To dig or not to dig?

[mts]

I'm one of those guys who has never metal detected his full yard. Yeah, I know... it's embarrassing. I live on a third acre suburban lot in the midwest that is full of house construction trash. This place used to be a farm field and was eventually separated off into small lots. I've done parts of the front yard but that's about it. The only things I've ever found were nails; those metal strips that they use to tie lumber together with; lots of soda cans; and the occasional zinc cent.

So tonight I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and try detecting out in the back yard. I found the typical junk until... BEEP ! I hit a monster target. This thing will sound off with my detector three feet off of the ground and with the sensitivity setting all the way down! Whatever it is it must be pretty big. I'm using a Tesoro Vaquero which is pretty decent for depth. It seems to discriminate out at around the same area as a zinc cent would which makes me think it may be something like a paint can (or a VW bug). It's hard to say for sure though because I have no idea how deep it is.

So now to the million dollar question: Should I ruin the yard and dig it up? It could be several feet down or it could be close to the top. There really is no way to know for sure. Even my pinpointer picks the thing up at about 8" off of the ground. Given the history of the area I am 95% sure that this thing is trash. But that 5% is nagging at me to dig it up.

I'll let the forum members decide what I do. Vote wisely. The fate of my marriage is in your hands.

 

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[DigginThePast]

Probably just some chest full of gold coins that was lost going from the Mint to be dispersed at banks.

Dig man dig. Get your wife a shovel too, involve her in the adventure.

 

[NoobFromMaine]

Its your septic tank

 

[mrwilburino]

It's a big old piece of junk and once you dig it up you will never hear the end of it!

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I was going to say dig so you know what it is - but NoobFromMaine beat me to the septic tank prediction. I found the several access points to my leach field that way.

Had a REALLY spectacular hit that turned out to be an aluminum pie tin buried about 18" down. You'll never know if you don't dig.

 

[phs3194]

The big target in my back yard turned out to be a Hudson hub cap.

 

[Dirty Money]

This is easy. Ask yourself "How badly do I want to save my marriage? Well, how badly?"

 

[lostcauses]

got a long steel rod?? Probe it to get the size of the target using such. A old CB antenna works well also. cut the ball off.
The trick is to find the target and not ram it through a target.
After that dig just one edge of it so you dont have to destroy the yard if it is trash, or the cover for an old septic tank etc
And dont discount the scrap metal part of trash.. ..

 

[mts]

Well, I don't have a septic tank. And I really value my marriage. I like the idea of probing it first. That makes a lot of sense. That would tell me how big and how deep it is. Thanks for all of the votes and responses. I'll probe it tomorrow and report back.

 

[Sandman]

At first I voted to save the grass and this might be the smart thing to do, but it would drive me crazy and since it is YOUR grass, I'd say go for it. At least then you can sleep at night.

 

[HoosierPirates]

I agree with the probe... was actually going to suggest just that. BUT, you know something IS there and that you're MD isn't just pulling your leg. You're gonna have to dig it no matter what, it's MD law isn't it

 

[mlayers]

Dig, Dig, Dig it's your yard so go a head and dig it man....Matt

 

[kevkirki]

good one noob

 

[Lucky13]

In the words of a wise man known as Joe Dirt. ~~~ Lifes A Garden,Dig It!!! You gotta keep on keepin on man,You cant have NO in ou heart lol. Plus if the wife leaves you,You can afford a GPR and the next time you wont spend a week digging up an old milk can.

 

[herb n surf]

My big back yard large target was an old tractor oil filter . But it was fun thinking it was that old can of money hid years ago by someone not trusting banks.

 

[McKinney_5900]

I would have dug it by the end of the day I found it. I had about the same thing happen in my yard, and it did end up being the septic tank. Still, what's it really hurt to shovel a 2-3 foot hole and find out just what it really is, and then cover it back? That's what we do ;-) I will wager that it is a septic tank since the PP picks it up so well. Grab the shovel, put 15 quick minutes into it, and let us know. martin

 

[Frankn]

Had the same situation. It was 3' across. Drove me crazy so I got the posthole digger and went down 3' in the middle of the signal area. Bad move, it was a wagon wheel rim about 8" down. Always go for the edge! Frank