Old Home Sites.....Tips for beginners

m bryan

Hero Member
Jun 12, 2010
691
49
east texas
Detector(s) used
Delta 4000 and Garrett 300 Teknetics T2 Minelab Explorer SE Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Detecting old home sites is a great way to get started in the hobby. Relics ,jewelry, coins and other neat things can be found at old home sites. The good thing about old home sites there is no end to them. There are several that I have hunted and they produce something almost every time I go back. Here is just a few things that I have learned over the years.

1. Around where the front porch is (or was) is a good place to hunt. Coins were dropped around the porch area. People would drop things on the porch and they would fall through the cracks to the ground. My very first find was a wheat cent I found at my wife's grandparents home.

2. Around old clothes lines is a good place to detect. Things would drop out of the pockets after they were hung out.

3.Drive ways is a hot spot. People would get in and out of their vehicles or buggies and drop coins etc...

4. If old trees are still standing hunt around them. People didn't have A/C back then and spent a lot of time outdoors under the shades in the summer.

5. Look for a place that looks lower than the rest of the yard. Could be where they dumped and burned their trash. Relics and old bottles can often be found there.

6. Around the old well is a good place to hunt also....

7.When detecting, slow down and take your time. Good targets are often missed by trying to cover too much ground at once.

8. Detect from different directions. East to west and then north to south with the coil. Some targets will sound going a certain way and not the other.

9. Keep the coil level with the ground at all times(even at the end of your swings). It keeps the coil closer to the target and can detect the deeper targets.

9. Don't get discouraged with the hobby. Have the mind set that you are going to stick with it. I have been wasp stung, fire ant stung, poison oaked and hunted all day and nothing to show but a couple pull tabs and some rusty nails, but the next time out found some keepers.

10. Practice and learn your detector. It makes a world of difference if you know your machine.

11. If you have trouble finding old home sites, talk to an older person and they can tell you where they were. Ask your friends about their parents, grandparents or great grandparents where they were. Many times they still own the old family land and you can get permission through your friend........These are just a few of the tips I have learned. I am still learning and am a work in progress so maybe the more experienced guys or gals can chime in on this topic.
 

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Jay In NewKen

Sr. Member
Jun 24, 2012
465
130
New Kensington, Pa
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Ace 250, Pro-Pointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Good tips, thanks for posting. I usually hunt parks, but tried an old hunting cabin I found recently. It produced my oldest coin to date (1900 IH). I'll definitely keep this in mind on my next outing. Also, I here the path to and around the privy produces.
 

Sapper724

Sr. Member
May 28, 2013
425
184
Northwestern WI
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT PRO (Current)
Minelab Etrac (Current)
Garrett Pro Pointer
Sampson 31" Digger

Fisher F2 (RIP)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Excellent advice! Congrats on the IH also Jay
 

ironman

Full Member
Aug 16, 2012
186
75
The Woodlands,Texas
Detector(s) used
AT PRO
Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Detecting old home sites is a great way to get started in the hobby. Relics ,jewelry, coins and other neat things can be found at old home sites. The good thing about old home sites there is no end to them. There are several that I have hunted and they produce something almost every time I go back. Here is just a few things that I have learned over the years.

1. Around where the front porch is (or was) is a good place to hunt. Coins were dropped around the porch area. People would drop things on the porch and they would fall through the cracks to the ground. My very first find was a wheat cent I found at my wife's grandparents home.

2. Around old clothes lines is a good place to detect. Things would drop out of the pockets after they were hung out.

3.Drive ways is a hot spot. People would get in and out of their vehicles or buggies and drop coins etc...

4. If old trees are still standing hunt around them. People didn't have A/C back then and spent a lot of time outdoors under the shades in the summer.

5. Look for a place that looks lower than the rest of the yard. Could be where they dumped and burned their trash. Relics and old bottles can often be found there.

6. Around the old well is a good place to hunt also....

7.When detecting, slow down and take your time. Good targets are often missed by trying to cover too much ground at once.

8. Detect from different directions. East to west and then north to south with the coil. Some targets will sound going a certain way and not the other.

9. Keep the coil level with the ground at all times(even at the end of your swings). It keeps the coil closer to the target and can detect the deeper targets.

9. Don't get discouraged with the hobby. Have the mind set that you are going to stick with it. I have been wasp stung, fire ant stung, poison oaked and hunted all day and nothing to show but a couple pull tabs and some rusty nails, but the next time out found some keepers.

10. Practice and learn your detector. It makes a world of difference if you know your machine.

11. If you have trouble finding old home sites, talk to an older person and they can tell you where they were. Ask your friends about their parents, grandparents or great grandparents where they were. Many times they still own the old family land and you can get permission through your friend........These are just a few of the tips I have learned. I am still learning and am a work in progress so maybe the more experienced guys or gals can chime in on this topic.

Need this in pdf form and emailed lol
 

JRMan

Full Member
Mar 20, 2013
122
43
West Coast Florida
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Pro-pointer,
White's Coinmaster 6000/Di Professional
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Wonderful tips... Thank you! :)
 

christo000

Silver Member
Mar 17, 2013
3,765
812
mass North Attleboro
Detector(s) used
Xp Deus,m-6 pinpointer, technetics t2ltd (had, whites v3i,minelab xterra 705,atpro,prism 4,sunray probe minlabe profind,garret propointer, f75ltd and many more)
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Agreed all great tips its my most fun thing to do is relic hunt old foundations & home sites research & knowing what ur machine is capable of is half the battle, it does also help having either different detectors,or different sized coils, for different areas of a property
 

jfeeney

Sr. Member
Sep 16, 2012
295
133
Dayton
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Outlaw
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thank you for sharing. I've passed it along.
 

elijahhenry10

Sr. Member
Jan 24, 2012
368
53
South-Western PA
Detector(s) used
Fisher F-75

Teknetics Omega 8000

Bounty Hunter Quickdraw II
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I always go straight for the big old trees that have just fallen. The roots that are pulled up can be a gold mine.
 

Woodswoman

Sr. Member
Aug 7, 2013
277
110
Indiana
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Quick Draw I I
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Need this in pdf form and emailed lol

Excellent ideas ! I always get hits around big, old trees just for the reason you suggested. Old clothes lines are another good place but I never thought about wells but it makes sense. I also have never heard about going in different directions, I'll try that next time. Thanks !
 

Jeremy S

Hero Member
Feb 27, 2012
515
343
God's Country
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Garret Ace 250, AT Pro, Garret Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The last old house I detected was slated for construction, so I could destroy the grass if I wanted and didn't have to be too careful about digging. I found probably 90% of the old coins under the cloths line. Many of them were 8+ inches down, and weren't necessarily a good repeatable signal on my ATP.

I dug all signals higher than the low iron range. I found a SLQ sandwiched with a buffalo nickle, that was giving off a low iffy signal like a pull tab. If you have the time and aren't in a well manicured lawn, DIG EVERYTHING.
 

Woodswoman

Sr. Member
Aug 7, 2013
277
110
Indiana
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Quick Draw I I
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The last old house I detected was slated for construction, so I could destroy the grass if I wanted and didn't have to be too careful about digging. I found probably 90% of the old coins under the cloths line. Many of them were 8+ inches down, and weren't necessarily a good repeatable signal on my ATP.

I dug all signals higher than the low iron range. I found a SLQ sandwiched with a buffalo nickle, that was giving off a low iffy signal like a pull tab. If you have the time and aren't in a well manicured lawn, DIG EVERYTHING.

I appreciate the advice. I'll remember that !
 

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m bryan

m bryan

Hero Member
Jun 12, 2010
691
49
east texas
Detector(s) used
Delta 4000 and Garrett 300 Teknetics T2 Minelab Explorer SE Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The area around where the mailbox was is also a good place to detect.
 

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