New member, new hobby, and Id like to know how to get started.

TexasRanger

Tenderfoot
Oct 16, 2013
7
0
Mount Pleasant, TX
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
New member, new hobby, and I'd like to know how to get started.

Just found this website and am quite excited at the prospect of Treasure Hunting. My primary interest is in old coins and old artifacts. How does one go about finding old town sites, home sites or military bases? Are there any maps? Should I check courthouse records? Or do I just jump in my truck and let it lead me somewhere?

I am hoping some more experienced Hunters might give me some pointers.
 

First, welcome to Treasurenet. :hello:

Research, research, and research. :icon_study: Being in Texas, summer is a good time to research on the internet and at libraries. Talking the old timers could lead to good spots.

Reading old history stories, looking for old maps and other places that people may have gathered can make many hot afternoon pass away quickly. Google (or what ever search engine you use) is the treasure hunter’s friend.

If you find a place of interest in your research, a drive out to the site will give you more information. Is it so grown up that detecting is imposable, would it be safe to be in that area, and what is on the site today (houses, buildings).

A lot of money on gas will be wasted just driving around pointlessly looking for places. :icon_scratch: However always keep an eye out for places on your daily drives.

Once a spot is found, the county tax office is the place to look for the owner of the property. Some one is paying taxes on it.

Good luck & Happy hunting.
 

pennsylvania.gif
Welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania (USA).
reading_01.gif
You might consider browsing Sub-Forums: Texas for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state.
 

Hello and welcome from florida.
 

Welcome Butch,

My advice is to not get discouraged. It takes time, research, and hard work to make good finds.

The more you use your machine, the better you will become with it.

Good Luck, post some pics.
 

Welcome :hello: You will be amazed how the hobby will consume you. I have been hunting a little ghost town about 5 miles from where I live for over a year. It is PeeWee's big adventure just doing the research. The little town is near the TN River and had several bad floods before the dam system went in so I have actually been productive just using a Topo map and hitting the high ground in the area. One need every school, home, camp, or church had at the older sites was water. Of coarse many just dug a well when they could reach the water table, but finding springs has been really productive for me. Remember as well when people traveled in days of old they camped at night again requiring water. Almost every early town had a camp area or two for travelers. Not feasible to stay at hotels etc and most people in wagons or buggies could only make about 30 miles per day. And big time productive is find local history buffs and old timers. Question where the oldest schools, ball fields, camp sites, church revivals, river crossings (often a camp at these sites), or battle sites etc. were. Not to discourage you but the obvious old homes and schools etc. have probably been beat to death by other hunters. They will still often produce a few finds, but for me finding the virgin sites themselves is almost as much fun as what you find in them. They are what we are all looking for. And last but certainly not least get a descent quality metal detector and a set of good headphones. The older sites are often very trashy with old rusting cans etc and a really low end detector is the best way I know to get so discouraged at digging junk you abandon the hobby. As little as $170 will get you in a good starter. The simple machines that many of us start with are often the best for a novice as you just kind of turn on and go. The high end machines can get really complicated and are wonderful but you first need to develop a concept of how it all works or they can cause more confusion than they are worth. It can take a long time to get really productive with even a good detector. It doesn't mean you won't find good stuff right from the start but you will soon learn that iron and can slaw etc. sound and act different. The only way to get around some objects like pull tabs and mason jar lids is to dig them. Don't get discouraged when you first start. Most good hunters put way more time in the research than they do swinging the metal detector. ........... Best of luck.
 

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Welcome, Butch! Research and location are the keys to successful detecting. Look for areas where people congregated - in Mount Pleasant, there was a large confederate reunion in 1910 (now a local park), an old distillery, old mineral springs resorts, etc. Get permission to hunt some of these areas and you will find some interesting things.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com
 

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