Tips for hunting parks?

[Pizarro]

Hi,

I just started MD'ing and have a few questions about hunting in parks. I am using a White's Classic III SL.

On my first day in the park I hunted the tot lots, swing sets, monkey bars etc. I found about 10 zinc pennies and a dime. Yesterday I hunted a lawn/meadow area and found 3 quarters, 2 dimes and a bunch of pennies. From the lawn the oldest coin was a 1978 dime, the newest quarter was 1989. I am sure I missed a lot due to inexperience so I will eventually go back.

I strongly suspect the tot lot was hunted out and the lawn area was ignored in the past. What I did notice about this park is there is really no place to use the bathroom. Have any of you that have hunted parks in the past searched just inside the tree lines and come up with any good finds?

My second question is does the wetness/or dryness of the ground detect a MD ability to read accurately? I am not talking about sand, just dirt. Specifically Georgia red clay. The ground is very hard right now.

Has anyone found specific areas of a park that yield better finds than others? I have a 9.5" coil so I am avoiding the picnic areas right now because I can't sort out my signals yet.

Any tips for hunting in parks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

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[John (Ma)]

I have found that the ball field sections of parks have been productive and areas where kids may congregate during summer camp or picnic events. The tot lots and play areas are good, but as mentioned above, I find competition in those areas more than what I mentioned above.

I have found several coins just inside the tree lines or just off the mowed areas.

Wet ground, I seem to get better readings as far as depth, but personally have not noticed that the id of an item had been effected.

Hope this helps, main thing is to get out there, try new things and have fun while doing it.

 

[Tin Nugget]

I usually cherry pick the the tot, picnic table and grille areas using a small coil. I do not dig every signal here hoping for gold. I only dig the bigger numbers. Then I change to a larger coil and look for areas where games are played such as volley ball. Here, there is less trash and I dig all good repeatable signals hoping for that gold bracelet or ring someone flung off their wrist or finger. If it's a park with large open areas, drop by in the middle of a Saturday and see where the activities take place so yo have a better idea where to start on the open areas. Go in the early mornings or late evening. Do not try and detect the tot lots with a bunch of kids around. Parents tend to get a little nervous when someone is walking around with an 8 inch serrated digging tool in their hand and this is also the quickest way to get MDing banned from your park because of a scared parent.

HH

 

[ClonedSIM]

Hi there! Welcome to the hobby!

To answer your queries:
The tot lots/play areas are often hunted by folks that only occassionally break out their detectors, mainly because of the ease of digging. You can look around the forums, though, and find pics and stories of great finds made in these areas by experienced hunters, so definately hit them when you see them.

When it comes to any park, I wouldn't even think of terms such as "hunted-out." This is simply an incorrect statement, and it's often overused. The fact is, these just isn't such a thing. Parks are great about replenishing themselves over time, but it's true your older finds may simply become farther between as you pull more of them out of the ground. When I hear someone talk about a hunted out park near me, that's often my next stop. I find more often that "hunted-out" means "I'm tired of going there."

Moist ground makes for a much better hunt in many respects. First, you will get much cleaner and deeper readings from your detector in moist soil, plus it's much easier to dig and/or replace plugs. My best hunts normally come a day or two after a good,long soaking rain.

When it comes to the best places in a park to hunt, you can always go back to the old standbys; around trees, around the fringe areas of a park, near old park buildings. Personally, since everyone knows about these spots, I spend less time at these areas and focus more on the broad expanses of grass that cover the large areas of most parks. I've found great and sometimes relatively shallow older targets in these spots since, and I'm assuming here, a lot of hunters have been to the park in the past but put their energies towards the more well-known areas mentioned above.

Another tip I've sure you've read but is worth repeating; when you're first starting out, go ahead and take a close look at each target your detector indicates. In most parks you're bound to find a lot of trash, but this will help you learn when your detector is telling you and result in better finds in the long run.

When you hunt, do you dig a plug for each target, or do use some type of probe for shallow targets?

 

[teverly]

I hunted some older parks and i hunted in areas that seem to get less use nowadays.Trails in the woods,picnic tables in out of the way places ect..
In the woods i found a walkling lib 1/2 just under the dirt and i dug a flying eagle cent and a 1859 i.h that i though would be an old can..
So dont over look an area of an old park just because it is not used now!!!!!
HAPPY HUNTING And GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[Zincoln Miner]

with my xlt water soaked ground gives targets a slightly higher conductivity reading and makes deeper targets more trickier to detect.moist ground is optimum for finding the deeper older coins.use a 6" coil for those trashy areas.my 8" coil is my standard tool,the
9.5" I use for covering lots of ground.I do not know if 8" coil is still made for your model?

if your park has some history,a trip to the library (local history section) or a chat with an
old timer might give you specific sites to search.any old concession stand area's,where was
the bandstand,any revival or preaching areas,old houses no longer there,etc.

check hill sides for sledding activity,main walkways to parking area,where people lay down
to sunbath.

with your unit I would reject above small foil and dig all to learn and clean up if this was my goto spot.

 

[Pizarro]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[robert roy]

Something I have noticed about parks is that the PARKING area for vehicals usually gives me a nice supply of clad. When people walk back to their car, whats the first thing they do? They put their hand in their pockes or carry bag to get their keys. Out comes their hand and sometimes a coin or two. No one usually notices they dropped anyting and if they do they don't want to waste time looking in the grass.

Another thing is that many parks have baseball diamonds and bleachers. ALWAYS check out the bleachers. I took out about $5.00 in clad at a small park righ near me, enough to pay for some batteries!(:-)

Robert Roy