Relic Hunting Tips from the Motley Digging Tools Team

Just as Minelab has its Detexperts and Nokta has its Nomads, Motley Digging Tools has a dedicated Pro Staff Team. This group consists of hand-picked metal detectorists from around the world, selected for their expertise, passion, and contribution to the detecting community. These skilled individuals play a vital role in shaping the brand’s offerings by providing product ideas, conducting rigorous field testing, delivering detailed feedback, and promoting Motley’s tools socially.

In this article, we’re diving into relic hunting strategies and insights with two distinguished members of Motley’s Pro Staff Team, Axel Macon and Stef Tanguay, as well as Bert Van Heerde, the owner of Motley Digging Tools.

These accomplished detectorists tackled technical questions submitted by our readers, sharing their expertise on topics ranging from advanced relic hunting techniques to optimizing metal detector settings. Whether you’re a seasoned relic hunter or just starting your journey, their insights are sure to inspire and elevate your approach to getting better finds.

Read as Axel, Stef, and Bert reveal their hard-earned knowledge and tips that have helped them uncover remarkable historical relics.

Relic Detecting Questions & Answers

What methods do you use to locate older or abandoned sites for metal detecting? What practical tips or strategies can you share with our readers to help them identify such hidden or overlooked locations?

Bert Van Heerde – To locate old sites, settlements, and similar areas, I always conduct extensive research at home. For me, research is a second hobby closely connected to my passion for metal detecting.

I begin by selecting a specific area, either in my home country or abroad, that I believe would be interesting to explore. For my research, I rely on a range of personal tools and programs, most of which are tailored specifically for my home country. I frequently use several old, digitized historical maps with integrated Google Earth functionality. Additionally, I utilize LiDAR programs to uncover old, vanished settlements or buildings in the fields. These features often appear due to subtle height differences, which can be further analyzed using Google Earth’s historical imagery feature. For example, in dry years, crop marks may reveal the edges of former buildings, settlements, roads, or old church paths.

I also refer to old books and online studies authored by archaeologists in earlier times, before metal detectors became widely used. These resources often provide a significant advantage over other detectorists who skip this level of research. However, even with thorough preparation, luck plays a role—there’s always a chance that the field you choose has already been hunted.

In smaller countries, such as ours in Europe, finding untouched ground is becoming increasingly challenging. The days when almost nobody used a detector are long gone. Nevertheless, the most critical factor in our passion remains: do your homework. Research and preparation will always pay off in the end.

For the Minelab Equinox, 800–900, I find recovery settings of 4–6 work well for achieving depth and separation, especially in iron-rich and mineralized soil conditions.

Have you created custom search profiles for specific environments or target types? If so, what are your go-to profiles?

Stef Tanguay – I generally detect iron-infested homesites in the woods, where it is a “dig all” situation.  You simply cannot rely on target IDs alone when the nonferrous and ferrous targets are mixed.  For this reason, I have adopted a program for my Minelab Manticore called “Simply The Beast” by Luc Van Assche, a fellow Minelab Detexpert who was also a tester for the Manticore.  His settings are as follows, and I use them because the audio is best at discerning a solid target in a sea of iron.  I also opt to use the M9 coil for most of these digging situations, but the program can be used with the other available coils, as well.

Minelab Manticore – Simply The Beast settings (with M9 coil):

• Volume: 25
• Search Mode: All-Terrain General
• Ground Balance: Use at default 0 unless unstable
• Noise Cancel: Rolling noise cancel until stable
• Recovery Speed: 6
• Discrimination Pattern: All Metal
• Ferrous Limits: Upper 7 / Lower 2
• Ferrous Tones:
  • Ferrous Volume: 4
  • Stabilizer: 1
  • Stabilizer Filter: Off
• Target Tones: Disabled
• Audio Theme: Depth
  • Threshold Level: 6
  • Threshold Pitch: 8
  • Profile: Simple
  • Min. Pitch: 25
  • Max. Pitch: 65
• Run machine with Open Horseshoe to have a low rumble on iron
• General Settings: Ferrous Indication Red Numbers

My own note on sensitivity: I’ve found that running your sensitivity between 21-24 in iron-infested sites is most appropriate, but your personal site conditions will demand different levels of sensitivity.  Pay attention to what the Manticore is telling you and make adjustments to suit your site!  

What settings adjustments do you recommend for overcoming target masking caused by iron or modern trash?

Stef Tanguay – This is machine-specific, but I will reduce the upper ferrous limits on the Minelab Manticore as a means to unmask targets.  Every so often, nonferrous targets will “float” above the center line and into what might normally be the upper ferrous limits in stock settings.  If you reduce the upper ferrous limits, you have allowed the Manticore to alert you of iffy targets which could be nonferrous items heavily masked by iron.  Lowering your upper ferrous limits will demand more digging on your part (with some iron included), but you will absolutely uncover desirable targets that were missed by others in the past.

Are there specific settings that help improve your ability to detect and analyze deep targets?

Stef Tanguay – Pinpoint mode will do a better job at evaluating a target versus just continuing to swing over it.  I don’t use pinpoint mode often (I prefer the “wiggle method”), but analyzing a deep target is an exception.

What strategies do you recommend for successfully metal detecting in areas with heavy iron contamination when coin shooting or relic hunting?

Stef Tanguay – Heavy iron contamination demands a reasonable level of sensitivity (i.e., do not crank it to the max) and a relatively high recovery speed to provide the best target separation possible.  You probably do not want to run your machine at the highest recovery speed, but if you normally run a recovery speed of 4 on a Minelab Manticore in quiet pastures, for example, you might prefer 6 or 7 when greeted with a heavy iron patch.  The gains of a higher recovery speed and lower sensitivity cannot be overstated.  If you run your sensitivity too high and your recovery speed too low in heavy iron, the detector will become overwhelmed with every minuscule piece of metal and mineralization from the ground, masking the targets you’re hoping to hear.

When dealing with overlapping targets in trashy areas, how do you find the balance between recovery speed and depth detection?

Stef Tanguay – When I am in a trashy or iron-infested area, I make sure my recovery speed is on the higher side – generally, I opt for 6 on the Minelab Manticore.  The fact is, if you can’t hear a target because your recovery speed is too low and therefore not providing the target separation needed to identify a good signal, you won’t be digging them.  I would rather lose a bit of depth potential than target separation.  In my experience, I have dug relics in difficult areas at great depth (12”+) even with my recovery speed set at 6.  Bottom line: concern yourself with target separation over depth at difficult sites.  Most relics and coins are less than a foot in the ground, so don’t be afraid to raise your recovery speed in these situations.

When metal detecting, if you get a good tone from one direction but the tone disappears when you rotate the detector, should you dig it?

Axel Macon – It depends on the site, but with my colonial site, I always do. These old home sites often have a lot of personal items, and you never know what you might find. Sometimes, cool finds can ring up as bad signals

Whisper signals: what methods do you use to magnify whisper signals in the field?

Stef Tanguay – I will either briefly raise the sensitivity for a better audio response, or lower the recovery speed to get a better sense of what that whisper is telling me.  It can also be highly beneficial to run a threshold so that when you hear a “break” in the hum, you are alerted that something very deep or very small is under your coil.

What types of trash items are most commonly mistaken for older, deeper silver coins? Besides bottle caps, which I know can produce similar signals, are there other examples?

Stef Tanguay – Bent square nails can throw a “squeak” of a high-tone, and if the nail is quite deep, your detector might not know what to make of it.  Over time, the more you learn your machine, the less frequently you’re apt to dig a bent square nail (but make no mistake, you WILL continue to dig them from time to time).

What are the best settings for metal detecting a pasture?

Axel Macon –  On the Minelab Equinox series 800–900 metal detecting pastures, I find that Park 1 or Beach 1 modes work well when running in All Metal mode with the iron volume turned down and recovery speed of 4-6.

What are your tips for hunting an old road grade? Do you tend to have better luck detecting on the road itself, off to the side, or is it about the same in both areas?

Axel Macon – Depending on the site, I find that the road and the area within 3 feet of it often yield good finds.

What are your best tips for hunting creeks to find relics?

Axel Macon – The farther out you go, the better your chances to find good relics —humans tend to leave a lot of trash behind. If you want to find more relics and less trash, make an effort to reach remote areas, especially in historical locations. Here in Charleston, SC, the low tide line on navigable waterways is fair game for exploration.

If you don’t have access to remote areas, don’t worry—you’ll always find something. Another trick I use is flying a drone over creeks at low tide to look for the “Three B’s”: bricks, bottles, and ballast stones. Spotting these is a strong indicator of a promising site.

Be sure to revisit these areas often, as every tide can transform the site and make it feel new again.

What are your best tips for locating and identifying privies?

Axel Macon – Here in Charleston, SC, privies tend to be located in depressions in the back corners of yards. Look for signs like trash, glass, bricks, or any small debris on the surface, no matter how insignificant it seems. Then, use a probe to test how the ground feels. If you insert the probe and feel or hear some “crunchies,” it’s worth digging out.

You can also find shallow trash pits near doorways outside—remember, people tend to be lazy. Think about it: where would you throw your trash if you didn’t have regular trash pickup?

When arriving at an old property to detect for the first time, what visual clues, aside from building foundations, do you look for to decide where to start and focus your detecting efforts?

Stef Tanguay – If I am in the middle of the woods at old home foundations and trying to get a lay of the land, I’ll look for high ground and water, because these areas were just as attractive to people 300 years ago as they are today, meaning they spent time near those areas.  It’s also crucial to find the well, because there was always a lot of foot traffic between the home and the well.  Additionally, instead of only looking at the ground and woods around you, don’t forget to look up.  Homes were generally built to utilize Southern exposure from the sun, and if the home site is not directly off the side of a cart path, you may not initially know where the front and back yards were in relation to the foundation, which is why the sun is crucial.  I have had more luck in the backyard of old homesites for whatever reason, so that’s the area I’ll check first.

When metal detecting near old home foundations, how do you distinguish between structural debris (like nails, hinges, or metal roofing) and personal items such as coins or jewelry that may have been lost by the home’s occupants?

Axel Macon – If it gives a decent signal at all, dig it! Don’t miss out on good finds by being lazy.

How important is discrimination when metal detecting at old home sites, and how do you decide on the best settings to filter out junk while still catching valuable targets? Or do you prefer using All Metal Mode and digging everything?

Axel Macon – Dig it all, run All-Metal, and Volume Discriminate.

What steps can metal detectorists take to better document their finds?

Axel Macon – For me, it’s all about the research on the site beforehand. If you really do your homework, you’ll understand why you found what you did and who it might have belonged to, and that’s how I document my finds. Of course, if you discover an area with items that lack documentation, you have to research the items themselves and try to figure out why they were there.

Life was challenging in the 1600s–1800s, so I consider the most likely story for why something ended up in a particular location. That helps me discover different ways to research my finds. For example, was it a Revolutionary War camp? If I find gun parts and melted lead, I can investigate who was in the area and read their diaries to further document my finds.

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Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, the relic hunting tips and strategies shared by these Pro Staff members highlight the importance of learning. May your next metal detecting dig uncover an unforgettable find.