He who digs the most trash gets the most gold? Im sure of it.

bigscoop

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He who digs the most trash gets the most gold? I'm sure of it.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, thinking that perhaps a lot of hunters are taking it out of context. Yet, every consistently successful hunter I know applies this same strategy, or a very similar strategy to their own hunting; "He who dig the most trash gets the most gold." Now this may not mean they actually dig everything but you can bet they dig anything that leaves them any measure of a doubt at all. In fact, in many trashy areas this is the only way you can thin out the playing field enough to even begin a serious search for gold. Another reason for applying this strategy might also be the fact that a 10k gold ring may actually contain more copper then gold, thus it is common for these rings to send a return in the same range of a penny. This is actually quite common in the case of older class rings and military rings and even consumer rings. A 10k white gold ring may contain more silver then gold, and so on, and so on. Designer rings these days can even have gold, silver, and even platinum settings and inlays in tungsten and carbide, etc.

And then there is the factor of depth and mineralization, both of these factors still able to alter the return signals in such a way that they can no longer be trusted. I'm betting if you asked these consistently successful hunters these guys could quickly reference you a few such cases right off the top of their heads. I only bring this up because of all the recent "technology" threads. Just some food for thought.
 

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Fletch88

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BigScoop, I was just thinking when I retire I'm going to just use a Sand Shark with 8" coil and dig it all!!! I have used my Sov in AM without checking targets in disc just to see if I could distinguish between iron and decent targets. I batted about 50/50 but did find a few surprises underneath iron trash.
 

DewGuru

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I've always maintained it, and will continue to do so. He who digs the most finds the most. Very few dig more trash than I, yet, I consistently find what I am after. Metal detectors ALL have the exact same feature: detecting metal. You can have a gps, you can have tdi, you can have discrimination ... you can have it all. What you have is circuitry that will break, and a interface that makes a guess, at best. I love my Shark - wouldn't leave home without it. Machine go beep, dig hole. :D
 

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bigscoop

bigscoop

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BigScoop, I was just thinking when I retire I'm going to just use a Sand Shark with 8" coil and dig it all!!! I have used my Sov in AM without checking targets in disc just to see if I could distinguish between iron and decent targets. I batted about 50/50 but did find a few surprises underneath iron trash.

I was in the water all morning today, wasn't getting a lot of tones but enough to keep me awake. In my mind I'm fully aware that under my feet targets are scattered everywhere, anywhere, but with the sand being so deep and so soft now I knew my chances were very slim, at best. Foil, pull tabs, chirping bottle caps and stuttering hoop earrings, a few tiny nulls here and there that sent the threshold on my Excal into that classic and annoying low growl. Anyway, my first surprise of the morning was a crusted up nickle that sounded nothing like a nickel, I was guessing a piece of cheap plated costume jewelry. I had five or six responses today that on a busy digging day I might have passed up as being just another penny, the last one turned out to be a nice little sterling ring, an earlier one turned out to be a gold earring back that I was certain was a piece of tiny crap. Tiny was accurate, crap wasn't exactly accurate. So a few of these were tones I might have actually ignored when the hunting is faster or when I felt I was being pressed for time. Just saying, I've recovered more then a few gold rings in the past that sounded more like something else. I typically hunt by the creed, "When in doubt dig" but even then I'm probably still missing a good target here and there.
 

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bigscoop

bigscoop

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Jun 4, 2010
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Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
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I've always maintained it, and will continue to do so. He who digs the most finds the most. Very few dig more trash than I, yet, I consistently find what I am after. Metal detectors ALL have the exact same feature: detecting metal. You can have a gps, you can have tdi, you can have discrimination ... you can have it all. What you have is circuitry that will break, and a interface that makes a guess, at best. I love my Shark - wouldn't leave home without it. Machine go beep, dig hole. :D

For the most part I agree with you but I also have to be honest....if that Excal "screams" iron I'm not digging unless I'm hoping for relics or I'm extremely bored.
 

CASPER-2

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I WAS ALWAYS TOLD THAT WHITE GOLD IS MADE WITH NICKEL - ONE OF THE REASONS SOME GUYS DISCRIM. IT
BUT HERE IS A COMPOSITION CHART I FOUND FOR THOSE INTERESTED
Composition of Gold Alloys - Gold Alloys in Colored Gold Jewelry

I HUNT IN ALL METAL 99% OF THE TIME AND I DO PICK UP EVERYTHING USUALLY AND I DO OKAY WITH THE GOLD - WHEN I GET OUT
I HAVE FOUND WHITE GOLD RINGS - AT SPOTS WHERE THATS ALL I GOT BESIDES JUNK - WHICH TELLS ME THEY GOT THEIR DISCRIM CRNKED
AND MANY TIMES IVE FOUND COINS AND GOLD WITH OR UNDER JUNK -- NOW AND THEN DEEP SILVER ---BUT I THINK MOST MACHINES WILL STILL
PICK UP SILVER WITH JUNK EVEN IN HIGH DISCRIM. -- BUT THEY DO MISS GOLD
 

kladdhunden

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Apr 25, 2013
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I'm far from any expert in this but reading this i remember a story from last year on dry sand.
This one beach have alot of mineralisation and most signals are bouncy and not clear if they are semi deep or older.
Fresh drops or near the surface finds usally ID's correct.
Anyway i was walking and walking and walking and had almost no signals at all and the ones i got was showing solid iron from any angles.
I usally never dig theese signals that show 100% iron, only iron signals that are mixed but as i had so few signals i decided to dig it all and try to see weight,shape etc of the objects i was finding in a hope it would help me find the good stuff.
most of the strong iron signals was just this iron but then i got a deep deep iron signal, could almost not get it in.
It was real close to the edge of my detectors deph and after 2-3 digs with the shovel the signal changed to a more bottlecap like signal but still very faint.
Long Story short: got it up,it had a strong sound and was a silver ring @2 grams.
After this i have never trusted the ID's but i have to admit if its alot of decent signals im to lazy to dig the "Iron signals"
 

sponge

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Nov 15, 2012
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I've always maintained it, and will continue to do so. He who digs the most finds the most. Very few dig more trash than I, yet, I consistently find what I am after. Metal detectors ALL have the exact same feature: detecting metal. You can have a gps, you can have tdi, you can have discrimination ... you can have it all. What you have is circuitry that will break, and a interface that makes a guess, at best. I love my Shark - wouldn't leave home without it. Machine go beep, dig hole. :D

Im with u on the shark. Success last night after 30 plus caps
 

OBN

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"He who dig the most trash gets the most gold."

I thinking it's more Location or even he who hunts the most gets the most gold, My opinion, Metal detecting is very site dependent and so what works well in one location will be lackluster in another. Use what works!
 

Msbeepbeep

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Jun 24, 2012
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Ya there are a lot of variables when dealing with beaches.
I was working dry sand next to a seawall with rebar in it. Very slow listening for small sound changes, got a penny reading, figured why not, started digging, at six inches I figured it's a piece of copper pipe. The deeper I go the more hell bent I am on retrieving this penny, I'm not leaving with out it! At 10+ in. The signal is finally in the scoop! It turned out to be a religious medallion 14K copper mix!
If I had not wanted that "penny" so badly I would not have gotten gold, you never know!
 

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bigscoop

bigscoop

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Jun 4, 2010
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Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
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I thinking it's more Location or even he who hunts the most gets the most gold, My opinion, Metal detecting is very site dependent and so what works well in one location will be lackluster in another. Use what works!

That is true, "he puts in the time". I know with my own hunting my yearly finds have taken a big nosedive simply because I've only been hunting a fraction of the time that I use to hunt. :BangHead:
 

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