New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi people, a bit of an update on the latest hunts.
Got a permission to search a freshly cleared building site in Dunners.



It sounded as if it may have potential due to the fact that an archeologist was required to be present during the excavation work.... Mmmm
Made a quick call to another local hunter, he was keen as for a look-sweet.
As expected plenty of junk, 20 minutes after firing up the F4 'T' was obvoiusly ready to move on to cleaner pastures, the look of dissapointment on my face was clear.......
All good though this site will keep, so off we went calling in on a few wee spots in and around the city which filled in an enjoyable evening for both of us.
The results for day one....




I couldn't help but wonder if we had spent enough time on the building site, so I decided to swing by (no pun intended) the next day to give it a good couple of hours just for peace of mind if nothing else.


Yes pulled lots of scraps but did get a few keepers as well











The Victorian button was a surface find and a couple of what looks like homemade style lead buttons. Trade tokens always nice regardless of condition.

DAYS LATER

Killed a couple of hours one evening at a new location





Pulled a couple of offshore coins and the Yardley London lid I am pretty sure is from bath soaps







All in all an enjoyable time out and about. No silvers but I do quite like finding the oddball stuff anyway.
Good luck everybody Iggy

Nice work thanks for posting with photos, good read

Another fabulous Otago evening....mmm where is the F4? A ten minute drive and I was at the hunting grounds.

I have been to this permission quite a few times in the past and have never really found anything old or interesting, but it's still a nice spot to swing the coil.


Buzzed around trying to avoid the horses who were showing just a little much interest in what I was up to.
The results were as expected but an enjoyable stroll.


Another evening a new location.

A new spot for me and another new permission- all good.
This spot has some real history so I was hopeful.
Found this decorative grill just a bit tough for the Lesch.

Basically the tree branch/roots liked the grill more than I did. I spend about an hour looking around and pulled the following. I will be back as I'm sure there is something awesome just resting in the dirt.



The plated necklace thing had about four links of chain attached when unearthed and looked like a mud ball but the cleaning process took care of the chain. The other oddball find was the pressed metal silver/silver plated I think container thingy which looked like it had a lid at one stage.
Anyway I am starting to ramble.

Happy hunting everyone and have an enjoyable and safe Xmas Iggy

A wee round up of finds during the Xmas break. Sorry no location pics this time, basically called in on approx ten spots around the mainland....(South Island)and swung for around eight hours or so.
All the good stuff was found over two seperate hunts at one spot (I was stoked to find the matching earring on the second evening)
More than happy with the '1807 Great seal of the State of Oklahoma' button.
Based on the other finds in same area I'm going to call it the real deal....supposedly rare but there were some fakes made as well










Until next time Iggy

Edited by user Tuesday, 12 January 2016 9:15:57 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Typo and missing pics

2016...........brings a new machine, well one and a half if you count the pointer. New to me but both pre loved ( sorry you missed that sale Chris, I was intending to buy new then this unit came up). Possibly a good thing to learn how to use and look after a second hand unit in the surf before diving in head first with a brand spanking new unit ( pun intended ). But I guess time will tell.

Anyway the first salt water hunt



She is a bit of a learning curve but I must say a refreshing change not having a screen to watch. The temptation is all to great to see familiar numbers pop up on the lcd and go oh yeh another ;:$)@" pull tab and carry on walking.

Anyway on to the finds for the Excals first hunt ( other than a quick wee blast when I picked it up)




I couldn't believe my eyes when I pulled the medallion from the surf. It's pretty banged up, thought it was gold....... But no not to be, 21 grams of brass





Couple of days later van in getting serviced...... Day at home in workshop trapped, come lunchtime I realised my work/ measurement book was still in van.
Bum what to do..... Mow the lawns, cut hedges?
Nah I know:) a ten minute walk to the local river with detector in hand would kill some time, only problem was my scoop was still in the van.



Plenty of targets but mighty tough to extract with the wrong gear



Speaking of gold.......this time I was convinced



But no it was not to be, but boy did it look like something good when it was emerging from the river bank.



Slightly off topic here the following pics show a wee mod I have done to the Excal to prevent pulling on the cables ( I have read all the horror stories and thought maybe I can help protect them)
You get a little noise through the muffs while you are digging a target due to the rope moving through the curly wire but it's not a biggy maybe a smother rope would help.





I wouldn't recommend this if your machine is still under warranty as it may void it.
Happy hunting Iggy

Thanks for your tips, I like the fishing line idea and it will be lighter than the nylon rope which I had lying round. That won't be a bad thing...... I thought the f4 was a little porky at times........one day I might get around to sorting a straight shaft which by the sounds of things helps with balance although it didn't feel too bad in the water.
Cheers

I found something I hope no one else finds and the Excalibur gets down and dirty.
First hunt saw a wee detour to a coastal spot on my way home from the Deep South.
Didn't find anything much although I did find water had got through my lifeproof case and basically destroyed my phone 😢
A wee tip if you have a similar case and it is showing some signs of old age......
Biff it and get a newy



Next mission and a lake to explore, which produced the following misc items.



I must say I am impressed with how well the new machine performs, happy happy joy joy.



Final hunt and a bit of mud wrestling for a bit of variety



After about an hour and a half my operating temperature was at unhealthy levels and the energy levels low so headed over to some clean sand and clear salt water for a bit of a bath and quick swing.



The 925 ring and coins were removed from the sand the rest from the mud





Good luck out there Iggy

Edited by user Friday, 22 January 2016 10:39:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Typo

Yeah if you are in and around water have a real good look at your case. Mine had a small nick on the silence button which let the h2o ............Slight rethink now- backpack new lifeproof and phone goes in a drybag as well, bit more of a pain for photos/calls but tough.
Actually the mud wasn't too bad this time ( been there before with the f4) had some big plastic 44 gallon lids for stepping stones but didn't need them. All good until you stop and then you start to sink.

Results from an enjoyable late night hunt which as planed was low tide.



Lots and lots of targets, almost spoilt for choice really. Lots and lots of crabs as well ( quite a site to see all the marine life out and about under lights)






I will go back again one day and maybe concentrate on some of those real iffy signals and see what comes of them as there seemed to be plenty of em.
Happy hunting everyone Iggy

Yeah, gotta agree with MK on that. Deffo needs another checking around those rocks.