New guy from colorado

[Zachac]

I am from a small town in northwest colorado and there is not much to do around these parts and lots of land. I have a 3 year old daughter and was looking for ways to get her and my wife out of the house more often. I normally hunt and fish but I cant really do those things with my daughter since she is so young and they come with me but spend most of the time in the truck.

So I did some research in metal detecting and it seems like a fun hobby we can all do just to get out and do some hiking ect. I know many locations of BLM around my area so I will mostly stick to BLM since the laws on state land require permission and my town is small enough that I figure I would stick out like a sore thumb metal detecting and would be the discussion at the next town meeting lol.

Last night I ordered a garrett AT Gold after doing some research I figure it would fit my needs the best and no break the bank, mostly I figure I will find shells from hunters and the gold around here is tiny flakes so the chances of getting that will be rare but I went with the AT gold to increase the chance a little.

With that all said on to the questions.

1.) Does snow and colder temperatures effect the chance of picking up things on detectors. I hear rain helps but what about snow (asking since we will be out in the snow at times since thats all it seems to do here)

2.) Where is the best place to sell gold flakes if I do find any. We have a pawn shop and jewelry store that might give me 50% of what gold would be worth so wanted to get suggestions on a good place to sell it online?

3.) I know of many old homesteads and old log homes on the BLM around here but not real sure if it would be ok to detect around them since the laws are so vague and state more or less you can rock hound but not search for artifacts. So I assume I could say I am just rock hounding if stopped but if I am on a old homestead it might look a little off so would I be safer just staying away from those locations?

4.) I have read that its good etiquette to fill holes and pick up tash which I agree with but since trash might fall under artifacts would I be better off just covering it back up rather than picking it up and throwing it away?

Thanks in advance!

 

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[CWnut]

Welcome aboard, you have decided upon a great hobby which will allow endless hours of enjoyment...The hikes, the overnight camping trips and and the recoveries made will all become cherished memories.

Question 1: Colder weather does not affect depth of detection. With that being said keep in mind that temperature does affect electronic circuit boards, particulary your lcd readout. Are Internal circuit boards affected? perhaps..John/Edmonton-Alberta who lives in Canada posted some info about using hand warmers for keeping a detector warm..Check the Garrett forum......moisture in the ground increases sensitivity to objects, being a good conductor of electricity, it allows the eddy currents to flow more freely

Question 2: can't help..Question 3: Check your laws, don't ass-u-me anything

Question 4: Any trash dug up should be removed and disposed of properly..beside you may want to come back to the area later so why keep digging up the same old trash..Speaking of coming back, a couple of years later on go back over some of the areas you first detected, you'll be amazed at what you missed as a beginner

 

[BosnMate]

It's not illegal to look for gold on federal land, except of course Nat'l Monuments and such. I've never been stopped or even approached when detecting so I don't know how well it would work, but my plans are to tell them I'm nugget shooting, looking for pocket gold or what ever, which I am, but of course I won't turn down a coin or ring if I find it, collateral damage so to speak. Depending on the forest, the Forest Service can be ornery about picking up anything that might resemble an artifact over 50 years old, although I don't think coins are in that category. BLM seems to be a bit less aggressive than the Forest Service, at least in the area I live. Locally the county and city doesn't care if we detect in parks or on the county beach. The state requires a permit to detect the beaches and parks. You will have a lot of fun hunting with your daughter. In the beginning, let your daughter dig your finds, and she will have a ball.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I've hunted BLM land frequently, and never had a problem.

 

[Zachac]

Ok well thanks for the information guess now I will goto the BLM office in my area and get a map and a map of the claims so I am sure to stay off those.

Called my city's park and rec and they said they dont think they have a ordinance against metal detecting so thats a good thing to know if we ever want to hit the local parks although for now I will stick to BLM since I am sure there are many things to learn about our new hobby.

Once we do start I will be sure to post pictures of all the shells, washers, bolts, and scrap we find!

 

[RGINN]

Welcome from here in Summit County, CO. Haven't made it up there yet, but some interesting country in NW Colorado I hear. The problem I have with cold weather is you can't dig. Ground freezes up quite a ways down, and doesn't thaw really good till about the end of May or first of June. I haven't had any problem detecting here in the national forests, but if I see a sign, I respect that. I am actually just prospecting for valuable minerals. Hope you guys have a great time with the detector!

 

[Zachac]

Well today was our first day out even though it was in the 30's and mostly snow. The first area we went to was frozen solid and it was somewhat disappointing seeing lots of the blm with barbed-wire fences that were impassible. After a good hour and a half of driving around we back tracked to a area where I have hunted in the past and despite my wife thinking everyplace would be frozen solid I knew it had some ridges that get hit with sun all day long.

Lucky for me the ground was not frozen in that area but somewhat hard to climb around and detect on for newbies. But with the sun on us and a perfect view of mountains, our first detector could have taken a dump on us and it would not have mattered.

Our finds were bullets, 4 22's, and a 44 magnum bullet plus a can that was surprisingly deep. I was glad I took the manual for our garrett with us because it was nice to be able to read it over again to make sure I was doing things right. Only problem I had was in spots I would get a light hum that would not give a reading but just a sound. After awhile of hitting some of those spots I finally dug at one and found nothing but dirt and it would hum lightly on the pile and in the hole so I guess hot rocks..?

But I have to say I think we will enjoy our new hobby for years to come!