Metal detecting novice

I started metal detecting about a year ago. Just don't trespass on private property.

Most parks allow metal detecting as long as you fix your hole. Dig a nice plug and you can't even tell someone dug that spot.

Baker has a few old civil war battle sites. Can't dig on a federal battle site, but if you're lucky you can get permission from a neighbor to detect their fields.

What kind of detector do you have?

Make sure you check everyone's genitals for metal on the zipper. With all of this Obamacare nonsense, YKK started cheaping out on their materials and you need to caveat emptor them

I've found about $150 in coins since the beginning of the year. Found a couple of rings, old pocket knives, old tools and other odds and ends

You will get bottle caps and pull tabs for a while when you first start.

If you're looking for a recommendation, I'd suggest looking at a Garrett ACE 250 OR 350. Great starter detectors. Look on kellycodetectors.com

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My best find so far was an 1827 Large Cent

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Very cool. My best find so far is an 1884 Portuguese 20 Reis coin in an old park in NOLA. About 6-8" in the ground

A long time ago a fella told me to find the biggest oak tree you could find in a suspected Civil War spot. His explanation was the soldiers would have likely sat there for shade and dropped bullets or buttons. Sounded good to me.

Thatguy, I know someone that researched the battle/ skirmish at Lafourche Crossing and found the exact location of the fighting. He contacted the people who owned the land and asked for permission to search it with his detector. If IRC it was a sugar cane field and the owners gave him access after harvest. He found a bunch of minie balls, some brass buttons, and a few other things.

So there are some landowners that will give you access, just do the research to find the locations.

I remember he told me that during the War there were a lot of small unit skirmishes and activity along Bayou Teche and that he was going to research that area to find some locations.

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wish i knew some people that lived on land used during the Civil War. Would love to find some stuff from that period

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I saw a map in a book about Camp Moore that showed a Confederate encampment that was on our family's property. I never haved been through there with a metal detector. My grandmother once told me of some Yankee soldiers who were allegedly buried on this property on a bluff overlooking the Tchefuncte River. One of my friends says I need to get a metal detector, find them, and dig them up.