Competition Hunting

[limegoldconvertible68]

Back in '97 was the only time I ever went to any competition hunts. I went to Wray's and the Ill state hunt in Springfield. I did well with my ole 1265X. I would like to get back into it. How well will the F70 perform in competition? Does the EMI present many problems and if I turn the settings down to where it runs stable and quiet will I be able to hear the planted coins? Back in '97 there was a group called "the redlegs" the scared the bejesus out of there competition. They were a great bunch and I wondered if they are still around. Those were some fun times and I can't believe its been over 12 years and I am only now thinking of doing it again. Life is just too short.

[DiggerLee]

From 1990 to 1997 I lived in Kansas City, MO, and belonged to two clubs. They both had a hunt each year as well as others in nearby Kansas and Nebraska. I made it to all the club hunts and to all the out of staters I could. Those sure were some fun times. I truly think any detector will work well in comptetition hunting if the settings are right. I used a 1235-X (which I still have) and it was handy to be able to change frequencies when there was interference close by from another detector. I would still use it if I went to another competition hunt. From what I heard the F70 should be excellent in that type of hunting.

Is there any interest out there in forming a club in the Marion, Illinois, area? Some of the best times I ever had detecting was being out with friends in a club. I would be willing to help in forming a club if enough people were interested.

Lee

[Streak!]

Eddie Davis, and Bill and Donnie Hayes. the "elder" Redlegs is still going too, and is the mid central FMDAC president last I knew.
They are still sponsored by Fisher too. Ed is an absolute wonder, and can suck the coins out of the ground like no other.
He HAS been beaten..........but thats more the exception than the rule.
We (Linda and I) have done a LOT of comp hunting over the years, but not so much the last couple of years.(more into relic hunting now) Linda is arguably one of the best female comp hunters pretty much anywhere, and has beat a couple of the red legs scores more than once.
Shes not only one of the best chicks, but better than a LOT of guys out there!

Your F70 will handle comp hunting very very well. Even turned down to the minimum settings, it will get most any target your apt to want to dig at these hunts. Depth is NOT an issue at comp hunts. Recovery speed, and the ability to get coins on edge IS.
There IS a deep hunt at Treasure week, but its not like that average comp hunt. In fact, all the Red legs stomped the competition in the deep hunt with their F75's this year! (Not surprised)
Prior to the F75, my buddy (Ron Falk) pretty much dominated the comp with his exploder, with a few of us others getting the rest of the top 5 slots. Gary Manning used to kill everyone there with an OLD tesoro years ago.
You may want to chek out the indiana Treasure fest held every year now in southern Indiana. We were there last year and had a great time. I won a 25 ounce bar of silver on the first day there. Pretty much paid for the hunt! If you want the contact info for it let me know and I can email it to you.
Use the F70 and have a blast. Its a good machine for comps! you'll do GREAT with it! Streak!

[Keppy]

Well i went to hunts in N.E. Ohio back in the 90'S but the club that was here is long gone. The closest club to me is in Akron Oh i think to far away about 2 hours . But i hear there membership is down and they are almost defunk. The club that was in painesville Oh has been long gone. I think when the detector dealer moved away the club started to fall apart his name the dealer was Bob Aronld and his detector sales was called snoopies

[limegoldconvertible68]

Thanks Streak! Eddie Davis, and Bill and Donnie Hayes. Those were the names. I can't believe they still rule the competition. I mean that's been 12 years. Let's face it none of us are getting any younger and I just thought some pup would catch them by now. I am going to have to try and make some of those hunts this year and maybe I could be that pup. (ha) Back in '97 silver was barely $3 an ounce and a $30 entry fee went a long way on supplying those dimes. How do they do it now that silver is flirting with $20 an ounce? By necessity I would think they have to cut back on the number of dimes they bury per hunt or raise the fees.

[Streak!]

Thanks Streak! Eddie Davis, and Bill and Donnie Hayes. Those were the names. I can't believe they still rule the competition. I mean that's been 12 years. Let's face it none of us are getting any younger and I just thought some pup would catch them by now. I am going to have to try and make some of those hunts this year and maybe I could be that pup. (ha) Back in '97 silver was barely $3 an ounce and a $30 entry fee went a long way on supplying those dimes. How do they do it now that silver is flirting with $20 an ounce? By necessity I would think they have to cut back on the number of dimes they bury per hunt or raise the fees.

they do both. Most comp hunts are running close to 100 bucks a day now! And with a lot less silver in the ground. The bigger all week hunts like Treasure Week still dont cost quite that much, but the total amount of silver you'll dig in a single day is a lot less than it used to be. I can remember leaving TW at the end of the week with 900 silver dimes to my credit.......but the last time we went we were lucky to get 1/3 of that. We dont go the TW anymore, but still attend a few local hunts when time permits. I think in the end though, with the higher price of silver, you tend to end up the same in the end despite the less amount of dimes in the dirt.
Yep, the red legs are still going strong, and Ed is still the man to beat. he's not that old really, and I expect him to stay competitive for quite some time! Heck, I know a guy from Oklahoma (Fella by the name of Lloyd Coke) thats in his mid 70's, and STILL a VERY competitive hunter at these things. He's given old Ed a run or two for his money over the years too. Streak!