Gold Rings whats your tips

[utahshovelhead]

Any tips n tricks on finding those gold rings. I know lots of us have found them but do you have any tips on what works for you more often than not?

Unfortunately I pretty much keep most of the screen wide open on the beach and then dig any thing that hits! Not really that bad but that is how I feel sometimes as it can be very slow and I want to check any target (fresh water beach) I have read Andy's book on the beach but my fresh water beach is a bit different and there are not THAT many pull tabs. I just look and the number and know where most the for sure pull tabs hit so I dion't dig em all but also dig quite a few as I don't want to miss any thin bands.

Any response would be appreciated.
good luck
utahshovelhead .

 

[TokenDigger]

On the beach I dig every signal simply because most gold rings sound like pull tabs. Also, targets are not hard to scoop up since you are usually working in sand. Look in the shallow water too since many parents lose their rings when playing with their little kids in the water. I have found a couple of gold rings in shin deep water. Gold chains are tricky and they don't make a good sound at all - almost like a crackle (unless they are all balled up). However, best finds are in deeper water where you need to use a water machine and other equipment. It's a lot of work but can really pay off. HH

 

[utahshovelhead]

Hey token,
Thanks for checking in on my post. I have hunted for rings for some time and done quite well. I am trying now to find deeply burried rings and do mostly dig lots of other targets just to clean my spot out. I can not believe how many ways a pull tab can come up on the numbers scale.
I was running my machine with the lower half basically closed but have started to open up the screen and in fact with two tone audio all the way open now so I am trying to dig any high tone with that program but it hasnt paid off yet and I am having a hard time getting the hang of it after using multi tone for so long.

I hardley check the numbers when hunting like this but I am doing alot of digging. fresh water has its own challenges as now tide goes in and out and I cant get into the water much with the machine for fear of a disaster. But the lakes I hunt are low right now and I have found quite a few good targets. I am just looking for any advice on what is working well with the E trac in this type of hunting.

Thanks a bunch,
utahshovelhead

 

[TokenDigger]

Dear Utah-

I don't have an E-trac but use my Explorer XS. I did a beach that was partially drained last year that was a swimming beach and fishing spot for awhile. I dug up all the coins since some were silver (mostly 1940s & 1950s) as well as a ton of fishing sinkers and lures (which I gave to the guys who were fishing there). Between my buddy & I, we found six gold rings and about 10 silver rings in two days of hunting and about 20 silver coins. You're right about pull tabs - they come in all over the place depending on if they are square or pull type or broken. I open my machine up and still dig everything though. Sorry I can't offer any advice on the E-Trac though, other than putting a plastic bag around it to keep it clean from the muck and to protect it in case it is dropped in the water. Good luck & HH!

 

[utahshovelhead]

Thanks Token,
I always like to read your posts, great info. Some of those old lures can be worth some money if not just down right mean on the fingers. But hey you did great with 6 Gold rings.

I used the XS for 3 years on these lakes and then the EX II for 4or 5 and I am convinced that the first XS I used was a gold ring magnet as I found some really small thin rings that were very very deep with the stock coil, and they would tone sound very nicely. I even questioned the Minelab guys about the difference between the EX II and the XS as I felt sure that something was different in the way it responded to the gold. I love the E trac though as I always missed the pinpoint ability of the Whites machines I grew up with. I also am getting great depth with clarity on the digits and fast recover speeds and feel like I am doing pretty well. I am sure there are more rings in some of my haunts but they are deep, small, and mixed in with other stuff. I do dig almost anything that perks up in some of these areas and am going to open up the bottom of the screen more often, though I know how much iron is there. That is why I am going to try to use two tone audio more and try to filter out some of it with the lower tone. My best day was 5 gold rings in one day in about an hour all within 8 feet. That was fun fun.

good luck to you,
utahshovelhead

 

[NebTrac]

Hey Utah.

I've only found 1 gold ring (posted a picture a week or so back) and it hit at 10-10 on the E-Trac. Probably the only reason I dug it was it was at a very old church. I think site interpretation would be in order as I probably wouldn't have dug that in a busy park. For me that signal is either a bent beavertail or .22 short casing or something. So it was a surprise. I think your right on at the beach...probably have to dig almost everything.

NebTrac

 

[TokenDigger]

Dear Utah-

I was not able to test the Explorer II against the XS but that is an interesting observation. My buddy had a DFX and he always seemed to find gold (especially small chains) on the beaches. I think a lot of it depends on what machine you are comfortable with and good at. I did notice that the fishing weights (sinkers) give off a more "solid" sound than pull tabs. Rings are all over the place depending on their size and depth. You finding 5 gold rings in one day (in an hour) is fantastic. Sounds like heaven. If I did that well I would be thinking about quitting my day job. I wish you more good luck & HH!

 

[ziphius]

This only applies to beach-hunting for me:

1) Most non-ferrous beach targets are pennies and dimes in my area. I rarely dig them anymore. In conductive multi-tones, if it is not a mid-conductor type of signal (pull tab, nickel, gold ring), I usually don't dig it. I realize that some higher carat and larger gold items will fall by the wayside by doing this, but a majority of gold jewelry will be normal-sized 10-14K stuff and will fall into the 12-05 to 12-28 range. I especially stick to this gold strategy if there are a lot of targets on the beach. My nickel and gold counts have increased considerably since adopting this strategy. It takes patience though, to pass up digging potential quarters, silver rings, etc. to increase your chances of finding the gold. Read Andy Sabisch's book for his experiences with this method.

2) If targets are relatively rare and I'm getting bored, I'll dig all signals.

 

[utahshovelhead]

Thanks guys for your great info!
I can see that each beach may pose a different strategy of discrimination. The two tone ferous is very interesting to me and offers a way to skip the iron that is very common at two of the beaches I hunt. One Beach is very slow and I dig almost any target that comes in but I havent found any gold rings there for some time but one year I found over 13 gold rings when the water first went out.

Ziphius,
I wonder if you set your discrimination to allow only that certian area of rings to come in or if make your dig decision by open screen and then check the numbers, or just by mid tone sound?
I think most guys I have been reading about keep the screen fairly open on the E trac and use the numbers or tone to decide, That is what I ussually do as I am not in any hurry to hunt these spots as Andy suggests. Also are you maxing out your sens or automatic? just curious.

I appreciate your comments, thanks

utahshovelhead