Relic hunting tips

[jberk]

I have access to some awesome Civil War sites and I am new to detecting, I am looking for tips anyone has for relic hunting. Most of the sites are in wooded areas and I will be hunting with a Ace 350. Thanks

 

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[Dwight S]

Best tip... Dig it all! Relic hunting is different from coin hunting.

Yes you will end up digging some trash and nails, but it could lead to more goodies. Listen for large iron signals. That can be a horse shoe or barrel bands which could be a trash pit... A trash pit could mean bottles, bullets, buttons, etc.

If you find melted lead with a black ash, expand the hole, it could have been a fire pit and the soldiers sometimes tossed their trash into the fire. You could find bottles, buttons, bullets, j-hooks, buckles in fire pits.

Don't pay the screen of your detector any mind, if it's a good repeatable signal, dig it.

 

[Sandman]

Yes, as Dwight said you should dig it all. Many relics are iron or very low on the conductivity scale and you would miss them with higher disc. Relics are bottles too. Have fun.

 

[civil_war22]

Put it in all metal mode and go low and slow listening for those faint signals. You will get some trash but that comes with relic hunting.. Once you have cleaned it out then you can go through there cherry picking it. I always bring a couple of five gallon buckets to put the junk it to sort through later

 

[Dirt.Is.Good.4U]

Lucky dawg. Keep us updated on how it goes out there. Hunting in wooded areas is my favorite.