The Right Tool??

[westattam]

Hello all.. I need some advice on what kind of tool(s) to buy and how to PROPERLY dig my targets out of long grass and hard ground.
I'm still getting used to pinpointing with my ACE 250 and am slowly getting better with practice. So far, I've utilized a hard plastic garden scoop and a fairly large flat-head screwdriver. These work fine is sand and very soft ground (pebbles and such in playgrounds), but I'm having difficultly in long grass and hard ground. This is what I've been doing so far;
After narrowing down my target as much as I can, I've used to screwdriver to try and 'feel' the coin. This hasn't worked at all for me. (I also know that screwdrivers will scratch your finds). I've probed and probed and felt nothing.
The next thing I've been doing is cutting a circle in the ground with my screwdriver over the target area. I am trying to 'surround' the small area where I feel the coin is. This is usually about a 4-5 inch diameter circle.
I then dig this "plug" of grass and dirt from the ground in hopes that the target is inside it. I then wave the plug over my detector to see if it's stuck in there. If it isn't (which is usually the case), I check the hole I've made. Needless to say, the above-noted routine hasn't worked well.
I'm finding myself just giving up on targets I know are still there out of frustration. This after making a mess of the grass and ground.

Can anyone recommend exactly what kind of tools I need for grass digging and where to find them? I see plenty of the metal digging tools on Ebay and long skinny probes as well. How do you tell which are the quality ones? Are the sponsor sites on TQ competitive in pricing with general on-line shopping for these products? Are there any decent household tools (besides the ones I'm using), which would do a better job?

Thanks guys!!

[grasshopper]

the method that you are trying is a little tricky unless you've been doing it for a long time. you can use a regular trowel, either for gardening or especially for metal detecting. a popular little one is made by lesche. they are great and have serrated edges for cutting roots and such. if you dont enjoy bending over each time to dig a hole, lesche, sampson, and some others make longer digging tools that are stong and sturdy.

here are some smaller digging tools: Trowel and Digging Tool accessories at Kellyco Metal Detectors

and here are some bigger ones:
Shovels and Digging Tools at Kellyco Metal Detectors

take note of the good, better, and best. its the truth.


when it comes to digging a plug, this video shows you how to keep it clean on a nice lawn:

YouTube - Research and Recovery: How To Dig a Plug

hope this helps!!

[westattam]

Thanks so much for the ideas and info Grasshopper!!

[bigjohn]

a 5 dollar trowl aint gonna last. after 30 years of doing this it a leschee digging tool and a vibraprobe pin pointer. i use to use a screw driver yeas ago when they didnt have eletronic pin pointers and it was ok on coins but how would you like to poke a hole thru a 500 dollar csa button. good tools make any job more enjoyable and that goes for metal detecting.

[The TINMAN]

What BigJohn say's , Leschee digin tool & Vibraprobe 560.

The TINMAN

[Boobird]

Hiya West...

As far as a digging tool goes, I bought one from Walley World...(Wall-Mart), for around 10 bucks...It was in the garden section and the name of it is Fiskars...Its pretty rugged and does the job..Its got a grooved blade which is around 7 inches long, surrated edge on one side, knife blade on the other, the very tip is split and its got a black soft rubber handle with an orange tip at the back of the handle and a square hole for hanging...Had it out today in a field which had tons of rocks, but I managed to get around them with this digging tool...I have a Whites Bullseye hand held pinpointer which i'm pleased with but you might want to check out the sponsers here who can help you in that department...Hope this helped you out some...Oh, btw...welcome to TQ...and HH...


Boobird...