Tricking fellow hunters

[swing it low]

I saw this in another forum this is advice from Gary Drayton. It seems it is giving advise that is very bad for the hobby. What do you think? If you believe it is bad for the hobby please ask Gary to remove it from his blog.

By Gary Drayton
"When I want to search where another beach or water hunter is already searching, I always try to trick them into moving.
The more the other hunter is watching you, the easier it is to trick them into moving.
Try scooping several imaginary targets on the beach or in the water, pretend that you are looking at something good before putting the fake find away.
Do this several more times until you really know that you have the other person hooked.
I sometimes help to sell the trick by letting out a loud YES!
Walk away from the area and past the other hunter but do not dig anything, even if you get a signal.
Nine times out of ten the other person will move towards the pretend hot spot, that is your cue to go directly to the good area that has now been given up by the person you just hooked.
Dont be afraid to drop a few "anchor finds" such as nickels or pull tabs to keep them interested and in place until you have firmly established that you are not giving up the spot."

 

[Larry (IL)]

It takes all kinds.........

I thought his post was pretty funny and don't see anything wrong with it. My first thought would be, if he is finding good stuff, why is he leaving?

 

[plidn1]

If this guy is truely doing this, the only person he tricks, is himself.
I can't begin to tell you how many times I have found value targets in and around someone's else's holes or scratchings. That's when my pride and self worth are at it's highest point.
The sand is never whiter on the other side of the beach. Work the ground in front of you and work it well. You then will be rewarded more often then not.

 

[John(Tx)]

I make good finds and am pretty sure they do also, we don't talk to each other, tried it once and they were very standoffish. I tune them out and continue to hunt, don't even give them a second thought. I do post some of my finds here because I know they check this forum, they just don't post their finds. One of them even sent me a PM one time asking if it was important to me to show my finds! You'd be surprised who this guy is, he rarely posts but is well known. But this forum is for posting finds, right? Good hunting guys and I will continue to post my finds so they can see what they might be leaving behind.....John

 

[Tom_in_CA]

On the beaches where I'm at, most of the hard-core hunters wait for beach storms to erode. And mother nature puts all the goodies into certain low spots, under certain cuts, etc..... And because of this, I have seen the subconscious phenomenom that we ALL do, .. and that is ........ to keep one eye on each other. If I see my buddy down the beach zig zagging looking for these "pockets", then I'll tend to glance his way periodically to see if he's digging. Because if he IS, then he might have found that day's "zone". And then yes, other hunters gravitate that way.

It's almost comical: like seagulls that see one seagull feeding, so they all fly over to the spot to partake of the feast

So one time, a buddy of mine relates the following story: A storm had occurred during the night before. The next morning, several hunters were on the wet, zigzagging around trying to find the "zone" for that day's action. These two buddies of mine started finding targets, and could tell from the lay-of-the-land that this was going to be "the spot" for that day. However, they could see other hunters down the beach hopelessly zig zagging. So my two friends decided to purposefully not start their spot, lest they attract the attention of the others. So they waited, and just purposefully wandered around thin zones digging little-to-nothing. And sure enough, the other hunters lost interest, and left for the day. Finally, when there was only a single hunter left on the beach besides my two friends, THEN they started to work it. And sure enough, the last remaining guy saw, and joined them

So in this case, the deception is in the reverse order, to deflect anyone from knowing you have a good spot. I would not consider that dis-honest, would you? I mean, are we md'rs required to have a bullhorn and announce any good spot we come to? Doh

 

[michaelosully]

There's all kinds of 'tricksters' out there...watch them in action on TV unreality shows about metal detecting & treasure hunting...or NOT!!

 

[Rainyday101]

What you describe is no different than fishing. One person is catching fish, all the boats surround you. You can go ice fishing on a lake with only one shanty on it. The next guy comes on the ice and has the whole lake. Where does he put his shanty? Right next to the only one on the whole dam lake. People are ignorant. If ignorance was a crime we would have to build a lot more jails. If I see someone else detecting I go about my business and ignore them. If they come up to me and talk I am friendly and will gladly shoot the breeze with them. I will always give them their space and expect the same. If they are detecting where I want to detect, that's just too bad for me, they were there first. I expect the same courtesy. I can always detect there after they leave or come back another day.

Like Tom_in_CA said though, if I had a hot productive spot and there were other hunters nearby. I would wallow around detecting and not dig much until after they left. If the spot was good enough, I would stay until they left. Is this dishonest? No I don't feel it is. If the spot is good enough I guess I just assume the other detectorist is ignorant and if the see's me digging a lot will be detecting right on top of me.

My aunt was a very successful business lady. She taught me something I will never forget. She took a piece of paper and wrote the word ignorance on top and greed on the bottom. She drew a half circle with a pointer from the word ignorance to the word greed. She drew another half circle with a pointer from the word greed to ignorance. She then pointed to the word ignorance and followed the line to greed and said "ignorance breeds greed" She pointed to the word greed and followed the line up to ignorance and said "greed breeds ignorance" and "it's a vicious circle- don't get caught in it!" It is so true. Ignorance is caused by greed and greed is caused by ignorance. People who see you having success and move in on your space are ignorant and greedy. Instead of looking for another productive area their ignorance and greed overides any common sense and courtesy they may have. It overides it so much they may even get confrontational over it. I try to avoid these situations all together if possible. If they want to hunt right next to me, I usually have stinky gas and clear the area in short order!

 

[swing it low]

On the beaches where I'm at, most of the hard-core hunters wait for beach storms to erode. And mother nature puts all the goodies into certain low spots, under certain cuts, etc..... And because of this, I have seen the subconscious phenomenom that we ALL do, .. and that is ........ to keep one eye on each other. If I see my buddy down the beach zig zagging looking for these "pockets", then I'll tend to glance his way periodically to see if he's digging. Because if he IS, then he might have found that day's "zone". And then yes, other hunters gravitate that way.

It's almost comical: like seagulls that see one seagull feeding, so they all fly over to the spot to partake of the feast

So one time, a buddy of mine relates the following story: A storm had occurred during the night before. The next morning, several hunters were on the wet, zigzagging around trying to find the "zone" for that day's action. These two buddies of mine started finding targets, and could tell from the lay-of-the-land that this was going to be "the spot" for that day. However, they could see other hunters down the beach hopelessly zig zagging. So my two friends decided to purposefully not start their spot, lest they attract the attention of the others. So they waited, and just purposefully wandered around thin zones digging little-to-nothing. And sure enough, the other hunters lost interest, and left for the day. Finally, when there was only a single hunter left on the beach besides my two friends, THEN they started to work it. And sure enough, the last remaining guy saw, and joined them

So in this case, the deception is in the reverse order, to deflect anyone from knowing you have a good spot. I would not consider that dis-honest, would you? I mean, are we md'rs
required to have a bullhorn and announce any good spot we come to? Doh

I think that's fine. I just it is really wrong to trash beaches with pull tabs and nickels to deceive others.

 

[opus]

All is fair in the treasure hunting game I guess...

Wouldn't it be better to maybe have a conversation with this guy and pool information and leads? Just asking. I do all my hunting just after sunrise when it's rare to have to deal with anybody.
When I see more than a couple of people it's time to pack it in, it's me and a pull-tab and that's the way I like it!

 

[Steve O]

I think it's on the low class side....un-gentlemen like. The beach is big enough for the few who detect....plenty of room.

 

[fowlercharles]

Hi swing it low, Though I don't beach or water hunt and have not the least knowledge of what is considered beach hunter's good/bad behavior. I do agree with you though but for a different reason. A person using deceitful (lying, guile, or deceit) methods to distract someone in any way is in truth acting out a lie. That speaks for itself, and speaks loud and clear about the one doing it. One bad habit breeds another,, and then another, so there goes the "character" of a person . We all know some of those folks and smart thing for the Gary guy to do would simply keep his head down and his mind on "his" digging and not be concerned about the other diggers. He has no doubt never learned one of the best part of detecting is sharing finds and times with others. I started digging in 69 and dug for many years alone and, in isolated areas. Later , after the hobby caught on some of us scratchers became buddies, sharing goodie dirt just naturally came to be another big part of our enjoying the hobby. Anytime any of our crew hits a goodie patch, they let it be known, loud and clear. That is a great feeling when you hear your buddy calling over yonder through the woods to "come on boys, I found a goodie patch". And yeah, I had a Buddy find a goodie right where I already hunted . Well it felt great cause I still had a part in it because "We" found his goodie and that is what "sharing" is all about. Good digs are even better when you are doing them with some good friends. That's just my way of seeing things and can't speak for the beach hands. I bet some of them see it that way too. Could also be why ole Gary is digging by himself,,, HH to you swing it low ! Charlie

 

[sweepdog]

it is always best to be respectful of other people. i found that person who threw the nickles and pulltabs to be a mean spirited angry person. i remember a guy in florida told me in the early eighties that you make about 10 cents an hour detecting. if you figure your time and then your finds it might come out to two or three dollars an hour. not enough to be a jerk over it.

 

[mudpuppy]

Theres a few other detectorists I do try to help, I just got off the phone with one of them that is passionate about our sport, and gave him some great info on where I'd be hunting today if I didn't have to work. I hope he meets with some great success! Its pleasurable to see somebody else get a nice find if they are good guys and you want to see them succeed. Sort of like fishing in that regards, its cool to put somebody on some great fish and share in the joy of the adventure. Off hand I know of two guys I would do anything to help get a great find in my "territory" and be happy about it. As for the rest, I don't care where they hunt or what their situation is, I feel no compunction to help them at all, or trick them into discouragement either...I have conversations with the other detectorists I meet, just to see what their motivation/dedication/endurance level is, and who I might be up against. Now, if I was hunting the same place everyday, and trying to protect the goods, would I salt an area to keep the posers out of MY zone? Maybe! I have a bag of wheat pennies that might come in handy for that someday!
Mud

 

[fowlercharles]

Wheat pennies???

 

[mudpuppy]

Wheat pennies???

Sure! That should keep somebody occupied in an area better than a bunch of pulltabs...AND they would go home happy too! Its a Win-Win all around!
Mud

 

[UK Brian]

This is not exactly the end of the world as its just as "wrong" to move in on another person just because he seems to be doing better. I did get lots of people detecting in circles around me because I find a lot of rings over the period of a year. One reason for this is that I rotate round a number of beaches, know them, so if the good spots are sanded in I move on and also use binoculars to check for dips/cuts at the beach extremes.

Now I make certain I'm first on the sand (five in the morning) and work hard until the holidaymakers start to drift on, which is about ten in the morning. You then hit a land site on the way home. Doubt if I see ten detector users in a year so no problems.

 

[Elton]

Deception by someone for personal gain just isn't right.

That would be in any aspect of your life in my opinion. [size=x-large]Not just Metal Detecting !![/size]

 

[ohmygato]

Deception by someone for personal gain just isn't right.

That would be in any aspect of your life in my opinion. [size=x-large]Not just Metal Detecting !![/size]

How about in poker?

 

[Elton]

Where I play poker Cheat and you could get shot ............. Bluffing and deception are two different things .. You start dropping cards where they don't belong Whew !!

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Well in my opinion .. if Gary Drayton is doing that then I think that it's pretty crappy. If you consider some of the stuff he has found .. it is nothing but pure greed on his part. Here is a guy who writes books on water-hunting, and then for him to try and scare away the very same folks who are probably buying them ? Sounds like an a$$wipe to me ..