Treasure hunting as good as fishing

Like wartime surveillance, the blips and bleeps coming through Jack Dahm's headset might signal a prized target.

Keep the disc level to the ground. Don't tilt it. Make short, sweeping arcs. When you hear the buzz, change to an X-pattern. "You need to get the movement just right," he says.

The tones are telling. Low, medium and high, the sounds alert him to garbage or gold, junk or jewels.

He says his "Bounty Hunter Lone Star," metal detector isn't the best, but is sophisticated enough to discriminate between zinc, iron, copper and silver. And gold, of course, but that's rare.

Wearing a Bass Pro Shops T-shirt, knee pads and suspenders, he moves slowly and deliberately across the empty field. When the detector hums, he pauses.

"It's not easy finding places to hunt," said the Mundelein man. "You need permission first. They worry we're digging deep holes, but we barely leave a trace."

Parks are OK, beaches will net some loot, but he's had the best luck scanning the grass after the carnival leaves town.

Find out where the Zipper ride was and that's where you'll find a bounty. Coins, bracelets and earrings hide in the lawn. "That thing really shakes 'em loose," Dahm says. "I found $10.47 after Mundelein Days."

He's been finding valuables in unusual places for decades. A garbage hauler for 38 years, Dahm found a silver tea set, collectible war posters and even a golf cart while working for Mundelein Disposal.

He's 65, retired and likes to fish. He hunts pheasants and geese with his 12-gauge Browning shotgun and likes NASCAR too. But, he says, treasure hunting is his new love.

"It's relaxing," Dahm said. "And it keeps me away from the 'honey-do' list."