Are you a club member?

[Blind Squirrel]

Just curious how many people belong to MDing clubs. If not, why. Thanks

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[Tom_in_CA]

I don't know about other states, but the trend I saw in CA, was that there was a lot more physical (aka "brick and mortar") clubs back during the late '70s through to the '90s. That was during the time when detectors were going through a lot of technological breakthroughs, and the "pickens were good" (ie.; seemed you could go into any park, and even a beginner could find silver back in the 1970s). However, club memberships declined as pickens got to where only the good hunters eventually tended to be the ones coming into meetings with the good finds. Another demise for clubs was that starting in the mid to late 1990s, on-line web forums began to be an easy substitute for info. exchanges, bragging, tech. info pro's and con's, meeting up with other hunters, etc.... Ie.: it almost was as if you didn't need clubs anymore, to get to see what others were doing, finding, etc.... Thus the demise of clubs.

Now it seems (at least in CA) that only the very very big cities have actual clubs anymore. Smaller cities clubs just got to where the small # of members wasn't worth it, for the variety of reasons.

[dirty digger dude]

I am a member of a club but I am thinking of dropping out...all the other member seem be finding old stuff, silver, civil war items and jewelry I have nothing to show anybody. I have not even found a wheatie in years. Been doing this for over ten years I think it is just a waste of time for me. I think I should just quit. I can only be embarassed just so many times.

[Born2Dtect]

I am a member of the Shore Seekers Artifact & Recovery Club in Maryland. VP for the past 3 years. Metal detecting has changed in the past few years. A lot of competition for the easy spots. It is getting harder to find good new spots for the clubs monthly club hunt.

I have come to the conclusion that good finds are found at good sites by all. Good or bad detectorist find more if the site is good. This makes sense. What makes a site good? "ACTIVITY!" The more people that used the site, the longer it was used the better.

My club gives me the opportunity to see what others are finding, show my finds and talk detecting. I don,t consider myself a great metal detectorist, maybe good, but I do work at it , hard. In place of a good club, I would recommend to every metal detectorist to find a hunting buddy. It makes a world of difference.

[bazinga]

I am a member of a club but I am thinking of dropping out...all the other member seem be finding old stuff, silver, civil war items and jewelry I have nothing to show anybody. I have not even found a wheatie in years. Been doing this for over ten years I think it is just a waste of time for me. I think I should just quit. I can only be embarassed just so many times.

Do you even have a detector? If you haven't found a wheatie in years, it makes me think you are just walking into a park with a stick and digging random holes. I can't imagine somebody NOT finding wheats. When I hunt it's as if I trip over them at every spot I go to. Get a new machine, that's my recommendation. Or, learn your current machine. A lot of my club is like you. They never find anything and wonder what's wrong with them.

But then we have a new kid using a low end Minelab X-Terra who already has found over 25 silver this year. He hunts a LOT and has put in the time to learn his machine. Instead of thinking negatively like you, he saw our great finds as motivation to learn his machine. If people keep bringing in silver and large cents every single meeting, then that means it is still out there to be found.

[treasurehound]

I am a member of a club but I am thinking of dropping out...all the other member seem be finding old stuff, silver, civil war items and jewelry I have nothing to show anybody. I have not even found a wheatie in years. Been doing this for over ten years I think it is just a waste of time for me. I think I should just quit. I can only be embarassed just so many times.

Are you active in your club? How often do you hunt? What kind of machine do you use? Dropping out of your club is not going to help you. Have you asked for some help from some members. Most clubs that I know of has many members that love to help others out. Now they are not always going to take you to there honey holes every time. In my club many of us hunt together. We all research and go together to each others sites. Sometimes I like to just get out by myself or with one or two. If you want to hunt yourself then try some of these tips. TOT LOTS.... you are not going to find jewelry every time but it is your best chance to find some if you hunt enough of them. Last week I found 35 quarters and 3 rings in one tot lot plus dimes and nickels and pennies. PARKS.... research your town and surrounding area for parks by googling, going to library for old newspapers, talking to older people, etc. CIVIL WAR.... you stated others are find CW relics so I take it you live in the south or near some CW activity. Again research is the key. I believe CW hunting is one of the most secretive areas in metal detecting. It is like finding a good fishing hole.... you just don't tell anyone. If others are finding CW relics then you can too. You stated you have not found a wheat penny in years. How often do you hunt? If you are hunting old sites you should be finding a few wheat pennies. Remember the finds are not going to be coming to you.... you have to research and get out and find them. We are all here to help you. If you can't get any help from some of your club members then this is a great place to get some ideas and help. There are a lot of great people on here that can help you out. Don't be afraid to ask. We will do the best can to help you.

[stefen]

Do not see the benefit to me...

[relichunters]

Nope, haven't heard of any in the area either.

[stagger]

I am not a club member. I have emailed 2 clubs in NM and no response from either. Evidently they don't want my money and have enough members.

[spartacus53]

I didn't have any clubs in my area so I started my own club

It's been so much fun already and I bet it'll only get better if other people join

Stagger, if you're still here, I'll gladly take your money

[warsawdaddy]

2 clubs and of course the Tnet hunts interface.

[Tony66]

Yeah, I belonged to club for a while, but I just stopped going. The people were OK I guess, but I can't lay all the blame on them either. Here's why,

1) I'm not a real "people person", I'm real reserved or shy about just starting up a conversation with a stranger and people usually don't just come up to me and start talking.

2) I own a BH QD II, that my wife gave me for Xmas in '08, I was researching MDs and this was one of them so my wife gave me one, very cool. Here's the problem, I went to a few places that sold MDs to ask questions, as soon as they find out I have a BH, all they say is get a real machine or just flat out don't want to talk to me. Even on the forums (this one included, I'm sorry) you usually have someone pop up right away telling you that you're swinging garbage. (Once you get passed them on the forum, there's a lot of good info to be found, especially this one).

With that being said, I was nervous about asking too much in a club meeting for fear that once they found out what machine I used that I would be shunned, silly ...yes, but that's what I was thinking. Unfortunately, I still feel/think the same way, I've read a lot of posts/threads here and usually when someone is talking about bottom end or cheaper machines, they're talking about a Garrett Ace 250 or such. BH is usually mentioned when talking about scraping the bottom of the barrel for a machine just above Chinese knockoffs (think I spelled that right ?).

I hope I didn't offend anyone but those are the reasons why I don't belong to a club anymore.

[ModernMiner]

I don't know about other states, but the trend I saw in CA, was that there was a lot more physical (aka "brick and mortar") clubs back during the late '70s through to the '90s. That was during the time when detectors were going through a lot of technological breakthroughs, and the "pickens were good" (ie.; seemed you could go into any park, and even a beginner could find silver back in the 1970s). However, club memberships declined as pickens got to where only the good hunters eventually tended to be the ones coming into meetings with the good finds. Another demise for clubs was that starting in the mid to late 1990s, on-line web forums began to be an easy substitute for info. exchanges, bragging, tech. info pro's and con's, meeting up with other hunters, etc.... Ie.: it almost was as if you didn't need clubs anymore, to get to see what others were doing, finding, etc.... Thus the demise of clubs.

Now it seems (at least in CA) that only the very very big cities have actual clubs anymore. Smaller cities clubs just got to where the small # of members wasn't worth it, for the variety of reasons.

Well said Tom.

Ben,
I've tried a few local clubs, but after a meeting or two I realized that was not my thing. It seemed like some folks were just there to buddy up and hopefully to get onto your spots. One of the clubs was just getting started and has grown ever since, so I'm happy for them. Myself, I just prefer to hunt alone or with a close friend or two. I did recently have a group outing with some of my close Tnet buddies from various states and we had a lot of fun.
Good luck to you,
MM

[spartacus53]

Tony66, I wouldn't worry so much for the machine you use.. I guess many say the same, or close to it for the Ace 250 I have..

Funny thing is I still find stuff

[truckinbutch]

I just don't think that I would care to pay dues and attend meetings of any group that would accept me as a member .
TNet excepted !

[lonelyduckhunter]

In place of a good club, I would recommend to every metal detectorist to find a hunting buddy. It makes a world of difference.

especially when your hunting buddy puts you on good sites all the time.

[gadigger81]

I'm not in a club either. If I have a question bout something I'll ask the fine people here on T-Net.

[Tony66]

Spartacus, I've read enough threads to know that even the less expensive machines will find stuff. One of the things/reasons I like Tnet is there are more people like yourself that said it didn't matter which machine you used as long as you were swinging and enjoying yourself. However it has kept me from asking questions when face to face, silly reason - I know, but it's true.

[Smudge]

I've been a member of a club since last August.

They're a nice group of people and we have a lot of fun.

A lot of our members are retired, so they put in a lot more hunting time than I can.

That's why they usually smoke me with finds at our monthly meetings.

[magjm]

I belong to 2 clubs. None in my area so I travel 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours each way for a meeting. When I first started years ago I went to get pointers and support. Now I go to socialize with like-minded, see the finds. Both clubs have members that are very supportive and go out in groups. Sometimes it's to help someone who put out an SOS for something lost. Sometimes a member has received permission to hunt a new area. Sometimes we go out with a newbie to give him /her support. We have club hunts that are great. A chance to socialize and find silver. One of our older members who has finds that make mine seem pitiful has a collection of machines. If he pulls out his Bounty Hunter, look out. It's how well you know your machine; how well you can work an area. No one in my club will laugh if you use one or if you ask newbie questions. I feel clubs are essential to the future of metal detecting as a serious sport/hobby. Many of our image problems can be traced to what I call the Christmas Warrior-the individual who received a machine as a Christmas gift and who has no idea how to use it much less the ethics. Clubs educate members about laws and ethics.

Magjm