Newbie needs ideas

[SteveDodds]

I've only MD'd once and I had no idea what I was doing. Santy Claus got me a Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 yesterday. I don't get it til christmas though. I've been tryin to think of some places to go so that I'm all ready to go lookin for stuff. Can anybody give me some ideas where I can go? I live in rural North Central Iowa.

 

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[dahut]

Schools
Parks
Old houses sites... The Big Three

There are a million more places, but these will get you started.

 

[SteveDodds]

Can I do this in the cold of winter when the ground is froze or do I need to wait till thaw out? There is an abandodned lot where a one room school used to sit just down the road from me. Thats where I'm gonna start.

 

[SteveDodds]

Also, what is the average success rate to finding something cool? I read all these posts about cool things people have found but I'm curious how long everyone looks for things before they find em? Theres also a rumor about a rich farmer near me that didn't beleive in banks and he supposedly buried a bunch of silver and gold a long time ago. Does everyone think I should look more into this or would I just be waisting my time with it when I should be lookin in better places. Also what about competition from other people? How do I know if a place has all ready been picked over?

 

[ramjet2187]

My view. Parks and school yards would be the best place to start. Playgrounds, around the swings, etc. You have the best chance of finding 'something' (maybe just a bit of change), but you shouldn't get skunked, and therefore lose interest.

You should be able to hunt in the winter until the ground gets REALLY frozen. I started out (at Christmas time!) in the 70's at school yards, and had to hack throught the first couple inches of frozen ground, but the ground wasn't frozen very deep. Regular digging after that. By the way, I used one of Dad's screwdrivers to dig with. .

People have lost things EVERYWHERE they've been. That isn't to say the stuff is still there, as metal detectors have been around for a while, but the chances are pretty good that there is a spot close to you that hasn't been touched! That one room school for example might be a gold mine.......Indian head cents, silver dimes, etc.

Do some research on the 'farmer'..........rumors usually have a bit of truth to them. Might be a whole bunch of made-up stuff to add excitement, but those stories usually have a bit of legitimacy to them.

Gotta get to work now, but keep up the research, and get out there and dig as soon as you get batteries in that sucker!

Roger

 

[dahut]

Re: Newbie needs answers...

...oOgers advice is good. Heed it. Here's a bit more.

Can I do this in the cold of winter when the ground is froze or do I need to wait till thaw out?
Threre are those intrepid folks who detect in the snow and ice. They most often hit sledding and toboggan hills, the areas just under ski lifts and so on - wherever people are active and losing stuff. Keeping your batteries warm is an issue. Buy a box of the cheap pocket warmers and fit them around your battery holder.
Some folks just mark good targets when the ground is frozen, using brightly painted 16-20d nails or those really long golf tees. Then they come back and "rediscover" them in the spring.

There is an abandoned lot where a one room school used to sit just down the road from me. Thats where I'm gonna start.
As good a place as any. Keep in mind that, if you know it was there, so do others. Detectors have been around a long time, my friend...But dont be discouraged. Get out there and have a go!

Also, what is the average success rate to finding something cool? I read all these posts about cool things people have found but I'm curious how long everyone looks for things before they find em?
No such thing as average success rate. I dont know what you call "cool," but I have an idea.
I could go Rogers route and say,"Treasures can be anywhere!" or "You never know?" Actually, these are both true and part of the fun of this hobby is finding the unexpected.
Or would you like a different TRUTH: There is far more trash than treasure, and you will find a lot of it.

Did you know Babe Ruth struck out more than he hit? It's true, but he always swung for the fences - you should take that to heart as a newbie. You will find far more goodies if you simply use your tools and recover targets, instead of watching meters and hoping not to uncover trash.

As to your question. I found a 1936 Mercury dime the very first time I took my very first detector out of the box. Will that happen to you? The odds are against it, to be frank. The biggest reason for success, ie, "finding something cool," is that the person who finds it has gone to a place where it can be found.
I cannot give you a better answer, as much as I'd like to. Much of this has to do with research and perseverance.

Theres also a rumor about a rich farmer near me that didn't believe in banks and he supposedly buried a bunch of silver and gold a long time ago. Does everyone think I should look more into this or would I just be waisting my time with it when I should be lookin in better places.
Definitely look more into it! Dont make it the only thing you do, but keep it simmering. Remember Babe Ruth...

Also what about competition from other people? How do I know if a place has all ready been picked over?

There wont be much there, of course! If you go to a park or modern school yard and you find very little, two things are happening:

1. Either someone beat you to it, or
2. Nothing is there to find.

The first is possible, the latter unlikely, since no place is ever hunted out. I went to a local school yard just behind my house recently, just to kill some time. When I got there , I found carefully measured footprints and coil scuff marks all around the play gear. Damn! I was beaten to the punch! But I was undaunted and pressed on. In about 30 minutes I found a handful of change, a silver amulet and a Sac dollar coin... and lots of trash. Did I mention the trash already? All this, in a place that was obviously hunted pretty well before I got there! Many detecetorists hunt quickly, haphazardly and honestly, pretty poorly. Spend your time learning to be thourough and knwing why you are there in the first place, and you will do better than most.

Seriously, we tend to judge people by our own standards, but its a fact that people didnt have as much back in the old days like we do. A quarter could buy you lunch AND a beer and money had more power. There wasn't the proliferation of credit buying as we know it and so people were more tight fisted. Take that school you mentioned - school kiddies didnt have a pocket full of change for the vending machines like todays kids do. Shucks, they didnt have vending machines!
BUT, a little known fact is that schools were gatherng places for folks. Everything from pie socials to political rallies were held at them. The chance exists that there IS something there, maybe something overlooked by every other detectorist who thought that he, and he alone, knew that secret of that vacant lot.

However, you will find little but what Lady Luck affords you if you don't take the time to "Know Before You Go." You're on the right track, my friend. Keep at it. If you have any more questions, feel free to email me.

 

[TreasureTales]

Very good advice from everybody here, so there is little I can add. I would suggest, however, that you practice with your machine so that you become familiar with it. Each brand and model is somewhat different and only through experience and practice can a detectorist gain the understanding necessary to know when to dig and when to pass by. However, almost everyone has dug a "bad signal" and been quite surprised to find something very worthwhile. So do lots of digging to learn from the experiences. You can bury some coins and pulltabs and bottlecaps and learn the differences in the meter readings and the tones that you get from each of them as the coil passes over them. Practice, experience, study--they are what pays the dividends in this hobby.

When the ground is frozen, you can do research on the history of your area or on the guy who buried his gold and silver. Do some reading in the library or on the internet, get acquainted with the folks at the local historical society (they can be absolutely great for getting ideas of what used to occur at various places--like picnic grounds and campsites).

Try the bark boxes of the local schools on weekends or try the gravel parking lots of taverns.

Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover and then just get out there and do it!! Good luck, and welcome to this great hobby and to this forum.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

SD,

what TT said, "Try the bark boxes of the
local schools". Good place to start.

"Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover "

"Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover "

"Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover"

" Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover "

and

"Read your instruction manual from cover-to-cover "

Hope to be seeing your finds.

have a good un............

 

[ivy_walls]

Just 4 months ago i was in the same position as you. I went and bought a MD and went to it. The first 3 months I totaled about 14 dollars total. The 4th month i was just shy of 14 dollars, so i have a 4 month total of over $28.00. Plus i found 1 gold ring and 1 1876 indian head.

The best way to succeed is to listen to what these sages say about digging every target, practice, and take it slow.

hope that helps

good luck

mark

 

[Gribnitz]

Also, what is the average success rate to finding something cool?

LOL, get used to finding junk. No way around it. You'll get better as you learn the machine, but the machine is not psychic, it is just telling you what it thinks is under there. You will find lots of sodie cans, big iron junk and the necessary pulltab, but the good stuff is in there too. You just have to be patient and not get discouraged when you don't come home with something nice. There is always trash to go along with the treasure...actually a lot more trash than treasure, but people usually don't post pics of thier trash.

 

[eathabs]

The first time I used a detector was after I took down the swing set in my yard. I was just looking for a few nuts and bolts that were lost in the grass. It actually belonged to my father in law. After he died, my mother in law gave it to me. I read the manual from cover to cover many times. Found some change in the yard along with lots of rusty old nails. I tried different settings and kept at it in the yard. Each time I went out I found a coin or two. Nothing old. This past summer I found my first two wheaties, in my yard!! I had been through it many many times. A week or two after finding the wheaties I found an Indian Head penny, in the same yard!!!

Last weekend I went to a local school and in 2 days found 68 coins. There is still more to be had there. I got lucky though with the coin to pulltab ratio. It was probably 6 or 7 coins for each pulltab. Normally it would be just the opposite.

Don't forget about wooded areas that might have been inhabited at some point in time. The old swimmin hole is another good spot. Check fair grounds, soccer fields, torn up sidewalks.

Tons of places to search. Be sure to get permission for private property and take any trash you dig with you.

Good luck and happy hunting!!

 

[Mona Lisa]

I want to second what Grib said above. Believe me, with every Tnet post of great finds, there was also lots of trash that went along with it. Don't be dissappointed because of the trash. Everybody digs garbage!

Don't set your descrimination too high. Dig everything. That's what I do everytime I hunt. I dig everything but the nails. A gold ring will sound the same as a pulltab. Dig all those pulltabs! Did I say dig everything?

Good luck, Steve!