Some days are so frustrating I feel like giving up detecting and taking up bowling or curling...

[Uncle Willy]

Went to a little school/park that I have gone to for years but haven't hit it for about a year. Used to have the place nearly all to myself and find five to seven bucks.

Stopped there today and the people, dogs, kids, were thick as maggots and I worked my butt off and found about eighty cents. The ground and grass was so tough it was difficult to even probe a coin. Some I just left. But this place used to be crummy with coins and one time when my partner and I were there I found over six dollars under one tree.

There's just getting to be way to many detectors out there and some of the schools blow my mind. I stopped at one this evening on the way home at 6:45 PM and I had no sooner entered the playground when the school doors flew open and here came a teacher and a hoard of kids. Now why on earth are kids still in school at nearly 7:00 PM? I have this happen all the time. I think the schools anymore are nothing more than day care centers for all the Yuppies. I'm through.

Bill

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

I live in the suburbs. It is always like that around here.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

I know what you mean. I don't even consider schools until the weekend(and then it's kinda iffy) and in the summer months.

 

[Spanky]

I hit the high school smoking areas all winter and picked up lots of clad and now its over detected by others. I see folk's every where. When the weather gets warm everyone grabs a detector.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah I think everybody and their dog has a detector these days. I miss the good old days when detectors were rare and you'd have twenty people and kids following you around asking a jillion questions. My old man used to chase them off by telling them we were geologists for some big oil company. Plus you could practically scoop the coins up back then.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah I live in a metropolitan area of 1.3 million people and things get skimpy often. It hasn't been to long ago that a fair sized playground would give up five to seven dollars. Now some give up nothing and most just a piddling amount.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

If you can hit the school before the other guy gets there it ain't bad but I think a lot of the folks working at some of the schools have their own detectors. It ain't fair. I know some park attendents who have detectors.

Bill

 

[Leslie(nova scotia)]

From the land of the Bluenose...peace is where you find it. i always go along an old trail a few clicks back and then only have to contend with the crows. Keep the faith and dig me bouy!

 

[Dick from IA]

[quote Leslie(nova scotia)]From the land of the Bluenose...peace is where you find it. i always go along an old trail a few clicks back and then only have to contend with the crows. Keep the faith and dig me bouy![/quote]

Well said, Leslie. I started several months ago doing this, and the reward has been peacefulness and older coins and relics. Yes, the clad total goes down, but finding one IH or an old military button far exceeds any clad totals, IMO.

Even though I don't run across other detectorists, I do see their tracks, and the pickings are slim at the playgrounds and ballparks. So I just look for the side areas to many of our parks, head into the woods, and find all sorts of old trails to follow.

Brings back memories, too. Used to tromp some of those trails; but now who needs 'em, we've got Playstation

 

[Spanky]

I know what you mean........I can't wait till Th "Yellow Wave " hits my area.


I'll be lucky to find a penny !

Great company though !

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah I know bud, I just get a little whiny once in awhile. Our weather is finally getting decent and I'm just happy as a clam to get out there in it.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah the problem with this area is that at one time Oregon had about five detector manufacturers here - Compass, Fisher, Bounty Hunter, Whites, Discovery, and C-Scope so folks here were well supplied.

Bill

 

[John D.]

Hang in there Uncle Willy, tomorrow will be better!!!!

 

[Uncle Willy]

It was.

Bill

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

In my 41 years of life, I have only ever seen 3 other people swing a metal detector! Incredibly they were all detecting on the same oval!
I struck up a bit of a friendship with one chap and after talking to him, I found out that I worked with his wife.They are on a working holiday around Australia and stopped in Dubbo for 6 months.They moved on last November, but I got a pleasant surprise to see this lady back out at work on Wednesday.When this chap goes detecting on the weekend in a school yard (Very naughty over here without permission) it's not uncommon for him to finish up with between $200 and $400 for the weekend!(guess that can go to paying his fine if he ever gets caught).
I did manage to secure permission to detect in my sons' school and came away with $70 for the week-end( even got to see a forearm detector in action that day in the form of an aboriginal girl that was a former student.By pushing the bark chips around with her forearm, she told me that she had walked away with up to $20 using this form of detector technology! Clever girl.
The only disadvantage to not seeing other detectorist around, is that it's a bit hard to share experiences with other like minded people, oh and I'd love to be able to walk into a fully stocked metal detector shop a just drool for a couple of hours!(had to buy all my detectors by mail order so far.
Hope I haven't left you too envious
HH
Mick Evans.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah we have a bud on the forums from the land of OZ who constantly makes those kinds of finds.

Bill