Im thinking about calling it quits altogether (rant #2)

[73dguard]

I'm thinking about calling it quits altogether (rant #2)

Let's see, I spent almost 6k on a Nokta Golden King GPR to look for the big one I'll never find. Then $800 on a teknetics alpha, AT Gold and Pro-pointer, after a year I have not even made $5.00 worth of finds and most of that is finding loose change on the surface with my eyes. I seem to have the worst luck getting landowner's permission. Tried again today with a farmer who owns the old reservoir which broke in 1969 after a flood. He let one guy go back and he burned something and now three of the cows are dead so he doesn't let anyone back there now. Anyone want to buy the above used equipment? I feel like I could have just blown the money on lotto tickets and possibly gotten a better return.

 

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[mamabear]

I think you need to stick with it. Maybe find someone to teach you the tricks of the trade. Maybe someone here will take you under their wing. That was a lot of $ to pay. I started with a garage sale oldie, then my husband got me a better one for a birthday gift, but nothing close to the amount you paid.
are you getting hits & can't find them? or not getting any hits? I have found farms to give up more artifacts than coins. & most of my farm finds are only worth aesthetic value. Look at old maps, find where businesses were & get permission to hunt those places. Parks are good if they are old. I think research is one of the most important tools TH'ers use. I really hope you don't quit. This is a most enjoyable hobby.
Good luck.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Your problem is that you got into this for the completely wrong reason. You have no idea about detecting but you ran out and dropped major coin hoping to find lots of $$$.

Metal detecting is a hobby. Almost nobody finds big $$$. If you are dedicated you can pay off your equipment costs (when buying normal detectors).

If this really was all about the $$ then you probably are better off selling everything and finding another hobby.

 

[73dguard]

& get permission to hunt those places

this is currently the problem

 

[releventchair]

Lotto tickets, hmm. Casino a little more exciting. You did not mention wine women or song.
What ever a nokta is ,I know of g.p.r.. it sounds like you have some gear. Permissions a whole nother story. Myself granting permission to folks who want to look for valuables and dig on my property gets me about as excited as waking up to guy rummaging through my dresser and when asked what he is doing being replied to as ,looking for your money ,I would have to holler,hold on till I get my pants on and I,ll help you look.
If you invested nothing would you still want to hunt? If so start over. You can have a redo in this hobby, I said so. Or you can leave it. I have had a couple head scratchin days over it. Some finds that could still be seen the same night when closing my eyes as well. Still shoveling snow though so maybe I ain,t hit it big enough but its for me ,funner than any lotto ticket. But then I,m in it for the fun. What I have into it could have been spent else where but so what? The cost in my case helped enhance some adventure that was well worth the expense. There are some very low cost areas of it also. O.K. off to research Nokta.Sounds Russian.

UPDATE..All right ,problems all ready. Its D.P.R. not G.P.R. . Not Russian,but Turkish. Gold not Silver.

I,ll bet a nickle if you practice with the AT-Pro you,ll find silver coins in Ohio. The right parts of it as you have serious competition in areas there, but more total finds than I will north west of you.

 

[ilzho]

Stick with it.
I just came back from my local library with a an illustrated history book of my area. It's a start in knowing where to look.
This morning I just went to an open field along the highway and found Tons of iron, one 1955-D penny and lots of cans and that's it. It can be frustrating, but that's only if you think you will hit the jackpot.
Hang in there.
Remember it's suppose to be a fun hobby and not something to pay the bills with.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Should've started with a cheaper but decent detector. They still can find the goods and let you know if you like it or not. Most people don't stick it out long enough to learn the "tricks" of the detector to start pulling out the finds. After awhile you can see spots that have good signs of old activity and higher chance of dropped coins and relics. I also think that a cheap detector in the hands of a expert can do a lot better than a expensive detector in the hands of a newbie! Maybe ask some tip/help questions on here before you give up and you'll be surprised what you'll learn from everyone! (:

 

[73dguard]

Your problem is that you got into this for the completely wrong reason. You have no idea about detecting but you ran out and dropped major coin hoping to find lots of $$$.

Metal detecting is a hobby. Almost nobody finds big $$$. If you are dedicated you can pay off your equipment costs (when buying normal detectors).

If this really was all about the $$ then you probably are better off selling everything and finding another hobby.

Some lucrative occupations begin as hobbies. Perhaps I foolishly assumed this this one of those. So with that being said, what IS the correct reason to get into this hobby and for those with high end equipment, at what point is the purchase justified if ever?

Perhaps the most important question of all, one that will be answered differently be everyone: What is the break even point in satisfaction with this hobby? When have you found enough to stop?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Some lucrative occupations begin as hobbies. Perhaps I foolishly assumed this this one of those. So with that being said, what IS the correct reason to get into this hobby and for those with high end equipment, at what point is the purchase justified if ever?

Perhaps the most important question of all, one that will be answered differently be everyone: What is the break even point in satisfaction with this hobby? When have you found enough to stop?

I myself got into it for the thrill of the hunt..... Never knowing what is popping out of the ground....

Since I enjoy the thrill of the hunt there is no "found enough to stop" for me...








American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[K1DDO1979]

It gets addictive. When you get the thrill of a good find for the first time its right on to next bigger better find. In my case it will never be enough because I enjoy it so much. After awhile if you like coins for instance you will know what general type your digging out before you even make the hole.

 

[ilzho]

A Hobby is just that, a hobby. You can do it when you want, where you want (most of the time).
If you find things, consider yourself lucky.
Most people not in the hobby think they can buy the high dollar equipment and strike it rich. This is not a reality TV show. This is real life.
Enjoy the hobby, find some local detector friends and enjoy life.

 

[releventchair]

Some lucrative occupations begin as hobbies. Perhaps I foolishly assumed this this one of those. So with that being said, what IS the correct reason to get into this hobby and for those with high end equipment, at what point is the purchase justified if ever?

Perhaps the most important question of all, one that will be answered differently be everyone: What is the break even point in satisfaction with this hobby? When have you found enough to stop?

Very provocative questions! Very many different answers maybe not all who hunt can or ever will answer.
A sure fire lead and clues solved and equipment bought specifically for recovery have floundered. An amateur has made an outstanding recovery with cheap gear. Every scenario all most imagined has occurred in between.
Big money value finds have happened and will again. For you and I odds wise, hmmm.Depends on us. But the type people we would need to be to come even close to making a living at it would not likely be near who we are today.( I say don,t even try it ,but that,s me.)A sponsor would help. Patience the only hope. History of treasure hunting vs modern equipment and the yields could take a lot of your time. The brain is still the best asset. I,m in the hobby to bring somethings into the sunlite that have not seen it for a long time. The cost of equipment recovered by recoveries a nice goal to surpass but like all hobbies there are choices of quality and then theres sales hype. I prefer time tested shirts to new promises of one but I,m err ,thrifty.. Satisfaction I seldom lack when I,m working a lead. Sorry if you don,t hunt but when successful and the game is in hand, it is anti climatic. Though a score now and then keeps the fire burning, its the promise of a hunt down the road that,s a reason to look ahead and forget all lifes weight just a little sometimes. Heck look here, this leads to this road we ain,t been down but we get there----- should be there we just need to prove it .A lead studied and put aside reviewed and new info long after brings just the right piece to the puzzle. Then theres the one forced in place that don,t fit just to balance things out. l.o.l. Savor those also. Cause if you want it to be ,its all.. fun.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Some lucrative occupations begin as hobbies. Perhaps I foolishly assumed this this one of those. So with that being said, what IS the correct reason to get into this hobby and for those with high end equipment, at what point is the purchase justified if ever? Perhaps the most important question of all, one that will be answered differently be everyone: What is the break even point in satisfaction with this hobby? When have you found enough to stop?

Most people get into detecting because of the search for history, or because of always wanting to see what they can find next. Either way it's about the hunt. You have to define what you are talking about when saying "high end" because that nokta isn't even normal metal detecting gear an 99.99% of people would never even consider one. This is a HOBBY. There is no "break even" point. You go and have fun digging stuff up or you quit. It's about that simple.

 

[foiler]

I have no idea where Ashland Ohio is so I goggled it. 3 minutes looking at your town and I see 17 places I would want to check out. Don't know what gold you would be looking for in Ohio other than jewelry but I did find out that your town was settled in 1815, 70 years earlier than my town and I find plenty (61 coins 7 of which are silver, 3 rings, 1 gold 2 silver this month). If I was in your town I'd find the original water source, there had to have been some year round surface water for people to settle there. It took a long time to hand dig a well. From water all things flow. If you don't know what to do from there, well there isn't enough room here to explain it.

 

[Argentium]

The biggest scores in terms of $$$$$$ that I ever heard of being found with metal detectors - were found by amateurs just out
goofing around with lower end equipment as well . This is really just about going out and having fun , getting your A$$ off the
couch and getting some fresh air and a little exercise too- and you sometimes find some cool stuff , and the occasional good coin
or ring . Now go get a user friendly detector and a buddy and have some fun for a change !

 

[Msbeepbeep]

73dguard if you got into this hobby to get rich you are looking at a 99.99%. Fail rate.
If you got into it for fun just to see what you can find and really build a skill set of knowing your detector then you have a 99.99% success rate.
In this hobby we love what we do, and the playing field is equal, we never know which one of us will make a really great find, but we ALL find trash, pop tops, can slaw (my all time fav!) etc as a part of the treasure hunt.
It also requires a lot of patience and perseverance and constant learning, one thing it is not, is a hurry up get rich hobby. Yes there are extremely rare times it happens, you have a better shot of winning the lottery though.
It is truly a thrill of the hunt hobby.
I hope you give it a second chance.
As for gaining permission to hunt someone's property that is usually a learned skill, unless you are a very friendly & have really good people skills.
Have you asked your friends and relatives to hunt their property? Who do they know that would let you hunt, it proceeds from there.

 

[thrillathahunt]

Your initial expectations were too high! Very, very few of us will actually find "the big one." Maybe you will and maybe you won't but who knows? The possibility that something spectacular, whether it be an old token or a fascinating relic or a big old silver coin is just waiting for me to find it. I realize that these things are not going to come to me, I have to find them! And that is the thrill of the hunt. And that is what has kept me searching for 27 years!

 

[lookindown]

I do it to find treasure...and treasure to me can be a silver ring worth five bucks, a gold ring worth hundreds, or just a clad quarter...someone lost it, I found it...treasure...you never know what your next target will be.

 

[danloop]

I do it to find treasure...and treasure to me can be a silver ring worth five bucks, a gold ring worth hundreds, or just a clad quarter...someone lost it, I found it...treasure...you never know what your next target will be.

Yep. I was tickled to find 3 pennies and a dime today next to the volleyball box. Nothing like unearthing a coin.

 

[BosnMate]

I've been detecting since 1966, and in that time I've found silver and gold, rings and coins, jewelery and clad money, but the photo shows my personal very best find. I did the research, I found the location, I know those were dropped by a soldier engaged in a firefight, I know who he was fighting, I know the company he was in, and I know the day they were dropped. To me that was one of the bigger thrills of my life. You might not understand that, but there are people that post on this forum that very well know what I'm talking about. I've also researched a place that has a high chance of finding someones stash of hidden money, the person died and it was know that he'd burried money on the place, but I haven't been able to get permission to look for it. Even if allowed to hunt, and his stash was found and amounted to something, those bullets would still be my favorite find. It's the rush you get when it all comes together, the hours of research, the long walk, crowned with the find that proves you did it. I love history, and I personally like to find artifacts, so I guess in the end it's the fun of the hunt, not knowing for sure ahead of time what's going to come out of the hole. If you are in it just for spectacular finds, you will be sadly disappointed, there is a lot more clad out there than there is silver. But the silver and gold is there to fine, you just have to go look for it, and if that isn't fun, then you probably should sell your equipment and use the money on a different hobby, because it's never going to be like the TV shows.