My First Hour Ever Hunting

[Dirtking]

Well the ups man finally came. So I fired up my brand spakin new Garrett Ace 250. Did the bench test and headed out. Went into my back yard, turned on the detector and beep. Right there, so I did the pin pointer like I watched on youtube and dug up my first piece of scrap. I'm so proud of that piece of scrap. I couldn't believe it. Target after target and I was right on pin pointing. I only had 1 hour before dark to hunt. No body told me I was going to get dirty! No one told me that I would have to dig deeper than just the plug, lol. No one told me that my back would kill. I've played tackle football games and didn't hurt as bad, lol. And I found my first coin!!!!! It's only a 1993 quarter that is totally corroded but I love it. I posted my pics of what I dug up in an hour. A couple questions, I was digging a couple holes and then I completely lost the signal. Could it have been like a mineral deposit or something? Also, If your machine beeps is it always something to dig or are there false positives sometimes? Well, cant wait till morning and head back out. Thank you all and I cant believe how accurate I was first time out. Amazing!

 

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[justdon]

Congrats on your first finds.Got an ace 250 myself love it.And also remember there will be many days where your only finds will be pulltabs/bottle caps/rusty nails and old soda and beer cans.Have fun and happy hunting.

 

[BC1969]

Hey way to go on your first digs, that signal could have had whats called the halo effect, certain targets, especially iron targets, will start to rust away or just leach their metal into the surrounding area creating a halo effect when a tiny piece of rust may makes itself look like a quarter sized or larger target, and when you go to dig it up, you disturb that halo by spreading the leached soil around and then the target "vanishes".
that or you got a EMI signal, which at times can and will repeat like a real target, an easy way to tell if you are getting interference from rogue interference is to point your coil skyward and either hold it still or move it back and forth, if your machine starts beeping at you, then its getting EMI or is possibly faulty, if it does beep when doing that try lowering your sensitivity if it is adjustable, then it should stop.
well good luck, and buy yourself some knee pads, thats if you are an old fart like me lol.

Mike

 

[Spectre]

BC1969 nailed it, its the halo effect caused by the metal leeching into the surrounding soil that can, at times, give off a false positive.

 

[cactusrat]

Your sensitive is to high if your are digging a lot of empty holes. Turn it down to 3 bars or so. Before digging, turn 90º and swing over the area again. Also try lifting your coil up a couple of inches and see if you lose the target. Now I am assuming your coil wire is not flopping around.

Let say a small nail has rusted away. The metal detector could still pick up a signal (beep) on what is called a halo effect. When you dig, you brake (stir around) up the rusty bits and break the halo up. Again, lowering the sensitive will help.

A pin pointer (not the one on your metal detector) will be a big help on finding small targets. I have spent 15 minutes looking for a tiny bit of wire or a small shotgun BB.

Now the sad truth is, it takes time to learn your detector. It will act different in different soil types and in how dry or wet the soil is.

Use the “All Metal” mode until you get a handle on what the metal detector is telling you and dig ever strong signal. Digging is the only way to know for sure what the metal detector is telling you.

Every time I go out, I learn something new about my detector.

 

[Magooru]

Very cool first hour! The hobby only gets better with time. Your first outing was much better than mine. I remember pulling out a total of 8 cents and a mess of can slaw and pull tabs. The best thing with this hobby is, no matter how many digs you already have, the next one is potentially a completely new experience. You really never know what is coming next out of the ground. Congrats again!

 

[g-olden years]

WELCOME TO T-NET!

What interests me is your item with the birds -- looks like maybe silver-plated old watch case or old compact. Maybe more of that still underground nearby. Andi

 

[Dirtking]

Thanks you guys for the tips and info. I am not smart and I will never pretend I know everything so I am like a sponge soaking up everything I hear from you guys. I taped my coil wire around 3" up the shaft so its not bumping around. I went out this morning and some of my hole are pretty bad, lol. I will be practicing a lot. I don't care if I dig up anything like coins, although it would be nice. I just need to log hours. Snowed yesterday but the ground is still soft but very muddy. The cold doesn't bother me. Yes I have knee pads but im only going to wear one on my left knee. Well, time to go get dirty. Thanks again everyone.

 

[BC1969]

Define "a sensitive area" I cannot understand why somebody would want to do that, finding stuff only to then later come back and dig it all up.
I'll take a guess that you want to find stuff, but want to become proficient at recovery so you do not wreck the area ?
I would just wait if that is the case, as you can bet if detecting is allowed there, many many have come before you, that does not mean all the goodies are long gone, but you can be assured all the easy stuff has been cherry picked long ago.
So practice that recovery and then practice it a lot more lol.
Good luck and happy hunting.

Mike

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Welcome to the club! Congrats on your first finds! No one told you cause learning is half the fun! Find a trash free area in your yard put coins and metal trash then run the detector over it and see what the response is to each target. You need to practice recovering targets in your yard till you can't tell where you have dug and replaced soil, that is something to be proud of. The more you practice the better you get. One of these days we will be reading about your banner finds! Good luck and HH!

 

[louie41]

welcome the T-Net. congrats on your first finds of many. want to mention don't forget to use your detector to rescan your plug you pulled back, the item may be out of the hole and in the plug now. that's where a pinpointer can come in handy. GL and HH!

 

[Mr.T]

Also-If its muddy careful not to pick the target up on the sole of your shoe and move it somewhere else completely- or stuck to the side of your spade- and make especially sure you don't have steel eyelets or toes on your boots! Sometimes it's in the first placed you looked!
Good luck and hh rory