Wondering how many of you hunted animals before detecting?

[Dancer]

I have noticed that many detectors in my area used to hunt / trap/ fish. Changing over to hunting Treasure came naturally. I slowly sold off my long guns as housing started squeezing in. I do still do a lot of panfishing, in the spring/ early summer. Just wondering how you guys took to it?

 

[mudpuppy]

Yep, same here..last year I did not buy even a fishing license for the first time in I dont know when...detecting has taken over completely, Why? Because I can hunt year round, go to different States even, be outdoors, fulfill a need to hunt/explore, and theres no size or limit restrictions! Going into my 5th yr of this, with no slowing down...this sport affords a person with so many subsets of skills to master...Clad,Silver,Relics, Inland jewelry, Beach, Nuggets, Meteorites, heck, even Scuba diving....plus, its cheap..a guy can get into it and do right well with a 500 dollar or less rig, and any kind of vehicle....sheesh, ask any duck hunter what he's got invested per duck shot down? Bass fishing? forgeddabout it! for the seriously dedicated, at least 30 grand for boat and gear, another 30k for a truck to pull it all with, and fuel for the pair can be 50-100gal+ per weekend..

Trapping sort of pays, depending upon the fur market, and how hard a guy hits it.. but the season is short, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort and commitment to go out every single day whether you feel like it or not....and like most everything, your effort is taxable.

Yep, a guy can hit it big with just one find in this sport, a brasher gold coin, a chain cent,(like Digger70pa just found) a cache?..all the skills derived from trapping, hunting, fishing translate over to this sport very seamlessly...
Mud

 

[jim tn]

Yup, hunted from the time I was old enough to hold a BB gun then a single barrel 410 hunting for pheasants, rabbits, what ever, on a small farm in Mn. My grandfather taught me about the outdoors, hunting and fishing, in my younger years. My trapping experience was for gophers. Had many long guns over the years but finally gave those up a number of years ago now. Still fish pretty regularly. Dang detecting has eaten into my fishing, though. Can't even go on a good walleye fishing trip without taking a couple of detectors along. HH jim tn

 

[xwyokid]

I have hunted since I was 13 years old. But, it had nothing to do with metal detecting. My lifelong, "like" of history did it for me.

 

[Elton]

Yep, same here..last year I did not buy even a fishing license for the first time in I dont know when...detecting has taken over completely, Why? Because I can hunt year round, go to different States even, be outdoors, fulfill a need to hunt/explore, and theres no size or limit restrictions! Going into my 5th yr of this, with no slowing down...this sport affords a person with so many subsets of skills to master...Clad,Silver,Relics, Inland jewelry, Beach, Nuggets, Meteorites, heck, even Scuba diving....plus, its cheap..a guy can get into it and do right well with a 500 dollar or less rig, and any kind of vehicle....sheesh, ask any duck hunter what he's got invested per duck shot down? Bass fishing? forgeddabout it! for the seriously dedicated, at least 30 grand for boat and gear, another 30k for a truck to pull it all with, and fuel for the pair can be 50-100gal+ per weekend..

Trapping sort of pays, depending upon the fur market, and how hard a guy hits it.. but the season is short, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort and commitment to go out every single day whether you feel like it or not....and like most everything, your effort is taxable.

Yep, a guy can hit it big with just one find in this sport, a brasher gold coin, a chain cent,(like Digger70pa just found) a cache?..all the skills derived from trapping, hunting, fishing translate over to this sport very seamlessly...
Mud

 

[asiandigger]

I never had hunted animals in my life (I'm 39). I did a lot of fishing, even bought myself a 17 ft fishing boat. Since I got hooked on metal detecting, I don't fish much anymore, heck I'm thinking about selling my boat. It's too expensive to go fishing now days...gas in your truck and boat total trip over a $150. Metal detecting is a lot cheaper...bottle of water and a sandwich and I'm on my way LOL.

 

[dgruff]

I still hunt and fish. Went fishing today, as a matter of fact. We caught 5 nice channel cats. When it comes to hunting, I mostly coyote hunt anymore.
I also have a motorcycle that's getting pretty neglected, lol . It's a Triumph Bonneville America, an '04 model.

 

[RLOH]

I was an avid hunter-fisherman before I got the detecting bug. I can now get the same thrill without killing anything.

 

[robo]

Still Whitetail hunt and fish. If I had to pick only one hobby though it would be detecting. Been a hunter and fisherman all my life and love doing anything that has to do with the outdoors. Something about detecting though that will be with me until I'm to old to swing a detector. Best hobby of them all.

 

[yowow#1]

Hunted squirrels and rabbits and deer since a kid. one thing that i loved most was the beagles. Started AKC Registered Beagles in competition field trialing in the 80"S. Trialed in AKC, UKC, ARHA, Competition.. Loved training and hunting the beagles until i started competition. Crooked A$$ People can turn you against something you love in a hurry. In metal detecting you don't have to worry about crooked A$$ES, You can hunt and enjoy your rewards by yourself without the aggrevation of crooked A$$ES. good hunting to all.

 

[upnorth]

Shot and ate Mulies, Whitetail, ducks, geese, grouse, ptarmigan, and ate Buffalo, Elk, Porcupine etc. I still pick various mushrooms, mainly Bolletes. I've had a fishing rod in one hand and a .22 in the other since around 12 years old. Not much shooting now, I grab a fishing license every 2nd, third year, when it strikes me. Bought a tent and took the warden ice fishing last winter, she liked it.

 

[NYNURSE]

Switched over to target shooting years ago. Last deer I got was close to a mile from the car, that was a lesson learned. As for detecting, I don't have to be in the woods before sunup. I can pretty well make as much noise as I want, and any detectorist I meet, I can approach as a friend, not somebody I disturbed. I don't get to eat what I find but I guess everything has its tradeoff.

 

[mudpuppy]

Glad you brought it up Dancer, some folks are wired with a hunters brain, a deep strong reptilian amygdala is what psychiatrists call it... (and theres a prescription they will write to alleviate you of this problem)
All Subsistence hunters/fishermen have it, at least the really good ones do..they pay attention to travel patterns and the weather and all the things a subsistence hunter needs to know and understand to be really good at it...

When I used to interview and hire on the road sales people, I would look for this trait in them based upon their choice of "hobbies"...as far as us detectorists, yes, we have active reptilian amygdalas alright! Humans, like most critters, fish, fowl, or quadruped, are structure oriented...we are drawn to structure, be it in a totlot, sportsfield, battlefield, or beneficial topographic anomalies, where folk like to camp, cross a creek, sit in the sun or shade, travel, swim, etc.....anybody that gets the chance to follow a fox, deer, or coyotes tracks through fresh snow knows what I mean...even a house cat or dog "cuts the corner" takes the path of least resistance, drawn to structure, and comfortable places...

If you have a brain like this, you think and dream about the "hunt", you pay attention to travel patterns, you can "see" the lanes in a piece of ground better than most....nothing you can do about it, re: Lady Gaga, "You're born this way"...

This to me is THE major thrill and fulfillment of detecting, since in actuality we are hunting Human travel patterns, in search of evidence they were here, what they were doing, and maybe even who they were...our rig tells us immediately if our assessment was correct...the last socially acceptable subsistence hunters on the planet in this modern world besides commercial fishermen are full commission sales reps...neither need a college degree, they just have to perform!..(or they dont eat)

Full disclosure: I'm a 100% commission sales rep, former trapper, presently a detectorist, ..all these skills intersect admirably, though two of them can get pretty bloody sometimes..."You're on the right track baby, you were born this way!" This should be a great weekend coming up...lets go and hunt!
Mud

 

[Grubstake]

I use to hunt deer, when I was younger, Join the Army in 66 and went to Nam, I hunted people for two years over there, When I came home, I couldn't hunt anymore, So I started detecting, Been at it ever since, Nugget hunting is my biggest love, But water hunting is right up there also. Now.I'm old, had 13 heart attacks in 15 years, and one 5X's bypass. I don't do any of it. Grubstake

 

[mudpuppy]

Thats a pretty powerful testimony there Grubstake!...this sure is a peaceful sport, probably good for a fellow... I bet you have some stories! damn, I wish we were around a campfire or something more traditional than this interweb...though its better than nothing I suppose..stay in it ol' top!..everybody today is too easily falling out...
Mud.

 

[Grubstake]

I just lost all my will to hunt game, after I got back from Nam, Seen more blood and guts to last me the rest of my life. I really like detecting, still have one left, but. it has not even been used, at all. Its a Garrett At Gold, nevr had batteries in yet. Between my wife and I we keep the DRS. Going. In fact I see the VA Cardiologist next month. I've had articles published, about detecting. and found pounds of nuggets, boxes full of rings, and even found a cashe or two. in my 40 years of detecting. But right now, my heart has the best of me. Grubstake

 

[jim tn]

That's to bad, Grubstake. Really sorry to hear that about your health. Like Mud said, I bet you have some tales to tell. I have been swinging for 40+ years myself. feel fortunate that I still can. HH jim tn

 

[Dancer]

Mud, I always thought you had a lot of spit on your fastball. This time you blew me away. Great post and analysis.


Glad you brought it up Dancer, some folks are wired with a hunters brain, a deep strong reptilian amygdala is what psychiatrists call it... (and theres a prescription they will write to alleviate you of this problem)
All Subsistence hunters/fishermen have it, at least the really good ones do..they pay attention to travel patterns and the weather and all the things a subsistence hunter needs to know and understand to be really good at it...

When I used to interview and hire on the road sales people, I would look for this trait in them based upon their choice of "hobbies"...as far as us detectorists, yes, we have active reptilian amygdalas alright! Humans, like most critters, fish, fowl, or quadruped, are structure oriented...we are drawn to structure, be it in a totlot, sportsfield, battlefield, or beneficial topographic anomalies, where folk like to camp, cross a creek, sit in the sun or shade, travel, swim, etc.....anybody that gets the chance to follow a fox, deer, or coyotes tracks through fresh snow knows what I mean...even a house cat or dog "cuts the corner" takes the path of least resistance, drawn to structure, and comfortable places...

If you have a brain like this, you think and dream about the "hunt", you pay attention to travel patterns, you can "see" the lanes in a piece of ground better than most....nothing you can do about it, re: Lady Gaga, "You're born this way"...

This to me is THE major thrill and fulfillment of detecting, since in actuality we are hunting Human travel patterns, in search of evidence they were here, what they were doing, and maybe even who they were...our rig tells us immediately if our assessment was correct...the last socially acceptable subsistence hunters on the planet in this modern world besides commercial fishermen are full commission sales reps...neither need a college degree, they just have to perform!..(or they dont eat)

Full disclosure: I'm a 100% commission sales rep, former trapper, presently a detectorist, ..all these skills intersect admirably, though two of them can get pretty bloody sometimes..."You're on the right track baby, you were born this way!" This should be a great weekend coming up...lets go and hunt!
Mud[/quote]

 

[Dancer]

Grub, I believe that your in many of our hearts! Serving in Nam, the Mideast, or where ever it's hot. You guys got our respect.

I just lost all my will to hunt game, after I got back from Nam, Seen more blood and guts to last me the rest of my life. I really like detecting, still have one left, but. it has not even been used, at all. Its a Garrett At Gold, nevr had batteries in yet. Between my wife and I we keep the DRS. Going. In fact I see the VA Cardiologist next month. I've had articles published, about detecting. and found pounds of nuggets, boxes full of rings, and even found a cashe or two. in my 40 years of detecting. But right now, my heart has the best of me. Grubstake[/quote]

 

[Grubstake]

Yeh, it sucks to be sick, and not be able to do what your mind says, but your body won't let you.But it was a great run while it lasted. Grubstake