New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

If i could find them as fast as Poohbear finds his silver rings id be even more happy. That was a pretty good haul you got last PB.
I went back to this historic site last night and the going was not that easy. The targets were very deep which made it hard to cover up the holes for one and although i know the coins/relics are there it wouldnt be appropriate to dig this place up as it has nice lawns and gardens. I did find a 1908 sixpence and a 1951 half penny the first time so i think i will leave it at that.
The 12 sided coin is a canadian 1989 1 cent.

shane

Yeah, I try to do the same. I saw this one guy on youtube and he had a good way of making the plugs almost invisible. I wouldn't worry too much about the plugs cause if they are done right you shouldn't notice after the first rain ( i learned this the hard way when I used to dig my plugs all the way around instead of doin just 3 sides... and killing the grass in the plug! lol). most of my plugs I can't see once there has been a good rain.

also digging them big allows for you to do a better search. ;)

Using a Lesche digging tool is an easy way to make neat plugs whether big or small.
I often cut an inch or so off the bottom of the plug before replacing it too, so that when
you kick it down it makes a small indent. This gives a place to scrape any remaining soil
which helps stop the grass drying out and helps quicker recovery. Well that's my theory anyway.
Seems to work ok.

Oh and 3 sided where possible too.
HH

Yup, 3 sided plugs. The other things I have learnt is not to make them too small and to have it more V shaped, this means that the side that is attached has more roots feeding the clump. Also if the ground is dry - leave it. During times of drought the grass will not recover no matter how careful you are. Spreading out your digging also helps as the odd plug mark is very hard to spot if they are spread over the whole park, but easy to spot if concentrated in a small area. If there are a lot of targets in an area it is better to hit it once every 3 weeks or so instead of digging up all the targets at once. Finally always punch down around the edges of the cut as this will remove air gaps allowing the roots to grow from one side of the cut to the other.

Another method I use at times is to slot the grass instead of plugging it. Cut a straight 8" long slot over the top of the target, reach in with your hands and pull the grass in the middle of the slot aside, dig the target, put the soil back in and push the ends of the grass back together. Works very well with thick turf but not so well with thin stringy kikuyu.

Had an amusing episode a few weeks ago. Was hunting along a well used patch of grass and spent great pains over making sure my holes were hidden and the grass will take quickly again. Returned a couple of days later only to find horses had been trampling over the area leaving hoof prints a couple of inches deep over the whole patch of grass......

Edited by user Monday, 2 January 2012 5:06:46 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Yeah a Pro Pointer is a good idea Shane.
You would find you work a lot faster with way less mess.
Makes the task more fun too.

We need to work on a bulk purchase deal and see if we can't bring the price down ;)

also shanes a little bit canadian as well,
that should explain his little oddities:)
soory bro.

I can vouch for that stategy! that's how I got my 11" dd f2 ;) and my propointer. now I have to get patient and go back over the spots that annoyed me as there were too many targets (ie junk!).

Shane,
YOU GOT ENGAGED?! Congratulations! She must be one special lady ;)

Hi Shane - I was going to tease you a bit about not having a pin pointer and maybe the reason was because you "WANTED" to be away longer, but as you are freshly engaged I assume that's not the reason and I wish you and your Mrs all the best - congratulations!!! *8^)

Yes the AT Pro comes with the same size coil as yours. The AT Gold (which I have) has the smaller 5x8 coil for going between rocks and roots. Garrett have their heads screwed on, they give you the medium coil so if you want to go gold fossicking seriously you need to buy the sniper coil and if you want to go park hunting you need the larger coil. I might save and buy an AT PRO later so I can use the larger coil on the AT GOLD if I wish and also I'll have a machine for down at the beach. It's a shame Garrett didn't combine the two machines guess that's just another marketing ploy and really I doubt there is any internal difference except firmware. ~shrugs~

Happy hunting

Gregg