wish it was as easy as the posts I share make it look. The reality is most of my scouting hunts look like this one and I never even take pictures. When I get home, I dump the lead and shell casings in a box in my garage then sooth my defeat at my main site where I get the goods. I have started reaching diminishing returns at my main site, and most of my backups are mediocre, so I need to find my next best spot.

 

[joeyfresh]

Nice Brad i scouted a cellar on the mountain bike Sunday..Big one too soon i will hit it..Due diligence pays off in this hobby..Just keep your chest puffed out like Joey!

~Blaze

Let's keep this on-topic please.....

 

[Davers]

Ahhh, just like 80+% of my Hunts & it is Dang hard work finding decent sites these days , Correct me it i'm wrong but there seem' s to have been a pretty big influx of new hunters in the past few years .

I love the outdoors as well & if I forget my camera it's almost like forgetting my Bug Spray ,.... Well not that bad.

I love Box Turtles & if there is one thing that can stop my hunt in it's tracks ; it's seeing a Beautiful Turtle.

I photograph as many as I can , & other Wild life as well even Insects , Love trees as well.

I have been saving all my shotgun brass & other Shells for the past 5 or so years ,love finding older dropped live cartridges & even older Cast Bullets that are in good shape

Other than being a Hoarder , I don't know why I save all this stuff.

Great Thread & Keep on Adventuring.