Motivated East Bay MDer

[SweetCorn]

Hi.
I'm a new member of the board who lives in the Walnut Creek area.
I'm looking for partners primarily for metal detecting. I'm pretty motivated and do a lot of 5 hr + days solo on the beach. I could see myself getting into prospecting some day, but right now I'm focused on MDing. I'm trying to convince my wife that I need an Excalibur II for the beaches and fortunately, she's pretty supportive of my oddball hobbies I started with an AT Pro and still use that, but it's almost useless on wet sand but is pretty good on the dry land, at least from what I can tell.

I've been hitting primarily beaches between Jenner and Half Moon (the legal ones that is) and freshwater beaches too, and I'd really like to check out some other options but would really like someone to show me the ropes (plug digging, etc.) I'm very hesitant to start digging plugs in the very nice green grass in the park across the street from my house. I'm ready to find some silver because the beaches are not producing anything but clad. I've got 4 days off a week and have been getting out a lot since I got my detector last month.

As an aside, in my prior career I was a GIS (geographic information systems) professional, so I worked with GPS data, mapped it, and also used to do aerial photo interpretation. I'm thinking that could potentially be useful some day, but right now I'm just using notes and sketches to track where I've hunted.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

Welcome sweet corn. There's lots of park turf all around the SF bay area. Some still can produce, while others have been worked to smithereens. I used to like to work some of the Alameda parks for silver. But they've been hit hard over the years.

I would suggest you attend these guy's club meeting:

Home | Mount Diablo Metal Detecting Club

2 long-time turf hunters you can talk to there would be "Mike W" and "Gary C" . Lotsa good folk there.

 

[SweetCorn]

Thanks. I was wondering if that club was still going. I'll check it out.

 

[FingerChili]

Still around? How's the MD club? I was thinking of that one too.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Still around? How's the MD club? I was thinking of that one too.

I heard that the club has fallen on hard times. Some sort of leadership issues arose (?)

 

[BobaThreat]

Hey Tom,

I'm new to metal detecting (and also new to CA - from MA) and just by skimming this site you seem to know your stuff.
I was hoping to see if you happen to know of any active clubs near Palo Alto.. it seems like i'm only finding outdated ones and meetups.

My first metal detector arrives this week and I'm stoked to get started, I figure I should get used to it at home and at beaches (HMB, Pacifica area) to learn the machine.
My interest lies in coins and relics which is the area I want to pursue with experience.
Going through some posts with you mentioned, places like Folsom, Auburn Rec, etc.seem good with the added gold nugget potential.

I know more research is probably the answer, but with your experience of CA, how is it best to proceed in determining a spot to hunt and asking for the permission as needed?
I guess the whole "where is lawful" part is clouding the excitement a little bit.

Are there any places where one can just drive a motorcycle, find a field, pull over, and start detecting?
Pleasure to be here and i'll continue the research, very glad I happened by this site today (thank you scdigger)

Best,
MC

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Boba-threat, just now seeing this post.

... hoping to see if you happen to know of any active clubs near Palo Alto.....

Last I heard, there's a club south of San Francisco . San Mateo or Daly city area, I forget exactly. The dealer "Greg" from Foster city would know. And then, of course, there's the San Jose club.

But in general: Brick & mortar clubs are on the decline in recent decades. D/t the internet has taken over as the social interaction, show & tell, comparisons of tech, etc...

..... how is it best to proceed in determining a spot to hunt .....

Depends on how hardcore you want to be. Depends on your patience level and skill. Depends on how brazen you are. Depends on what your objective-finds are. The kind of stuff I angle for (reales, seateds, gold coins, etc...) involves deeep historic research into stage stops of forgotten corridors. (Eg.: not the Sunset Home and Garden coffee table "ghost towns" or "tourist trap" sort of stage stops. But rather: stuff that's got nothing but vague passing mention. So we hit the books, hit the museums, study old maps, etc.. . And we may drive to 5 or 10 places where ... we immediately cross-off our list. Eg.: Obvious that Someone's already hit it, or it's covered by some modern influence, or ... whatever. But then the 11th place turns out to be a doozie. AND EVEN THEN you might work yourself all day for 1 or 2 coins. But you're talking 1860s coins, so... it's worth it. And in my experience, the average beginner will fall out after the first 3 lame hunts. Or after the first 3 hrs. with nothing but a few hunks of camp-lead and henry shells to show for their efforts.

So in my experience (as was my own evolution) you need to start off with the obvious school, park, and sandbox type stuff. Then graduate to the old-yards looking for wheaties and silver roosies. Then graduate to sidewalk tearouts and old-town demo's (where you need to be ... uh ... a little brazen to access after 5pm). Then graduate to old resorts and picnic spots (hopefully not hammered by yesteryear guys, and hopefully defunct by 1920).

That's not to say that someone can't graduate directly to the hardcore relic hunting sites. I knew a guy who... the first site he ever md'd, they were finding reales, early seateds , phoenix butons, etc... Later, when he found a seated half that was *only* late 1880s, he bristled because it wasn't 1850s or older. His buddies had to take-him-aside and tell him "don't belittle a seated half". And "you don't know how good you've got it". Thus ... after that site was over, he lost interest in md'ing, because,.... shucks ...there wasn't seateds, reales, and buttons on every hunt.

So your question is a loaded question. The answers I could give are strictly based on the ranks I've come up through. The ability-with-detectors I've learned, the patience I've developed. The goals I've chosen. The kill-joy attitudes I've developed for sites that "might not be worth it, so I'm not risking the day-long drive", etc...

I could give you book names, links, etc... But no doubt you'd end up at the same "leads" that 100 other before you already thought about and nosed at. And , I understand the frustration at telling a new person they must 'pay-their-dues' and md 100 places for 30 yrs. and dig 1 million targets, and drive XX miles, blah blah Because, naturally, you'd like to graduate/navigate direct to the top by tomorrow (hence the reason for your question).

My buddy and I took a newbie out to a spot that ....... after SCORES of dry holes, reams of research and driving, FINALLY was a site with potential for 1820s to 1870s coins. (a gold coin, relics, seateds, etc.. have since surfaced). But after several hours of nothing but bullet shells (of which he saw no particular importance of henry shells). The newbie got disgusted and went to sit in the truck. My buddy and I are left scratching our heads thinking "it doesn't get any better than this" (when seeing lantern parts, pistol balls, henries, etc....) But to someone who's saying to themselves "where's the coins? " this can be very boring.

I did the same thing TO MY OWN SELF 35 yrs. ago: Went to a spot the local history research pointed me to as a emigrant stopping spot/stage stop. A cow pasture field at present. I distinctly recall getting bullet shells (perhaps rimfire henries). And I distinctly recall getting green copper (durned that junk anyhow). And ...after 1 hr, left in disgust for "greener grounds". Because I *KNEW* that I could go to any inner city school or park (back then) and ... given 1 hr, could find a silver roosie or merc. So why, why, oh why, am I out here digging "junk " ?

Flash forward 20 yrs. later, when I've "graduated up" to seateds, reales, etc.... I go back to the SAME EXACT SPOT (this time with some knowledge, goals, and perspectives in mind). And presto: Eventually a seated. Eventually reales, etc... See ? I simply had no concept that this junk is "good junk" Likewise: The friend we took to our stage stop (who gave up in disgust) simply had no concept of "good junk".

AND NOTE: We warned this person ahead of time as to the ratios/time he might expect. To which he gleefully agreed "no problem". But actual reality is a far different thing. Just like the Bass-fishing channel on TV: The only images he had in his mind was "a lunker bass on every cast". Right ? And if/when you ask someone "how hardcore are you willing to be ?" They will OF COURSE answer: "Utterly hardcore" (no one wants to be in first grade after all).

So ... as you can see: Hard for me to answer your question.

..... asking for the permission as needed?....

Again: how hardcore brazen are you ? Are you the type that waits for red-carpets to be rolled out (express permissions) ? Or are you the type who (gasp) steps off the sidewalk ? You will ALWAYS find md'ing posts where the legal or "permission" notion is spelled out in such a way that, gasp, you risk "arrest", "jail" and "confiscations" for daring to detect a sandbox without "permission". And the admonition of "it doesn't hurt to ask" etc....

My post history is riddled with this "bee-in-the-bonnet" issue, so ... I'll leave it to you to research this. For example: You can read my recent state of CA lament, on the "Treasure hunting legal issues" section.

....I guess the whole "where is lawful" part is clouding the excitement a little bit....

Yes. In the same way that "shark attack" stories in the news dictate/cloud everyone's thoughts on swimming at the beach. Despite that shark attacks are extremely rare, and 10k people swim per day with no incident. Nonetheless, when a single story appears in the news, guess what you'll be thinking about next time you go swimming ?