Is it possible to make a living out of metal detecting?

I'm skeptical that it's possible...

Nuggets??

My dream would be to camp (Winnebago) along a stream in Colorado & to find Nuggets with my MXT!!..

if you find something big that can support your self for life, then u can detect all your life

Hummmmm

I'm sure you won't be the first to try.
There was a young guy on one of the other forums, (may have been treasureNet) who did it for a few weeks. He came back and posted about his experiences. He had a sense of humor about it all. He finally went back to work at a real job.

I guess if your collecting your retirement and can get a nice camper van, then you might be able to survive. Beyond that I too am skeptical.

The thing I hate about these televison adds pushing metal detecting is they make it sound like there is treasure in YOUR back yard. Maybe there is but remember there are thousands of people watching the same add. And there are hundreds of people on the East and West coast beaches now looking for the "good stuff."
And I guess it all depends how a person construes the word "treasure," and how they visualize it. Right now in the area I live I am seeing the results of treasure hunters in our local parks digging the crap out of the ground and leaving it looking like $@#$%%@# in search of buried treasure. Hell, the TV advertisement said there is treasure out there so it must be! I think we have a lot of people out there that need to get grounded...get realistic, and stop falling for hype. Remember, these companies are to make money and are going to enlist some spinmister to advertise their wears. Just my opinion.

Robert Roy

Spinmisters :spin: , good term. I had seen an ad for a gold machine that was claimed to be great for a retired person. The machine could process 1,000 cubic yards of earth a day. If a single person could shovel 1,000 cubic yards of dirt a day they would not need to retire. In fact I doubt anyone could shovel that much dirt in their prime. "Guess it is a John Henry" myth.

First of all, the long answer

Before I comment, I will need a detailed discription of "Living"....A wino can make a living, "hey pal, can you spare a buck?" I guess if you have a guaranteed place to sleep, a decent fishing pole, a few other tools of life needed to survive, plus a warm cave, you could scratch by. Maybe on a good week make a couple bucks to invest with Fidelity for the future. You might even find something that could buy you some recognition in the hobby.The clad you find could be invested in lotto tickets. Never know, no ticket, no chance of winning.
If you are anything like me, and like sleeping on a mattress, waking up to hot coffee, maybe take the little women to a nice restaurant once in a while, I would'nt give up the day job.. ...Now the short answer.....No.....Gil

I suppose, in a way, it does depend a little on the standard of living you want.

Thanks for the replies.

Kind Regards,

Colin

P.S. It looks like I'm working tomorrow.

Yo.......

Hey, Mane......Lemmeee hold a dollaa....Gotta go diggin'

Westernlegend1 said:

If a single person could shovel 1,000 cubic yards of dirt a day they would not need to retire. In fact I doubt anyone could shovel that much dirt in their prime. "Guess it is a John Henry" myth.

Click to expand...

Tennessee Ernie Ford's song (1955?) was about "shovel 16 tons of no. 9 coal" being a good day's work, and that's a lot less that 1,000 cubic yards. Quick estimate is 1,000 cubic yards is about 1350 tons.

Hi Boyz and Girlz,
Its not the first time that someone ask this, for my part I say that if you find yourself an island or a country where you are the only one or among a very few people Mding it is possible. One good exemple is here in Mauritius island, for those of you who don't know where it's found :
http://www.mauritius.net/index.php
http://www.mauritius.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius
One of Mauritius main revenue is tourisum, all year there are thousand of them coming down to our beaches and since I've been Mding I never came across another coil... My biggest problem to start making it a living is to find a good 4 wheel ( cars are veryvery expensive here ) and all those beaches will be mine.

OK, on the Positive side of it on making a living...
I am retired so have a stream of income (not much)...
I buy vintage amateur Kenwood radios, take them apart & sell the parts, make good money on that....
I also a Amsoil dealer & make a few bucks a month from that...
I also sell commercial stock photos, not to much income yet (paying for my Canon 20D)...
When I really want to be punished I Sub-Teach for $75 a day.....

So finding clad or that Gold ring would be a plus but don't need it to survive...
I mainly NEED the Exercise...