Any advice for a complete novice?

Snoop64

New Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2018
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7
Thank you for the warm welcome here!
I'd appreciate some do's & don'ts from you. Things you wished to have known when first starting out. Where I live and where I usually vacation will be beaches which will be my hunting grounds. In April I'm off to North Captiva for 2 weeks.

Thankful for any tips & leads :)
 
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Welcome Snoop! First, practice with your detector....just like sighting in a new rifle before you go hunting...put down some items you will be hunting for, coins, rings, etc, and practice on them first, right in your yard...gives you and idea of what everything sounds like....

When you get to a beach, DIG it All ....Thats where you really learn, in field experiences...Try to think about your finds, locations, age of drop, etc...use all your senses to up your game....watch as many youtube vids and read a many posts as you can to get an idea of what tools you may need in your area, tricks, good ergonomic hunting habits to develop, how to 'read' a location...etc...

This will get you started off I think...establish an understanding of your gear and targets...
 
One thing I've found helpful is examine all of my finds, even trash. That helps me narrow the time frame of the area I am searching. Just the other day I found an old shot gun shell top. I looked up the info stamped on it and found they were made up until the mid 40's. Now I know there was activity there, and maybe some silver.
 
Do's and dont's? Hmm...

Don't ask the council for 'permission' to hunt parks, beaches etc. Just don't, instead...
...Do your own research regarding local laws, if you can't find anything, you should be fine.
Do dig everything until you learn what everything sounds like on your detector
Don't hunt in cemeteries.
Don't hunt in national parks.
Do read your manual before you go out, don't do what I did and just run out hoping you'd figure it out.
Do take your rubbish with you
Do learn how to dig a proper plug
Don't ever leave holes, especially in the grass!
Don't use a cheap shovel, get a good one that'll last.
Do ask for permission when wanting to hunt private property.

That's all for now. I know I missed a lot. :lol:
 
Do not use a shovel of any type on public property. (Parks, Playgrounds etc) Using a shovel gives the public and park employees the wrong impression.

Be extremely careful with making certain that your digging is difficult to see once you have finished.

I recently detected a city park and some one had been there and made a real mess of things. Plugs that were larger than my 10 inch coil and then they had not even pressed then back down in the hole. Also they dug trenches 6 inches wide and 14-15 inches long and those were just exposed dirt.

Learn in your yard how to properly pin point a target so that your plugs are small.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting.
 
Welcome.... Dig every repeatable signal, keep at it and don’t get discouraged! The best advice I can give. Good luck!
 
Focus on the ground in front of you. I still catch myself sometimes looking too far ahead and not throughly covering the ground just in front.
 
Dig as fast as you can. It looks like we're heading for a cashless society soon, and that means coinshooting might be over. A good example I was in a dollar store last week and the person in front of me took cash out of his wallet to find his debit card, really for a $2.07 bill. Parking meters take debit cards now, why would I want to put 25 cents on my card? Check between the seats and you will probably find more than that.
 
First of all Welcome to a cool hobby. Lot's of good advice and tips so far. Can't stress enough to fill your holes and make it look like you were never there. Pack you patience. It can take lot's. Take the trash you dig with you. Dig everything at least at first. Keep at it and you will find the good stuff. Possibly join a nearby club. That can help a bunch. Most important thing. Have Fun!!
 
I was in a parking lot the other day and a woman was totally confused. She could not figure out the parking meter, I asked how long she would be and dropped 2 dimes in. She looked at me like I was the Lone Ranger coming to her rescue. Now that I think of it my truck is a metallic gray which is mistaken for silver, so HI HO SILVER AWAY.
 
Try this -

Lots of great tips here for you. After getting a handle on signals in general, put a glob of pla do on the floor where there's no rebar in the cement floor. Then put a nice medium gold ring in the pla do and watch/listen for the signal. (I never go on metered , just sounds).

Then move the ring one way & another and notice the signal or sound it makes. Lots of times it will go from good to bad as the ring is moved. Some of your gold finds wont be recovered if you don't dig most signals. Just depends on how much you want to bring home the goods.

Good luck, keep us posted. Steve in so la
 
I've only been detecting for about 6 or 7 months, so I'm not going to pretend to know tons...:D Being relatively new and not far ahead of you, the best advice is, like most have said, DIG EVERYTHING...this is the best way to learn your machine. You'll be surprised how fast you pick things up.

Also, as said earlier, invest in a quality digging tool. I was hesitant in spending $$$ on one, but it makes a huge difference when digging plugs. Makes it easier and the plugs are much cleaner.

As said before, invest in a quality pin pointer. Makes finding targets so much easier and quicker, at least for me.

There is years of knowledge to be had on the forum. Ask anything. I've found the majority of folks to be very helpful. You will get straight answers from experienced people...HH Welcome to the addiction!!!!
 
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