New guy looking for tips...

[cti4sw]

Hey everyone, the name's Jon, I'm a 28 year old US Navy vet living in Hatfield, Pennsylvania with my wife. I've always wanted a decent metal detector, had some luck with a cheap one on on base during training school in Monterey, CA (found an 1805 large cent, pretty worn but readable). Last Christmas my mother bought me a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, and while I was out & about in the woods I found an old bronze carriage bell:


So anyway, despite the interesting luck, I'm still pretty new at this, so I have a few questions:

1. Anyone else have experience with this brand/model of detector? How can I adjust the settings to get the best use out of it?
(What I mean is, how do I get the damn thing to ignore soda cans and still sense worthwhile stuff?)

2. Is there any particular depth that older stuff is found at? Do certain metals show up better than others?

3. What sorts of locales can usually be good hot spots? I assume battlefields and the beach, but any other sites than that?
(I'm not asking you for specific details on your favorite spots, but generic info like "old buildings", "churches", etc... I've come to the logical conclusion of checking out any sort of dirt pile from dug foundations and the like.)

4. Do metal detectors work through water? Running water? If I use it over a creek, will I find anything?

5. This is more a statement than a question, but if y'all ever find anything, one of my hobbies is coin collecting (cents particularly) so if you come across IHCs, large cents, half cents, etc. I might be interested


Thanks for any advice! Hope to be posting more "Look What I Found!" pics soon...

~Jon

 

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[NOLA_Ken]

First welcome aboard! Really nice bell!

Now some answers......

1st... I had a Tracker a few years ago, and I have to tell you, there's not a lot you can really do with the settings, your best bet with it is to run the discrim at a little under half and keep your sensitivity setting fairly low (1/3 to around 1/2). Beyond that you'll just really have to listen to the machine and test it over known targets to get used to it. It's not going to ignore cans, unfortunately. I wish mine would do that too.....

2cd, The short answer is no, there is no set depth for good targets. Logically you'd think the deeper the target the older, but any disruption of the ground can move things all over the place depth wise. Now naturally the older stuff probably won't be in the top couple inches in most places, but the more you dig the more you'll notice that depths are all over the place. As to differences in metals, Crusader covered that in his post pretty well, but I'll add that larger pieces give stronger signals so a big chunk of iron can give you a high signal occasionally, as do beer cans.

3rd, Anywhere people gather is a good spot. Parks, churches, etc, but the best places tend to be old homes, or the places where homes once were. Don't just go by what your area looks like now though, do a little research into what it looked like years ago, places change and that old overgrown lot down the street may have been a popular spot for people to congregate years ago.

4, Your machine will work in water, but not salt water. Just keep the box high and dry. Also.....look VERY closely at where the wire goes into the coil, I've heard of that machine having a problem with water getting in there and ruining the coil, and possibly damaging the electronics in the process. Best bet is to avoid the water until you are able to get a machine with a good water proof coil. There's plenty of dry land to search anyway.

Good luck and I hope to see more finds!

 

[CRUSADER]

Hey everyone, the name's Jon, I'm a 28 year old US Navy vet living in Hatfield, Pennsylvania with my wife. I've always wanted a decent metal detector, had some luck with a cheap one on on base during training school in Monterey, CA (found an 1805 large cent, pretty worn but readable). Last Christmas my mother bought me a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, and while I was out & about in the woods I found an old bronze carriage bell:
View attachment 650258

So anyway, despite the interesting luck, I'm still pretty new at this, so I have a few questions:

1. Anyone else have experience with this brand/model of detector? How can I adjust the settings to get the best use out of it?
(What I mean is, how do I get the damn thing to ignore soda cans and still sense worthwhile stuff?) I have no experience of this model but of many others, & if you want to do well you need to clear the trash. A general principle for depth/success is as low a Discrimination as possible (I have none), & as high a Sensitivity as the ground allows. This give you the best depth on most detectors. The more you mess with the settings, specially Disc, the more depth you lose.

2. Is there any particular depth that older stuff is found at? Do certain metals show up better than others? Not if you do ploughed land, my 2000 year old stuff is only 2 inches deep, so think about finding ploughed or previously ploughed land near where people lived & farmed. Also it depends on so many factors, its impossible to answer, as soil movement could make it shallow or feet deep.
Yes different metals give out different signals, silver normal rings out high tone, but gold is low tone & in the ring pull range as it has a low conductivity. Lead & Aluminium ring out good, Iron normally clicky. Coins or things that are circular also sound better than other items.

3. What sorts of locales can usually be good hot spots? I assume battlefields and the beach, but any other sites than that?
(I'm not asking you for specific details on your favorite spots, but generic info like "old buildings", "churches", etc... I've come to the logical conclusion of checking out any sort of dirt pile from dug foundations and the like.) As I stated, do some research of old maps & find where the old homesteads where once in fields that are now ploughed, if you want History. If you want coins & Jewelry go down the park & tot lots.

4. Do metal detectors work through water? Running water? If I use it over a creek, will I find anything? Yes, most heads are waterproof, but check first. The control box will not be so keep it dry. If the creek has history you will finds stuff & it will be in better condition than land finds, so give it a go, if your research takes you there.

5. This is more a statement than a question, but if y'all ever find anything, one of my hobbies is coin collecting (cents particularly) so if you come across IHCs, large cents, half cents, etc. I might be interested OK, but its unlikely.


Thanks for any advice! Hope to be posting more "Look What I Found!" pics soon...

~Jon

See above.

 

[cti4sw]

thanks!

Cool, thanks guys, now I know where to start. I live in an area that has its own local historic significance plus an abundance of Mennonite heritage. After reading your posts I can already think of a few places to try in addition to the ones I'd previously thought of. I've read a few other threads and gather that y'all regularly revisit places you've already been to, something I wasn't going to do but will do now. I have read up on the history of my town but had not thought of researching old maps. Guess I'll do that now, thanks!

Going to the NJ shore over the holidays, gonna go buy me a kitchen strainer for the sand Can't wait!!


Edit: I just found the user's manual, and it says that the Tracker IV DOES have a waterproof head not sure whether I want to test that out, thoughts?

 

[gunntekk1]

Hey EX-Navy here Aviation Ordnance. Here is a web site that shows the past all U do is input the town and go to the drop down for year and pick one. next click on a red dot and view that place. Penn Pilot Photo Centers

 

[CRUSADER]

Edit: I just found the user's manual, and it says that the Tracker IV DOES have a waterproof head not sure whether I want to test that out, thoughts?

It will be fine, if it says waterproof & not water resistant, then you can get your money back if it fails.