Tips for a newbie

Sus_kuken · Aug 14, 2018

Hey guys n gals. Absolutely love this forum! So helpful and welcoming it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit! As if mentioned in other posts, Iv been so interested in detecting but am finally making the jump to make it a full blown hobby! So, I have some questions for a newbie to the vets!
1) While detecting in parks, have you ever been hassled by people or park workers? If so how do you handle it? Most of the parks in my area either state where you can metal detect or state that you cannot ruin grass and plants and what not. I plan on being a good steward to the land and make sure I leave things in just as good of shape as I find them.
2) Have you ever asked a property owner to detect their land? If so how does/what do you say? Ever been told they want what you find? How do you handle that?
3) from what Iv seen, newer folks (If not everyone) are encouraged to dig everything. Question is, what do you all do with your aluminum, iron and basic trash that you find? Recycle them?
4) Right now, for accessories, I’ll be getting a pair or mechanix gloves. And I have a garden scoop. What do you recommend?
5) what do you all do with your silvers and pennies? I love looking u the info on them, don’t have a coin collection as of right now. But I mean you find some weaties, or something. What do you end up doing with them? Also, I’m watching a detector “nugget nogin” river detect. He has found a few phones. Most wet. He seems pretty excited. I mean what are you going to do with a wet phone?
All help is appreciated and if I don’t reply I am

reading each comment. Anything you care to add would also be appreciated.
-Thanks!
Ryan

Ohiodigger · Aug 14, 2018

Welcome aboard!! I’ll answer these to try and help ya!

1. The only people that have ever harassed me at parks are kids! I generally just smile and tell them I am looking for treasure... they watch for a minute or two, but usually get bored and go away

2. Yes, I would say 90% of my hunting is door knocking, I just introduce myself, and ask if I can go, I always tell them I leave no mess and open holes, and Have only been told no 3 times this year, One time the homeowner said he wants half of what I find, i politely told him no thanks and walked away.

3. Yes and no.... you will find a lot of copper and brass, I keep those and toss them in a bucket for recycling, iron and aluminum bits get thrown away.

4. I would get a pin pointer. Some guys here say they will never use one, some say they never go out without one, I’m the latter, they save a lot of time finding your target. And also a good pouch to keep your treasure and trash in.

Hope this helps, good luck and happy hunting!!

rustyk1 · Aug 14, 2018

First of all, Welcome from Columbia SC, now for the list.

1. I have never been harassed by park workers or the Police while in a public park. As stated above, kids will swarm when a detector comes out.

2. Door knocking is the most difficult thing to do. Some people have a harder time than others at this, it depends on what you are comfortable doing, but the better sites are usually private property.

3.I will try to recycle most finds, I mean it's free cash right? I am not a big fan of toting around iron and steel as the rate is around $4.00 a hundred pounds, while brass and copper are worth $2.00 and up a pound. that adds up quickly! Aluminum is around $.40 a pound so it is still worth putting a five gallon bucket out and tossing in the can slaw and pull tabs.

4. Also stated above, most use a pin pointer, I, however, do not. I believe in learning the machine and how it pin points and go from there. A GOOD digger is a must, while a garden trowel will get you by, I use a gator digger, a lot of people swear by the Lesche diggers. I would suggest some kind of kneeling pad or knee pads, I use a square cloth to place the dirt from the hole onto thus making clean up a lot easier. For a pouch I still use a cloth, two pouch nail (carpenters) apron one side for trash, the other for finds. They cost under a dollar at Lowes or Home Depot.

I hope this little list helps in some way. Just remember to have fun and be safe!

Princess · Aug 15, 2018

I have a long way to go to become a "veteran" of the hobby, but I think I can help answer some of your questions.

1) On this site are a number of stories where detectorists have been approached by people who dislike what they're doing, but I personally have not had any such experience. On the contrary, I have talked with quite a few adults & kids who showed varying degrees of interest in our hobby. And parents sure appreciate when we show them the dangerous pieces of metal we've removed from their children's play area. :yes:

3) My brother, Wolf-Dog, and I have a friend who recycles our aluminum/iron finds, and we split the cash. We joke that we will make more money off our trash than we will our clad!

4) As already mentioned, I highly recommend a pin-pointer & finds pouch. They definitely come in handy!

5) When I first started metal detecting, I, too, did not have much of a coin collection. When my brother & I stumbled across some partly filled coin folders at a garage sale, we liked the idea, and have since taken to storing our collections that way. Personally, I prefer the Whitman coin folders, as I like their elaborate look.

Welcome to the forum and the hobby! I will look forward to hearing about your finds. :thumbsup:

P.S. On a side note, the NuggetNoggin videos you mentioned were something that played a big part in piquing my interest in metal detecting. (I'm not sure what he does with the phones that are too waterlogged to tell whom they belong to, but I believe that they can be recycled as well - some of the components are gold.)

Tips for a newbie

Sus_kuken

New Member

Ohiodigger

Elite Member

rustyk1

Elite Member

Princess

Elite Member

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