Advice for a Newbie?

[burgessbogy]

Hey there Diggers! I was given a metal detector for my birthday (Bounty Hunter Quick Silver IV) along with a pinpointer, a shovel and some smaller handheld tools. I'm so anxious to start finding stuff, it's unreal!
But since I'm new, I am curious as to what tips seasoned hunters may be able to pass my way. What item, other than the obvious, should I always make sure to have?
How do you suggest finding the old house spots?
Any suggestions on using the QS IV?
I live in Arkansas - where do I find metal detecting laws?
I also live on a rice farm where most really old house spots are disced, scratched and planted into this year's crop. Any advice on those locales?
Does the depth of an object give any indication of it's age?
That's all for my round of Inquiring Minds Want to Know - any and all help is *greatly* appreciated!!!!!

 

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[vpnavy]

As far as stuff relating to your state - you might consider browsing Sub-Forums: Arkansas for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.)...

 

[burgessbogy]

Oh, thank you! I had no idea it was there - I'm still learning my way around the site. Thanks again!

 

[Tnmountains]

Try also the Metal Detecting section. Old topographical maps will show all the old home places on old roads as well. Find old abandoned parks swimming holes and creeks. The places are endless and you enthusiasm will work to your advantage when asking people to hunt their land. Always get permission and take care of your holes and trash. Hopefully you will find much treasure.
Good luck and happy hunting.

 

[luvsdux]

Add a set of headphones and always re-check holes after recovering the first target.
luvsdux

 

[TerryC]

Mark it (I like to use those orange flags on 18 inch iron rods)... Log it.... Make a written note! Yes! Log all the JUNK found around an area and you may discover the dump-site others may have passed over as "too trashy". Your avatar shows bottles. They came from dump sites. You will find good bottles, old farm tools and even coins in trash dumps. Get the screen-box out and get to work sifting! Don't worry about those laughing at you.... they will soon be joining you! TTC

 

[burgessbogy]

Thank you guys a lot!!! I spent the morning at the local library, copying county maps showing homesteads back to 1936. Incredibly interesting genealogy section with a lot of old census' & township maps (I lost track of time and my 'stop in for an hour' turned into 'holy crap, three hours are gone').
Discovered my home place dates back at least that far, which may explain all of the square nails and the horseshoes I found.
I'm still working with the quirks of the QuickSilver IV; most notably, the depth. I don't know what Bounty Hunters definition of "deep" is, Today I kept getting hits on the "coin" reading in this one spot. I dug and dug and dug some more, and found nothing but pieces of red brick. Now I'm tossing & turning wondering if I should've kept on.
Suggestions?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Thank you guys a lot!!! I spent the morning at the local library, copying county maps showing homesteads back to 1936. Incredibly interesting genealogy section with a lot of old census' & township maps (I lost track of time and my 'stop in for an hour' turned into 'holy crap, three hours are gone').
Discovered my home place dates back at least that far, which may explain all of the square nails and the horseshoes I found.
I'm still working with the quirks of the QuickSilver IV; most notably, the depth. I don't know what Bounty Hunters definition of "deep" is, Today I kept getting hits on the "coin" reading in this one spot. I dug and dug and dug some more, and found nothing but pieces of red brick. Now I'm tossing & turning wondering if I should've kept on.
Suggestions?

burgessbogy,

Regarding your last question:

"Today I kept getting hits on the "coin" reading in this one spot. I dug and dug and dug some more, and found nothing but pieces of red brick. Now I'm tossing & turning wondering if I should've kept on....."

This is one of those type questions that involves seeing, watching and hearing what you had, what you were doing, etc.. , for someone to answer. There is no way, in printed text, for that to be answered. Various times people will come on to forums (which are obviously limited by printed text), and ask questions like that. Things like "disappearing signals" or "signals I dig, but that keep moving", or "signal I dug till 3 ft. deep, but the detector said was still there", etc. etc...

Since these things involve input that involves knowing what you heard, and how you swung, etc... (things which can only be "heard" and "seen"), therefore, there's no way anyone can truly answer it. It would be like saying to someone "Please describe to me the sound of c-minor in printed text". It can't be done. It has to be "heard".

Here's an example: One time, a newbie asked me to show them the ropes, because he was dealing with "disappearing signals". He had even sent the machine back to the factory 2x for "repairs" he assumed it needed. And each time, they sent it back saying nothing was wrong with it, and that he must be operating it wrong. He was getting very upset, because he felt as if they were .... essentially .... calling him a dummy

He tried to describe the problem to me on the phone, but ........ I could not diagnose the issue that way. So I met up with him. We went out in the field to do some in-person flagged target tests. 60 seconds into our first flagged target, I immediately recognized the problem: Whenever this guy would get a signal, he would slow down to "hear it better". And then ... presto, the signal would "dissapear". You see what was happening, was he had a 6000 di pro. And that's a fast motion machine (needs motion to work in disc. mode). So when he slowed down, anything deeper would fail to register again. This is just an example (so don't get "lost in the example", as I'm not saying this is your issue, per se).

And I even asked him "didn't you read the instructions, about how motion is required?" He said yes, that he had. But that when he'd read that part of the instructions, he thought that simply meant that you had to swing the coil left to right as you progressed through the field. And he even though "that's a silly thing for instructions to say. I mean .... duh... how ELSE is someone going to progress through the field to cover any ground, if they're not swinging the coil. Doh" You see, it didn't make any sense to him till he saw someone in action. And THEN the "lights went on". No amount of phone calls, written emails, etc... would/could solve the problem.

So in your case, your best bet then, is to hook up with someone local, who is proficient (routinely comes in with oldies). Go out to an easy spot (a place with easy prolific clad, like a school built after 1965, etc...). Each of you flag targets, compare signals. Watch the way he swings. Watch the way he x-marks the spot. Listen to what he's trying to isolate sound-wise (this is where it would help if he has the same machine/type as you). Pay attention to what he says he'd "pass", and ask why.

 

[burgessbogy]

Tom - this is why I love this forum. For my day job, I am a photographer. When I was learning the ropes of my new DSLR, I learned the hard way that no pro or even hobbiest photographers were too keen to share even mediocre tips. None of them would give me an explanation as to why not, either.

What you did - explaining to me why the question can't accurately be answered - helped me understand what I need to ask myself when I can't figure something out with my MD. It gave me a series of questions to run through, potentially allowing me to solve the problem myself and encourage me to become a better, more attuned user of my metal detector.

I have a sincere, possibly obsessive, love with American history, and the explanation you gave provided me with reasoning I could use in several ways while hunting. And I am sincerely grateful.

I love how welcoming everyone is in this hobby!!!