Recently ...............

[Elton]

I have had the pleasure of meeting a few new detectorists.

All very nice guys who will be a asset to our chosen Hobby.

My concern is what each expected out of his chosen detector. All purchased what I would classify as "STARTER" Detectors.

Depth about 4" on a dime. Their expectations were 2 feet on a dime. Each had watched the TV shows and saw the depth of some of the digs.. That is all well and fine. Not even an issue really.

They were mislead by advertising more than anything. UP to 24" Up to 16" were printed right on the boxes. Well if it were a manhole cover under the ground maybe ??

I tried to explain to each that in reality 8 to sometimes 11 or 12" was possible in ideal conditions with a top of the line detector on coin size items. Most likely 6 or 7 would be the average depths.

My point is if you are thinking about getting into metal Detecting for a Hobby is... Please do some research. Go to a dealers.... get the facts of the machine your going to buy...

Also know You will dig a lot of trash...A FACT !! It's not all like you will see on the TV Shows.. Know the detector you buy. If it's a lower end..accept the 4" depth and look for places that will have those depth finds.. If you get lucky you may just find a really nice old coin a little deeper.... Enjoy the hobby for a hobby.. Very few find wealth as a result of detecting..

 

[Johnnyanglo]

It seems people underestimate the amount of work it takes to find anything valuable.

They easily overestimate their detectors depth capability. They also underestimate the difficulty in discerning the audio and TID characteristics of a good target vs. a junk target.

The manufactures show chests full of gold and stories of amazing finds that they'll never see. They buy the detector and are disappointed that all they find is junk.

It requires study, time, and often back-breaking effort to find anything valuable. It also requires hours of research to locate areas that might contain something of value.

A low-end detector is often not the best choice when starting out. Neither is investing money in the most expensive one.

A fully capable detector in the $400 price range is best, along with a pinpointer. Buy used. Expect to suffer hardship and disappointment before any success comes your way.

 

[matthias]

Great summation Elton. Absolutely true. Good luck and happy hunting to everyone. Matt

 

[mudpuppy]

Well stated and good replys. Funny thing about gold fever, or treasure fever for that matter, somebody that's been horribly bitten by the treasure bug will not listen or take most of this advice to heart. Its something they have to learn on their own, through many days of "failure". Its true for many pursuit oriented sports, fishing, hunting, etc. Marketing does its best to sell the top of the line without which you cannot be successful...Nobody could catch a record bass with a zebco 202 on a mid level rod, nobody can kill a trophy deer with a home made longbow, etc. That's why for sale sites are loaded with all sorts of great gear. Once a fellow learns on his own how much work, time, effort, and luck is required for a pursuit oriented sports to be successfully mastered, the reasoning about the sports realities is accepted. One thing for sure, detecting successfully dictates a necessity to be highly self motivated, observant, prepared, and those are good traits to develop regardless of the quality of the finds. In the end, its great to encourage new members of our brotherhood just for the hope that they will master the disciplines we learn by detecting that will service them throughout what ever Life throws at them in the future.
Mud

 

[mascard1]

To bad you can't buy a barrel of luck with a Detector!

 

[MarkCZ]

Just yesterday evening I went to our local city park in hopes of finding a piece of REAL jewelry with my Tesoro Tejon, I hunted from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.
In this time I found (I included pull tabs and aluminum screw caps to the list of good targets because they are so much in the gold range)

First the good stuff!

Two clad quarters,
Two clad dimes,
One copper penny,
One nickel,
Five corroded and almost gone Zinc pennies,
Six square pull tabs,
Ten beaver tail pull & toss tabs,
Three aluminum screw caps,
One aluminum tarp eyelet,

Now the REAL junk!

One large rusty washer,
Two rather large rusty nails,
Nineteen pieces of what I'll call can slaw,
One zipper tab,
One screw Ferrell thingy,

Mark

 

[Nauti]

This is what regulates the numbers of people that take up the hobby,if it were easy everybody would be doing it and there would be nothing left for the dedicated band of people who put a lot of effort into the hobby.I think it's a good thing that most give up very quickly.....those looking for quick results are probably the sort of people the hobby could do without anyway.

 

[Billium]

When I started just over a year ago I had the fortune to have a friend recommend discussing with a local dealer. I don't want to mention his name as I am not sure if he is a sponsor. This dealer was able to visit with me about my interests and recommend a detector that would best suit my needs and budget. He also makes himself available to you post sale for advise, guidance and training. This helps lessen the frustration of the learning curve. I can only imagine trying to figure out what a detector is doing by reading the manual only. I would probably have my stuff for sale.
That being said, when I hear of someone wanting to get started in this hobby I recommend they do the same thing. It promotes "buy local" and immediately gets them in touch with other detectorists who can then help them with their learning curve, frustrations and teach them proper etiquette so they don't go out and cause us a bad reputation. Also it's another good way of possibly acquiring a detecting buddy.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

I started detecting one year ago this month. I read extensively on the forums so that I could learn a little about the hobby. Initially I was frustrated with my selection of machine but I am said to be "Stubborn" and stuck with it until the light began to shine. I love the hobby. I compare it to hunting and fishing. When hunting one is always anticipating the next game animal or the next fish to bite. When I detect I am always anticipating the next target and sometimes pleasantly surprised when something like a piece of gold or silver emerges from the dirt. Plus it is good exercise for an Old Man.

 

[Robert2300]

I feel for these poor guys who go and by detectors.
after watching these television shows.
It's a nice hobby but the only people making money, in my
opinion, are these damn TV shows that mislead people.
As of late more and more people who see me swinging
my detector come over and ask about it. They watched the
TV programs. All I can tell them is not to believe everything
they see on TV. It's not as easy as televisionb makes it
seem.
Robt2300

 

[BarberBill]

I've learned that it really does take many hours to get to really know your detector. The plus side of this for me at least, is after the first one, others I've used came much easier. Takes a lot of signals with a single tone detector to pick up the fine nuances of different targets that others say they hear, but eventually you learn them. Unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to pass the information on in text, you have to hear and learn for yourself.
BB

 

[Ron M 608]

I know what you mean about the exercise for an old man. I went out in the woods yesterday and found an old camping site that I knew was there and spent all day walking and bending over. The ground was Very dry and hard so it isn't easy digging but I did find 6 clad dimes and 18 pennies, (some zink and 1 wheat). I had a bag full of pull tabs and beaver tails. Around the fire pits there were a lot of nails I think from burning pallets. But anyway my legs and back this morning hurt so bad that I think I will just sit around today.