Anyone ever Lost a Piece of your Equipment while Detecting?

buck8point

buck8point

Hero Member
Apr 22, 2018
540
981
Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Detector(s) used
Garrett ACE 250 / Garrett AT Max /
Garrett Pro Pointer / Garrett Pro Pointer AT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just wondering if anyone else has ever had the misfortune of loosing any of their kit while out detecting?

Sad to say I managed to loose a brand new Garrett Pro Pointer AT this week that was not even a week out of the box...
I was sick to my stomach, because i apparently dropped it on the way back due to carrying my AT Max over my shoulder, and it most likely slipped out of the holster and fell behind me on my way home un noticed.
I was distracted by another find when I got home and put my detector away and never noticed it was not in its holster till 2 days later, by then it was long gone...

After exhaustive searching and realizing it was picked up by some luck passer by, i decided to bite the bullet and order another one from the place i bought it from the week before. When I went to the site, a chat box popped up with an attendant asking to help make a purchase, now i usually just ignore those altogether, but in my state of frustration, i explained what happened to the guy, and to my surprise he said, hold on, lemme find you a coupon code for a new one at my cost. That decent gesture not only saved me about 50 bucks off retail of a new one, it also renewed my faith in people, and the brotherhood of camaraderie that fellow detectorists share...

Not only will I be even more anal retentive with my equipment now, but im gonna put my name on everything as well, after a hard lesson learned.
So with all that being said, Thanks to the efforts of a great online vendor, ill be back in the dirt early next week, and hopefully a lot more lucky in the future.
 

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2 pinpointers one recovery. The one I found felt like I hit a silver dollar it was in the woods so wasn’t sure exactly where I was. Felt great. Congrats on saving that nifty fifty.
 

i lost my pinpointer at a old mill in the deep creek steep banks on both sides i watched it sink down below
 

Guess thats why they put Lanyard Attach Points on em then huh? Guess I might wanna try that see how it works out too. I honestly never even gave any thought to loosing a bright orange Garrett Carrot.. still smarts a good bit...
 

buck8point said:
Excellent Suggestion, thanks for the link.. gonna give it a look see for sure..
Click to expand...

I know they are a little more expensive than some other options, but they are durable.
 

Janitors keyring reel. Works amazing and nothing to get hung up on
 

I just attach a shoelace and caribiner to mine. Back in the day, I did lose a few screwdrivers used as probes. Rarely use one these days with pin pointers and Lesches.
 

I took off my glasses one time while hunting in a very leafy, tree field. At least two inches of leaves on the ground. I was inspecting a find, and then moved on to a couple more locations before realizing I was missing my glasses. Aghhh! Started searching, trying to remember where I had dug all the plugs. 40 minutes of swinging my Equinox 600 and BINGO...there were my glasses completely invisible under a bunch of leaves. Damn near stepped on them!
Lucky! ($450 glasses!)
 

My 1st lost item was an original black Garret Pro-Pointer at dusk in the woods. It took me 45 minutes of back tracking to locate it. The very next day I bought a hot pink roll of duct tape and keep a nice wrap on it so it is easier to find.

My 2nd almost lost was my F75LTD that was just returned from the DST upgrade back in 2015. I took a Friday afternoon off from work and hit a few sites in early spring. The last site was at the local football field. When I pulled in the parking lot I noticed about 20 other cars and figured some local high school athletes were doing weight training. I also saw a half full Gatorade bottle in the parking lot near where I parked. I hunted for about 45 minutes and noticed it was almost dinner time. I leaned my detector up on the passenger side of the vehicle (the same side where that Gatorade bottle was). I took off all my gear, shut the back of the van, walked to the drivers door and got in. I started the van and backed out but heard a sound of me running something over. I figured it was that Gatorade bottle. I drove 2 miles home and ate dinner. After dinner I wanted to clean my detecting gear. I opened the back of the van and noticed my F75LTD was not in the van. I had a panic attack since that was $1000 machine back then. I hauled @ss back to the football field. All 20 cars were gone, but my detector was still laying in the parking lot. I inspected it and noticed the only damage was to the battery compartment. I count my blessings I live in a small town full of honest people.

My 1st time hunting in NY with the "B@astards of the Bramble" my $8 lowes shovel fell off my hook while I was roaming through the woods detecting. Not an issue, I had a spare in the van. I never did find that shovel.

Last summer I was hunting in Norwalk Ohio, and really intended on detecting at the a park down town and then the fair grounds. After hunting the park I drove to the fair grounds and noticed they had an event going on so I headed back into town to a small park I passed. This is the only park where I did not get a single signal, not even in the tot lot. Must be a local guy who keeps this park cleaned out of targets. I started with the tot lot and knew I did not need my Lesche shovel so I stuck it in the ground. After not getting one hit in the wood chips I did some test grids in the rest of the park. Not getting any signal was odd. I walked back to the van, put all my gear in the back and headed to a drive through carry out for a cold drink and a snack. The drive-thru is close to the old football field so I headed there. When I was getting geared up I noticed my Lesche shovel missing. I jumped in the van and sped back to the park, and had only been gone for 15 minutes. My shovel was missing. I drove the neighborhood hoping to see some kit riding a bike or walking with my shovel. I can only figure that the local MDer must live in one of the houses that are next to the park and he/she was probably watching me hunt. As soon as I left they probably came out and grabbed my shovel. I love the Lesche shovel and ordered a replacement as soon as I got home that day.

Lessons learned:

1. If your going to lean your detector up against your vehicle, make sure it's on the driver's side.

2. Never take a black pin pointer into the woods without a strip of highly visible colored duct tape.

3. Inventory your gear before you leave a site.

4. Always take time to check the tightness of your coil hardware before you ground grab.
 

Yep... my pinpointer... TP Vibra Probe 580.

Went to grab it... and it was gone... and I had a lanyard.

I scoured and scoured... never to be found again.

Bothers me still...

I LOVE finding things.

And HATE losing them.
 

Last edited:
Your next thread should be "Who has found metal detectorist things".
 

AARC said:
Yep... my pinpointer... TP Vibra Probe 580.

Went to grab it... and it was gone... and I had a lanyard.

I scoured and scoured... never to be found again.

Bothers me still...

I LOVE finding things.

And HATE losing them.
Click to expand...

Yup.. I know that feeling for dang sure..
 

SittingElf said:
I took off my glasses one time while hunting in a very leafy, tree field. At least two inches of leaves on the ground. I was inspecting a find, and then moved on to a couple more locations before realizing I was missing my glasses. Aghhh! Started searching, trying to remember where I had dug all the plugs. 40 minutes of swinging my Equinox 600 and BINGO...there were my glasses completely invisible under a bunch of leaves. Damn near stepped on them!
Lucky! ($450 glasses!)
Click to expand...

When i cant find my cheaters/sunglasses, they are usually on top my head or hat and i realize after a massive fruitless search of the area... lol
 

Loco-Digger said:
My 1st lost item was an original black Garret Pro-Pointer at dusk in the woods. It took me 45 minutes of back tracking to locate it. The very next day I bought a hot pink roll of duct tape and keep a nice wrap on it so it is easier to find.

My 2nd almost lost was my F75LTD that was just returned from the DST upgrade back in 2015. I took a Friday afternoon off from work and hit a few sites in early spring. The last site was at the local football field. When I pulled in the parking lot I noticed about 20 other cars and figured some local high school athletes were doing weight training. I also saw a half full Gatorade bottle in the parking lot near where I parked. I hunted for about 45 minutes and noticed it was almost dinner time. I leaned my detector up on the passenger side of the vehicle (the same side where that Gatorade bottle was). I took off all my gear, shut the back of the van, walked to the drivers door and got in. I started the van and backed out but heard a sound of me running something over. I figured it was that Gatorade bottle. I drove 2 miles home and ate dinner. After dinner I wanted to clean my detecting gear. I opened the back of the van and noticed my F75LTD was not in the van. I had a panic attack since that was $1000 machine back then. I hauled @ss back to the football field. All 20 cars were gone, but my detector was still laying in the parking lot. I inspected it and noticed the only damage was to the battery compartment. I count my blessings I live in a small town full of honest people.

My 1st time hunting in NY with the "B@astards of the Bramble" my $8 lowes shovel fell off my hook while I was roaming through the woods detecting. Not an issue, I had a spare in the van. I never did find that shovel.

Last summer I was hunting in Norwalk Ohio, and really intended on detecting at the a park down town and then the fair grounds. After hunting the park I drove to the fair grounds and noticed they had an event going on so I headed back into town to a small park I passed. This is the only park where I did not get a single signal, not even in the tot lot. Must be a local guy who keeps this park cleaned out of targets. I started with the tot lot and knew I did not need my Lesche shovel so I stuck it in the ground. After not getting one hit in the wood chips I did some test grids in the rest of the park. Not getting any signal was odd. I walked back to the van, put all my gear in the back and headed to a drive through carry out for a cold drink and a snack. The drive-thru is close to the old football field so I headed there. When I was getting geared up I noticed my Lesche shovel missing. I jumped in the van and sped back to the park, and had only been gone for 15 minutes. My shovel was missing. I drove the neighborhood hoping to see some kit riding a bike or walking with my shovel. I can only figure that the local MDer must live in one of the houses that are next to the park and he/she was probably watching me hunt. As soon as I left they probably came out and grabbed my shovel. I love the Lesche shovel and ordered a replacement as soon as I got home that day.

Lessons learned:

1. If your going to lean your detector up against your vehicle, make sure it's on the driver's side.

2. Never take a black pin pointer into the woods without a strip of highly visible colored duct tape.

3. Inventory your gear before you leave a site.

4. Always take time to check the tightness of your coil hardware before you ground grab.
Click to expand...

Hard Lessons well learned....
The Pucker Factor must have been HIGH, when you realized what the Crunch Sound must have actually been...
 

Gold boy go back and Magnet fish it out. It will attract to the battery !!!
 

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