Frustrated plz help

[kanescoins]

After doing well with my 40$ bounty hunter i decided to look further into MDing and have been learning constantly since then. Eventually growing bored to not knowing target depth or I.D. So I searched the net and picked up a Garrett Ace 350 which I really like but am having a hard time finding the target after the pinpoint. Like, when my machine reads full pinpoint where does the target lie under my coil? Is the depth distance truly accurate? Should I dig inch deeper than it suggests? Ugh... please help, thanks. Also looking into purchasing handheld Garrett pro pointer II but was hoping to find one used but not looking good and am in need immediately. Any help is appreciated thanks.

 

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[Loco-Digger]

I recommend you get a good pin pointer. I hunted my 1st 6 months without one, bought a couple cheap ones (Bounty Hunter & Centek) and was not impressed but after I got my Garrett Pro-Pointer I will not go out without one now.

 

[Beezly]

I agree, using a pinpointer will make you dig much more enjoyable! I'm thrilled with my Whites TRX.

 

[Tpmetal]

I would think it would pinpoint to the center of your coil. Stuff can be much deeper than it tells you, Especially bigger iron. i always pop a plug around 6 or 8 inches deep then scan with machine to check if i got it out of the hole. then I work my way back through the plug, or deeper into the hole. pin pointer is totally worth it, hunted without one and will never go back. But you can just take handfuls of dirt and check it over your coil. With out a pin pointer you pretty much have to dig untill you can find the signal in the dirt you bring out of the hole.

 

[SD51]

Plant a few coins in a test plot and use them to practice. Completely agree with getting a good pinpointer, but practice first without one.

 

[bill_wabo]

And dig deeper if you don't have a pinpointer that way you risk less scraping your coin.

 

[Silver Saver]

Tpmetal said it well. Here is a good video showing pinpointing technique from Garrett website, should lie in the middle of the coil at strongest audible. I like to use the wiggle method with a smaller coil, using tight rapid swings to listen for the strongest signal. As far as depth i.d. I would think up to 4" would be fairly accurate but hitting 6 or more could end up being deep iron, I usually make the plug about 6-8 inches deep to start then either go deeper from there or loosen the dirt in the plug and find it there. And that is where a good handheld pin pointer helps tremendously because it can tell you if the item is in the plug or in the ground. Also if the depth shows 2-4" a handheld pin pointer can be used on top of the ground to sometimes find the target then you wouldn't even need to dig a plug, but rather use a "coin probe" to probe/poke through the ground to find and feel the target then pop it out with a screwdriver. The garrett pro pointer at is a great tool, but a cheaper one would be the harbor freight cen-tech pinpointer. It works great for some people, and not so great for others..so just luck of the draw. I haven't been detecting long either with my garrett and am also still learning depth i.d. and other stuff, but will get easier with more time and experience.
Garrett Video "ACE 350 Pinpointing Techniques"

 

[Driftwoood]

I believe the ACE 350 uses a DD coil, so it will be a matter of using the edge of the coil to find the edge of the target... also, yes, the pinpointed target should be at the center of the coil, usually just under or slightly forward of the shaft. The depth the detector reads will be accurate if the target is a coin (as the machine depth is calibrated for coins)... if the target is bigger than a coin (say a brass buckle), it could be much deeper. If the target is smaller than a coin (like a tiny ball button), it might be shallower than your machine tells you. The video D. Profit posted above will help a lot. I used a small concentric coil for a long time and the pinpointing was quick and easy... when I got the AT Pro (same coil as the Ace 350), there was a learning curve to pinpointing, but in time it became much easier. Good luck!

 

[MathewsZ7]

Once you hunt with a handheld pinpointer you will never hunt without one. It's a total game changer in my opinion. The garrett carrot is worth its weight in gold!!! If you are looking for a deal just be weary of the fakes out there. Good luck!

 

[CaptEsteban]

A newby friend could not accurately pinpoint, either . This is what I suggested .
Get a large piece of cardboard & tape a coin to one side . You can tape several different coins, but leave maybe 18" between them. Flip cardboard over & start detecting .GOOD idea to use headphones. Pinpoint as accurately as you can, & push a nail through the cardboard where you think the coin is. Flip it over to see how far off you are . Practice-Practice Practice. Still, a pinpointer is a great tool.

 

[Xraywolf]

Keep in mind, depth meter as well a ID are only electronic best guesses on any detector.
Can be surprisingly accurate at times, other times not. 350 depth on a coin sized object is 6-7" max, if you dig past that you can be certain target is not a coin. A coin at max depth will not signal clearly and will not pinpoint strong, signal may be broken up and erratic, pinpoint weak - This is just the type of signal you want actually, if it is chiming like a bell with a strong pinpoint it is close to the surface and likely [but not always] clad.
Best advice is dig everything until you get more of a feel what the detector is telling you.

Pinpoint target will be on tip of coil, try it with a coin on the ground and see. Can be thrown off by coins on edge, also can get further away from the tip as depth increases and more towards the middle. Once again, this advice is geared towards finding solitary coins, if you happened to run your coil over a big jar of coins or a car bumper, things would be very different, so lot depends on what you hope to find as well, relics, jewelry ect your approach would be different than coins.
Doesn't mean you can't potentially find all 3 on the same hunt, but to increase your odds on where you happen to be and what you are hoping to find, various approaches are required.

 

[Truth]

The reason why the pin-pointer holds their value is because they know WE NEED IT or we'll go NUTS!


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[PullTabSlayer]

I dont use my 350 on a regular basis but what works for me is I work the signal in and X pattern and visualize where I believe the target is, then where i think it is I start above that spot and wiggle the coil back and forth right and left over the spot moving the coil back toward me and where the single stops, the target will be right at the tip of the coil where the single went silent.
As always practice is a must.

 

[pinenut]

more practice...

Pinpointers work great, but not needed if you use a concentric coil... Pinpointers probably got much more popular when concentric coils fell out of favor, from what I can tell. DD coils tend to give the strongest target signals just a bit in from the "heel" and "toe" of the coil, not right at the center. Once you get used to that you can figure it out in use, but a pinpointer sure will speed up digging your finds.

Concentric coils will pinpoint right at the center.

Keep practicing with your DD by placing a coin on the ground and wiggling your coil over it to see where the response is strongest. Once you find that spot (should be two places on a DD), then put a piece of tape on the coil there to mark the spot. Maybe that'll help.

 

[TerryC]

If your 350 is like my 250, there is a notch in the center of the coil. Your loudest pinpoint will be there when centering the coil over the target. The depth reader is very inaccurate. No pinpointer needed! When you've put in the suggested 100 hours, as Garret says, you'll have it down pat. TTC

 

[RobRieman]

Like others have said. Toss a coin on the ground and see where it pinpoints. A little practice is all you need. You can also lift your coil until the signal is barely heard. You can pinpoint better and also determine the size of your target.

 

[TerryC]

Like others have said. Toss a coin on the ground and see where it pinpoints. A little practice is all you need. You can also lift your coil until the signal is barely heard. You can pinpoint better and also determine the size of your target.

Determining the size of the target by sound is difficult. A loud beep could be a large target deep, or a small target shallow. One thing is for certain, though. If you get a double beep... one when the coil first hits the target, and then another beep, when the coil "finishes" sweeping the target, you know the target is at or just under the surface of the soil. TTC

 

[Geobound]

Here is what I do with my AT Pro and it's pretty well bang on every time. I say pretty well every time, because pull tabs for some reason have a mind of their own.

When I have located my target by swinging my coil back and forth and "guessed" the approximate location, I then use my pin pointer that is built into the metal detector.

I slowly drag my coil away from where the "guessed" centre is, and as soon as the pin pointer tone stops beeping, then that's where my target is.

I visually mark the spot on the ground, and then cut my plug a further inch closer to me from where the tone ended.

I cut a 3 sided plug at the approximate depth the machine told me, and 95%+ of the time the target is right in the plug.

Pull tabs are the only ones that jump around and are hard to locate. They ring in at different tones (50-54 usually), but occasionally a bit higher, and those are the ones that may not be in the centre of your plug.

I hope that makes sense?

 

[kanescoins]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. Just as put I went ahead bench practiced until I got it down and went ahead and ordered the carrot pinpointer which should be here today. Still learning the new machines language but so far I like. Now in just a few weeks I've gather ace 250 and a 350 and 2 different bounty hunters.