first hunt..

R

rdb7

Full Member
Apr 15, 2008
155
0
Detector(s) used
Ace250 w/ eXcelerator 10x14 DD coil
Hello all.. so i tried to md today with my 8 yr old...

went to a park... we were out there 20 minutes tops and we were freezing.... way too cold

he was excited and getting a lot of signals however when i checked them with my ace250 there were mostly junk.... he did manage his first find which was exciting for both of us... 1984 penny on top of the gravel lol...

i'm kind of puzzled on my ace though... or ground freezing..etc

i got at least 8 dime and / or quarter hits saying 6 or 8" depth..... i could not dig at all as the ground was solid as a rock due to the temperature... i will definitely go back there in spring

so... do you think those were genuine hits at geniune depths? or could the ground be throwing the depth of objects off? kind of odd i didn't get any shallow hits ( although again we were there and gone in a flash and still could barely feel our fingers and toes )

-Brian
 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!
congrats on getting out,hard to say about the signals tho
 

it's going to be a looooooooooooong winter .... when is the ground diggable again? march? april??
 

hard to in chi-town,but at least we're past december :P
 

gravel will thaw quicker than dirt, slower than sand. Seldom have much frozen ground very far into April.

But you can score at woodchips and other playground environments. They do tend to warm up and thaw out during warmer spells.
 

rdb,

Congrats on your first hunt, sounds like you and the tot had fun. Once you're truly "hooked", 30 degrees will be very pleasant for a January day!

Many things ring up as dimes on the Ace, pretty much any toy car, many cans, sprinkler heads, Boy Scout slides, etc. If you're getting 6-8 inch signals signifying dime, I doubt it really is a dime. The Ace is sensitive, but it's not typically that accurate or repeatable on an actual dime at 8 inches (with the regular coil). I came to expect large copper or brass trash whenever I got that deep but repeatable dime signal on the Ace.

I'd say, with the regular coil, a dime might be a strong signal up to about 4 or 5 inches. After that, unless conditions are perfect, it will usually be pretty broken up and choppy.

The only way you'll learn all of this is by digging all of the good-sounding signals for awhile. It's amazing how quickly you'll learn on your own.

Joe
 

So we warmed up and hit a park with woodchips... Round 2

3 clad quarters
1965nickel
1954wheat

Only out about half hour

Again lots of dime and quarter signals at 6" .. Could not dig em though

Also found 2 supposed 50 cent signals at 6 and 8"

I need diggable soil LOL
 

Sounds like a bug biting someone....
When those schoolyard playgrounds thaw out, slow down and swing easy, you'll get the smaller charms, chains, etc..

I was very unimpressed with the ACE when I first them at competitions, they were noisy (crosstalk) and the users could not pinpoint well. But the guys around here have proven the value of these little yellow machines repeatedly and you should be doing great by spring time!

On those colder days you may try putting together some pinpoint exercises like us old timers used. Get some cardboard, put different sounding targets on one side and then turn it over and work through them, with the coil up a couple inches off the paper. I'm betting the kid will dig it. A little friendly competition between you guys, weighted appropriately of course.
 

Glad you guys got to hit the tot lots.

Again, I hate to be a Denny Downer, but those fifty cent signals are probably not halves. Because the Ace has limited tones and no VDI system, it places any metal item into the most appropriate coin area. Not to say you won't find half dollars, but you probably won't find them in a park that has been hunted numerous times before with more finely-tuned machines. After hundreds of hours with the Ace, I never found any halves, yet every can, large chunk of lead/copper, gate post topper/whatever would ring up as a half dollar or dollar.

So dig everything regardless...you never know when you're going to find the big coins. Just don't ecpect a silver Morgan every time your Ace is telling you "dollar". :)

Joe
 

rdb7 said:
Hello all
i'm kind of puzzled on my ace though... or ground freezing..etc

i got at least 8 dime and / or quarter hits saying 6 or 8" depth..... i could not dig at all as the ground was solid as a rock due to the temperature... i will definitely go back there in spring

so... do you think those were genuine hits at geniune depths? or could the ground be throwing the depth of objects off? kind of odd i didn't get any shallow hits ( although again we were there and gone in a flash and still could barely feel our fingers and toes )

-Brian
Click to expand...
I have owned several Garrett machines...........My 1st detector was a cheap Bounty Hunter...My first good machine was the (Original 1 knob )Ace {That I found a measured 8" Silver Quarter on a weak audio signal....with just Nails Rejected}. I have also owned a 350,500,750,1000,and CX Master Hunter.............I liked them all..(Expecially the CX master hunter with surface blanking from 1" - 4").................................................................
.....................................But if there is one thing I noticed about ALL the 350- CX Master Garrett machines I owned was that......................................................
They are Optimustic in their depth readings..................................I have measured coin depths of 4 1/2" when I had PP....and it said 6"................The Garrett would say in PinPoint.........4".............and I would use a probe and measure and dig it at only 3"......................
Garrett machines are good ones ---Even Good Depth---(with a DD Coil)..................But if you Pin-Point a dime,and it says 8" with your ace........try to locate the coin with a Probe first,and hold your thumb and forefinger at ground level--------remove the probe,and measure.......I bet it is only 6----to 6 1/2" true measurement. Just my observation.
AND Congrats Brian on taking your 8 year old out for a hunt.................You now have a hobby you can enjoy together with your child.
I don't do it any more,but you may consider a winter hobby with your child............Buy a box of Nickles,or cents,and start a collection with your kid...
There will be a whole lot more posts and talk about (Coin Roll Hunting----or CRH) over the next 3 months than there will be about metal detecting..............
................................................................................................Happy Hunting to you and Yours Brian...........Sincerely,DAVE
 

Oh yeah, almost forgot, found my first several Ikes in sand playgrounds, also multiple Kennies and Saca's. All depends on how often your local playground gets hit and by who.
 

Hi guys!

thanks for the replies.. advice.. etc

i do see what you mean on the signals as i have a 4" dime signal and it was a metal clasp to a boot or something... i also re-hit the 6-8" dollar signals and noticed that on one of them if i move the coil around a little the detector starts going crazy... so maybe there is something down there throwing it off. On the second one, i circled the target and know notice that the target seems to be around a foot or so in length (again something other that a coin)

i continue to learn-

day 2 out by myself and only found 3 pennies between 3 different parks (again.. more signals than that but couldn't dig em)

most of all i need to research some good 'non-totlot' sites for spring (cuz i can see them getting boring fast)

Dave, i already hunt halves ;) ... been doing that for about 6-8 months now
 

I have three tot lots in my playground circuit that have produced 6 or more gold rings each in a season.

They don't get too boring, trust me!

However all tot lots must be done early am to avoid the clawing little fingers of greed known as children! Mikelb and me were at one and the mob descened on him, so he told them he was finding nothing and I had found all the goodies. I told them he was actually misleading them, he was finding dollars all over the place. These kids mobbed him and started going into his pockets. None of the kids were over 7 or so I'll bet, but they did give me a good laugh and Mike just decided he'd beat me bloody later and called it a day.
 

Glad to see you boys have got the nads to be out in this weather. You're gonna fit in just fine here.
We'll be sure to let you know next time we get out, but that might be a while the way the forecast looks.
Mike
 

lowbatts, the tot lots "up in these parts " probably will not have the success ratios of those in the city .. but i'll try nonetheless

mike, please do let me know... i'd like to see how you pro's operate ;)
 

You got it!
Mike
ps. Now I'll have to go and find some pros though. ;D
 

Hey Brian that may betrue but you have a lot of tot lots there in McHenry for sure, I've done 'em all at one time or another. Gotten some wheaties out of Peterson Park. Also hit the beach there but very little showed up, may be more than md'ers hitting that spot.

Got my 1611 reale at the playground at Hilltop School, but it was a bought piece that some kid must have dropped there while showing it off at school. Hit Landmark and got a good mix of deep and shallow targets, but nothing old.

I'll be up there a day or in the spring and we'll hook a hunt then!
 

'if' i get a water detector by then.. we'd be better off hitting this one swim spot on the chain..... or some farms....etc


TONS of farms up here... i just have to figure out how to ask for permission
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

AIM, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo MSN, etc..

⬅️ Previous Thread

This was all she wrote New Years Day

Next Thread ➡️

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
High Plains Prospectors

Latest Discussions

Back
Top