Skill vs luck

[DirtAngler]

Want to start this a seperate post instead of hi-jacking a previous post, which I wish more people would do by the way. Anyway there's a queestion of how much skill vs. how much luck is involved. My take is including learning and knowing your machine, plus researching an area, my guess would be that accounts for 65 percent skill. I'd say luck is still 35 percent because you still have to get your coil over the target, and it can't be too deep or masked that your coil won't detect it.

 

[BarberBill]

I wouldn't argue much with your percentages. However, in my view, it's hard to put a percentage on luck as skilled or not, it's luck that kicks in when you pass the coil over a target that turns out to be a gold coin, Morgan dollar, valuable gold ring etc. rather than another pull tab.
BB

 

[Nirros]

I totally agree with Barberbill. You can know your machine inside and out and practice non stop but its luck that puts you over an unseen object.

 

[mudpuppy]

Lets say, if a fellow was inclined to hijack this thread...would it be Skill vs Location? Any old tosspot in the right location can find some great stuff accidentally. Or, does the propensity of finding the right location revert back to skill?
There is such a thing as LUCK, and there are plenty of folks engaged in all sorts of pursuit activities in groups of people with the same skill set that just seem to be luckier than others. Do you dream about a specific find in a specific location even in a place you've never been to before, and go there and find it? Thats weird too...is that luck, skill, or some sort of spidey sense? I'm gonna go with Skill, Location, and of course coil-to-ground time...No matter your skill set or luck coefficient, you cant find anything sitting around in the house, and you cant find something thats not there! My spidey sense is telling me to get up early and go out to the sledding hills...I see a gold rope bracelet off to the side of the warming house.
Mud

 

[scubadetector]

n/t

 

[jim tn]

n/t

 

[Elton]

I think a learned amount of Skill, (Knowledge) can put you in the areas where finds should be.. Knowing how to operate your detector is a must Of course. There will be some luck involved to what falls under your coil..

I have hunted with certain people who just no matter how good I thought I was at detecting, and or, how much knowledge I have learned over the years have been trumped badly by them.
They have that unique ability to swing the coil over the good stuff..........no matter where we hunt............ And, I'm talking about one guy who's coil does not touch the ground but around 4 5 inches in front of him in an arc........... He swings high and fast lowering the coil for just a small amont of detecting contact.. Yet he finds things we all wish we could.. It's amazing he hits anything.. NOW THAT IS PURE LUCK !!!...................... So yes, there is lucky finds, and skillful finds............

 

[jmaryt]

put yourself in the right location,know your equipment,
you will make your own luck do these things,and give yourself a chance to make your own
luck! just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[Larry (IL)]

We have a member in our club who is well known as "McLucky", a wizard with the XLT. The more he hunts the luckier he gets......

 

[jmaryt]

bet he makes his own luck,by being in the right place with the right equipment!
sure! ya still have to pass your coil over the goodies,but ya give yourself a fighting chance
to get "lucky" by puttin' in the time,and the work to make it happen! just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[scoper]

The more effort you put into learning your machine the less you have to rely on luck.....so i agree with J.T.There are targets in the ground which can be found by anybody that can switch on a detector and swing the coil....these are easy targets that need no luck at all.On the other hand,there are targets that are so deep or masked by junk that nobody has even the slightest chance of finding them so luck or being unlucky has no part to play here either.Then there are targets that lie in tough ground conditions that require the detectorist to know his/her machine inside out before they have even the slightest chance of finding them.This is where skill comes in and the detectorist that has learned their machine to it's full potential is the detectorist that will dig these targets where everybody else has failed...hard work and dedication (not luck) has played it's part here.There is no such thing as luck....the more you put in the more you get out.

 

[jmaryt]

yes! "masking" is the biggest headache we all face in the field!
the ability to tell a good target from co-located junk is a constant challenge
for all. in my view,most if not all detectors have sufficient depth...there is a lot to be said
for knowing ONE detector well!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[BarberBill]

We have a member in our club who is well known as "McLucky", a wizard with the XLT. The more he hunts the luckier he gets......

Good point - when fishing those that catch the most have their line in the water the most. The more ground we cover the better the percentages get that we'll find something good.
BB

 

[Canewrap]

Yep, IMHO persistence usually trumps luck.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

Diligence is the mother of good luck. -Benjamin Franklin

 

[mudpuppy]

he had never been hunting. He had his father in laws 30-30, that he never bothered to sight in or anything. I pointed at a tree for him to stand by, and was moving over to a spot 100yds away, when BAM! I walked back over there and there was a nice little forkhorn he had just shot! So we were standing there looking at it, and I was sort of hunched over showing him where to begin the field dressing process, when BAM! He shoots another buck! Says, "This is easy!" I said, "Yeah, now get them both cleaned and stowed in the truck, we usually get at least six of them by noon"!
Thats LUCK! (Or is it back to location?)
Mud

 

[Dang]

50-50?

 

[jmaryt]

"chance favors the prepared mind!"

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[hammer0419]

Knowledge of your machine is key. But reguardless of how good you are. If you are in an area with nothing in the ground it doesn't matter how good you are. Research is I believe #1.

 

[marcomo]

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

Diligence is the mother of good luck. -Benjamin Franklin

They're not your words, Jason, but there is a world of wisdom in those two sentences.

Thank you for having the wisdom to pass them along!