USDETECTING.

ORG

March 1, 2015

Volume 1, Issue 1

Special points of
interest:
Hunting finds this week
of interest
New layout for Dissecting Detecting
Redesign of usdetecting.org website
Section for Beginners
Tech Section

Inside this issue:

Editors Corner

Your Turn

Tech Corner

Returning History
In April, 1864, a Union army
of 10,000 men under Major
General Frederick Steele found
itself desperately attempting to
save itself.
Retreating from Camden, AR,
the army was attempting to
reach Little Rock before pursuing Confederates under the
command of General Kirby
Smith caught up with them.
Following torrential rains on
29 April, the Union forces
reached the swollen Sabine
River. Although they managed
to get the cavalry across, the
waters were too high and fast
to complete a pontoon bridge
to get the wagons and artillery
to safety.
During the night, the union
soldiers worked to build breastworks and await the arrival of
the Confederates.
The attack began early on
30APR, with the attacking Confederates slogging through ankle
deep mud and pools of water to
approach the dug in Union

troops.
The Confederates committed
their forces one brigade at a
time through the difficult terrain, and the Union forces were
able to hold their positions.
Although Gen. Kirby committed
his troops as they arrived, no
coordinated effort could be
made. By the end of the battle,
the exhausted Confederates
held the field, but had been
unable to dislodge the Union
troops.
In the aftermath, MG Steele
was able to get his army and at

least some of his wagons and

artillery across the river and
eventually reach Little Rock.
The battle had cost the Confederates approximately 1000 casualties in killed and wounded,
while the Union suffered about
700 in dead and wounded.
On February 14, 151 years
after the battle, Brandon Sutton
stood on the ground those men
had fought over. He was meeting with Joe Walker, author of
Harvest of Death, an in depth
account of the battle.

ceived a strange signal on his

Garrett AT Pro.
It was showing 8 inches and
76 to 83, he said, it just didnt
sound right.
Calling his friend over, Daniel
had him go over the area with
his Whites detector. The friend
also noted strange readings.
Using a pinpointer to localize
the signal, Daniel scratched the

down into
the dirt and
grass and saw
what appeared to be
a small, dirty
plastic bag.
We
looked at each other, hearts
pounding, he said. The bag fell

(Continued on page 2)

Beginners Corner 4
Q&A

Promos and
Announcements

Notable Mention

Curb Strip Colonials

If there is a cardinal rule for
metal detecting, it is You never
know what is going to come
out.
Early in February, Daniel Bender
and his friend found just why
this may the one rule that
makes detectorists addicts to
the hobby.
While working a strip of grass
alongside a street, Daniel re-

(Continued on page 2)

Page 2

Curb Colonials
(Continued from page 1)

We looked at
each other, hearts
pounding
I didn't think it
was real

apart as they pulled it out, and inside they found

two strange looking coins.
After arriving home, he posted photos of his
strange coins on a metal detecting forum and
received a reply. The coins were identified as
copper Spanish Colonial 4 Maravides,
counter stamped to
6 Marivides from
1655.
The Marivides
originated in Spain in
the early 1500s,
struck at that time in
gold or silver. With
the colonization of
the New World,

copper was
used for the
coins for distribution in the
colonies.
I was excited, I had
never found
coins that old,
Daniel said.
Daniel has
been detecting since he was eight years old, but
only in the last two has he been getting more
active in the hobby.
I plan on keeping the coins and get a nice
display case for them, he said.

Returning History
(Continued from page 1)

Being friends with Mr. Walker on facebook,

and after reading Harvest of Death, Brandon
began reading Walkers blog. Learning that
Walker conducted tours of the battlefield, Brandon contacted him.

I messaged him and told him I would like

Brandons Father with

his 1901 Barber Quarter

Im bound and
determined to find a
bayonet, a belt or breast
plate, or maybe a few
buttons - Brandon

to join in on one of the tours Brandon said, I

also told him that I was a metal detectorist and I
had recently teamed up with our local Historical
Society to help recover any artifacts that could
be put on display in local museums for all to
enjoy.

always playing jokes on each other and saying

things like, the only reason you found that is
because I was feeling sorry for you and I planted
it there.
The two had access to approximately 40 acres
and were able to hunt for four hours.
The results the this first hunt were many
square nails, some iron pieces, three bullets, a
Minie ball, and a 1901 Barber quarter found by
his father.

Brandon was asked how Walker responded,

He thought it was a great idea and told me that
when I came down, he would show me where I
could hunt.

Asked which the favorite finds were for the

day, Brandon said, I would have to say the Barber quarter my Dad found. However, the
Merrill .54 caliber bullet I pulled from a tree root
was cool, that was my first one like that,

It turned out that the area that Brandon had

access was an area in which most of the fighting
had taken place.

Weather permitting; Brandon is planning on

returning to the site at least twice a week to
continue hunting.

Armed with his Garrett AT Pro with a stock

coil, Brandon set the machine to PRO mode
and disc at 0, and went hunting.

Im bound and determined to find a bayonet, a

belt or breast plate, or maybe a few buttons. I
have high hopes that I will soon unearth something significant, he said.

With Brandon was his father, equipped with

his new Garrett Ace 250.
I really enjoy hunting with my Dad, we are

All items that are recovered will be donated to

local historical society or library.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Page 3

Editors Corner
For those that have visited Dissecting
Detecting before, obviously we have
made some changes.
We will continue with the weekly publication, however it will be in this new
format and will strive to bring you news
and highlights of those involved in the
hobby, equipment, interesting videos
and other facets of the hobby which we
hope will interest you.
Once a month, in addition to the
Roundup, we will publish a full length
article on some specific area of metal

detecting.
As always, however, it is vital that we
have input from you. As part of the new
format, there will be a section for letters to the editor as well as a question
and answer section, where you can
send in a question and we will attempt
to answer it.

Your Turn
This is an area we are very anxious
for you to fill up. Your emails, suggestions, complaints, praise and requests
for certain articles or information will
be highlighted here. Metal Detecting
U.S. Only, usdetecting.org, and Dissecting Detecting are all in place to give
those involved in or interested in metal
detecting a place to go for support,
ideas, and information. To be effective,
however, it requires the participation of

Tech Corner
It was hoped that a feature would be
possible highlighting the new Garrett ProPointer AT. These new pin-pointers are
starting to ship, but not in quantity yet. As
more of them find their way into the hands
of detectorists, a more extensive review
will be done.
If you arent familiar with it, the ProPointer AT will be water proof to 10 feet,
have variable sensitivity, an LED light and
many other features.
EDITORS NOTE: An attempt was made

everyone.
Here, you can give opinions, ideas,
mentions of MD related news, anything
that is of interest and might interest
others in the hobby.
As mentioned elsewhere, your input
can be made at usdetecting.org/
dissecting detecting and the information will come to me or email directly
at editor@usdetecting.org.

to contact some individuals that had received their new Pro-Pointer AT, however,
responses hadnt been received as of publication. The few comments that were noted
was the sensitivity was very good, and the
LED was a distinct advantage when hunting
for items in the hole.
If you have a particular piece of equipment you would like to see in this section,
let us know. We will endeavor to highlight
new equipment coming out, reviewing existing items, and comparing detectors, pinpointers, and other items of interest to the
detecting community.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Page 4

Beginners Corner
Resources
Defining the term beginner
can be a ticklish proposition, at
least as it relates to the hobby
of metal detecting. While certainly, anyone picking up a machine for the first time is a
beginner, a person upgrading
from a basic machine to a more
advanced model may also feel
they are starting all over.
In fact, it is probably safe to
say that metal detecting entails
a life-long learning process that
really never ends. Perhaps that
is one of the facets of the
hobby that keeps all of us so

addicted to it. Every time that

we go out and swing our machines, some further little nugget of experience is gained,
some bit of knowledge that we
store away that adds to our
overall skill set.
Of course, this isnt to say
that a person totally new to the
hobby who picks up an AT Pro,
Deus or Whites, or one of the
many other more advanced
machines wont find themselves
with a rather steep learning
curve. That persons success
will depend largely on their
own dedication to tackling that
steep learning curve. However,
they will also have an advantage

that many of us may not have

had the huge amount of resources that are open to them
via the internet.
With a mouse click to usdetecting.org or posting a question on our facebook group to a
search engine query, answers
and guidance can be found for
almost any beginner. The key
is simply knowing where to
look and what to look for.
Using the resources we may
find, the learning curve can be
tackled and smoothed out for
all of us, of all levels of experience.

Permissions
Standing at the end of a
driveway staring at a closed
door may cause more trepidation and dread than any other
aspect of metal detecting. Making that walk to the door and
knocking, all the while with a
jumble in your head of what
you are going to say when the
door swings open.
Were a poll to be taken of
detectorists of the hardest part
of the hobby, undoubtedly at,
or at least near the top of the
list, would be asking permission
to hunt a site. But, unless you
happen to have unfettered
access to a huge tract of land,
eventually seeking other sites
will be necessary.
There are various strategies

for overcoming the dread and

successfully gaining access to
prime hunting sites.
A primary step is research.
This will likely have already
been done before arriving at
the point of approaching anyone, having been the way you
identified the property in the
first place. Verse yourself in the
history of the area and the
property in particular if at all
possible. Being knowledgeable
and interested in the history
will help go far in impressing
the owner of your sincerity and
dedication.
Something that many detectorists do is having business
cards made up. There are vari-

ous resources now for designing your own online for minimal cost. There is no one format for the card, though many
will have the metal detector
code of ethics printed on one
side. Otherwise, use your
imagination and research what
others have done. An excellent
source of ideas is with the
facebook group, Permission to
Detect.
A source for more information can be found on the
Metal Detecting U.S. Only
facebook page, and look under
files. Many good resources can
be found including a .pdf file
for permissions.

were talking about.

Fortunately, whether it is on
Metal Detecting U.S. Only or
another facebook group, or
through any number of forums,
there are many people out
there willing to try and help

identify your mystery find.

Two key elements in helping
them help you is describing the
area In which the object was
found and photographing the
item.

Photographing Finds
Perhaps one of the most fun,
and also frustrating, aspects of
metal detecting is digging a
target and even after cleaning
still having no idea just what it
is you have found. If you are
new to detecting come across
the term, whatzit, thats what

(Continued on page 5)

To catch the
reader's
attention, place
an interesting
sentence or
quote from the
story here.

USDETECTING.ORG

Window to world of metal detecting

(Continued from page 4)

The description of the area obviously doesnt necessitate that you give up your secret honeyhole, but just a general idea of the age of the site and the depth the item was found.
Then come photographing the object. Photograph the front and back of the item, or from different
angles if both sides isnt practical. It is also very important to provide perspective. This can be done
either by placing the item next to a ruler, or at least next to something of a commonly known size,
such as a common coin.
Andrew Miller - Owner
usdectecting.org
facebook: Metal Detecting U.S. Only
Daved Sandefur - Editor
editor@usdetecting.org
Spartan Writing Services

Happy Hunting

Q&A
This is your section, a place
to ask questions to help your
enjoyment and understanding of
metal detecting.
Whether about your detector, a find, permissions, or anything you might have in mind,
let us know and we will do our
best to answer your question.
On the Dissecting Detect-

ing page of usdetecting.org,

there is a comment box where
you can state your questions or
comments and they will come
directly to me.
We look forward to your
questions.
-Editor

Notable Mention
Group member Bruce
Browns War of 1812
button is featured on the
cover of American Digger
Magazine (Bottom left)

Each week we will have a

Notable Mention of something
from the metal detecting world.
This could be a particular person, video, find, or anything we
find of particular interest.
The Notable Mention this
week goes to a Youtube celebrity, Deep Digger Dan.

Many of you may be familiar

with him, but if not, his detecting videos are returning with a
promise of many to follow.
Dan is in England, but he is a
natural entertainer and his detecting videos are both a joy to
watch and informative.

Promo and Announcements

The most important announcement this week is the
redesign of the usdetecting.org
website. This is in response to
your input on the Metal Detecting U.S. Only facebook
page. Input from readers and
members of the group is imperative and, in fact, without
that input and participation,
neither a facebook group or
website could succeed.

If you arent familiar with him,

check him out on Youtube.