Slit method in pics with explaination

I'll try and make this as straight forward as I can from start to finish. This technique is not new it's on YouTube but its the one I use every hunt on a grassed area, I suggest practice in your backyard to fine tune. If you can keep your own grass in tip top condition you'll be set out in the parks and sensitive areas without falling foul of the grass nazis. This is good for those areas like frequently visited parks and public spaces like schools and churches so you will get an invite back again.

So first you need to use your detector to pinpoint the target. I use the 12/6 o'clock, 9/3 o'clock then around 11/5. If you have a sense of shape from all sides you can attempt to decipher what is below by shape and tone. Next whilst focusing on the chosen spot mentally mark out the 9/3 (horizontal to your feet) and aim around half to one inch forward of the target. Insert blade just in front of your target and slice up an down vertically along that line. Pics

Select and pin point target

Insert lesche approx half to one inch in front

Saw up and down in horizontal line

Next you want to use the handle and push forward, away from body. Don't be scared to make it larger all the way along. More pushing is more room to dig. Then pull towards your body pushing the lip closest to you slightly downward towards the ground
Push forward to open up

Pull back with blade in hole towards you.

Take an old t shirt and place on ground next to hole. I say t shirt as easy to wash, inexpensive to find and good strength and flex for moving dirt around.
If the target is shallow use pin pointer to locate and pop coin out with fingers or blade. To do this dig from the wall closest to you angling the blade at 45 degrees and take out some of the dirt wall below the grass line. On shallow targets you just need to enter at the root zone to get a little dirt between the blade and the coin to avoid scratching it. Place dirt on t shirt.
Old t shirt works best!

Digging sidewall
If the target is deep then here is where you take some dirt out to get your pinpointer it without using it to dig! Dig the side wall out pinpoint and repeat until you figure out where the coin is sitting. You can take a huge amount of dirt out by undercutting the side wall. Hopefully if you proceed guided by the pin pointing and taking decent amounts of dirt out the coin can come out clean no scratches in a cocoon of dirt.

Scooping out
Dirt on t shirt so no extra messes. Pinpointer to locate.

After the coin/treasure is out time to do the job of refilling. Gather up the t shirt and "pour" the dirt in the hole. If you have mud or clay, stones etc, use your hands and put topsoil back in on top. If dry/crumbly squirt some water in. Next push the dirt in to refill all the gaps. If you've just pulled out that 10 inch 1 cent you want to refill and keep the undercutting of the sidewall in good integrity, jam that soil in there good.
Dirt in neatly using pour method with t shirt

Push dirt in tight using hand.

Take your digging tool and use the handle to bang the outer edge pack down and close the hole. You need moisture to ensure this goes well. If the grass is well watered no problem, but a squirt if it's dry will do just as good. The trick is to match the two sides up. If you did push pull at the start this is almost certainly going to line up without a huge effort.
Inside compacted.
Using handle to push outer edge back in place. Stomp method can work just fine when it's wet.

Closed hole.

Now before leaving brush away any residual dirt and do a quick landscape. Pick up any loose grass and fluff up any areas compacted from the dig. 10 secs is plenty long enough to hide your intrusion into the dirt. In this pic below I've put the pin pointer along the same axis of the hole. It's not perfect but is much better than a messy plug. Next time it's mowed or walked on Noone will know you were there. Notice the sticks still in the pic this is to show its all the same hole

If you do plugs you can do damage. The pic below is an exaggerated example but I've seen parks with a series of dead patches all over especially in the dry that look exactly like this dry and dead. The slit method does not impact like this and is just as fast if not faster.

And that's it! If I didn't explain something properly or left something out put a comment in below. You can bet if someone walks up half way through they will be horrified but don't panic just keep going and do the job right while explaining in all calm voice you know what your doing. If they insist you stop (just a regular grass nazi not an official) tell them they can take a photo after your done. Most people see you do one and stop bothering you.
Hope I've helped someone out there keep this hobby going in the right direction. Cheers.

Thank you, what a great series of pictures.

Ill give it a go mate, but most my targets are deeper than the digging tool. When I do a plug I make sure one side is never cut so when I fold the 'C' cut down and stomp it, there's alwats roots attached. I havnt noticed any damage unless that 4th edge gets cut or accidently pulled when hinged open. I like you slit method and may be able to adapt to it for those areas I don't detect on like oval grounds, due to knowing my plugs have a chance of buggering up sometimes. If I left one on an oval I'd be pretty upset let alone the clubs / public. ( I havnt a pinpointer either. )

Your photos look like the earth is vommiting. I like it. If I had MS Paint I'd draw eyes on it :lol: great post mate

Great post! I like using the slit method in summer, but I dig plugs in winter. Down here in TAS gras death isn't a problem in winter when dug properly (3-sided).

Just to be clear I didn't really mean the middle of ovals and you still need a bit of stealth and preferably permission. What I'm referring to is the outside boundary, not playing surfaces and such on sporting grounds. Anything over white lines is likely going to have you in hot water. Older ovals etc use a a bit of common sense and preferably during winter when there's less people and more moisture.

Great post GT.

Good post - I use a long screwdriver which leaves even a smaller footprint but you need to learn how to pinpoint for it to work .

I was watching some live dig videos and most of the time the plug cut was way off centre of the target requiring a bigger hole to find it.

If you learn how to pinpoint you don't need the big tool or big hole IMHO ...,

Good video if you are digging on a "bowling green" with plenty of moisture in the ground,but remember that Australia is the most arid continent on earth.

I like the above post about using a screw driver which I knew about and is a good technique to learn including me.

When you are on the beach you never have this problem,and on the beach I will be again in 16 days.

Ah,the beach