The Best Metal Detecting Advice
I once read in a metal detecting forum, that nobody should be giving advice if they have been in the hobby for less than 10 years. A ridiculous statement that made me laugh out loud. Only a complete fool would think that is logical. What was even worse, is that a couple of other veterans agreed with this completely silly idea.
Looking over their post history in the forums, one of them had recently stated that a single button pin pointer “confused” him. The other was asking the difference between a concentric and DD coil just a month before. While these are not metal detecting 101 subjects covered in the first day of class, they are the equivalent of an auto mechanic not knowing how to change a spark plug.
There are 20 year veterans who have never hunted for more than 2 to 3 hours a week. Yet there are 2 to 3 year hobbyists who are able to metal detect 10 to 15 hours a week on a regular basis. So in a period of 5 years a “rookie” could surpass a “veteran” who has been doing it for 20 years.
That is all rubbish though. It is not the time you put in. It is the understanding you get out of that time. If a person has a short attention span and is in a zombie state of mind after a couple hours, how much is he or she really learning? Metal detecting itself is not rocket science like some lead you to believe. Many are able to “get it” much faster than others and surpass their knowledge and understanding in a much shorter period of time.
In other words, some people learn faster than others. Pretty common knowledge right there!
Recently, I was asked what the best advice that I could give a fellow detectorist who was just starting out in the hobby. I guess I was not prepared for this question as I had to think about it for quite a while. I took my mind back to all of my “aha” moments that stood out to me over the years, and of course the sage advice given to me by my mentors and peers.
A few of the tidbits are common knowledge to most detectorists who have spent 6 to 12 months in the hobby. However, some of them have been eye openers for hobbyists who have been detecting 15 to 20 years longer than I have. It feels darn good showing a veteran something that they never knew after 20+ years in the hobby.
Like I stated above, much of this advice that I will be writing about in this blog has been passed down to me from peers and mentors. That is not to say that I have not learned a thing or two by myself, but I like to give credit where it is due. So a big THANK YOU to guys who share genuine knowledge with others.
#1. 50 TO 100 HOURS
Spend this amount of time with your detector before you decide to switch to a new one. Many new users feel they do not mesh well with a detector because they did not find silver their first week out. Give it time. Spend a good 50+ hours with your machine and learn the language it is speaking to you. There are various settings and options on almost all detectors. They can change the game and give you that “aha” moment if you give it enough time.
#2 PATTERNS AND COILS
You should learn to grid each site. Go all four (north,south,east,west) directions and then diagonal if you really want to be sure you have covered every square inch of turf. A target may sound great one direction and then be totally silent the next. GOOD TARGETS may actually disappear by turning a mere 20 degrees in angle. It is the biggest myth in metal detecting to think only trash targets do that.
After you grid your site - do it all over again with a different coil. Every good detectorist should have concentric and DD coils of various sizes in their arsenal. Small coils for tiny targets in trashy areas. Large coils for deeper targets in wide open less trashy areas.
The popular 5x10 DD coil. A great all-around coil for good depth and trash separation.
#3 KNOW THE SWING SPEED
Some detectors like a very fast swing of the coil. Others like a nice and slow sweep. The Teknetics T2 will actually give a better ID on a target when you swing the coil fast. While the Land Ranger Pro from Bounty Hunter does much better with a slower pace. They are both fine detectors that have found gold and silver hundreds to thousands of times across the world. However, swing too fast on one or too slow on the other and you are sure to miss targets that could easily be detected otherwise.
#4 TEST TIME
The first day with your new detector should be spent air testing and bench testing. Wave coins and objects of different conductivity levels across the coils at different distances. Does a nail sound different than a nickel? Does the nickel sound different than a dime? How about at 6 inches compared to 9 inches? How about in dirt? Go find a spot to bury coins at different depths and see how they respond. Test and then go test some more!
The very popular "Monte's Nail Board Test" is a great tool to learn how well your detector runs in a heavy nail scenario.
#5 GET A MENTOR
Local metal detecting clubs and internet forums are great places to finds a helpful mentor. There are tons of nice people in this hobby willing to go the extra mile to ensure you succeed. They want nothing in return. Helping somebody else learn and understand the hobby is payment enough! (That will be $4.95 for reading this blog...please send payment to….)
With those 5 tips you will be well on your way to becoming a very capable detectorist in this hobby. You will be giving you own advice to others before you know it. I could easily add 50 more things and I just might do that in an upcoming blog.
Hope you enjoyed the blog. TheHunterGT signing off - I will see you on the next blog.