Ammo Mud-Covered 12-pounder Finally Sees Daylight

You have it backwards. Nautilus aren’t made anymore. Whites is still in business.
The early Nautilus ( like mine) suck! They were commonly called The D handle.....obviously because the shape of the handle.
The later ones were (are) the real deal. And any serious relic hunter in my neck of the woods has or seeks one. My relic hunting friend has three and I sometimes use one of his. It’s a fantastic machine including finding small targets. But it doesn’t like hot ground.
I have a friend in northern Virginia that finds broken Nautilus and uses parts to build new ones. Usually when he finishes one someone is waiting to buy it.
I had a Fisher back in the day and know several hunters that use them today with good results. They also work well under electrical power lines- which traditionally interfere with most machines. My Whites MXT also works relatively well under electric lines and hot ground.

Well, it does look like Whites indeed closed its doors last year. I found this which seems to indicate Garrett's will purchase the company.

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How deep was the hole? I am considering a similar area in Arkansas where shot should/could be found from a tinclad aimed at an artillery placement?

I would say the hole was around the two feet mark. Most of the other shells I have found were around the three feet plus range.

All of the shells I’ve dug were from field artillery: 6-pounders, 12-pounders, 3-inch ordnance, 3.3, 3.8-inch, etc, etc. I have a feeling that the heavier the projectile the deeper it might be in the ground. Not sure. @ucvrelics might know for sure.

My point being, if that tin clad was firing heavier ordnance, those targets might be much deeper. The good thing, though, is that the larger the object, the stronger the signal. So it might balance out.

But if the area you are hunting is not “trashy,” you should be able to find them even if they are deeper than 2 or 3 feet. But it does depend on your machine. Bury a large iron object at different depths and see if your machine can pick it up. That’s what I’d do before I started. Good luck!
 
Well, it does look like Whites indeed closed its doors last year. I found this which seems to indicate Garrett's will purchase the company.

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Well I am shocked! I guess if mine breaks and I can’t get it repaired I will go with Fisher if I can’t find a used Nautilus DMX
Thanks for sharing the sad news
 
@alan polk Do you mind taking another photo after the "washing"? I read in an earlier post you were soaking it in water. I'm assuming you were doing this to remove the mud and crude from it.

Plus, since it's a shell; it is a method of keeping all concerned safe as it's in all probability it's still live.
 
Plus, since it's a shell; it is a method of keeping all concerned safe as it's in all probability it's still live.
I told him I would take care of that problem for him and do electrolysis and preserve it per what Steve Phillips has taught me.
 
Bury a large iron object at different depths and see if your machine can pick it up.
The bigger shells will sink deeper especially in sandy soil or plowed fields. Also, in burying items to see what depth you get will give you a baseline but as you can see from the bottom of @alan polk hole you see a lot of rust which will leech into the soil and give you a bigger reading. Plus wet ground gives better signals than dry.
 
The bigger shells will sink deeper especially in sandy soil or plowed fields. Also, in burying items to see what depth you get will give you a baseline but as you can see from the bottom of @alan polk hole you see a lot of rust which will leech into the soil and give you a bigger reading. Plus wet ground gives better signals than dry.
I have a dumb question. Why does wet ground give you a better signal?
 
The bigger shells will sink deeper especially in sandy soil or plowed fields. Also, in burying items to see what depth you get will give you a baseline but as you can see from the bottom of @alan polk hole you see a lot of rust which will leech into the soil and give you a bigger reading. Plus wet ground gives better signals than dry.
I have heard of a 13" mortar ball that was located 20' down while constructing a hotel foundation, so that would lend validity of the idea that the bigger they are the deeper they tend to burrow in.
 
I have heard of a 13" mortar ball that was located 20' down while constructing a hotel foundation, so that would lend validity of the idea that the bigger they are the deeper they tend to burrow in.
They will actually sink deeper over the years especially down in the sandy soil of South Alabama.
 
@alan polk Do you mind taking another photo after the "washing"? I read in an earlier post you were soaking it in water. I'm assuming you were doing this to remove the mud and crude from it.
I will. I’m afraid I might have nicked the fuse when I was digging it up. So, I’m gonna gently clean it up to see what I’m dealing with. I’ll take a picture and post it up.
 
Your getting like me OLD and don't want to dig a big ole hole. When doing electrolysis the fuse has to stay out of the water as the white metal doesn't like the alkaline water.
 
Your getting like me OLD and don't want to dig a big ole hole. When doing electrolysis the fuse has to stay out of the water as the white metal doesn't like the alkaline water.
That is very true! That and somehow convincing myself I was probably digging up some old chunk of random farm iron which made me doubly lazy!!!
 
The 13"mortar ball was in the Vicksburg loess soil and I imagine that there was a little excitement when the excavator brought that little puppy up.
Mortar balls are a whole different animal. They came in on an arch and buried deep. I found a 10 inch at Blakeley in the early days and it was DEEP and I had to dig a trench to roll it out. Got it out and then realized I was over a mile from the truck. Rolled it up against a big water oak covered it up and never could find it again. Moral of the story, Its one thing to find it, its another to get it out. Tom D showed me a boy scout back pack he had converted to haul heavy shells out of the woods.
 
Mortar balls are a whole different animal. They came in on an arch and buried deep. I found a 10 inch at Blakeley in the early days and it was DEEP and I had to dig a trench to roll it out. Got it out and then realized I was over a mile from the truck. Rolled it up against a big water oak covered it up and never could find it again. Moral of the story, Its one thing to find it, its another to get it out. Tom D showed me a boy scout back pack he had converted to haul heavy shells out of the woods.
I heard from a digger that when they were recovering a number of 15" overshoots in Charleston, they got them inside of an oil drum and rolled them across the muck.
 
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