Ok, my first big question

[JCWhite]

Hey guys and gals,

As most of you know I have been here almost a month and have been sitting quietly watching and learning. I have a bunch of questions but will do them one at a time so I don't get off track. My first question is this..... If you have been given permission to hunt a new place and it is mostly a big field with a fence and some trees. How do you plan your hunt? If you wanted to hunt it all how would you keep track of your progress?

[Kentfb]

Well with 3 months under my belt let me take a stab at it. LOL This is what I do in school yards. I hunt it in grids with those metal flaggings you can buy at any hardware store. (2"x2" floresent flags on small wire) flag it out about every 50' in a straight line from one fence to another or tree line to tree line. when I finish for the day I leave one flag on both sides to know where to start again and pick up my flags in between. This only works when the kids are on summer vacation. I know the flags would be gone during school then I'll use something else to mark where I stop that is not as obvious.. I detect in a straight line along the flagging then move them all 5' and allow for a little overlap. When I finish the land is barron.

[JCWhite]

that is a really good idea. I had thought about gridding it out with stakes and string but wondered if it would be too much work. Any other ideas?

[rip]

It depends,Was there something there at one time like a house or ballfield etc. ? If it's a site that i will be able to search all i want i usualy wander aimlessly ! I've tried the grid thing but i always seem to get distracted and end up wandering aimlessly again !Also if you do a grid you will want to go over the same area at a different angle The trees would be the first spot i would cheak though.

...a good idea, and probably the "text book one" however, after many-many years of doing the relic hunting thing, I would agree with RIP. I take a good look at the area to "read" where might be the best areas to start, either based on the lay of the land (features such as shade or water), and I begin there. I will continue to randomly search the area until I find a hot spot and go from there. The physical grid thing is just way too much wasted time for me.

[julieburger]

I use a combo of the methods. i wander aimlessly and stick my flags anywhere I hear a signal and then I go back rescan and dig. They also sell marking spray and chalk (less permanent). That way you can make a small mark to let you know where you stopped off.

[LaRoper]

JC,
Here's a way that has really paid off for my. I will usually start by making a map of the field with reference point. Then take the detector into all metal mode and do a "Z" pattern across the field, looking for large consantrations of signals. Mark this areas on your map. The do the "Z" pattern again 90deg to your last pattern. Once you have found your target areas start to grid out those areas. This is not fool proof but will help in eliminating a lot of areas of the field that may be unproductive.
Hope this helps.
LR

[JCWhite]

LaRoper, that is a really interesting approach that I will use on this hunt next week. I am working on getting permission to hunt an old home that has large areas of yard and several buildings. I knew enough to hunt around the buildings but really like your approach to some of the larger clear areas.

[nbkDigger]

what's up JC. I have been hunting around some old house places recently and I always try to split the house into four pieces front, back, and both sides. Depending on the time I have it is best to concentrate on one area at a time. If you take your time and go from front to back and side to side on each area you will more than likely come out in good shape because the way things are buried under ground you have to go from different angles to pick up good signals. Just my input. Good luck hunting.

[pris]

Very interesting post, as I haven't seen one like it, yet. I hear people talking about gridding out an area, but I tell you what, I'm too ADD for that and end up just wandering around. I go to areas where I think there is the most activity and sometimes walk back and forth if I have found some good stuff, but for the most part I do the drunken sailor act. My friends laugh when I tell them that.

I'm happy to hear that experienced treasure hunters do sorta the same thing.