• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

I give up!

Ok I’ve been in this hobby since last May and since then I have bought a F44, Tesoro Vaquero, T2+, F75+, E-Trac, V3I, VX3, CTX3030 and Multi-Kruzer. After all this I still ain’t found squat! I think maybe I need to hire someone to run my machines or buckle down and learn one well. What you guys think?

You definitely need a NOX!:laughing:
 
So many machines in such a short time.

Ok I’ve been in this hobby since last May and since then I have bought a F44, Tesoro Vaquero, T2+, F75+, E-Trac, V3I, VX3, CTX3030 and Multi-Kruzer. After all this I still ain’t found squat! I think maybe I need to hire someone to run my machines or buckle down and learn one well. What you guys think?

That is a lot of machines in a short time , takes awhile just to learn one real well, When I first got my Fisher F4 I can say I really didn't like it very well. The fact it was defective didn't help . I sent it in and it had a defective circuit board and a bad coil. After that I started finding more stuff . The more I used it the more I understand what it was telling me . I can say I am looking forward to mastering it even more, When I am sure I have it mastered then I may look to get some thing a little more advanced. You might need to expand the places you are detecting, the more you research the more locations you have to detect. I started looking in a area of about 30 minutes around me , checked out each town or cities park and recreation department to see how many parks they had and any metal detecting policies , also check out local events that draw large numbers of people like 4th of July . I also like sand volley ball courts, sports parks ,etc.
 
As was said, stick with one machine and learn it. Etrac or CTX 3030 would be my choices. I can't imagine jumping from machine to machine like that. Every detector has it's nuances, you have to learn them.

Get some "likely" coins and finds, coin dealer, antique shops etc and set up a "test garden". If you have a silver coin buried at 7 inches, or a wheat at 6", for example. Swing, adjust and play around with KNOWN objects. It'll take one variable out of the equation. YOU KNOW THERE'S A SILVER DIME IN THERE, RIGHT THERE. Using a garden will help you learn these nuances.

Bury other likely targets, pull tab, iron nail, lead sinker, a nickel, you get the idea. Get a feel for the tones, the numbers over known objects. Above all, use one machine till you get it. Watch you tube videos on the Etrac, or CTX, theres tons of them. The vids produced by Minelab are very helpful. Ask specific questions of guys on here like TNSharpshooter, Calabash Digger, tons of great experience there.
 
wish I had that kind of money. Take one machine and dig every single signal you encounter for at least 1000 targets, so that you learn what the detector is saying. Make sure your swings are level and nice and even paced overlapping each swing slightly. Beyond that research is 90 percent of the game, the most important part of the game. Detector comes second to research.
 
wish I had that kind of money. Take one machine and dig every single signal you encounter for at least 1000 targets, so that you learn what the detector is saying. Make sure your swings are level and nice and even paced overlapping each swing slightly. Beyond that research is 90 percent of the game, the most important part of the game. Detector comes second to research.

Don’t think I have any money. Live on modest SS benefits. Would have to live to 150 to break even! Did have a few side jobs that allowed me to buy most with. Never mistake me for wealthy!
 
Machines listed are great machines. You just need experience not only with one machine but overall. The v3i is a great machine but only in experienced hands . You can mess it up royally if your not careful. I'm not saying sell it either as it is extremely versatile in the hands of the right person. I would say stick with 3030 but be careful with noise cancel , sometimes it picks a not so good channel and then you might struggle to even find clad. There are some videos on this issue. You can manually set it to channel desired as well. But stick with one for right now and learn it well. I wouldn't start selling detectors either there is no good used market and you might decide down the road you like another you already own. You just need experience and yard permissions for now.
 
Don’t think I have any money. Live on modest SS benefits. Would have to live to 150 to break even! Did have a few side jobs that allowed me to buy most with. Never mistake me for wealthy!

I'm just speaking from the perspective of a single parent, and that I did the math the other week, and in order to retire at my current job I would have to work until I was 75. lol :laughing:
 
I'm just speaking from the perspective of a single parent, and that I did the math the other week, and in order to retire at my current job I would have to work until I was 75. lol :laughing:

Learned early on SS was a scam. Health issues forced me into retirement (although no regrets). Don’t sweat the money issues. Seems things always work themselves out. If you have your health you got it made!:cool:
 
Keep the Etrac, sell the rest and get a Nox 800. I can't fathom switching machines like that. For instance I have a Nokta Impact and a Nox 800. When I got the Nox I quit using the Impact totally. When I had to use the Impact again because the Nox went down I was lost. It took several hunts to get totally back in the groove with the Impact, and it had only been a couple of months since I had used the Impact. I was pretty serious from the start, and I found silver right off the bat. Not a lot mind you, but enough to keep me motivated. I did way better my second year than the first and have a feeling I will even find in more in my third year of detecting.
 
This reminds me of the technological advances in Archery beginning back in the 70's....The first aluminum arrows hit the market, then compound bows, then sights and releases, stabilizers, all sorts of stuff hitting the market where once it was nothing but recurves and port orford cedar shafts...

I tried to keep up, got pulled into the archery arms race....And yes the new gear was great! But after a few years, I evaluated my progress and enjoyment level and then said "Oh dahellwiddit" and sold all my new gear and kept my old trusty recurve I've had since I was a kid....Thats where my most favorite memorable shots came from....the most joy and satisfaction..the most lessons learned and quality time in field I've experienced...Some call it
'Zen'

That Bow and I are ONE! We grew up together! It is an extension of myself if this makes any sense..I knew all of my arrows individually on account of I MADE them! I knew how each one flew, had my trusted 'go tos' for the critical shots!....Intimate on a level that defies explaining... I could string up my bow right now and hit what ever I want with my eyes closed and without thinking about Ground Balancing!!

So...I've sort of done this with my detecting gear recently...Just this Fall, I've sold my NOX, and my AtPro and now have nothing but my old F70 to go out and shoot instinctive again..Like when I was a kid....

Not to say the new gear is not awesome, because it is...But as my Time gets short on this Planet, I just want to shoot bunnies and woodchucks and maybe a few carp without having to think so hard about it...:laughing:...:?: Plus, Nothing is as fast and as natural to my brain as my F70 and my recurve....

Yeah I cant hit a half dime at 10" or a 7X Bull Elk at 80yds...I know my limitations...But I can get them both if I can get in tight...
 

Attachments

  • bear.jpg
    bear.jpg
    68.5 KB · Views: 168
  • F70-1.jpg
    F70-1.jpg
    24.6 KB · Views: 153
  • field of dreams.jpg
    field of dreams.jpg
    32.4 KB · Views: 158
  • field of dreams-3.jpg
    field of dreams-3.jpg
    33.6 KB · Views: 158
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom