advice for newbie

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texva

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what is the best advice everyone could give to someone just getting into the hobby of metal detecting i just got a metal detector it is a bounty hunter lonestar i like it pretty good and i have found some small amounts of clad and tons of pop tabs from what i have read on here i think i would like to invest in a new detector but i am limited on funds so i was thinking of maybe a garrett ace 250 i am hunting mostly old home places from 1850,s and newer but this area i live in has alwayse been a generally poor area not much money long ago so i have yet to find anything very old other than a few wheats all advice is welcome thanks

p.s. this is the best site i have ever been on i love it and i am hooked
 

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Hiya, texva, and welcome to tnet!

As far as advice, well, I haven't been doing this an awfully long time myself. But I would recommend a couple of things: 1) get to know your detector....take that sucker out and use it, use it, use it! Give it probably 6 months to a year before getting a newer, fancier, more expensive one (course, I'm a fine one to talk, but I just HAD to get me a new, fancier one for gold prospecting in addition to my Ace 250! LOL). By adding a new coil, or (even cheaper) a really good set of headphones ($40-60), you'll probably get more performance out of your detector than you ever dreamed. 2) Keep it fun!! I've found out from personal experience that this hobby is addictive! Just don't get obsessed with the "find" part of it. Realize you're not sitting in front of the tv, eating and/or drinking and being a couch potato....you're out in the fresh air, bending, kneeling, stooping, digging.....and that it's supposed to be FUN! ;D

Course, I've never found anything coin-wise that's old either. Best so far are a couple of wheat pennies. But I gotta tell ya, everytime the detector sings out, it just could be........

HH, ya'll!

Kajun
 

Welcome to the forum texva!

TXKajun gave good advice. Practice detecting and keep your junk so you can bench test your machine at home and learn how it responds to all the things you're finding. Research your area in the library and on the web to see if there were any promising sites that once stood but are now gone. Hunt the parks and schools. Learn everything you can about your detector. Most important, have fun...none of us know it all and never will...that's what keeps it interesting.

HH!
TBGO
 

im not familiar with the lonestar, but i am with the ace 250 and its a great machine. you simply cant do better for $200. its not the deepest seeking detector in the world but again....for 200$ it will beat just about anything in its price range. i have found coins to about 6" with mine. i did recently upgrade to a top of the line detector but only because it gives me better depth. i still really like the ace 250 and still use it quite often. it is a fantastic machine............for the $$$$
 

Please as a New-be, Learn the code of ethics when in the field. Our Hobby is jeperdized everytime someone leaves pot holes or digs in restricted areas. Have fun! thats what its all about.
 

TEXVA, Welcome to The Forum. My Only Advice is Keep at It, The More You Detect The Better You Get. Best of Luck & Good Hunting. trk5capt... 8)
 

I hooked up on a few hunts with someone on this forum and learned a lot. Being new to this hobby myself I agree with everyone else that knowing your detector is key. Hunt, hunt , and hunt some more. Then dig, dig and dig more..... Just when I think I'm starting to get used to my harmonics I still don;t trust myself that it's junk and dig it anyway...lol HH
 

2 pieces of advice..
1. Cover your holes (read a lot of MD forums and personal MD websties as some have instructions on to dig a proper hole).
2. When you start out with your MD, no matter how sophisticated it is, do not discriminate anythign until you learn the detector very well. Trust me, you think you'll know it when you start, but it won't be until a lot of use and digging that you'll really understand it better.
 

Tex in Va.-
I'm not sure at what level your lonestar is ...but you might want to have your next detector hit a different price point or level......

If the lonestar is doing the job then getting a Garrett 250 would be adding a second detector that while it may outdo most detectors it may not give you all the things you are looking for in a higher end detector........

Some good detectors at various price points would be-
Prizm 5 @around 500..................I have a buddy who finds every bit as much as me using an XLT.
White's IDX pro for around 500..............great detector.
....Minelab Quatro..........................
Higher end XLT/DFX or Explorer.........
You would be happy with anyone of these detectors as along as you are finding stuff right..........aloha johny mc.
 

Hi all, I too started out with the radio shack twin to your Lone star. It is a descent machine and I made some nice finds. I also opted for the ACE250 last spring. It is a wonderful machine and I really became addicted to th'ing. But, the ACE is not that different than the BH. You may want to really learn your BH and then wait awhile to take a larger step up to a top end unit. I myself am looking at something a little better already. This hobby is a disease that will get ya' LOL Have fun
HH
Greg
 

Tex.....one other machine that you could consider down the road ...I totally went blank on it and it'll hunt ...the MXT....aloha
 

THANK TO EVERYONE FOR THE ADVICE IT IS WHY I LOVE THIS FORUM EVERYONE IS SO NICE AND HELPFULL TO EVERYONE
I AM ORIGINALLY FROM DALLAS TEXAS
I NOW LIVE IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.....TEXVA
 

Set the discrimination low and dig everything until you get to know what your detector is telling you.

Get a good set of headphones. You can't dig what you don't hear.

Be patient and be prepated to dig a LOT of trash. Do not get discouraged if, after two months, you don't have anything worth posting as a good find. The (skillful, lucky, perseverent) folks here show coins and objects that are unlike anything I turn in the dirt. But we're seeing the cream of the crop here and us newbies can only keep pluggin, hoping and learning. (And pray for beginner's luck).

Put yourself in a situation where you will have early success. Find a local park or playground and get permission. I hunt a local park on my lunchbreak. In two years I've filled a quart pickle jar twice with clad coins, and some occasional jewlery. The more you dig the more you get to know your detector and the "eddies" where interesting objects collect.

Slow it down and be thorough. Keep your coil skimming the ground as low as possible and as flat to the surface as possible. I pick a landmark and walk towards it so I know my "rows" are straight. overlap your swings .

Fill your holes carefully. Everyone will appreciate that.
 

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