Nailing Nickels, Gold rings out of sea of pull tabs, now that's what many of us need.

[Phillip_in_NM]

.... Pick a better site, like pack up and move ? ....

Dancer, while it's true that swim beaches have the better ratios of gold jewelry, yet that doesn't have to be ocean beaches. It can be inland lakes. And if no such thing exists in your area (like if your lakes are only fishing lakes, not swim & sunbathe lakes), there are varying degrees of land sites too.

For example: Not all turf is the same. Some will have more punishing ratios of aluminum to gold. The worst is any place that has picnicking (eating and drinking) and BBQs (fires of any sort). So if you see picnic tables and BBQ pits, you can know it's going to be pitiful to try to angle for gold rings. Eating introduces foil (for the food wrap). Drinking introduces tabs (for the drinks). And BBQs/fire pits introduce aluminum nuggets (from people who threw their cans on the fires) . A sure-recipe for insanity. I'll hunt those type parks to angle for copper and silver (old coins), but will not attempt to "be a hero" and look for nickels or gold.

HOWEVER: turf that is strictly for athletics (and far from the bleachers where eating/drinking fans are) will have less punishing ratios of aluminum. Sports/athletics that require frolicking, arm motions, gloves (like baseball gloves) that go on and off that tug at ring. People who take off their jewelry "for safe keeping" and leave it on the sidelines with their coat and school books. Like soccer, baseball, football, volleyball, edges of basketball courts that meet-the-grass, etc...

Also inland like sandboxes, PT fields, wrestle pits, mud baths, mud wrestle pits, etc....

Tom (as usual) makes excellent points. Let me add just a couple that I feel have upped my odds considerably. 1) If you are fortunate enough to have a playing field of some sort recently created, detect it often using little discrimination. Sure beats those fields that have been used for years (and have years of accumulated trash!). Another advantage is that almost all targets will be less that 1-2 inches and can be found almost immediately with just the pinpointer and probe. 2) Another interesting thing that has dramatically helped is going anywhere where people sunbathe on towels. I love to go on those days where some rain is predicted. It cracks me up when people who are on a beach and who will go in and out of the water will jerk up their towels and other possessions and go running for the nearest shelter after feeling a single rain drop. Awesome time to detect. Those jerked up towels often have jewelry on them.

All that being said, I'm convinced that my White's M6 has upped my odds even a little more. If the VDI is rock solid regardless of direction of sweep, I'm confident that I have much better than average odds of finding gold. For the 3 or so years that I was hunting primarily parks and other urban this has held true with the 40+ gold items I found including rings, earrings, cuff links, pendants, etc. Interestingly 3 of my best rings have been a rock solid 55 (which the M6 calls a screwcap). For about the first year, I gradually narrowed my VDI range notch to a single number. Not a single item I have found thus far showed more than one VDI number. It's pretty rare to find any target where the VDI is rock solid from every direction, and I certainly have dug trash under those conditions, but as I noted before, I'm just looking for something that ups my odds. I haven't kept notes but right now I'd say my gold item to trash item is 25-35 out of 100 items dug. I generally only hunt the highest likelihood areas that Tom describes.

That's my two cents.

 

[Dancer]

State Line bar & Grill. Almost everyone knows of one. This particular one been in operation since the 50's, with no improvements. Site along a stream, has horseshoe courts, shade trees, benches and of course a bar. Long time party place for bikers, hikers, teens ,etc. A pull tab nightmare. Local hunters all know there's got to be a ton of good stuff mixed in there. I tried by myself once, just wasn't any fun at all. Did hear of 3 or 4 guys going in there to dig everything. Worked the worst place first. Pulled everything. Found a museum of layered alum tabs. But did find some silver coins, rings old pennies. Lot of work. They got together about a year later. All trashed up again. There is no doubt there's good stuff in there mixed in amongst the layers of trash. Just like the beach party areas where they burn wood with nails. Drink beer, drop acid, and whatever, roll around and loose every thing and have a good time. There's good stuff in there, But.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

..... There's good stuff in there, But.

No is doubting that there's not some gold rings hiding with oceans of pulltabs (beer/soda fest zones @ turf can-slaw, etc....). And ... sure .... if someone takes the time to strip-mine, then sure: They'll find those lone gold rings.

But this is kind of like blackjack in Las Vegas: If you have 20 in your hand, do you take another hit ? Or do you hold ? Someone could say "You should take another hit. Because, after all: The next dealer card *MIGHT* be a one". Sure, it might be. But odds are, it's not.

So too is md'ing: Sometimes it's better just to go where odds are better. JMHO

 

[pasttom]

I think most gold rings hit like nickels because we tend to dig coin IDs and get the rings that hit there too. Most hunters walk over potential gold rings dismissing them as most likely trash and usually are correct, but who knows how many weren't? You never know what you don't dig. I think we'd be devastated to learn what we have passed over. I think we learn by doing not don'ting. The ringfinders have paid their dues (do's?) and we look at them and think they are 'lucky'. Any one can get lucky, but to do it consistently means skillful. Gosh, I feel better now, I think I'll go try to get lucky!