Skippy SH13
Forum Supporter
I've now hunted with several other detectorists, and swapped enough stories on the sidelines to have a better idea of what is going on with people who are out detecting, but not finding rings and jewelry.
It comes down to this... If you're listening for or "targeting" coin signals, you're discriminating out anything that doesn't sound like coins. Which means you're going to incidentally "catch" rings that sound like coins, and miss most everything that doesn't (or that sounds like a penny or nickel, which you might be intentionally skipping).
I've come to conclude that because I'm not out to find coins, I'm digging different targets. Coins naturally fit into the "possibly a ring" category, but coins are BY-CATCH for me. Most days, I couldn't even tell you how much I'm finding (it's usually about $1.80 an hour). I'm looking for rings, targeting rings, and digging any signal I think "might" be a ring. This includes 100% of coin targets, btw, as they all "could be" a ring the way they sound. A case point here is that all of the "honker" gold rings I've found (7 of them greater than 10 grams), ring up in the penny range from 69 to 81 on the AT Pro/Max. I know people have skipped them (my son in particular), because he thought they were pennies.
Bottom line is, if you want to hunt rings, TARGET THEM. Don't simply expect to pick them up at the rate a ring hunter does, simply because you're coin hunting. I can come right behind people and pick up rings in their swing path (I've done this), because they presume the signal is trash or corroded pennies, or whatever.
I've met many detectorists nearby who tell me they've been detecting for 3, 5, or even 20 years and have found 1 maybe 2 gold rings in the time they've been looking. I just politely listen and say "yeah, that'd be awesome to find one" knowing that it's rare that it's been more than 3 weeks since my last find...
I've now found 48 gold rings in the last 3 years and 5 months, and 4 other gold pieces (52 golds total!). I'm a land hunter. Only two of those items were found on a beach (both in dry sand... one ring [returned] and one gold bangle). Thats' 47 land-hunted rings, in places I KNOW were hit by other detectorists, because I've cleaned up their plugs, and then pulled gold out of the same pathways...
Coin hunting pays... don't get me wrong. But a single gold ring at $200 is 800 quarters. I find about one gold ring per month (about every 40-50 hours of hunting), and a few really nice pieces every year that bring in lots more. And I make about $1000 in change, too. That being said, I DO put in time... Most hunts I only bring back about $1.50 an hour, but it's RARE that I have a hunt I don't find at least one junk ring.
I know not everyone is interested in this... but if you happen to be someone who really wonders why you're not finding rings... try targeting them, and simply looking at the rest of it as by-catch. You'll discover a whole new world of fun.
For more information on how/where I find my rings (650+ over the last 3 years), see this thread:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=245454&highlight=Ring
Cheers,
Skippy
It comes down to this... If you're listening for or "targeting" coin signals, you're discriminating out anything that doesn't sound like coins. Which means you're going to incidentally "catch" rings that sound like coins, and miss most everything that doesn't (or that sounds like a penny or nickel, which you might be intentionally skipping).
I've come to conclude that because I'm not out to find coins, I'm digging different targets. Coins naturally fit into the "possibly a ring" category, but coins are BY-CATCH for me. Most days, I couldn't even tell you how much I'm finding (it's usually about $1.80 an hour). I'm looking for rings, targeting rings, and digging any signal I think "might" be a ring. This includes 100% of coin targets, btw, as they all "could be" a ring the way they sound. A case point here is that all of the "honker" gold rings I've found (7 of them greater than 10 grams), ring up in the penny range from 69 to 81 on the AT Pro/Max. I know people have skipped them (my son in particular), because he thought they were pennies.
Bottom line is, if you want to hunt rings, TARGET THEM. Don't simply expect to pick them up at the rate a ring hunter does, simply because you're coin hunting. I can come right behind people and pick up rings in their swing path (I've done this), because they presume the signal is trash or corroded pennies, or whatever.
I've met many detectorists nearby who tell me they've been detecting for 3, 5, or even 20 years and have found 1 maybe 2 gold rings in the time they've been looking. I just politely listen and say "yeah, that'd be awesome to find one" knowing that it's rare that it's been more than 3 weeks since my last find...
I've now found 48 gold rings in the last 3 years and 5 months, and 4 other gold pieces (52 golds total!). I'm a land hunter. Only two of those items were found on a beach (both in dry sand... one ring [returned] and one gold bangle). Thats' 47 land-hunted rings, in places I KNOW were hit by other detectorists, because I've cleaned up their plugs, and then pulled gold out of the same pathways...
Coin hunting pays... don't get me wrong. But a single gold ring at $200 is 800 quarters. I find about one gold ring per month (about every 40-50 hours of hunting), and a few really nice pieces every year that bring in lots more. And I make about $1000 in change, too. That being said, I DO put in time... Most hunts I only bring back about $1.50 an hour, but it's RARE that I have a hunt I don't find at least one junk ring.
I know not everyone is interested in this... but if you happen to be someone who really wonders why you're not finding rings... try targeting them, and simply looking at the rest of it as by-catch. You'll discover a whole new world of fun.
For more information on how/where I find my rings (650+ over the last 3 years), see this thread:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=245454&highlight=Ring
Cheers,
Skippy