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Ground search,Metal detecting

RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
edited June 2009 in General Discussion
How deep will a good or very good metal detector go ? I need some thing that will cover a very large area and go as deep as a Army Air Corp Major would dig with a shovel.Any suggestions ?

Comments

  • SpartacusSpartacus Member Posts: 14,415
    edited November -1
    my "hobby" detector only penetrates 10-12" depending on the metal and the soil.
    and is a pain in the * if youre wanting to do a gris search of a large area.
  • ljwrenchljwrench Member Posts: 5,053
    edited November -1
    AAC Majors didn't dig as deep as an AAC 1LT so you might be in luck.
  • carbine100carbine100 Member Posts: 3,071 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    rule of thumb is $100 a foot, more you spend, deeper they go.
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Are their any companys that have the equip.to do a large area ? I know it will be high dollar but may have very high rewards.
  • The Ultimate InfidelThe Ultimate Infidel Member Posts: 2,327 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    http://www.kellycodetectors.com/professional/index.php

    Here are some that will go up to 100ft depth. [:D]
  • tapwatertapwater Member Posts: 10,335 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    ...You might peruse and ask over on this forum. They're a helpful and friendly bunch of folks. Don't be afraid to jump right in, as they welcome newbies.
    ...Check out some of the sponsors' ads, also.

    http://forum.treasurenet.com/
  • The Ultimate InfidelThe Ultimate Infidel Member Posts: 2,327 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I personally use an OKM EXP4000 pro.

    Nothing like it from my experience.
  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
    edited November -1
    The Professionals use Schonstedt gear; if it's got a big flat coil it's a TOY!
  • spasmcreekspasmcreek Member Posts: 37,717 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    i use a schonstedt magnetic locator for survey pins but have never used a discriminator model for general hunting...had a fancy white years ago...around greensburg ks hunters have long bars with some type locator pulled behind 4 wheelers to locate mereorites
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thats what i need,one i can pull behind a ATV.Anybody know how many 45s were packed in a wood shipping case ?
  • proappproapp Member Posts: 3,264
    edited November -1
    interesting,you gotta tell
  • wanted manwanted man Member Posts: 3,276
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Radar
    Thats what i need,one i can pull behind a ATV.Anybody know how many 45s were packed in a wood shipping case ?

    Well, the cat's head is out of the bag, might as well let the rest of him out, now!
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    May know where several cases of new 45s were buryed ( well within a aprox. 2 square mile area )since end of WWII.
  • RtWngExtrmstRtWngExtrmst Member Posts: 7,456
    edited November -1
    I saw one on the Travel Channel they pulled behind a tractor. Looked like it covered 8 or 10 ft. The were hunting for meteroites (iron) over wide areas. It was Treasure hunting program. You could search their web site.
  • tccoxtccox Member Posts: 7,379 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hey, come on down to Camp McCain MS, Everyone KNOWS that when the war ended, they just bulldozed trenches in the ground and buried Jeeps, tanks, guns, whatever you can think of.

    Haven't heard of anything ever being found tho!! Tom
  • givettegivette Member Posts: 10,886
    edited November -1
    WWII era Ball, M1911 was packed 1200rds (in cartons) per wooden crate. The crate is approximately 10in high, 15in long, and 10in deep. The tops are secured by four vertical steel rods, with nuts and washers. Best, Joe
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks Joe,but these 45s are what shot those 45s,like Colts and well maybe even Singers they were sent to the Air Corp.if i remember right and not many were found or made.
  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
    edited November -1
    You're looking for ordnance steel.
    Regardless of depth; a Schonstedt will find them. It will also find trace metal, rebar, steel beer cans, and other detritus if you don't adjust it correctly.
    I have recovered monuments set by the Spaniards in the early 1600s that were iron and 15' deep in volcanic soil; try THAT with a coiltoy!
    Your best bet would be to map out your search area into a 10'X10' grid, and just walk the lines for a week (if it's only a 2-square-mile area, shouldn't take that long); they've been there for 50 years, and aren't likely to move around a lot. You're seeking a BIG signal.
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks Gunnut,what model are you using ? You say a 10x10 grid and walk the lines,will it pick up metal from 5' off to the side and several feet deep ?
  • victorj19victorj19 Member Posts: 3,642 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm not into metal detecting but you might want to consider something else. Farmers use a GPS and computer to map their farms and when they spray the GPS/PC keeps them on target so that they hit everyinch, don't spray the same area twice, etc. If you're sure the 45s are there you won't want to miss any significant amount of ground. Then with the map you can identify the areas you missed (maybe the trees that grew since WWII got in youor way) and search those areas by another means if you dont't find the 45s.

    Let's know if you find anything. If not the 45s maybe something just as interesting.
  • indy_kidindy_kid Member Posts: 531 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
    The Professionals use Schonstedt gear; if it's got a big flat coil it's a TOY!


    I was able to buy TWO of those sets for $600 each off the Goodwill website, and BOTH were fully functional! Sold them on eBay; $800 for the 1st, $400 for the 2nd, so I came out even (I always start my auctions at a penny - a TRUE "No Reserve"). Guess the people didn't trust my accounts of testing them out. They should have sold for $1K or more each.

    Out there if you're lucky enough to find them!!! But be ready to pay big money. Is the expense worth the reward? Any hints to what you're looking for? Maybe hiring some ground-penetrating radar may be the way to go, IF the reward justifies the cost.
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Have read that radar dont work so good in soil with a high clay content.The area to be checked is all farm ground or grass areas.Besides several cases of new 45s in cosmoline i might find some old coins or even a meteorite,they are worth big bucks but pound for pound i wonder if they are worth as much as unissued 45s. A pull behind detector would be great if it went deep. Anybody want to loan me one ?
  • storm6490storm6490 Member Posts: 8,010
    edited November -1
    like the guys have said. depends on the object you are looking for.
    garrett makes a nice deep scan device that looks like something out of a sci fi movie. it will detect cabins and caches. this will be the one used by the nazis to detect your guns in the walls and in the yard.

    i use a minelab and can find almost anything within a few feet. past that, you pay some major bucks. even if you get a good one or rent one, you need to train how to use them. the trick is discrimination,.

  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by storm6490
    like the guys have said. depends on the object you are looking for.
    garrett makes a nice deep scan device that looks like something out of a sci fi movie. it will detect cabins and caches. this will be the one used by the nazis to detect your guns in the walls and in the yard.

    i use a minelab and can find almost anything within a few feet. past that, you pay some major bucks. even if you get a good one or rent one, you need to train how to use them. the trick is discrimination,.


    If i find them you might see a picture of one now and then on GB auction for unissued 1911A1 just out of cosmoline,but this is going to take awhile to work out the details of the hunt.
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Flying Clay Disk
    Radar,

    Okay, calculations aside, let's get serious about figuring this out for you.

    What kind of terrain is this (pasture, forrest, desert, etc.)?

    Are there any notable old building sites or unique ground features?

    Are there any areas that could be eliminated (lakes, etc.)

    Being as they didn't have GPS when they were buried, they must have put them somewhere they could find them again.

    Have you tried to dig up any maps of what the area looked like around the time they were buried?

    They would have been heavy, so they probably wouldn't be far from a trail or road where someone could have gotten to on horseback or by car. They wouldn't have carried them far by hand.

    Do you have any notion of how they were packed? If they were just loaded in a crate and buried in moist ground they'd be rusted chunks of metal.


    Its mostly farm ground ( row crops )so it would be clear for looking after fall harvest.Some buildings but he would not of buried close to them i dont think he would have put them where they would have been dug up as he was to get rid of them,they were to be buried to get rid of them.I can get new sat.photos of area but so far nothing of WWII vintage.He most likley used a jeep to haul them to where he buried them.They were in their shipping crate packed in cosmoline.I knew this guy pretty well and he would not have made up a story about this if it was not true.
  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
    edited November -1
    The schonstedt IS a bit expensive, but as I was saying; you can swing a 3 1/2 foot long stick about 10' from side-to-side as you search, so walking it shouldn't be that time-consuming in farmland. You are seeking a BIG signal, so "discriminating" won't be a problem out to about 15' from the end of the "whistlestick".
    CLUE-farmland is usually dug into once or twice a year and may be subject to erosion, new fences, piles of old fencing metal, etc.; so you have to take into account where the fields were at the time he was caching the items.
    www.terraserver-usa.com will give you recent satellite photos if you have coordinates or the name of a town nearby which you can swap to a topo view that gets more detailed as you zoom in. This is useful because the topo maps will be older than the satviews, and might show old jeep trails and such that aren't readily apparent from the photos.
    Seek out a local surveyor or aerial photographer to see if they have older photos of the area, and check with your State Highway/Road dept.; they may have aerial photos from past surveys nearby.
    If I were there, I could use my software to estimate the best possible places to start looking due to infrared analysis of the photos, but then I'd want HALF!
  • RadarRadar Member Posts: 2,309 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Flying Clay Disk
    Did he have an area where he got rid of trash?

    You say he 'got rid' of them; are you confident he didn't destroy them...or bury them unprotected where they would destroy themselves? It sounds as though this were intentional. Any idea of his reason (i.e. trying to keep them from someone else, kids, etc.)?

    Just trying to eliminate things.

    Did he live on the property in question?

    Here's where I'm going with this... If he was trying to keep them away from someone in his house then you can rule out anywhere nearby or within sight of the house. If he was trying to keep them away from a neighbor then they will almost certainly be within sight of the house. Lastly, if he was just disposing them because he no longer wanted them, or thought they represented something bad, then they're probably where he disposed of any of the rest of his garbage (which will be an area that is not farmed).

    Any idea about the time of year he buried them? If he was in crops then he wouldn't have risked damage to the crops to dispose of them. If it was winter he wouldn't have been able to dig very much.

    I'd concentrate on areas that were the most distant from any people, but adjacent to a road or path. Perhaps a low spot (which is bad...condition wise).

    If he didn't want anyone to ever find them then chances are he didn't put much thought into their condition decades later. Perhaps go stand on the property where he spent the most time and look around and ask yourself...'if I wanted to bury something where no one would find it, where would I put it?'
    He was a Army Major that was to dispose of no longer needed gov. property,the 45s were not disposed of in the same way other things were and since they were in cosmoline they will last a hundred years. Gunnut will infrared show where soil has been dug and maybe a diffrent layer mixed in.I know since the end of WWII the groung has been tilled alot but there might be some diffrence.
  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
    edited November -1
    IR analysis will show many things; that's why I've got software that picks different criteria. Temperature Differential should show where large amounts of subterranean metal are (hint, hint).
    You should be able to discern from aerial photos where the ground is/was disturbed; where old trails were, old dwellings, etc., and then match that data to older topographic maps to start your layers of GIS (Geographic Information System) and land use through the years.
    I would start with locations of old outhouses. More than yesterday's lunch has been discovered in them.
  • wlfmn323wlfmn323 Member Posts: 4,712
    edited November -1
    id be willing to swing a detecter for one out of the crate!
    good luck with it and keep us posted.
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