New to the hobby. BH Quick Silver

[Hendo0601]

Hey everyone!

As the title suggests I am brand new to this hobby, and before my birthday a few months ago I had never picked up a detector in my life. I did some research and decided on the QS as my first machine because it had decent reviews and the price was perfect...because if I decided I didn't like the hobby I didn't want to have a $500 detector just sitting around.

I have taken it out a few times and I'm still trying to get the hang of this thing. My biggest issues so far are 1) trying to pinpoint the target before I dig and 2) so many false signals. I have tried doing the X method and walking in circles around the target and more than half the time I end up digging a huge hole because the target seems to "move" after I dig. I don't have a pinpointer yet but a Garrett ProPointer is on its way as we speak, hopefully that will help keep my plug size to a minimum.
The other issue is false signals. I generally start with no discrimination and if I get lots of iron signals I turn iron disc on, and it seems like 9 times out of 10 I get a really nice high tone target and the machine tells me it's a coin...I dig it and it's just a rusty nail. Is it the machine? The operator? I don't mind digging the nails, as it's all fun to me, but it would be more fun to be able to skip the nails and find the good stuff! Sorry for this being so long, hopefully some of you can offer some advice (and don't tell me to get a new machine...lol)

-Jon

 

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[digndeep]

welcome jon,if you hav'nt done so I would suggest a test garden.bury some pocket change and trash items spread out about 8/10 inches.this should help you train your ear and sweep speed.with the false signals maybe try cutting back on sensitivity.

 

[Hendo0601]

I will go out and make a test garden just as soon as I can. I don't know why I didn't think of that before!

As far as sensitivity goes I generally leave it in the middle or all the way up otherwise I sacrifice depth. I change the sensitivity when I find a target to attempt to determine approximate depth. I can turn discrimination all the way up and I get good high tone signals just like a coin, but in reality it's a rusty nail. Does the oxidation in the soil surrounding the nail cause the false signal? Maybe the test garden will be the answer to all of my problems, I will give it a whirl and see what happens.

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[thebadger108]

I use a bounty hunter Fortune hunter. In grassy park areas at this time of year I only do disc and set my disc knob to about the 3'oclock position and the sensitivity to about 11'o'clock position and I can pretty much coin pop all day long and not damage the grass to much. But when it comes fall and winter I will be digging deeper holes. I'm new to this as well. Been going out each day for about 45 min to an hour for about 2 months now.. I'm up to about 20 bucks in clad. At first i was pullling up tabs and such. But rarely do that anymore. Its all about knowing what your machine is telling ya. Good luck and HH.

 

[digndeep]

it's like badger said,get to know your machine.overall been happy with bounty hunter.picks up copper pennies up to 8"so far.i'm just waiting for some rain here in Maryland,been kinda dry for dign.

 

[digndeep]

oh yea..rusty iron will give you a fit.put some in your test garden and compare to coin.should be able to tell difference when x-ing.

 

[Hendo0601]

So I went out and dug a test garden yesterday. I buried a few modern coins, a copper penny from the 70s, a 1965 quarter, a 1927 wheat penny, and a standing liberty quarter of unknown year (rubbed off like most of them). I experimented with depth and managed to get solid readings on all of the coins down to about 8 inches, and knowing the exact spot of the coin in the hole allowed me to see where exactly on the coil it's picking up. That should really help with pinpointing! I then buried a rusty nail with each coin and managed to learn the sounds of iron and good targets in the same hole and how to discriminate it out. I then went on a little hunt in my yard (after I recovered all the coins from my garden lol) and found a killer signal and dug a copper penny (yay). My next signal sounded really good, high tone but a few inches away I was hearing iron...so I pinpointed on the high tone and dug down and found nothing...I went over the hole again with my detector and the signal "moved" those few inches and it was a big rusty nail. The soil all around the nail was full of rust, and I'm assuming that is what gave the false signals. I guess I will just have to dig the junk hoping to find the good stuff until I can convince the wife an AT Pro is a good idea hahaha!

 

[algeus]

I bought myself a BH QS too, and after playing with it for a while,found out that I will need probably to upgrade to Garret ACE 250 or AT Pro level machines on some stage,if I want to make my life easier.
The first and most annoying issue with it is the "moving target" problem. You are getting a signal somewhere, then digging just to find out the target just moved a bit. And then again,and again.
The another problem for me is that I can not hunt with it on the beaches near the water, as it will just "go crazy" near wet sand,seeing targets everywhere.

But yes, it's a nice toy for the beginners.

 

[Hendo0601]

I have been playing with my detector more and more in my yard etc and find that without a GOOD pinpointer I will be digging huge plugs trying to find the target. The quicksilver is good for getting me on target, but often times where I think the target is, it's off a few inches, which is where my garrett pro pointer comes in to play. I have already decided on upgrading to an AT Pro in the future, but for now my BH machine is doing well for me. I haven't had any problems with it in or near the water, I have found several targets a few inches under water with relative ease. I should probably start a new topic on this question, but I am wondering if all BH machines have the same plug style for the search coil, because I'm interested in the Bounty Hunter 11" DD coil or even the little 4" sniper coil, but unless I know for sure that it will work with my machine I don't want to buy anything. Overall I give the quick silver good reviews for an entry level machine that really does pick out silver like a champ!

 

[algeus]

I have been playing with my detector more and more in my yard etc and find that without a GOOD pinpointer I will be digging huge plugs trying to find the target. The quicksilver is good for getting me on target, but often times where I think the target is, it's off a few inches, which is where my garrett pro pointer comes in to play. I have already decided on upgrading to an AT Pro in the future, but for now my BH machine is doing well for me. I haven't had any problems with it in or near the water, I have found several targets a few inches under water with relative ease. I should probably start a new topic on this question, but I am wondering if all BH machines have the same plug style for the search coil, because I'm interested in the Bounty Hunter 11" DD coil or even the little 4" sniper coil, but unless I know for sure that it will work with my machine I don't want to buy anything. Overall I give the quick silver good reviews for an entry level machine that really does pick out silver like a champ!

I came to the same conclusion regarding the pinpointer - getting a Garrett Pro saved me a lot of time, and frustration.
What water were you using it in? In my case it's a sea shore = mineralized soil and water.

 

[Hendo0601]

This was just a freshwater lake, and our soil up here in the PNW doesn't seem to be too mineralized. Next weekend, however, we are going to the ocean and I plan on detecting along the beach. I can't imagine I will do any good on the wet sand, but on the dry sand I might be able to find some good stuff.

 

[digndeep]

I still use my test garden once a week or so,silvers been so sparse I check to see if my 505 still works!lol,shes a wheat penny finder for sure.