Big Boys Hobbies

Went to Tampa on Tuesday then caught a fever

needler420

needler420

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It was hot out there. On Monday I had started a new framing job that I had to quit by afternoon because I had heat exhaustion and threw up everything in me. I am used to roofing jobs too but this company was too fast paced. Basically slave labor and a lot of out sourcing. Lets see if I even get paid for the few hours I did. Won't be the first time employers screw me over.

So the following day I decided to metal detect in clearwater Tampa. This trip probably costs $20 dollars between gas and parking. Not counting the almost 200 miles round trip you will add to a vehicle.

I found two nickels and a squished penny as far as keepers.

I probably dug about 50 beer bottle caps when the signs on the beach say NO ALCOHOL lol. I also dug a lot of iron anchors for shade umbrellas and what not.

At this point I invest so much into my hunts that it would take diamond to be profitable. Gold would just help recoup costs.

Makes me wonder when people say their year to date clad finds along with their gold. Well how much did you spend in gas, wear and tear on vehicle and how much of your free time. If you are in this for monetary gains and not out of pure hobby then time is money, you'd make more with a legit job.

I metal detect just for fun really. Since I have been metal detecting I never been in a profit. Usually costs money. It's like fishing but a little higher return.

I see a couple regulars on here always posting their high end finds saying they payed off their metal detector etc. Really to me that is a false sense of hope for the newcomers. It's not a reality check and it's not the average.
 
I have also caught the bug....
 

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Beats the heck out of golf. The ole saying 10% of the hunters get 90% of the gold. Oh...... im not one of those.....:laughing:

Who in their right mind wants a real job? Red Tide dont go away soon..... golf is sounding pretty good.
 
dewcon said:
Beats the heck out of golf. The ole saying 10% of the hunters get 90% of the gold. Oh...... im not one of those.....:laughing:

Who in their right mind wants a real job? Red Tide dont go away soon..... golf is sounding pretty good.
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What those 10%ers don't tell you is how much cost they sunk into detecting. Only when they find gold and pay off their detector. Even if you found a diamond a couple grand, some of those guys spend a couple grand to metal detect.

They don't post when they went on a 50 mile trip and found a $1.00 in clad. You see when they find multiple gold and think it's a profitable hobby. Many of those people are probably retired on pensions, 401k, disability, social security or whatever income that they sink into metal detecting.

10% is probably the amount of people in this hobby that will ever come into profits. 90% the majority will be at negatives digging trash and investing resources to continue hunting. 90% of the time you're going to spend more in gas money then you will dig in clad.
 
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Although I consider it a hobby, I believe that am one of the ones that profits off metal detecting. First, I am fortunate enough to live within 5 minutes driving time of beaches. (10 mins. from South Beach). Second, due to my job and its' connections, I have access to free parking on South Beach. There are other beaches that I go to and buy the yearly pass that covers them for $150. These things help me keep my costs down. AND living near beaches that get year long, world-wide tourism ensures a constant supply of depositors. I know that I am fortunate as far as having metal detecting as a hobby here.
 
Tried that work thing for about 50 some years. I now avoid work. So I metal detect for fun and the exercise I get. It beats paying a gym approximately 500 dollars a year to be able to exercise.

Plus occasionally I find something that raises my heart rate.

Its a hobby.
 
It's obliviously a hobby. The point was it's not a profitable hobby as many here make it out to be. You have to like digging trash and never really expect any kind of pay off. Then when you do that you can call it a hobby.

Like I said they post when they find multiple golds and pay off their detector. They didn't post for the hundreds of times they drive 50 miles and find a dollar in clad.


My video game hobby is just as profitable. Only cost me the games and electricity. Don't even have to leave my house.

And then they wonder why this hobby has a high turn over rate, look at the how things are portrayed to newcomers. Giving false hopes over reality.

The reality is most people joining this site and purchasing a new metal detector 90% of them will never even recoup that initial cost of the detector. And the ones that do don't tell you about all the bad trips that surpassed their finds.

So yeah eventually you pay it off after you spent thousands in gas 1,000s of miles of wear and tear on a vehicle then they post it's paid off. You only see the successful hunts.. Not the ones that are bad.

Or cases like Felixthecat. He kinds of knew he was in that 10% I was talking about. I was born in Miami and can't afford to move back, but yeah when you live 10 min walk from south beach Miami your odds are NOT like everyone else.
 
needler420 said:
I see a couple regulars on here always posting their high end finds saying they payed off their metal detector etc. Really to me that is a false sense of hope for the newcomers. It's not a reality check and it's not the average.
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About as honest as it gets... I've recently been taking out the car that I bought for my retired mom. It gets about 45mph compared to my diesel Ram 1500 that gets about 20 combined. Driving 40+- miles to/from the beach just doesn't justify a few bucks in clad and a very occasional 14k. It's about the fun and sometimes it's hard to justify a beat to heck body after a 8 hr water hunt with 2.00 in clad and a handful of bottlecaps.. It was fun the first 2 hrs then it became a mission!
I've become a mostly night hunter unless the tides are good and the waves are flat. I hate hunting with a lot of onlookers and anymore feel like a dork if I do.
I usually hunt where the 'average' hunter does not, making it a bigger reward/loss percentage. It's paying off as Ive only hunted about 8 hunts this year and have 5 gold rings to date... I used to hunt hunt hunt my tail off regardless of conditions and I've grown smarter over the years. That and I HATE dry sanding...
 
I guess I am one of the lucky ones, on a bad hunt I cover expenses as far as gas and a coffee for the ride home. On a good hunt it might be an extra 20 or an extra few hundred, it all adds up over the year.
Also on the plus side, just getting out of the house and swinging the coil for a few hours and just forgetting about all the !!!! that will be waiting in the news or in emails when i return home makes it worth it for me. We live in complicated times and it nice to live a simple life, even if it is just for a few hours...
 
There is a lot of WATER hunters that never post finds. Its also a fact when you find a crazy appraised piece of jewelry it ends up in you stash rather than being sold because its hard to let go of for the price people want to give.

Id say the biggest factor is TIME. A lot of finding stuff can be plain old luck/timing. That time spent can be great for you...... not so much on say a young family. Anyone with OCD best like the single life..... or learn how to balance a HOBBY and life in general. I like the physical aspects and being outside ...... i like finding things so its not about the money. I know a lot of people who play golf as much as i hunt.... trust me at the end of the year im closer to breaking even than they are.:lol:
 
It could be more justifiable to you to hunt where you will already be. This way if you say have to run an errand or are already going to the beach then its not really added gas, wear and tear.... Just think of all the folks going to the beach to enjoy the sun and waves but have no return whatsoever, you are already ahead of those folks. Definately a hobby and in my oppinion beats the heck out of golf anyday.
 
Golf is considered a rich mans sport. Poor people don't play golf but they do metal detect.:laughing:

Even If I liked golf, I couldn't afford to play regularly. And I grew up on a golf course in Fort. Lauderdale.


If you play golf you most likely have health insurance and a good career else you won't afford to play regularly.
 
All you need is a good dose of vitamin sea.

Today is day number 270 for this year and I probably have had at least 125 beach hunts so far .. it sure helps being retired!
I have found so far 57 gold,numerous silver items and well over $2000 in coins.
To do this I have traveled around 12,500 kilometers (7767 Miles) and spent around $2,500 on gas.
So am I ahead of the game, I probably I am cash wise but add on 500 hours of my time and I doubt it now.
Even though I have many days when I come home completely empty handed,I am always up for another expedition the next day.The need to find "treasure" is not that important to me,just the fact of being alone in a great environment is enough for me .. also that excitement we all get when we just never know what to expect when we dig a great signal.
Someone once said " I wish that Beach Therapy was covered by my Health Insurance" .. how true.
 
needler420 said:
Golf is considered a rich mans sport. Poor people don't play golf but they do metal detect.:laughing:

Even If I liked golf, I couldn't afford to play regularly. And I grew up on a golf course in Fort. Lauderdale.

If you play golf you most likely have health insurance and a good career else you won't afford to play regularly.
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You grew up on a golf course? Man, that's rough. Where'd you shower? :laughing:

You can find golf courses with reasonable prices. I used to play quite a bit, once a week at twilight rates. I was pretty good for my handicap and won a couple tournaments. Then some of the club members started insinuating I was sandbagging... poor losers... to h3ll with 'em! Now, I might play once a year, but like anything else, if you're not out there, you lose the touch. The owners ask where I've been and I tell 'em "I'm doing a different kind of swinging" :shock: and I just leave it at that. None the less, it certainly costs more to golf than detect.

Oh... and those diamonds? There over rated. I'd much rather have a nice solid 14k gold men's band than some skinny woman's band with a 1/2 carat diamond.

R5
 
Ra1der5 said:
You grew up on a golf course? Man, that's rough. Where'd you shower? :laughing:

You can find golf courses with reasonable prices. I used to play quite a bit, once a week at twilight rates. I was pretty good for my handicap and won a couple tournaments. Then some of the club members started insinuating I was sandbagging... poor losers... to h3ll with 'em! Now, I might play once a year, but like anything else, if you're not out there, you lose the touch. The owners ask where I've been and I tell 'em "I'm doing a different kind of swinging" :shock: and I just leave it at that. None the less, it certainly costs more to golf than detect.

Oh... and those diamonds? There over rated. I'd much rather have a nice solid 14k gold men's band than some skinny woman's band with a 1/2 carat diamond.

R5
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I grew up in condos and apartments in Miami and Fort lauderdale on golf courses. My backyard was golf course.

One time when I was a kid I saw a golfer break a apartment window and bribed him for $20 bucks to keep quiet. He payed up.
 
Old guy the other day who was a merchant marine told me he did a lot overseas and the hottest place he has ever been was Tampa:shock::lol:
 
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