Is It Possible to be Addicted to Metal Detecting?

Overkill Overkill

Jr. Member
Feb 18, 2010
76
1
Hello all,

I wanted to thank most of you who replied to my flurry of questions. I do realize on the surface my questions seem crazy, but I like asking them as they often turn out to yield interesting answers. Yes, I am very thin-skinned, so any replies that hint of sarcasm, etc. annoy the heck of me, but hey, life is short, right.

I just spent ~2 hours talking with my friend (sponsor) about being addicted to metal detecting. (You say: What the XZH@#% are you talking about?). Well, as you can tell from my posts, I am an intense person, and I am coming to terms that in addition to being motivated by the beach and water and finding cool stuff, I am also motivated by money (greed) and recognition ("Wow, look what Overkill Overkill found today on the beach!!") and not nearly as much as I thought for the sheer "fun" of metal detecting. The clincher came when my friend asked, "What if you gave everything you found away to charity - would you still want to metal detect?" Honestly, I had to reply "no."
I thought perhaps I could "moderate" my metal detecting by committing to a goal of just covering my expenses with my finds, but for me (and speaking for me only) this would be like trying to have just 1 beer. But I was wondering if anyone else 'struggles' with this issue? For example, does your significant other complain that you spend too much time hunting? Do you leave the beach feeling quite dejected if you don't reach a predetermined goal?

Sadly, I may have to give up metal detecting as I have had to give up alcohol, blackjack, and other vices. But I was wondering if any of you would be willing to comment on what drives you to detect?
 

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Chug And Red

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Feb 18, 2010
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Chug and Reds New Additions

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mrs.oroblanco

Silver Member
Jan 2, 2008
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Black Hills of South Dakota
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Have you ever heard George Massie's story? (Old Buzzard).

He used to prospect and dredge and all that stuff, and his wife used to make his do his final concentrating out in an unheated, uncooled garage, because she didn't want any of his junk (his treasure hunting junk) in the house.

Then, one week, him and Tom went on a prospecting trip, and they came across this big boulder that everyone who dredges, apparently, had gone all the way around. They were going to leave it, but, apparently it bugged him, so they spent a couple days figuring out how to move the huge boulder. They fashioned something and finally got it moved.

They hauled out over 850 ounces of gold from under the boulder.

His wife then decided it was ok for him to pan his concentrates in the house!!!!

Beth
 

FISHEYE

Bronze Member
Feb 27, 2004
2,333
400
lake mary florida
Detector(s) used
Chasing Dory ROV,Swellpro Splash 2 pro waterproof drone,Swellpro Spry+ wa,Wesmar SHD700SS Side Scan Sonar,U/W Mac 1 Turbo Aquasound by American Electronics,Fisher 1280x,Aquasound UW md,Aqua pulse AQ1B
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Too much of anything is not good for you.
 

metalman

Jr. Member
Dec 16, 2004
66
0
franklin square new york
i consider it a hobby that pays for itself. been doing it for close to 30 years. bought first detector back then and they have been paying for themselves ever since. lets not forget the excercise aspect of it and the thrill of the hunt. some disappointing and some very exciting. but the peace of mind i get when i go out is most important. my wife always says when i come home i,m a new man despite what i have found
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
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Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pockets, I think Overkill is now haunting a different forum since he hasn't posted anymore or thanked anyone that too the trouble to answer his questions. :dontknow:
 

jeff of pa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 19, 2003
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Sandman said:
Pockets, I think Overkill is now haunting a different forum since he hasn't posted anymore or thanked anyone that too the trouble to answer his questions. :dontknow:

Yea I Havn't got far enough to Look yet
Still Reviewing Posts & Deleting rude Remarks,
from a few

But if Anyone Has Driven him off

They may get a Break :wink:

Thanks For Treating him with Respect Sandman :thumbsup:
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks JEFF, but I think I was rude to him also. Sometimes we forget that we started somewhere back in the beginnings too. It is hard to tell when someone is jerking us around just to increase the post count and just wanting an honest answer.
 

seeker41

Bronze Member
Feb 18, 2007
1,706
368
spacecoast florida
Detector(s) used
fisher cz6a--teknetics g2 --cz20--minelab excal 800--discovery3300--original whites tdi--tesoro sandshark--whites dual field
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
well, i wasn't rude to him!! but i did state in my post that he might be a spammer and that he was trying to run up post counts to see if it was worth spamming this forum. i also said if you(meaning overkill) are not spamming then respond to our replies!! i did not call him a name i just challenged him to prove himself, and my reply was deleted :dontknow: he has barely responded to any replies, only once or twice!!!! that is typical. look at how many responses hes gotten, and only one or two replies??? there were a few that were outright rude. i do not mind helping out newbies but I'm still doubtful as to what his intentions were.
 

jeff of pa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 19, 2003
85,842
59,628
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seeker41 said:
well, i wasn't rude to him!! but i did state in my post that he might be a spammer and that he was trying to run up post counts to see if it was worth spamming this forum. i also said if you(meaning overkill) are not spamming then respond to our replies!! i did not call him a name i just challenged him to prove himself, and my reply was deleted :dontknow: he has barely responded to any replies, only once or twice!!!! that is typical. look at how many responses hes gotten, and only one or two replies??? there were a few that were outright rude. i do not mind helping out newbies but I'm still doubtful as to what his intentions were.

Yes I Even requested he Respond to Members
& He promised he would.
which he seems to have Forgotten.

But I am Still trying to
keep this site As friendly as Possable
& If that means

If somone dosn't Like another person
they Ignore them, So be it.

If somone dosn't respond back,
then they are not worth responding to again.

but please don't make accusations online

I'd prefer you report your suspicions to me
and i'll keep an eye on them :thumbsup:
 

beachboy

Bronze Member
May 26, 2008
1,138
29
Connecticut
Detector(s) used
Sand Shark
I am only addicted to making the banner...then, and only then, will I give up metal detecting...
 

OP
OP
O

Overkill Overkill

Jr. Member
Feb 18, 2010
76
1
Re: Is It Possible to be Addicted to Metal Detecting?, Forum Etiquette

Hello all,

Thank you all for your regarding my posts about spring break and depth of water, etc.

I do not access the internet very much, so I don't get on this site as much as I'd like. (In fact, right now, it's 1:45 am in Missouri, and my son and wife are asleep - I'm just catching up on stuff. I am married with one son and, like some of you, work 40 hours per week. I'm also working on my doctorate online, so I really don't have a lot of spare time.)

Apparently I am still not acting properly on this site. Like I said above, I do not get on the internet as much as I would like, so I cannot conversate at the same pace as most of the regulars do. Thus, I do not thank people that often. But those that know me know that I am anything but rude.

I guess I was under the impression that I was not only a consumer of information on this forum but also that I am adding to this forum by asking intriguing questions. Just because I don't always reply doesn't mean that I didn't contribute to the forum. Many are reading my posts and the replies to my posts.
I'm the guy the classroom that sits on the front row and asks all the questions that others do not want to ask. For the life of me, I can't figure out why some of you guys are so quick to judge. I am not a spammer, author, alien :), etc.

Jeff, what did you mean by: "But if anyone has driven him off, they may get a Break." Some of your posts are unclear. Perhaps I need to find another forum where members won't be as upset if I don't reply as often as they would like. It seems to me that if I posted 4 questions and then never accessed the forum again (let's say I passed away or went to prison :)), then at the worst I have initiated possibly 4 nice strings of conversation.

Regarding the links members have posted, thank you. But the thing is, my questions are very focused: Instead of wading through 4 hours worth of info. on a link, if someone could just pass on what they learned from a valuable resource, then it saves us all time - correct? It seems that this forum can add to what valuable info. is already out there by communicating briefly what others have learned. So, if you have the time, sure, post a link, or give a quick response (like some have done - thank you), but why the need for a forum if all we had to do was send each other links?

And Jeff, maybe I need a set of specific guidelines from you regarding, for example, how many replies per post you expect from me, etc. This feels like my childhood all over again :) I don't exactly know what you meant by the "he must have forgotten" line you wrote about what I "promised." Also, the e-mail link you sent me did not seem to work. I appreciate your efforts, but you cannot be all things to all people. Yes, you were wrong and Sandman was accurate - he was rude to me; please call him out as much as you have me, even if in reality you haven't called me out that much (thanks Sandman for 'manning up.'). And take a gander at Montauk 3's replies to me; it seems he's not very neighborly at times.

When can we just move on, or am I always going to get flack on this forum? Tell me what I need to do? Please try to remember the "Golden Rule." I'd love to log off of this site each time with a smile on my face, thinking that we can all respect each other and respectfully disagree.

Thank you to the majority of you who have been kind and patient.
 

jeff of pa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 19, 2003
85,842
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Overkill Overkill
you don't have to respond to anything if you don't want to.

it just helps sometimes when you ask
questions and get one back :tongue3:
 

Deepdiger60

Silver Member
Jun 18, 2009
2,804
94
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Overkill Overkill said:
Hello all,

I wanted to thank most of you who replied to my flurry of questions. I do realize on the surface my questions seem crazy, but I like asking them as they often turn out to yield interesting answers. Yes, I am very thin-skinned, so any replies that hint of sarcasm, etc. annoy the heck of me, but hey, life is short, right.

I just spent ~2 hours talking with my friend (sponsor) about being addicted to metal detecting. (You say: What the XZH@#% are you talking about?). Well, as you can tell from my posts, I am an intense person, and I am coming to terms that in addition to being motivated by the beach and water and finding cool stuff, I am also motivated by money (greed) and recognition ("Wow, look what Overkill Overkill found today on the beach!!") and not nearly as much as I thought for the sheer "fun" of metal detecting. The clincher came when my friend asked, "What if you gave everything you found away to charity - would you still want to metal detect?" Honestly, I had to reply "no."
I thought perhaps I could "moderate" my metal detecting by committing to a goal of just covering my expenses with my finds, but for me (and speaking for me only) this would be like trying to have just 1 beer. But I was wondering if anyone else 'struggles' with this issue? For example, does your significant other complain that you spend too much time hunting? Do you leave the beach feeling quite dejected if you don't reach a predetermined goal?

Sadly, I may have to give up metal detecting as I have had to give up alcohol, blackjack, and other vices. But I was wondering if any of you would be willing to comment on what drives you to detect?
Stick with MD,ing unlike the other vices it can make money not spend it ,personally i enjoy hunting with my detectors not so much for the worth it can bring but the mystery of whats going to pop up next ,self control !! .A young guy 21 that used to work with me always was interested in my hobby he always asked me what was my latest finds and asking me how does my detectors work ? he likes playing the NY lottery scratch off tickets one day he played a 10.00 ticket and won the jack pot 5000.00 a week for life !!! before taxes the first thing he got with his first check was a brand new Excal II now hes addicted to MD,ing plus making more money on his finds nothing tremendous
but the thrill is there for him . When i was in a bind one month for cash the guy tossed me a grand and said keep it and thanks Jim for getting me into metal detecting :thumbsup:
 

homer007

Sr. Member
Jan 11, 2008
268
2
BAIBRIDGE GA
Detector(s) used
WHITE PI PRO, TIGER SHARK,TESORO DELEON/XLT® E-Series Metal Detector. Whites PI Pro Detector
MY MEDS KEEP ME IN CHECK................................ :help:............................... ...... METAL DETECTING OR EAT. IM FAT ANYWAYS. DETECTING HERE I GO..LOL
I HAVE ONE OF THOSE ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY ANYWAYS. IF I WAS GOING TO DO SOMTHING ADDICTIVE TO SOMTHING I CAN SAY METAL DETECTING IS THE WAY TO GO. AT LEAST MY SHRINK SAID SO. :tongue3: :tongue3: :tongue3: :tongue3: :tongue3: :tongue3: :tongue3:
 

fisher2

Sr. Member
Mar 20, 2009
363
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
mrs.oroblanco said:
Define addicted......... :dontknow:


GOD, GRANT ME THE SERENITY

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can;

AND - the wisdom to know the difference


I'm wise enough to know the difference - that's why I have so many metal detectors. :headbang: :headbang:


B

i think i dug a AA token that said this on the back a few months ago..... lol
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
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Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
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I metal detect because it is my avenue to a lot of adventures and really neat places. I think the moment I came out of the womb I started exploring and I've been that way ever since. Metal detecting has allowed me to follow the adventursome spirit that is in my blood and what I find provides all the conmtinued curiosities that keeps my spirit inspired and alive. When I turn my metal detector on I become an explorer, it's who I am.
 

stitchlips

Sr. Member
Apr 12, 2008
394
25
east coast florida
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Sandman said:
Girls at the beach look at me longingly as the detector is a babe magnet. :laughing7:

It is really true. I have had more babes approach me with my detector than without. It's sad to see the looks on their faces when they ask me what I do with all of the gold and diamond rings and I say, I give them to my wife....... It's like someone just wiped away all of the smiles!
 

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