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Learning and improving

Magicmantx

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
265
Location
Cherokee Village AR
Finally got to get out in the yard with an improvement in the weather and do some searching. Up to today the only things I have found with minimal time is pull tabs,nails, cans and misc trash . After the first day I started to improve and found a bullet (modern copper cladded) but an improvement non the less. Next time i only had a few minutes at a different location and finally found my first coin a clad penny but at least it wasn't trash. Finally today I got to spend a couple hours in the yard and put into practice what I had learned so far. First I found a penny then another then another then a quarter and then a few more pennies all within a few feet of my driveway. So I am improving learning the ATP . Depths ranged from 2 -8 inches deep with tones from 72-86 . The quarter was about 3 inches and came in at 84 . It was a good day for me and I'm sure it may seem funny to all the guys who find the really cool silver and gold and such but I'm a total newbie and was happy to see a 1963 penny which is 6 years older than my house. I'll continue to search my yard for awhile while doing research on my area which has a lot of history ranging back in the early/mid 1800's . I know the silver and old relics will come in time when I get into an area older than where I am now. Until that time comes I only need to find another 749.86 cent to break even lol
 
Sounds like you are on the right track! So many people start off thinking they will get rich and then quit this great hobby when they find out they wont. Put in the time and you will be digging some great stuff! Good luck!
 
Sounds like you're on the right track. Keep it up. When I started this past July I dug TONS of junk, still do...:laughing: DON"T ever get discouraged with junk. There is always something hiding around it. I counted my clad the other day and had 148 clad pennies from the 60's to today. That's 148 plugs dug. That doesn't count everything else. I hunted from July to November...I'm sure I've dug well over a 1000 plugs, unfortunately most was trash, but that's the best way to learn what your machine is telling you. The "good" stuff will come when you least expect to find it and in the strangest locations. Good Luck, and HH
 
Best advice I can give. Don't get discouraged. 99% of us do not have quarters jumping out of the ground into our pouch like one member on here. Silver will come and it just takes a lot of patience and finding the right place to hunt.

In 2016 I dug 1351 pull tabs for 53 pieces of gold. I am a water hunter though. But on land you will find you will have to probably dig many many more to find gold. However it can and will be found.

We all have to start somewhere. I still remember my first silver dime. A 1964. No place is ever hunted out. Go slow and listen for deep faint signals.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the hobby. You won't get rich but having fun is what counts.
 
We have all been there and some of us not that long ago. It will happen faster than you think and once it clicks it clicks.
 
I started the same way,it’s the only way TO start. There are certain things you will hear and there will be “tells” you can look for with your specific machine that will alert you to things. What ARE those things? To truly learn,YOU must go through it. That’ll provide the solid foundation on which you will build,if everyone is told the answer,come test time...you won’t know what to do.
As said,it will “click”. Believe it or not,it will. Certain things can be carried on to other machines,but the FUNDAMENTALS will never change.
Keep at it,you’ll be targeting and finding places that hold what you want to find in no time!:grin: It’s all part of the hobby.
 
Yep..Get the fundamentals, concentrate, build skills upon each lesson learned by every signal/target...the dirt will teach you if you let it...look around, use all your senses to evaluate a specific location to 'See' it for what went on there and what you can expect to find...Some locations, "drop zones" are visual, then you go hunt them audibly...

You can also focus on Speed and Ergonomics and Time management...Consider condensing your dirt learning curve based upon how many signals you can pull in an hour...even if they are trash, you will greatly compress the time it takes to learn about all the nuances of this Sport, and develop a smooth and relaxing fluid motion throughout......We are tracking Humans through the fog of Time..Time is coming after us, compress it if you can....pull 8hrs of targets in 4...

Evaluate your personal tendencies...Do you like to go Fast? Get a rig that can keep up...do you like to go slow and deep? Likewise...dont bring a gun to a knifefight..(Dont take a Salmon rod to a Bluegill pond...dont take a Zebco 202 out on a Salmon river)...etc.... This is where the Forum and Youtube can help you evaluate which rig suits your AO, preferences and personality the best...

Anyway, you are off to a Great start! You are THINKING, which is what is required...Like any outdoor pursuit oriented Sport...Its a Study, and the World is your classroom...go often, pay attention, enjoy the lecture coming through the phones...Pattern your behavior after the others that came before you.... Absorb their experiences and put the lessons they learned to use..., get motivation/encouragement from the posts...ask questions, participate with any encouragement or thoughts about your hunts...We love this kind of stuff!:laughing:
 
I am not exactly in the same boat as you but still similar. I am learning a new machine and so I have had to study signals and tones of the new machine to improve my find ratio. I commend you for starting slow and learning the ropes before throwing yourself out there and being baptized by fire. There is so much to learn and the more prepared you are the better your finds will be. I am learning more about my F70 each time I go out. I have found what setttings work best for my area and which ones suit my style of hunting. I wish you the best of luck on your first hunt and I know that with determination you will be successful.
 
One thing I never thought about and rarely see mentioned is the physical aspect of this hobby. I'm 60 and have battled rheumatoid arthritis since I was 26.I get around fine most times but do have restricted range of motion in my wrists and 1 arm. My joints feel the pain when I push them beyond what they want which I still stubbornly do.I pay for it when I do but I don't let it stop me LOL. I'm slower getting up and down and digging hard ground takes me longer than others. I can walk as far as anyone else my age I guess but like Toby Keith put it in his song. I'm not as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was LOL. I got to spend another couple hours out in the yard and once again pulled in 4 pennies from 1980-1997 a pull tab a couple pieces of slag and a foot long piece of aluminum window frame which I was sure was something good lol. All my pennies were about 5-6" deep and all rang up around 78-80. Doesn't take me long to locate them and my plug size/location is a lot more accurate than when I first started. Apparently the people who have lived here over the years were a lot more careful with there nickels/dimes and quarters than their pennies lol. I have been doing some research of the area and there is a ton of history around here dating back to the early 1800's which I know sounds new to the people from up in the North east but around here its old ha.I located an old county fair grounds that hasn't been used since the 70's and was used from about 80 years ago until then so I'll do some checking to see if it's still owned by the county and possibly start there for my first adventure out of the yard. Bad weather is soon to return so might be awhile till that happens. Too muddy in the yard right now but it sure makes it a lot easier to dig lol
 
Much The Same Routine

Hello,
I too am a newbie to this metal detecting hobby. I am older than you ( 74 ) and have a lot of aches and pains but I will not let them stop me. I started in late Sept 2017 and did exactly like you. My own yard. I also put down some clad to see the readings and the sounds. I branched to out to several outdoor flea markets, a fair ground and a local football and track stadium. I got lucky and did not have any competition. I did very well on clads and have almost $400 worth for a bit over 3 months of digging. I also found some 90% silvers and three rings. I am using an AT Pro and an AT carrot pin pointer which I bought new.
I have dug a lot of trash and have learned a lot by doing so. I am waiting for unthawed ground and no snow to continue my quest. I truly love doing this hobby and must admit I did put some serious time in. I did some pre detecting and I have two new spots waiting that I have some very good signals. Most likely clads but I don't mind. A find is a find !! I hope this encourages you as it's a matter of learning your machine and finding spots.
Bubbaron from PA.
 
Just keep at it and you will learn something new each and every time. Do research on your town. I use google earth and historic aerials for my scouting.
 
So the weather here has warmed up a bit and it was a nice day out. I ventured out of the yard yesterday and went to a spot close to my house down by a stream where locals hang out in the summer. The trash in the ground there was crazy. I found a piece of Cickle blade and a few other odds and ends trash but a so so day not real encouraging and the ground was still pretty hard to dig. Made it out again today and went to a small park nearby where people take there small children . I found a couple pennies but the best thing came as I was about to leave. A guy came up with his young daughter and we started talking about places in the area. He then proceeded to tell me about a beach on one of the local lakes nearby that he knew for a fact some of his friends had lost jewelry last summer and they never found it. He also told me it was a very popular spot in the summer and a lot of boats would beach there . So off I went. Soon as I hit the sand boom a dime ( my first dime) then penney penney penney penney penney lol . a few fishing weights, a 22 cal bullet several pull tabs and pieces of cans. There were several good signals right along the water line that are deeper than I could dig as its frozen about 3" down and I just didn't feel like going to all the effort with my hand digger. There are lots of places here to practice .Several spots in the grass with wooden picnic tables etc. The best part about the beach hunting there is there isn't a lot of trash. Its the cleanest place I've been yet so when I get a hit its pretty easy to locate and dig . I enjoyed it a lot more than the trashy park where every dig was a lot of work lol. Now I know why so many video's are shot in plowed fiends lol. I'm going to work this beach area over good before I move to the old fairgrounds that I did manage to get permission for so I can practice a lot before getting on older dirt. All in all was a good day. I'm up to a whopping 53 cents lol. Figure my next goal is a nickel since haven't dug one yet. baby steps.
 
Doing Very Well,

Hello,
From one newbe to another I would say you are doing well. I started in my own yard and branched out from there. I am still learning but put a lot of time and effort into this hobby. I am fortunate so far as I have no competition. If you want to find nickels, you'll have to dig some signals that my seem to be trash. When you get enough experience, you'll recognize what you are hearing better. I too had a hard time with nickels at first. I have not found a buffalo yet but I am sure I will sooner or later. Stick with it and learn your machine. I'm using an AT Pro and AT pin pointer. The machine does well on coins. I am waiting for my ground to thaw out so I can did. I know I have some good signal just waiting to be dug. Above all, enjoy the hunt and good luck.
Bubbrron
 
Managed to get out for a couple hours today and went back to my little lake beach. I dug a couple pennies pretty quick then my pin pointer battery went dead. I ventured down to just into the water and started exploring there and quickly got a low 90's hit that showed 8" deep so I started trying to dig it out in the water . By the time I finally got it out I was probably at least a foot deep but did finally found a clad 1970 quarter. Messed around a bit more in the water and dug another penney which was a pain to find without my pinpointed so I moved up into the dryer sand and proceeded to dig mid 50's and clean the beach of pull tabs lol. Weather started to cool down and get windy so I shut down for the day. I think I'm about ready to hit my old fairground spot soon as I get some decent weather as I'm still getting over the Flu and don't want to push it. total for the day was 1 quarter and 4 pennies oldest 1969. handful of pull tabs , a smashed can and the top off of a spray can . Learning but pretty sure I can tell a penny when I sweep it lol.
 
I started about 3 months ago with a Whites MX5. In the first 2 months I found about $13 in clad and a tungsten ring. In the third month I found $14 in clad and two silver rings. In the first weekend of this month I found $8 in clad. The point being, with time and experience things get better. I did upgrade to a DD coil and I feel that helped a lot but the familiarity with the equipment makes a difference too. In addition, I have done things to most efficiently use the little time I have to go out. I use a 3 pocket carpentry bag and drop my pin pointer into the large pouch; that's faster than the holder. I cut a slot in the end of a large flat can which fits snugly into another of the pouches so coins can be dropped into it without having to mess with a lid. Finally, I made my own digging too from an old trenching shovel. It is sharp and strong and I can pull a 6" plug in no time. Keep at it and good luck!!
 
I am 51 years old. I know that isn't very old but due to having broke both ankles and my back about 18 years ago, I can feel the pain of getting up and down a couple hundred times in a day. I have 2 screws in my left ankle and 11screws and 2 plates in my right ankle. My right ankle is fused. I have 4 screws and titanium in my back and my L1 is fused to the vertebra above and below. Plus I have one less rib on my left side. With all that said, I have to manage myself when metal detecting. I just can't carelessly swing, beep and dig without thought weighing out the effects it has on me. I am forced to detect smarter. I learned to use discrimination well and pay attention to the tones. I know the sounds of my detector when I cross over coins. I learned to hit a target and turn and cross the target in another direction to check the sound it makes to determine what it is. I learned to lock in a good signals when surrounded by bad signals. I also know how the target depth effects the detector and account for it.
A meat detector is consistent and repeatable. It does some things well and this makes detecting more predictable and fun. But on the other hand, your detector will do some things not so well making it confusing and aggravating. Your success with come in making sense of what your detector doesn't do so well. It is easy to understand what it does well. Learning what your detector doesn't do well is where you greatest gains will be.
 
Managed to get out for a couple hours today and went back to my little lake beach. I dug a couple pennies pretty quick then my pin pointer battery went dead. I ventured down to just into the water and started exploring there and quickly got a low 90's hit that showed 8" deep so I started trying to dig it out in the water . By the time I finally got it out I was probably at least a foot deep but did finally found a clad 1970 quarter. Messed around a bit more in the water and dug another penney which was a pain to find without my pinpointed so I moved up into the dryer sand and proceeded to dig mid 50's and clean the beach of pull tabs lol. Weather started to cool down and get windy so I shut down for the day. I think I'm about ready to hit my old fairground spot soon as I get some decent weather as I'm still getting over the Flu and don't want to push it. total for the day was 1 quarter and 4 pennies oldest 1969. handful of pull tabs , a smashed can and the top off of a spray can . Learning but pretty sure I can tell a penny when I sweep it lol.

See that ? You learned another newbie lesson today... always have spare batteries with you... for the detector AND the pinpointer. How bout that!
 
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Hang in there, I hunted a full year before I ever found my first silver coin. Remember location, location, location. You cant find them if there not there, lol
 
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