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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Navigating Muck And Marshes Without Getting Stuck


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I'm getting some interest in looking for arrowheads and other stuff in creeks and ponds when I get more time. One good idea I read about is using a commercial dishwasher flatware basket for sifting. One potentially life-threatening problem is sinking in muck. In South Dakota I got real alarmed when I stepped into muck in a slough that was covering a gravel road. I sunk my foot way down real fast. I worried I wouldn't get my foot out for a moment. It got me thinking about snowshoes. There's no marsh equivalent that I've ever seen. I ordered some hip waders, but that won't keep you from sinking. In places I go there is no help if you get in a pickle. One site I read said to get down on all fours and try to pull yourself out and float away. Ideas?

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You may want to check and see if you can connect with cell service if you're going alone.

 

When I was about 10 or 11 (about 1960-61) there was a major digging project converting an irrigation distribution system to underground pipes. After some Indian artifacts were discovered every kid in the neighbor hood stated sifting through the dirt and mud. I found two arrowheads and immediately and foolishly sold them for a quarter each and a ride to Dairy Cream for milkshakes for me and a friend.

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Years ago I was out with my Geologist son (who could find arrowheads on our lot) looking for artifacts, hoping to find my first arrowhead. I was looking in the bottom of a pretty wide gully when he came up to me and asked what I was doing. "Looking", I said. His comment was "Well Dad, people have around North America for 10,000 years or so. An inch of dirt builds up about every 1,000 years, so you need only look at the top foot or two of soil." Maybe that's why I never found any before that......

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  • 2 weeks later...

Those actually work quite well. We used to wear them when we were duck hunting a lot. Nothing beats sinking to your knees in muck 30 yards from the boat!

 

I don't remember them being $144 though.

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