Relic hunting

BillWright

Private
Joined
Jul 15, 2021
To all the relic hunters out there…do you remember your first metal detector? Mine was a surplus mine detector that I got in the mid 1950’s. It picked up ferrous metals great but didn’t pick up minie balls very well. Hunting in Vicksburg near present day Indiana Avenue I found a colt army , about 5 shells and a bayonet the first day.I thought this is easy…
 
Mine was a Radio Shack put together my Dad got me at age 13. It would not find a car buried 4 inchs deep but I keep at it and 47 years latter, I can find a car 7 feet deep :D
 
I was fortunate enough to grow up in Stafford county Virginia where the Union army spent two winters.
In 1954 when I was 9 years old we started digging in winter hut holes and sifting the dirt through screens. We found buckles, buttons and other artifacts. We would also walk fields after farmers plowed to find other artifacts
In 1959, my Dad bought a WWII mine detector from an army surplus store. It wouldn’t pick up led or brass. He did find a Springfield rifle which I still have. When we discovered it wouldn’t pick up led and brass we bought a Korean War era mine detector that would only pick up the local radio station! No kidding!
Both had huge batteries. The first was a battery about the size of a car battery carried in a pouch on your back - the second was carried on your side.
In 1961 we bought a Dectron. It was a decent machine for the time but the head was about 5” thick with a smaller head under the 5” thick head. The heads were plywood. If you hit a stubble or brush while swinging it it would set it off and you had to stop and re-adjust all your settings. If the plywood head got wet you had to set it aside for a day or two and let it dry.
My next was a Fisher M-scope. Leaps and bounds above the Dectron but heavy. That was about 1962-3. That’s when we really started making a lot of great finds
Next was a Metrotec in 1963. Light, deep penetration- best machine I ever owned. I still have it and it’s found lots of great relics
Next was a Nautilus in 1982
Last was a White’s MXT.
I liked the Metroteck best followed by the White’s
 
Mine was a Garrett Groundhog...It was great with iron. Then a White's 6000 Series 3....Then I started buying Tesoro machines. I'm on my 3rd one.....Found lots of great stuff with all my machines.
 
I had some non-name brand that only emitted a small tone and would eat batteries like crazy. I have a Garrett now I love. I've never found Civil War stuff which I would love to do.
 
I'll start us off...My first relic was a dropped .58 calibre minie ball from Spanish Fort, AL....I had promised my friend that took me that I would give him everything I found because I was big into indian relics and didn't care much for the civil war stuff....After that first bullet plopped into my hands from the dirt clod that I just dug, I was hooked for life! Next month will mark my 42nd year of digging civil war artifacts.
 
I'll start us off...My first relic was a dropped .58 calibre minie ball from Spanish Fort, AL....I had promised my friend that took me that I would give him everything I found because I was big into indian relics and didn't care much for the civil war stuff....After that first bullet plopped into my hands from the dirt clod that I just dug, I was hooked for life! Next month will mark my 42nd year of digging civil war artifacts.
Visited the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier at Beauvoir last week, and thought of you and how it came to be.
 
To all the relic hunters out there…do you remember your first metal detector? Mine was a surplus mine detector that I got in the mid 1950’s. It picked up ferrous metals great but didn’t pick up minie balls very well. Hunting in Vicksburg near present day Indiana Avenue I found a colt army , about 5 shells and a bayonet the first day.I thought this is easy…
Were ever employed by Mississippi Dept of Archives and History?
 
Let me now throw this out there...
Do any of you remember the first relic you ever found?
Let me now throw this out there...
Do any of you remember the first relic you ever found?
A US buckle - but it was by digging in a winter hut hole without a metal detector. I first dug a Springfield rifle for my Dad who was using a WWII mine detector. I don’t remember my first actual find with a metal detector- probably a 3 ring Minnie
 
Yes I was
I know you and have your book on Grand Gulf.
You probably don't remember me. I had great admiration for your skill and knowledge.
Haven't heard from or of you for many years.

I can't find a Blanton near Greenville. Can you point me to its location please?
 
Thank you for your kind words. I’m 87 now ,legally blind and spend most my days in a wheelchair. My mind is still sharp and I have never lost my interest in the civil war or motorcycles😊 can you tell me where we met ? Blanton is the name of a plantation where I was raised during the war. It is 2 miles north of onward ms and 3 miles south of Cary ms
 
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