I have little to no experience actually metal detecting. I have two detectors, one was a Christmas Gift, and one I bought second hand off of Ebay (maybe from a member here, who knows? Silver Sabre II Tesoro). But, I know that research is key to searching in the best possible locations. Then it's up to me to learn and practice and keep at it.
Of course we all want the most valuable objects we can find, and the older the better, if it's going to be a coin, button, door knob, belt buckle, etc.
So my thinking is to get some books from the local library and read about the history of the community I live in. I live about 45 minutes from Cooperstown, and an hour or so away from Albany and Utica. The books will lead you down the trails and rivers and creeks the early settlers used to get to this location.
This area was once the edge of the frontier during the 1700's, so there are some interesting locations and history. And I have been using what I have learned to start making a list of areas I want to investigate. There's a creek called Butternuts Creek that the town is on. The upper section is where the first settlers of the valley came in and started their homesteads. Below the town is where a General Morris build his estate, complete with mills and several outbuildings. Most of which are still there. Below him is where the creek meets the Unadilla River and there are several towns like Bainbridge that have a great history with French/Indian raids, British/Indian raids where the settlement was burned to the ground.
I then have been hunting down the oldest maps I can find, and trying to locate where some of the actual locations are likely going to be. I'm cross-referencing the old maps with modern ones and of course our pal Google Earth, and now have some really interesting locations that I will be hunting as the weather breaks and I can get at the sites. There's lots of farmland around here and I'll be asking owners if they are ok with me walking around with my family looking for artifacts. I am hoping to find arrowheads and whatnot from the Seven Nations as well as try to locate Trapper, Colonists, Soldier relics.
Along the way there have been some other interesting distractions like old school houses, fair grounds, parks, etc that have been used since at least the 1850's. The areas near water are always nice during the hot summer days. The last time we took the kids down to the creek they would have stayed there until dark except we lured them away with ice cream and dinner.