Newbie needs motivation

metalhound · May 24, 2020

Hi, I live in NJ and my name is Frank. I have been out detecting 4 times but have yet to come up with anything valuable. I have a field to my West and a beach to the North of my house (about 100 yards away ). I have a Whites Coinmaster and an average pinpointer. I have no problem finding metal but I'm tired of finding foil and fishing sinkers. Tell (or show) me the good things you've found in the past. I need MOTIVATION! :roll:

Barefoot · May 24, 2020

Welcome Frank from Central Illinois! As you can see, folks on this forum find all kinds of cool stuff all the time. Sometimes it just takes persistence. Good luck to you and who knows... your next find may be the one of a lifetime!

Big Treble · May 24, 2020

First welcome from SW WI.

Honestly, not sure we can help much. Not trying to be a Richard, but if you lost motivation after 4 hunts, this hobby may not be for you. It can take a a considerable time to learn what your machine is telling you. You have to dig trash to know how your machine identifies it.

I suggest some shallow clad stabbing in a park to learn how different coins sound, then move to deeper items. It took me nearly a year to hit a silver coin. Relax enjoy the hunt, thats why they call this treasure hunting and not treasure gathering.

Good luck.

ToySoldier · May 24, 2020

metalhound said:
Hi, I live in NJ and my name is Frank. I have been out detecting 4 times but have yet to come up with anything valuable. I have a field to my West and a beach to the North of my house (about 100 yards away ). I have a Whites Coinmaster and an average pinpointer. I have no problem finding metal but I'm tired of finding foil and fishing sinkers. Tell (or show) me the good things you've found in the past. I need MOTIVATION!

My first year or so I wasn't out trying to dig every day or even every week. I didn't expect much and finding a few coins and odds and ends was enough. It was just something to do outside other than my usual hobbies like golf, gardening and hiking. Hobbies that have almost more to do with just being outside and having time to myself than anything.

Eventually I started to lurk on here and I would see finds that people, but never thought I would find anything comparable. I still don't go out EXPECTING anything. (Again, detecting is only partly about finding shiny stuff.) What I do expect of myself is creating a CHANCE of finding something. There might be goodies where you are digging and you just don't have the skills and/or equipment to find them. Or, maybe it's as dry as a bone and you need to get yourself on better dirt.

I kept at it, got the confidence to get on better dirt, that's what started to happen. But, a lot of the enjoyment is still just being out there swinging.

JWalker3 · May 24, 2020

Patience Grasshopper, If you persist it will come !

Welcome to the forum from Western NY

:fmdfwelcome:

GKL · May 24, 2020

Welcome from Winnsboro, South Carolina !!!!

I can appreciate that locating a good find will help encourage your motivation but try to keep the mindset of enjoying the hunt for the exercise and fresh air and look at any good finds as a bonus.

Now having said that, one of the main things is location, you can't find what wasn't dropped in a certain area, if one area seems lacking try a different area.

Here are 2 sections that might help encourage you:

Beach and Water Hunting

http://metaldetectingforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

Stories and Pictures of Finds

http://metaldetectingforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

:mder:

_____

metalhound · May 24, 2020

I appreciate all of the tips given. I just got back from detecting for about an hour ... maybe a little more. I found 1 modern cent, a clad quarter (4 inches deep) and plenty of cast metal and foil. At least I know that everything works properly. As was said "If you persist it will come".

Beachhunter · May 24, 2020

Welcome aboard Frank! Every time you find trash it teaches you the tone to listen for. My advice? Dig it all and it will surprise you one day with an awesome find. Good luck!

okinaw55 · May 24, 2020

I honestly believe that research is your friend. An easy one to start with is small towns around you and locating the train depot that may or not still be there. The Sanborn fire maps are an excellent way to start. Search for that with the small town you are looking into. Lay it over a modern google satellite image and boom, you're right on top of it.

georgeinsc · May 24, 2020

Frank this is not a hobby that does not take time to learn. Learning what our detector is telling you takes time. Learning where to detect is also part of the game. I think we all struggled when we first started. When I started I could not understand what the machine was saying and it seemed that I dug far more trash than treasure. But as I learned and didnt break the detector around a tree as I was tempted to do the treasure became easier to find. Yes i still dig a lot of trash but that is part of the game.

leslie(nova scotia) · May 24, 2020

um

Dig and they will come!

Martin_V3i · May 24, 2020

I wouldn't be digging foil signals at all, until after I got good with high conductors, mainly copper pennies and dimes and quarters. You gotta have fun with the stock clad, or you'll get dejected with low conductor junk.

FreeBirdTim · May 24, 2020

Here's all the Sterling silver jewelry I've found in the last few years. There's also a gold ring on the top. All of these were found at baseball fields, schools or in the woods. None were found at the beach. There are good finds almost everywhere if you have the patience and skill to dig them up. Good luck and don't give up!

Wolf-Dog · May 24, 2020

... from the Land of 10,000 Lakes - Minnesota! :cool3:

Happy hunting! :mder:

Here are a couple of my favorite more recent finds from last year:

jack&jill · May 25, 2020

Welcome Frank to the hobby and to the forum from Wisconsin's Tundra. Trapper

blcorn80 · May 25, 2020

I compare detecting to fishing - sometimes you get skunked and it can be disheartening. But then you get something good and it makes it all worth it. Location is the key! Door-knocking has been the best for me in the past, but it's a little harder these days...

Newbie needs motivation

metalhound

Junior Member

Barefoot

Elite Member

Big Treble

ToySoldier

JWalker3

GKL

metalhound

Junior Member

Beachhunter

Elite Member

okinaw55

Junior Member

georgeinsc

Elite Member

leslie(nova scotia)

Elite Member

Attachments

Martin_V3i

Elite Member

FreeBirdTim

Elite Member

Attachments

Wolf-Dog

Elite Member

jack&jill

Elite Member

blcorn80

Full Member

Similar threads