How did you get started metal detecting?

[scuffler]

Hello Guys,

I was just thinking about when I first got the bug!
I was about 13 and a man and his son were detecting, and I was just totally blown away, and didn't know there was such a thing, as metal detectors. The thought of being able to find something in the ground that could be valuable was incredible to me. I would like to hear how some of you got into metal detecting and maybe how old you were, I was 13

 

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[rommelvon]

When I was a wee lad, my dad and I were walking down the beach, he was using a whites from the 70's, when it beeped he always let me dig, so I dug away and came up with a gold ring that someone had lost, when we got back home I told them all I wanted for christmas was a detector so I could find treasures, so santa brought me a detector for xmas, I used it so much the plastic coil had holes worn in it...found a lot of pennies and other goodies with it.......so, thanks to my dad I got hooked on detecting

 

[Kentucky Kache]

A local cache story I found while doing genealogy.
That was 15-20 years ago. Been hooked ever since.

 

[Lasivian]

About 7 years ago I sold out some virtual junk in an online game and bought a White's XLT.

It's been one obsession after another for me, heh

I will admit i'm glad I went for a higher-end unit to start with and not some radio shack garbage.

 

[rebelLT]

What first got me into detecting? I remember I was a Private in the Army, stationed in Germany in the mid 80's. I had Duty Driver for the weekend and my platoon sergeant had me drive him to a church on a nearby Army base, I think it was Pioneer Caserne in Hanau. I was bored outa my mind waiting for him to leave the church when I spied two guys swinging what I now believe to be 6000 whites. I approach them and ask them if they are finding anything good. One guy empties his pouch and shows me a handfull of coins, some unit crests etc. I remember there were some mercs and silver quarters along with some coins sporting swasticas and some Nazi silver in there. I remember it like yesterday! I thought it would be cool. I watched one of them dig a target and he found the bottom of a small bomb, probably a mortar round in the ground. You could see the tail fins on the round and we all, being soldiers, recognized what it was. I asked the guy if he wanted me to notify the MP's. He says NO!. I ask him what he is going to do. He grabs the plug and sticks it back in the hole, then stands up and says "nothing, were not done hunting here yet". As far as I know that mortar round is still there!

 

[Rob66]

I was raised in Alaska and was introduced to panning... decided I was not a sourdough and started metal detecting. Then I got into coin collecting and it has been a passion since.

 

[piggman1]

When I was a little kid I used to read all the treasure books I could find. Finally in 1966 (I was 10) my Dad built me my first detector. You had to tune it to a transistor radio. It was pretty crude, but it would still find coins and such. Then I got a paper route and bought my first real detector, a D-Tex from Bill Mahan in Garland TX. I used that one for many years. I used to build and own a few Harleys. One was a 1976 Harley Davidson Bicentennial Special Edition sportster. It was my least favorite because it was made by EMF after they bought out the Harley Bro's. I sold it and bought the top of the line Compass X-100 for $900.00. Selling that bike to get a metal detector almost caused a divorce. I have used that detector for the last 25 years or so until recently I cashed in my clad and bought a Whites Eagle Spectrum with Sun Ray pin pointer. That's what I use today and keep the Compass as backup. All my life I have hunted for treasure. I prospected for gold in Nicaragua (which I had to sneak out of the country in the middle of the night), and in Arizona. Now I'm not as young as I used to be and mainly just coin shoot, climbing rough terrain isn't as easy as it used to be.

 

[re-tek]

started at about 13 or so with a orange handle radioshack cheapy, then got a reltec(?) at a yard sale, then another radioshack and now a coinstrike. the radioshack units taught me lots of technique which i'm glad.

 

[goldencoin]

back in forth grade, i saw a guy MD'ing Ocean City Beach and I came back the next year with my own detector (which broke )

Thank You Whoever got me into this hobby! (i'm that annoying kid who said he would get an MD an actually got one 8) )

HH
-GC

 

[Zincoln Miner]

5 years old I had a cheap rs detector.found a grease gun.at 10 I swore to myself that one
day I will buy a nice one from the md store that the school bus would pass daily.at 23 I
remembered my oath(saw some treasure show) and went to that md store and bought one.
at 35 I will be detecting tomorrow with said detector.

 

[scuffler]

Wow Thanks guys, all of these stories are so interesting, I hope more are added also.
Seems like a lot of us got inspired to start mding when we were boys.

 

[John (Ma)]

A friend took me out a couple times and it seemed like that year I had silver find after silver find.

 

[cntrydncr1]

Back in the '70's metal detectors seemed to be "hot". I wanted one then but never pursued it. Recently I watched several episodes of "Best places to find cash and treasures," which I love and I checked out their website. It renewed my interest in detecting. I started websurfing on the subject and found several wonderful forums such as this one. With the help of many online and off I decided to buy my ACE 250. Since just March of this year I now have 2 ACEs, a sniper coil, and a probe. I LOVE THIS HOBBY! If only my hubby was as interested as I am! lol

 

[teverly]

A guy i work with told me about his hobby of metal detecting.
He took me out the 1st time to an old church picnic area and the 1st coin i found with a bounty hunter was a "v" nickle laying on top.
Then i bought a CZ6a,top of the line at the time,and started finding some older deeper coins and i have been hooked ever since.

 

[halfdime]

I wanted one when I was a teen back in the 70's, saw others using them in the 80's but never acted on the impulse. In 2001, I was planting raspberries in my in-law's yard when I turned over a piece of sod and found a penny in the roots. It turned out to be an Indian head, and I thought, "I didn't just find the only old coin in this yard by accident." I determined then that I would get a detector some day. This was deepened when I bought my current house and started finding coins in the yard while working the soil. I had the urge, but not the funds; we had bought an old house, and with it, large expenses to repair and I did not have the money. In 2003, my father was diagnosed with cancer and never stood a chance against it; in the course of our conversations in the months before his death, he gave me his vintage Gravely tractors. They were all we ever used to cut grass, plow, rototill and cultivate the garden, and my brothers and I were raised on them. By 2004, none were running, but they still had a future. Somehow, I got the idea that I could sell them for the money a detector would cost! Local dealers told me that they wouldn't net much, so I turned to EBay. To summarize, I sold the lot for over $1800, gave my brother a ten percent commission for handling the sales, gave another ten percent or so to church ministries and still had plenty for an XLT. I've had it over three years now, and I consider it a gift from my dad. I only wish I had thought of it in the 80's when I was single and flush with money!

 

[rwsnc]

Like many of you, I got started back in the 70's. Can't remember what sparked my interest, but I bought a used entry level "blue" metal detector. I think it was a White's, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I started out detecting my yard then went to one of the local high schools and after a short time, found a Walking Liberty Half Dollar. That's all it took. I was hooked.

 

[Mirage]

My fishing buddy had an XLT that he told me about. He let me borrow it and my son and I went over to my grandmothers. Found a Merc and that pretty much sealed it.

 

[echostar61]

I grew up with parents who were in this hobby.My mom was a genealogist and dad was an amateur archeologist.In the 70's they used whites,too big for me so I got to dig,I've been digging ever since,lol.I cannot remember a time when I did not have a treasure box full of finds.

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

I've collected paper money for a few years, not necessarily coins, but the idea of finding some old coins/silver always interested me. Got myself a Bounty Hunter 1100 and have been at it ever since. Now I'm also enjoying the clad and token finds. I see this as a life long hobby for sure.

 

[artemis moon]

I've always been interested in history and have wanted to get into metal detecting for as long as I can remember. As I got older, I gained more responsibilities (kids, house, job)and less and less time to persue a hobby. Around the time my marriage was on the rocks, I started to realize that in 10 years, I had given so much to my husband and kids and nothing to myself. I didn't have a hobby, and he had several. After my divorce, I didn't have the money to buy a MD, but the desire was still there. I got into researching the history of the area that I lived in, and that just fueled the desire. Well, I got remarried this year to a wonderful guy who is supportive of who I am and what I want. After much deliberation and research, I bought my ACE 250. I was concerned that my husband and kids would hate this idea because it took too much time away from them. The good news is that we really enjoy incorporating MDing with trips and activities with the kids. My girls are old enough (10 and 15) that we can get out for an hour after dinner and have some time together. My older daughter has recently shown some interest in metal detecting as well. My new husband is my detecting buddy and my best friend. For Christmas this year, we will be buying three more detectors and turning this into a family affair.