I guess I just get tired of hearing that the AT Pro is obsolete and how it's an "entry level" metal detector. Most of my best finds over the years have been in places hunted to death by guys with the 1.5k or higher detectors. If they're so great, why did they miss half reales, seated dimes and even big coppers? Why is my $500 machine finding them, while their machines aren't detecting them?
Here's a perfect example. I made this list up a couple of years ago. These were all found at a very public park in Glocester, RI from 2015 to 2022. This park has been done to death. The whole area has been done to death because it was settled over 300 years ago and the Dorr Rebellion occured here. Lots of history in this town, so the detectorists come far and wide to hit it.
I've run into at least a dozen guys metal detecting here with all sorts of machines. CTX 3030's, Deus I and II, Nox 800 and so on. How could these guys miss all these great coins and relics, while my cheapo AT Pro found them? Either I'm the best metal detectorist in this state (very doubtful) or the metal detecting companies are full of you know what. These "high end" machines aren't getting the job done, so why spend so much for them? Just my take on it all...
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Let's break this down.
7 years of detecting at the park.
You have stated that you have run into others a dozen times
So either you monitor the going ons in this park, or detect it a lot.
How big is the park 1 or 100s acres?
You have recorded everything every person has found.
I find this amazing 👏
Even more so that you found everything after every other high end machine was in the park.
(Because every high end machine missed that list of recoveries)
A person that has detected the same piece of grass multiple times will in fact have the finds advantage over the newly arrival.
(Home turf advantage)
I detected a park in Toronto probably 100's of times (High Park 400 acres)and had only seen another person detecting a couple of times.
Back in the mid 80's the dealer told me that the park was hunted out.
Just in 2009 from the said park I still recorded over 104 silvers.
20-Little nickels (Fishscales)
55-Dimes
29-Quarters
57-LCs (1860-1920)
4-tokens ( 1832-40)
15-misc Tokens
9-silver rings
5-gold rings
4-silver jewelry
3419 coins in total
(Yes there's even a banner up on the header in the past year made with a DEUS ll from this park)
Up to 10 yrs ago I could still get 2 keepers (silver/LC/Jewelry)every hour out of this park.
This park has been detected for nearly 60 years-hard for 50 years.
By every make and model of machine.
I was detecting in Bradenton FL.
Fellow rolled up and stated they had found/detected cleaned the park up way back 20-40 yrs before.
I listened, he kept telling, I was at first a skeptical, then I knew he was talking sense.
Amazing stuff/stories about the early days, and what his father recoveries.
He told me to detect a small area. Listen really good, and you're going to find a IH.
They're deep close to a foot.
I went back to that spot, and @ 11" I got my first IH out of that park.
Minelab SE.
Hometown advantage its called.
Detecting in England same field, hundreds of folks have walked it.
3 times to the same spot in the field for me.
Half dozen hunters that day, hunting same dirt as previous folks hunted.
Yet I got a 50BC gold Stater 6" away from previous multiple dug holes.
Half of those holes were my own.
It just proves that we all suck when it comes to detecting.
Regardless of what machines are being used.