Concrete soil.

TerryEastTexas

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I went detecting for the first time in a month on Wednesday. I had been anxiously awaiting to get back out but when I got to my site and dug or TRIED to dig my first hole I literally couldn't get my shovel point in the first inch of soil. It was like concrete!!!. I tried a couple of other places but the whole site was like this. I was extremely dissapointed after waiting so long just to fail at digging one hole.
Has anyone else had this problem. The bad thing is it's only mid August with no rain in sight. What a bummer.
 
Sure.
I have this problem all the time here in the SE. with a lot of clay mixed into my dirt...although even without the clay soil can get hard like that.
When this happens I do one of a few things...
Go into the woods, could be a little easier to dig with trees preventing the baking effect and layers of old leaves or brush helping to protect the soil.

Or I plan on going into the water.
I haven't yet, only have one spot I can do this at and I sure don't have a lot of confidence my Nox will live through the experience but I sure can PLAN on water hunting with no repercussions.

Three...I just quit hunting for now.
Private lawns will get messed up under these conditions, nice areas in parks will be messed up too, it is hard to dig even an inch deep let alone a few, it's usually hot and humid and add all this up it does not equal a pleasant or fun experience for me...at all.

So I have patience and wait.
If we have a lot of rain I get to get out right after because there is a short window where digging is easier before everything gets hard again.
Or I just sit it out until things get better.
Where I live the fall and spring are prime hunting times and I can hunt through the entire winter because the dirt never freezes here so I just think about that and wait.

I had the opposite experience when I lived in Kansas, it got so cold and the ground froze so bad sometimes I was locked out of hunting for weeks at a time...sometimes months.
Overall, I think that was worse.
I just do what I always do when challenged in life...think logically about a problem, choose the path of least resistance that hopefully will have the most optimal outcome and results for me and just deal with it.

I would much rather wait to hunt than take the chance of destroying any sites and cause me problems for future hunts.
 
It’s not quite concrete here yet but getting close,
I hunt all public property so I won’t dig until we get some serious rain.
Until then it’s either in the water or the tot lots.
Hope you get some rain soon and can resume digging.
 
I had been anxiously awaiting to get back out but when I got to my site and dug or TRIED to dig my first hole I literally couldn't get my shovel point in the first inch of soil. It was like concrete!!!. I tried a couple of other places but the whole site was like this.

Texas is known for bad caliche, but I doubt that that is your problem since you indicate East Texas. I lived in West Texas for a bit and the caliche was horrible. I had to use a digging bar to make enough space to set a 5 gallon plant in the yard. General aridity is what causes caliche. I think East Texas gets way more rainfall so you are probably getting lots of clay.

You can surface mark the places where you are getting hits with the MD. I use shorty golf tees if the soil is soft enough to permit - yours sound like this won't work. Frequently hard surfaces are only a surface condition. Go down several inches and things may improve. Soil scientists won't take "No!" for an answer. It's their job.

If you are serious about wanting in for a good signal, then there are several approaches. Get an estimate of the object's depth from your MD pinpointer function and/or your handheld pinpointer. Let this guide your aggressiveness.

Brute force - the digging bar to hopefully pierce the hard surface if the object is likely below the hard surface. Don't wreck your goodie by doing this for a shallow signal!!

Bring in enough water to soften the surface. Make a shallow pit to contain the water to concentrate the moisture. Have patience while it soaks in. Kinda like a perc test for a septic tank burial.

Get a bulb auger and a good cordless electric drill to pierce the hard surface. Yes, it is possible to use the auger to drill up goodies and if you are lucky, it won't beat up the specimen. I sharpened the edge of mine (edge on bottom) to take a deeper cut. Mine is ~3.25" in diameter. You can do close-ology and closely miss your target to dig laterally to the target, soil texture/hard surface depth permitting. Electric drills, water and digging bars are heavy. Park close by if possible.

Combine some of these techniques.

When you absolutely, positively need to know what is down there.
 
It’s not quite concrete here yet but getting close,
I hunt all public property so I won’t dig until we get some serious rain.
Until then it’s either in the water or the tot lots.
Hope you get some rain soon and can resume digging.

When I started hunting in 2010 I hit several tot lots and continued that for years.
Never a problem, moved to a different state and continued to hunt them, most were sand filled, a few had chips and one had shredded old tires which was a real drag because of the steel belts.

Thinking about it I have not even seen a tot lot that has not been converted over to those thick rubber mats...for about 4 years now.
Too bad, easy digging and sometimes productive but things change.
 
I just stick to well watered parks this time of year, been over 100 for days, another 10 to go before it drops back in the low 90s. Hunts start at 6am and are over by noon latest. Stay hydrated!
 
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