Screwdriver ONLY Digging Tool ?

[XLTer]

Well , I'm thrilled to have finally aquired permission to MD a local park that has history . But , the digging rule is srcewdriver type tool ONLY . Does anyone have any suggestions on how NOT to tear up the ground if a target is 5 or more inches deep ? I know a trowel does a much nicer job when done correctly , but that is apperantly out of the question .

Thanks in advance for any & all help .

 

[gleaner1]

Yes, for most targets say 3, maybe 4 inches, but you gotta put the time in and force thru the learning curve. Anything deeper, use a stout knife after you get out to a good spot.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

For land hunting I use a 2 diggers that are only 1 1/4 inch and 7/8 inch wide and a metal probe. You need a good pin pointer, but it is a lot easier than you think...

 

[XLTer]

Thanks guys . I'll have to hit the local hardwear store and see what I can find that resembles a screwdriver but has a bigger blade . I already have a probe & pinpointer . Maybe I'm concerned over nothing .

 

[Chrystal]

Theres a gardning tool that i bought at the dollar store that looks like a screwdriver but on the end its v shaped and works very well. Its especially designed to cut through the grass. It only costs a buck, sure hope that helps!!!

 

[SpiritRelic]

When i was a young kid metal detecting forty years ago all i used was a big flat blade craftsman screwdriver,if it broke or worn on the end I would just take it back to Sears and they would give me a new one.They are not the easiest thing to dig with,for the life of me i don't know how i did it.We did not have pinpointers back then,but i kept two pockets filled with dirty coins all the time and all the other kids in the hood loved that. ;-)

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

Well , I'm thrilled to have finally aquired permission to MD a local park that has history . But , the digging rule is srcewdriver type tool ONLY . Does anyone have any suggestions on how NOT to tear up the ground if a target is 5 or more inches deep ? I know a trowel does a much nicer job when done correctly , but that is apperantly out of the question .

Thanks in advance for any & all help .

xlt-er, just curious: how did the information that you could "only dig with a screwdriver" come about, in the first place? I agree with you, that digging with a leshe (something to cut a 3-sided plug, for example), is better, in the long run (if you plan on going over a few inches deep, for older coins). So how did you get this "screwdriver" rule? I mean, is it something written somewhere??

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Here is what I use and I have recovered targets and coins over 8 inches deep with it, when I am done you can never tell I was there, there is no plug so there is never any dead grass. I cut a slit only in the grass and pinch it back together when I finish... Granted it takes longer than using a shovel, but you would be surprised how fast it is. I have had park employess stand and watch me then turn away with out saying a word as I leave no visible sign I was ever there....

 

[XLTer]

Tom_in_CA , I don't know how this screwdriver tool thing got started . But they have the same rule at a larger state park near me .

Treasure_Hunter , those tools are really unique . Can I ask where to get some please . I've never seen anything like that before .

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Tom_in_CA , I don't know how this screwdriver tool thing got started . But they have the same rule at a larger state park near me .

Treasure_Hunter , those tools are really unique . Can I ask where to get some please . I've never seen anything like that before .

Sorry, they are no longer made, you will have to make your own..... Point I am making is you can recover small targets using screw drivers and tiny diggers. I use the DetectorPro Uniprobe pinpointer, I can locate the exact location of target with it, I then use the metal probe to get the depth, then I recover it with the small digger.......

 

[jeff of pa]

Well , I'm thrilled to have finally aquired permission to MD a local park that has history . But , the digging rule is srcewdriver type tool ONLY . Does anyone have any suggestions on how NOT to tear up the ground if a target is 5 or more inches deep ? I know a trowel does a much nicer job when done correctly , but that is apperantly out of the question .

Thanks in advance for any & all help .

No real Help, just saying State parks here in PA have the same rule.
I feel if they prefer the Damage I do with a screw driver over putting things back right with a Trawl,
Not my fault

 

[XLTer]

jeff of pa , I actually told the park manager that exact thing . LOL Then explained how we do it with a small trowel so we leave no sign of digging . His answer was , he's the only person that could or would write citations for breaking the rules . So if he does'nt see anyone getting sloppy , he would just look the other way when we are there . Very nice man . He said he really did'nt want to rewrite the rules .

I am ashamed to say , that someone detecting there is very sloppy . I could see every spot where they dug . How ? They left the bad targets in the hole or on the surface of the ground by the cluttered dirt clods . That really p%#@d me off after all these years of waiting to search this park . I fixed it back up as best I could . I think I know the guy . So I'll have to have a chat with him . If he's uneducated at proper etiquette of digging at a park , I'll offer to teach him . If the manager spots this , we could all lose . Not to mention the bad press to other managers or Rangers .

 

[Calvin.Coin]

There's a video on youtube I'm not sure of the link 'cause I dl'ed it but it is called: (a search should turn it up)

"Metal_Detecting_Digging_Techniques_for_Sensitive_Areas.mp4"

It is put out by an older gentleman in Seattle. It is probably one of the cleanest and best produced digging videos out there. The technique that Treasure_Hunter describes (with the probe) is covered. This guy pulls stuff out of the ground in a very clean manner. Worth checking out...

I stay away from landscaped areas for the time being, but when I get good enough at clean extraction I'll give it a go.

peace,
cc

 

[XLTer]

Thanks CC . I found it .

 

[jeff of pa]

I don't know what this is called, or even where I bought it for sure.
I think a Whites dealer at the Bloomsburg fair but




overall length is 12"
width 1" plus
1/8" thick
& Virtually indestructible

except by me, trying to pry up roots by standing upside down on it




Which a few well intentioned Slaps with a Hammer just fixed

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

It is a weed puller. I have owned several over the years.....It is used to help pull the entire weed including the root of a weed so it doesn't grow back...............

 

[lost hunter]

No real Help, just saying State parks here in PA have the same rule.
I feel if they prefer the Damage I do with a screw driver over putting things back right with a Trawl,
Not my fault

I never had a problem digging over this end of Pa ; except for trash ; I found lots of old foundations in the wooded area inside the State Parks They say just leave the landscape as you found it

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[jeff of pa]

I never had a problem digging over this end of Pa ; except for trash ; I found lots of old foundations in the wooded area inside the State Parks They say just leave the landscape as you found it

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

same here for the most part,
first time I was approached by a ranger before I knew they changed to a permit system,
I was a foot down, with a 3 foot trawl, on a canal bed. sweating bullets, & oblivious to her walking up to me.

at that point she told me of the permit system with a smile.

both times I stopped at the office for permits since, she read the rules word for word as written,
but I never felt it was necessary to get clarification on anything but the rule you must bring your finds in.
which by her standards meant historical finds that come from the canal and jewelry that can be traced to the
former home owners, before the state tore them down & took their land.

of course there are hundreds of rangers in PA with their own interpretation of the rules

 

[lost hunter]

Never heard of the permit system

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[jeff of pa]

Never heard of the permit system

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

Yes they just started it here, not sure if the changing of the guards had anything to do with it,
or if the state started pushing it.

before that I was just told "go ahead & have at it, good luck !"

back then, I only know of one detectorist being told to get out or be arrested,
and he was the one who tried to sue them & refused to leave when the state filed for
eminent domain. so they watched for him