Metal Detectors

[Lynn]

Any of you knuckleheads know any thing about metal detectors. I need one, but am not going to become a metal hunter. We are landscaping our historic area property, and I have uncovered a boat load of stuff, such as:
Model A jack, a very worn horse shoe, huge set of leaf springs for a Model T (I think), multiple hardware parts for buggies and cars, and tons of bottles, mostly broken, from the 1800's to the 1970's.

Before we sod and lay concrete, I would like to go over the entire area.
Looking at these:

Choice A: http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/ele/5082186397.html

Choice B: http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/spo/5100575828.html

Anyone know ANYTHING about metal detectors. Choice A is local to me, the other about an hour away. A is more expensive, but if it will do a better job, I am OK with that.

Any opinions?

[camaromb]

Lynn,

I had a metal detector back in '76, found a lot of great stuff. My neighbor had a Garrett and it performed much better that the brand I had. I think the Garrett brand is one I would still buy today. There was a cable show that had a few guys metal detecting historic sites, they used Garrett detectors. In general the smaller coils are for shallow, smaller objects like coin hunting and the larger coils for deeper large targets.
A good hobby to keep you walking and you never know what you might find. Discrimination is a good feature to have on the metal detectors to separate the ferrous junk from the precious non-ferrous metals.

Good luck,
Mark

[olredalert]

----Lynn,,,Some equipment rental places rent metal detectors if you don't feel like owning another gadget......Bill S

[Lynn]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----Lynn,,,Some equipment rental places rent metal detectors if you don't feel like owning another gadget......Bill S </div></div>

I just got a chill. Curse the day I don't want another gadget.
Seriously, probably a great idea Bill.

[bbbentley]

I have a Whites, Lynn. Always understood them to be top shelf unit. Mine looks very much like the A ,Eclipse unit you showed as a choice. Wow, junk...drool,drool!

[mssl72]

Lynn,
If you want to invest, I would go with &quot;A&quot;. Instead of investing, there are some message boards relating to metal detecting. You could post your needs and I'm sure you'll get a few replies. Most guys are looking for &quot;virgin&quot; ground to hunt and if it has history all the better. I guess you need to think about what they might find. There may be some stuff with some value. You might let them keep everything they find for taking the time and it helps to offset the cost of the gear, gas, etc. If I was close by I'd grab my Whites XLT, come over and hunt it for you. Here's a few board links:

http://metaldetectingforum.com/

http://www.findmall.com/

http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/forum.php

Show us pics of what comes out of the ground!

[Lynn]

I will try to post some pics of all the crap we have uncovered over the weekend. Only three coins so far, a Roosevelt dime, a 1990 penny and an 1890 Indian head penny. I figure there are probably many more coins out there, and hate to cover them all up.

Thanks for the input.

[bbbentley]

Lynn, if you come across a 69 RS lh fender or rust free non-spoiler deck lid in that stuff, I get first dibbs!?

[wrench]

I have been in the metal detector hobby since 1985 and have 5 showcases in my shop full of dug items mostly from the civil war. If you have already found that much stuff without a detector you will be digging a long time with one,regardless of the brand or price. Sounds like a great place to hunt. Wish I was closer. Jim in Idabel

[Lynn]

Haven't picked up anything steel that is rust free!!!!

We did find an area that had old brick pavers buried from 1 to 8 inches deep. They are about 6 to 7 inches square, and about half have S C O K stamped on one side. They vary in thickness from 1 3/4 to about 2.5 inches. We have about 300 unbroken ones, and many more broken ones that are just piled up.
I can't find any info on the maker. We plan to repurpose as many as we can into a sidewalk.