New to hunting / MDing

[relic-hunter]

Well not completely new. But new as an adult. Had an el-cheapo, toy detector from radio shack back in the late 70's or early 80's but I am expecting delivery of my new Garrett GTAx 550 today. Looks like the weather will be good for a first outing with it on Sunday. So what are good areas for a beginner to well begin? There are three beaches about 10 minutes from my home here along the gulf coast of Florida. And there are at least a couple of parks nearby. And a couple of schools.

Ken

 

[cwilk]

Welcome to this forum. We all expect pictures of your loot especially those of us who are sidelined by winter weather or malady. (Get well soon Uncle Willy!)

I started at this field where they used to have fairs in the 50s and 60s that is now public use land where kids play. It has no improvements but it gets mowed a few times a month. I chose it as my starting spot because I knew I wouldn't be getting a lot interruptions or have a lot of followers and I knew I would be learning and might over dig a hole or two. In other words a fair amount of targets, a few real good targets, and easy digging where I couldn't ruin anything. If I was starting out all over, I'd pick pick a bark chip area (playground) at a time when it is not too crowded for my first hunt. Schools are my favorite place to hunt now, including the bark chip areas at most elementary schools. A saltwater beach is not a hunting option for me because I live too far away. A busy beach will refill with loot a lot quicker than a park or school but will probably be hunted by plenty of hobbyists. I don't think I would start at the beach until you are familiar with the detector. Practice pinpointing a lot to start! Take note where you think the target is and where you actually recover it. It won't take long to get proficient, probably a week or two.

I started in the coin mode not all metal for 100 hours as your manual will probably suggest. I am not fond of digging iron.

Keep a log. Take pictures.

Find a suitable treasure chest to store you loot. I picked mine out and thought that if I filled it in a year I'd be happy. I had it filled in 2 weeks. I started using a big tackle box but the handle broke when it was about half full.

Just my opinion.

Chris

The real place to start is your own yard.

 

[khouse]

My advice to you is to buy a long handled scoop. Drive directly to the beach. Notch out iron. Detect the dry sand at first. Dig every beep. When you approach the wet sand you may need to reduce your sensitivity and raise your disc up a notch or two. I wish I lived only 10 minutes from the beach!

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

I lived in Fl. most of my life and I'll try to give you some tips.
Go to the most crowded place on the beach, after the crowds have left and MD there. Just the dry sand. It is a great place to learn your new detector. There isn't that much trash and the digging is easy. Don't get discouraged, the winter time is the slow season.
I have to go for the day, but I get back to you on a pm and give you some more tips.

John

 

[awhitster]

Good advice form everyone here so I don't need to add anything. Welcome to the forum, good luck and keep us updated.....with pics if possible.

 

[Uncle Willy]

I have a field test on the 550 at losttreasure.com Give it a read and it might help you out.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

n/t

 

[wag-jr]

i have a 550 and its a great machine.go to the beach with it at first this will help you with pinpointing.easier digging that way you will be able to locate your target easier and dig smaller holes.dig everything at first on the beach you will get used to your machine and its operations set your depth at about 5 and you shouldn't get alot of bouncing signals.hope this helps some happy hunting

 

[relic-hunter]

Well this is a thanks to all those who relied to my original post. This forum seems pretty friendly to new comers. I did get the new detector delivered yesterday, and after reading the manual and watching the instructional dvd, I went out to the backyard here at home and tried it out a bit. Just enough to kind of get the feel for it. It seems like a nice unit. I "found" two targets and successfully recovered them. Okay they were just trash. But still I got to use a couple of the feature of the machine. Including the pinpoint feature. I went this morning to the local home improvement chain store and bought a sand scoop. It's not a long handled one, they didn't seem to have any like that, but it looks like it should be good for beach sand. So the weather looks like it will be good in the morning for a first real outing with the 550. I will report on my first finds after I get back tomorrow.

Once again thanks for the tips.

Ken

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

I always found that about 4o pm the crowds started leaving the beaches. It is a good time to MD the beach and is cooler by then or early the next morning. You have a lot of competition, so if you don't find anything try to think smarter and don't be discouraged. The only discrimination I would use is iron. Dig everything that beeps. It is easy to dig in sand and you will be surprised what you will find. That foil reading could be a thin gold ring with a big diamond. Penny and up could be a silver ring. Don't forget the shower areas.

If the beach isn't producing and the parking lot is sand, MD it or the path to the beach. People lose a lot of things in the parking lot dragging their things to the beach. I have pulled rings out of the Venice Beach parking lot. A smaller coil helps more in the parking lot, because of more trash and you might be a little more picky about what you dig or you will get tired quickly.

You can MD the volley ball area.

If there are older structures in the area you could MD on the easements around them. Use your own discretion. Some I went to the easements were almost dirt like under the live oak trees and no one cared. If the grass is nice, I stayed away from them. In Fl. there are many dirt roads and alleys around those old places. Watch for cars. I have done very well in the sand roads there. My oldest coin came from a sand road in great condition.

 

[relic-hunter]

I am not easily discouraged. But it is funny you mentioned Venice city beach, that is exactly where I will be going. I don't know how much swinging of the detector my arms will be able to stand. I was thinking of limiting my first 'hunt' to maybe about two hours. The weather here today is a little on the gray side. But I am sure there will be people there today. So there might be some fresh goodies to find tomorrow. Thanks again for the tips.

Ken

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

There is a lot of trash, but I thought the old arena would be a good place. If the beach isn't any good, don't forget all the tot lots.

By the way, pick me up a pizza at N'tino's.