How long did it take you for your first real find?

Here is some encouragement for you...
Buy the more expensive detector!!! don't think twice about it!!
Not what you were hoping to hear was it???
Actually that advise isn't really that far off track. What is he swinging now?
Some of the real lower level detectors are pretty much nothing more than can finders so it may not be out of the realm of possibilities that he will be stuck just finding big surface trash.
I am not a detector snob. I use a Ace 250 that can be picked up new for about 200 bucks so I really don't think you must have a high end unit to make good finds. On the other hand some units will barely find a man-hole cover when you are standing on it.
He may need to upgrade to a better unit or he may just need to accept the good with the bad. My ratio in that department is about one hundred and sixty bad finds to every good one..a good one being a zinc penny.
Let's hear what he is using and we can give advise from there.

It takes time and pratice to begin to understand what a detector is telling you. The more advanced a detector is, the longer it can take.

He might have more fun detecting a tot-lot when the kids aren't around. I have a lot of luck scanning around the edge of basket ball courts. I do very well at certain fishing areas around me - go there and observe where the people are sitting. When they're gone, scan those areas.

ssullivan96 said:

My hubby is new at the MD stuff. He's only searched around our property and two other old house near by. He is getting discouraged because all he is finding is old cans and hunks of metal. Nothing significant. He's already talking about buying a newer, more expensive detector.

Help me encourage him!

Click to expand...

What machine is he using. I like Whites detectors since they are easy to use right out of the box, and have pre set programs you can run. It just takes time, tell him to only dig the targets that sound off solid in 4 directions, not scratchy signals or broken ones. I we know what machine he has we could better advise him here. Keep at it, eventually it will click.
Dan

Well, he currently is "Swinging" a Bounty Hunter Quick Silver that I bought from Kelly Detectors on ebay at Christmas.

The problem is, it picks up everything! Even when has is set on coins only, it still reads tin or aluminum cans.

He has thrown a nickel on the ground, and it gives the same sound and signal as a old piece of rusted tin!

With my first metal detector it took less than 8 hours hunting I'd say.

Back in the 60's we all used all-metal machines so we dug everything and didn't even mind it.

My first day at the local park gave up about 80 coins (mostly wheats and Jeff nickels) and my 1st "old" coin a 1901 V nickel that I still have today. It was a giant 4 inches deep The little 1968 Coin Master IV sounded off loud and clear.

My 2nd was a silver 1936 quarter at about 5 inches deep. This was when I learned to listen for those smooth weak mellow signals. Back then on those machines deep silver sounded like tiny foil sounds to us today with our powerful machines. But there seemed to be a lot less foil back then. Maybe it was because I was a lot younger and digging was no big deal.

Guys with deeper machines like the Fishers dug even deeper (5-7 inch range). But remember we were all hunting in all-metal mode in those days.

The early discriminator detectors weren't very deep in discrimination mode. Most of us mostly used the all-metal mode until the discriminators of today came into being about ca. 1980's.

We dug better things back in those days mostly because we dug everything and there was more to dig.

Badger

4 Years and STILL lookin' and hopin' !

It's been just a little over 4 years and I'm still looking. I've spent countless hours out there and have found a ton of clad stuff, but nothin' really valuable yet. Maybe tomorrow!

ssullivan96 said:

My hubby is new at the MD stuff. He's only searched around our property and two other old house near by. He is getting discouraged because all he is finding is old cans and hunks of metal. Nothing significant. He's already talking about buying a newer, more expensive detector.

Help me encourage him!

Click to expand...

Tell him to hold off, there is a new book soon to be released that deals with finding nice stuff with inexpensive metal detectors. The book is in the proofing stage currently.

gordygroover said:

Here is some encouragement for you...
Buy the more expensive detector!!! don't think twice about it!!
Not what you were hoping to hear was it???
Actually that advise isn't really that far off track. What is he swinging now?
Some of the real lower level detectors are pretty much nothing more than can finders so it may not be out of the realm of possibilities that he will be stuck just finding big surface trash.
I am not a detector snob. I use a Ace 250 that can be picked up new for about 200 bucks so I really don't think you must have a high end unit to make good finds. On the other hand some units will barely find a man-hole cover when you are standing on it.
He may need to upgrade to a better unit or he may just need to accept the good with the bad. My ratio in that department is about one hundred and sixty bad finds to every good one..a good one being a zinc penny.
Let's hear what he is using and we can give advise from there.

Click to expand...

can finders? wait till you see the book coming out,

Not knowing your detector, I will have to be general:

See if his luck changes if he swings the coil faster, or slower. Many machines seem to have a speed they like and you have to figure out what it is.

Change the direction of the hunt. If he has hunted north to south, swinging east and west, then redo the search from ne to sw and/or visa-versa. You would be amazed at how your "luck" can change. That is becase the magnetic field is might small at any depth.

Does he run the coil flat on the ground? Is he lifting it towards the end of the swing? How you address the coil to the ground can have a big impact not only on depth but also making a find.

Expect to have 90%+ garbage hits. Lets face it, there are more pull tabs and foil thrown down than there are valuables. But, all of those losey finds are more than compensated for when you accidentally make a great find! I average over 17 pounds of junk (nails, wire, foil, washers, etc) to a good find. But, then I am having a ball still.

Bury a few coins in the yard for him to find, nothing over 3", just something to help him understand his machine and how it works. Most machines will give you hints about junk vs coins but you have to experience it to know the difference.

Go to the park afterwards and have some fun!

By all means, for now if it is shallow, dig it! If it is deep think about it.

A new machine is a wonderful toy, but you know, you will still be digging the same junk because you can never be 100% sure it really is trash until you unearth it!

I had the Quick Silver,still do. But buy the ace It will be worth it.The Q.S. stays in the closet,used twice. Also if you cant get the ace now(ican relate,) Finds treasure fourms has a section only for bounty hunter.I believe this form has one also

I had the Quick Silver for a couple weeks when it went on sale around thanksgiving. Ended up returning it to Cabela's and buying an Ace 250. That being said, I didn't have much problem finding pennies outside my house the few times I used it. Just tell him to keep going, keep practicing. It takes awhile to get used to what the sound of different things are.

Same here. I've got a quick silver, but ordered an ace 250 soon there after. The QS can be a frustrating machine, but it does work okay, i'll give it that. Tell him to swing slower, one second swing each direction +/ -, keep the coil as close as possible to the ground, and get some fresh batteries! You can find 9v rechargeables, get them and keep them charged. It seems like when they get low on this machine you only get the targets that SCREAM out, like pull tabs, barely anything on a coin.
I'm pretty new to this as well, but can give experience for this particular detector based on my time with it so far.
Hope this helps!

Sometimes the stuff just isn't there to be found. For some reason property older than the 1940's I have almost no chance of finding silver, yet from the 1940's on I can find a silver dime here or there. Go figure!

I found my first (and only) silver half on my own front lawn, less that 2'' deep. That was within the first month of getting the Ace. 4 years later, I'm happy to find a silver anything

As mentioned above, fresh batteries (or at least not well used) are a necessity. You can actually tell the difference by the clarity of sound and the increased hits. No doubt, a high tech detector has greater capability, but learning the detector (whether low tech or high) is a necessary thing. It takes a while to perfect swing, height of swing, speed (walking), tones and pinpointing. Like any endeavor, patience and practice are required. RickO

no doubt time for a better MD or a new place to detect

I was lucky an found a handfull of silver coins my first day out but it was thanks to haveing a pretty good "md" an a good place to hunt being a old picnic grove from the early 1800s that not many people no exist an or not many hunters where i live. Unless your house is very very old i wudnt waste my time hunting it time for him to do some research on your area an go to places that have the potntial of produceing some good finds i tell everyone to that you have to spend atleast $250 at the very least on a md or you will not find much an it will just gather dust an make you not enjoy the hobby a good md an a good spot will pay for itself possibly your first day out at worst put a smile on your face an give you sum fun. What is he useing right now

It takes time and patients and some luck being in the right spot at the right time. I didn't even Find my first silver ring until about a month 1/2 in. 2 1/2 months later a found (3)14kt gold rings. He just has to keep at it cause you never know what your going to gid up. Good Luck!

I feel your pain...

Greetings,
I have a Quicksilver also, really a Pioner EX from wally-world, same thing and no headphone jack.
I have been detecting when I can for maybe a total of 20 hours, so far, and I have learned a couple of things that might be useful.
My first target was a piece of aluminum siding. Not great, but I did locate a piece of metal buried in the ground and dug it up so, yea me.
Then, as I recall, the next several targets were junk and trash also.
Not real discouraging, however , because I just figured I just was not looking where the coins were.
Eventually, I hit a small tot lot and found a penny, then a quarter, then more coins as as I kept at it and hit some other places.
Total clad count to date is about $14.00, including my one and only silver, a 1936 winged liberty head dime, also known as a Merc.
I definitely will upgrade to a more advanced unit soon, but for right now, it seems to be working ok.
I have not found great depth with this unit, but with good batteries I have dug a few coins at about 6 inches.
When you say hubby is picking up cans I will have to agree because it seems I have about a mile depth when it comes to those things and bigger pieces of junk metal.
I carry my detector with me wherever I go so I just went out and threw a few coins on the ground to do a little test to compare to his unit.

A zinc penny showed up under zinc
A copper penny came up as the highest tone and it was under coins.
A quarter and a dime (clad) showed up under coins also.
The nickel did come up under nickle just about every time I swept it.
If a nickel shows up under coins I am guessing it might be due to soil conditions or maybe yours is not calibrated from the factory correctly, if that is even possible.
Maybe the coil wire is a little loose and flopping...I have heard that can give some false tones too.

The only advice I can give is the same as everyone's...just keep plugging away and digging.
At least he is getting some practice digging holes.
( Insert and sing, Always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python, here ).

Here are a few of my posts since I started ths wonderful hobby.
Maybe they might be useful since it seems not many people here use this particular detector.
Hope it helps!

HH
Digger27 (David)

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=43239

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=43758

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=44544

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=45344

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=45632

First ring took a couple of months

But, if your really desperate to make some finds go to a local playground as they're always gonna give up a few coins. I don't think I've ever attempted to search one and not found at least a single coin.

It took me a couple of months before I found my first silver ring.

However, I think the most useful tip I got when I first started MDing was to go ahead and dig every signal for the first 30 days. This way you hear what it sounds like and see the depth and orientation of the target in the ground and then utilmately the target. As you progress you'll really learn the characteristics of your machine and hopefully then dig only desired targets but be warned, many rings sound and show readings on the display as a pull tab so if you want to find rings you'll also find lots of pulltabs/pullrings.

Happy Hunting,

Most new detectorists don't realize the amount of junk you must dig when learning the hobby. Even after you learn its 'lanquage' you still dig mostly junk. The quicksilver is a low-end model but will find most of whats there.