16
Things (Almost)
Every Detectorist Should Pack
Anyone who's been a Boy Scout knows the value of being prepared.
We all know the virtue of carrying extra batteries in our detector
kit bags, but there are other things you should pack to be prepared
for any outing. If you’re going detecting alone, always make sure
someone knows where you’re going. And when you go, these 16 items
should have a home in your detecting kit bag:
Cellular phone. Indispensable if you fall into a well or
keel over from sunstroke or a heart attack in some field in the
middle of nowhere.
Handheld GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) unit. Not a
necessity for everyone, but it is if you’re a remote area hunter
hours from civilization or the nearest hospital. Although a GPS’s
longitude and latitude readout isn’t precise to the foot, it’s close
enough to pinpoint you for rescuers -- provided, of course, you’ve
brought along a cellular phone to call someone for help in the first
place. If you think a cellular phone is enough without a GPS, consider
this: Directions like, "Well, I see a big rock next to a cactus
about a quarter-mile away" will just leave you waiting until
wolves eat you for supper. For the rest of us, a GPS unit comes
in handy when you come across sites in the woods and you’d like
to find them again. Moreover, a decent model costs about as much
as a handheld electronic pinpointer-coin probe, so they’re inexpensive
enough for most people.
A small hand mirror like those in a woman’s makeup compact
If you hunt in the wilderness or other remote locations,. Break
a leg, get bit by a rattlesnake or fall into a ravine -- how else
do you plan on signaling search teams in the distance or rescue
planes or helicopters flying overhead, especially if you’re in too
bad a shape to yell for help? On cloudless days, sunlight reflected
off a mirror can be seen for miles.
Duct tape. The miracle mender. A lifesaver, for example,
should you lose the battery cover of your detector’s electronics
box somewhere in the field.
An extra stem that attaches your detector’s coil to the
pole, especially if you have a brand with a heavy coil. That thin
plastic stem is the weak link in the chain. Snap it in the field
and your day is shot. Detectors don’t work with the coil flopping
about like a leg with a compound fracture, and depending on where
the stem break is, duct tape may not be the mending miracle it usually
is.
A container of waterless hand cleaner, like Goop (available
at most auto parts stores). Your hands get dirty doing all that
digging, and an automotive waterless hand cleaner will clean them
right up. They also come in handy if you’re one of those people
who frequently stops off for a quick half-hour of coinshooting after
work and don’t want your non-detecting husband or wife to know how
much time you REALLY spend on this hobby every week.
Container of baby wipes. These also do a respectable job
of hand cleaning in a pinch (except for under the fingernails),
but their real value is most obvious when those Porta-Johns come
up notoriously short on toilet paper. They’re a far better alternative
to leaves, newspaper, notebook paper or the Burger King bag in your
back seat you haven’t gotten around to throwing out yet .Baby wipes
are especially worth their weight in gold when you’re hunting those
remote woodland sites and nature makes an unexpected surprise call.
(And if you have to do without the benefit of a nearby Porta-John,
for Pete's sake dig a hole and bury your business when you're done.
Be civilized. Even cavemen and illiterate pioneers had sense enough
to do this)
Sheet of canvas or sheet approximately 2 feet by 2-feet
square. For putting dirt you’ve dug back into your plug hole and
keeping someone’s lawn nice and tidy, silly.
A wide-bladed screwdriver or some other type of ready-made
coin digger available from online shops which sell metal detecting
accessories. Digging plugs during the dry seasons kills grass. Using
one of these implements to lift targets out of the ground instead
of cutting a plug with a hand trowel won’t.
Plastic sand sifter. Great cheap tool for sand kiddie playgrounds
or the dry sand beach.
Cheapie plastic Frisbee knockoff. Doubles nicely as a makeshift
sand sifter or dirt holder from plug holes if you forget your regular
sand sifter or canvas.
First aid kit, including gauze, Band-Aids and anti-bacterial
ointment such as Neosporin or Bacitracin. You never know what’s
in a plug hole, including old, rusted razor blades. A tourniquet
(or belt to serve as a tourniquet) wouldn’t hurt, either.
A few aluminum cigar tubes from a cigar store or friendly
cigar smoker. Use them to store a small handful of Ohio Blue Tip
matches (the kind you don't need a striker to light), just in case
you get stranded somewhere and happen to like staying warm by a
fire. Or in case you lose your cigarette lighter. Whichever.
Snacks. A few candy bars, beef jerky, small bags of chips,
trail mix or whatever else floats your boat. For eating in front
of the campfire when you get stranded in the forest, or closer to
civilization when there isn’t a Wendy’s handy.
Swiss Army knife. They have a bazillion uses, and you never
know when you'll need one of those uses.
Mini Mag-Lite. For peering into plug holes once dusk rolls
around. Do yourself a favor and buy an authentic, all-metal Mag-Lite.
The cheapie plastic ones just don't hold up over the long haul,
and they're not much cheaper than an authentic Mag-Lite. They come
in several colors for the fashion-conscious, too.
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