What makes someone good at metal detecting?

[Monty]

Sleeping like a baby Michelle. Wake up at 2:00 every morning for my bottle.....er, uh, cup of hot chocolate. Change my dia....I mean go to the bathroom and then up crying the rest of the night!

 

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[Michelle]

is that good

 

[digdug_rita]

It is very interesting that we all feel the same......there are all sorts of things that make up good detecting, and it seems that you all have covered just about all them. I have what I call "The Three P's" of detecting.

Patience......Perseverance......Persistence !!!!

I do not consider my self a good or bad detector....just a helluva good time for me. Finding all that crap and trash just makes it even better when I find a keeper !!!

 

[99Brown]

With me, I think it is lots of luck, lots of patience, and a little bit of skill. But you have to secure permission first. And that can be the toughest part of all.

99Brown

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

Ratio, my friend. Trash versus keepers.

It displays the ability of one to read one's machine either by sight on the read out or with the tones. Digging them all will teach you what not to dig and remembering the tone for that item at that depth will teach you not to dig it again. Less trash and more keepers. Of course, as a disclaimer, one must dig it all, because, the machine is not perfect and not ALWAYS right. Objects lie. Metal detectors speculate. I guarantee that a 3" steel water line that is 55 years old will ring up as a dime, on my machine, and that 43 war nickel will toggle audio between a pulltab and a dime. I wish you luck.

Laater...

 

[damz68]

Hey Don,

One very important thing you forgot to mention LOCATION.

Although my state of SC has tons of history and lots of war, especially revalutionary and some civil it was very poor. The rich were very rich and they lived in those plantations you read about. There is somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 plantations in SC, and they are off limits to detectors. Everyone else was poor. Middle class hardley exsisted in SC until after WW2 or early 50's and they were still rare until the 70's.

In the northern states there was a huge amount of middle and upper class folks who were much more careless with there change, because they had more of it.

Cotton mill workers in Mass. were making 10 times what the southern workers were, in pay not production and I can tell you that a TH'er in the north will fare much better than one in the south despite the homework or the machine. I am talking about coinhunting, just as a relic hunter will fare better in SC than Ohio.

So I think LOCATION is the most important thing in treasure hunting. However, as you said it does not make you a better hunter because you found more than someone else.

 

[kieser sousa/rip]

Wow ...This is really a good thread.
I am not the best detectorist...I dont have the fancy equipment and we all know I hate to dig deep.,....Oh I will crawl into a rabbit hole,cave ,root cellar or mudpit...cripes I hate digging through roots.
But Lord knows I love detecting ...Cant get enough of it and I would do it full time if I could. I actually go through withdrawls as soon as it freezes and I cant dig.

I really think that if you have a passion for something, that it makes up for what you might lack in other areas of expertise. Not a greedy passion.....but a pure passion.

I have a passion for history and research. When I am hunting an old area, I transend myself back to that time and try to think like the people of that era did....what were their daily routines, where would they walk, do yard chores, build their outbuildings, I watch my girls run off and play, thinking that all children would act the same way, finding little spots to play or hide. I try to pick the route they would walk to a neighbors cabin or the paths they took to school or the fishing spot.

Its just not the detecting, its finding a relic that was used long ago and holding it in your hands...a small brooch, thimble or token that you know someone wore with love, a tool that is so worn from daily use or a button from some lost soldiers coat.To be able to sit along a quiet river and eat your lunch...knowing that the pioneers of long ago did the same .....We are rescuing not only history,but someones memories.

I dont want to hunt with people who take the fun out of it. If you are going to sit and tell me how I swing wrong or go into technical crap that I dont even care about, it ruins it for me....I am out there for the pure enjoyment of the hobby...I can get excited over a beep from an Indian Head and do a happy dance all over the place....and I will do the same dance when someone finds a silver capped half dollar and feel the happiness for them . It doesnt have to be my find to get me happy!

And its been the best hobby that I can do with my daughters. From our digging up ghost towns and spending nights camping deep in the forest to researching, sorting and studying what we find, has really taught them so much that books can't do. I feel like I am really giving them alot out of life ,that costs very little except my time.

I know that this forum has helped me tremendously. Reading the techniques and advice from the pro's has made me a better hunter. Maybe retaining what you learn from the past has alot to do with hunting skill...and the attention to detail..I know that I can ask the dumbest questions and someone will give me an answer without crucifying me.
I don't need to be the smartest person out there ,because I have all of your brains to help me out. I don't have to be the best or find the best...I just have to detect....
So I think being a good detectorist is a combination of many things...integrity,respect for the land and others, luck ,learned skills, and passion.

Wow very well put ! will you marry me ! lol

 

[U.K. Brian]

One thing not mentioned is time.
I detect full time so if a site is being cleared for a new retail park, there's an odd coloured patch showing in a field or the beach has stripped I'm there.
How often have you had to wait till the weekend and the farmer has planted the next crop or the builders have poured the concrete ?
If a beach has stripped and is producing then I take the camper and park as near as I can then work it to death. Often the window of opportunity is only one or a few tides. The difference in the amount of finds made can be staggering.

 

[gregl01]

Thats the beauty of this hobby. We all have different ideas but its all good!!!! Success is up to you. Some people collect clad for sheer numbers or try to find they're oldest coin whatever you want. Is the guy that only finds a large cent this year any less successful than someone who finds $500 worth of clad It doesn't matter to me what I find but persistence pays off. You can't find goodies if the detector lives in a closet!!
Greg

 

[Sandman]

Gypsy you covered it very well for me too. I don't think I could add much to what you've said. It's all in the fun of being able to get out there or even reading about it when you are snowbound.

 

[U.K. Brian]

Never forget making a special effort to drive miles in the dead of winter to here a talk by a gentleman who had made £20,000 or so in the previous year.
Turned out to be one hoard of coins he had found with his C-Scope. What special skill or technique had he used ? Spirit voices had told him where to look.
Just glad they never gave him any correct information again. The only voice I ever hear is my wife telling me something needs painting, planting or cutting down

 

[TreasureTales]

One thing not mentioned is time.
I detect full time so if a site is being cleared for a new retail park, there's an odd coloured patch showing in a field or the beach has stripped I'm there.
How often have you had to wait till the weekend and the farmer has planted the next crop or the builders have poured the concrete ?
If a beach has stripped and is producing then I take the camper and park as near as I can then work it to death. Often the window of opportunity is only one or a few tides. The difference in the amount of finds made can be staggering.

TIME was brought up in Reply #3, by me!!! Perhaps you meant TIMING? Timing is important for areas that may not be accessible for long. That's what you mean, right?

 

[TheSleeper]

Can`t add a thing, everyone has offered so much, this thread could be one of those "Best Of" threads, no its not about treasure nor gold ,silver or anything else material like that.

Its about a great group of people adding there own perspective there ideas, wishing to be able to help someone that may be just starting or someone stumbling along, with a possible idea that would help them.

 

[Digginman]

I think the scale of a good detectorist is the FUN they have doing it. I Love It!!!! I talk about it, read about it, think about it and want to go all the time. It's not a obsession with me, it's a love of finding something old or valuable.

DM

 

[Huntin' 59er]

This thread has revealed a lot of good points and info which would be helpful to newbies to the hobby. Everyone has their own ideas about what makes a good detectorist. I think that it is a combination of all the ideas that have been presented in this thread. I can't think of anything new to add to the list. I know that I am not the best detectorist and I am ok with that. I don't try to compete against everyone else. I enjoy reading about everyone's finds on this forum and can be happy for them. I am into metal detecting for two reasons. One: Because it is fun and I enjoy it as a hobby. I love the mystery and suspense of what might be in the hole that I am about to dig. Maybe it will be a piece of history such as an artifact or a rare and valuable coin. Two: Because of the exercise it affords me. I think that an active person will live longer and have a better quality of life because of it. I think that Gypsy said it about as well as anyone in her post. She has a good outlook on life. And I am proud of her for the time that she gives to her girls with the metal detecting. They are building memories that will last a lifetime for each of them.

Huntin' 59er

 

[Nate in Ohio]

Don, I think that the finds that a detectorist make are often times NOT a good indicator of how "good" of a detectorist he or she is. Of course, it is a complex combination of the ideas and aspects as discussed by others earlier in this thread. In regards to the code of ethics, I think it is important that one possesses the ability to make improvisational judgments and to interpret the extent to which the code extends. One may be left to decide whether or not his actions would violate it...one may be left to decide whether or not others would disapprove of his actions. Indeed, it is quite a debatable issue. One may be a "good" detectorist in the field of character, but maybe he is inexperienced with his machine. One may be "good" in the field of knowing what his machine is telling him; knowing which targets may lead to a desirable one, and the probablilty that this would be so. So by deeming someone a "good" detectorist, perhaps it is an incomplete description because of all the debate involved in this issue. Thusly, further clarification is needed when doing so. Great post Don, makes for excellent discussion.