Hey SouthForty....I am sure you are overwhelmed by the vast amount of info...saying, What most of us rabid addicts KNOW and can do with a rig has been hard earned In Field...Lessons and experience gained through 100's of thousands of targets pulled in all weather and situations...
This kind of dirt metal 'Tribal Knowledge' simply cannot be gained quickly and easily, no matter how much money you have for gear, or a crash course on a specific product....amongst other things, This is an Audio Sport! Ear tone development takes a lot of time and commitment! You cannot have an attuned ear just by showing up and buying the 'right' gear!..Can you tell a nickel or a gold coin/nugget from a .22 slug or a pulltab? A friggin forged square nail from a Home Depot 16d? So forget about all that...
So You want to get on an archie crew as the detecting expert? You want to hunt for metal either as a pasttime or some sort of official dig?? Starting from scratch with no experience or nothing? Wow...really tough sledding here...!
Most any of us 'hobbiests' with a few years behind a coil would be light years beyond even a well seasoned official Archie...We are simply so rabid about dirt metal, keyed in on the travel patterns and habits of people, we dream about it, research, hunt the weather patterns etc...theres just so many other issues in this Sport besides gear and inclination......Nobody can hold a candle to us unless they are so inclined...
So get some basic introductory gear and hunt some totlots for a few years?...and I mean RABIDLY! Like super early in the dark, in all weather, year round...You will see what the dirt teaches you about Human travel patterns..In a way, hunting park and schoolyard totters is a modern form of archeology...
We track People..you gotta get a feel for this Sport or its just a waste of time...and, you gotta be RABID about it!...really hooked! Not just for giggles!...In this Sport, like a Primal hunter, good intentions and effort dont feed the village..you gotta get results fast and often to be worth a damn to anybody......
To me, it sounds like you guys just want to dick around as a side hobby, have a Summertime adventure to talk about to your friends..."Hey! I was on a dig! I found a horse shoe nail and got this whole area listed as a protected site!"
Get some gear like we did, get involved in the Sport, research, go find your own stuff or stop wasting our time....Please prove me wrong....I hate to be so brusque, but I bet you dont even know what a totlot is, or have ever kicked a chip and knocked down a 10kyr...You gotta pay your dues in this Sport, and it takes time in field behind the coil...just no other way around it...or you will look like a complete idiot and waste everyones time....
However, I wish you the best, I am willing to sell you guys a pair of a CTX's with corresponding Sampsons...I might throw in a carrot and a hat and a finds pouch even to get you started...
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