How to Maximize our finds and production?

MUD(S.W.A.T)

Gold Member
Apr 15, 2005
8,003
897
Location: Undisclosed
Detector(s) used
I use, Whites MXT and Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey all,

Lets explore how well we can Maximize our finds and production. Please give your advise and pointers to help people not make money and take your finds but to help them have a fun MD (Metal Detecting) experience.

My advise is this, Think outside the box don't just get out of your car and walk in circles like most people hunt. Look at your surroundings and think.... Where was the most foot traffic, where do most people search right away? Go to one area and avoid another.

I posted this for not only beginners and others to learn but I was hopping the more experienced users and myself could pick up something. So please make your comments smart, punchy, and knowledgeable.

Thank you,
Keep @ it and HH!!
 

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jonnyrebel00

Hero Member
Nov 9, 2006
545
2
Mobile, Al
Detector(s) used
Garrett GTI 2500, Garrett Master Hunter
My best advice would be to be patiant, do reasearch, and dont get discouraged when you pull up 5 times as many pop tops as coins.
 

Ricardo_NY1

Bronze Member
Oct 24, 2006
1,330
3
Bronx, NY
Detector(s) used
Explorer XS/II & Garrett ACE 250
I would say to try to become as efficient as possible in every aspect, from packing a lunch as opposed to spending an hour taking a break to get it to having efficient digging tools. I found myself early on always pulling these little containers and such out of my pocket. This was a real time waster. I went out and got me a pouch from an Army & Navy supply store that you can attach through your belt. This is a time saver and allows me more time to swing, along with every other little thing that you can do.
 

DFX-SE Gregg

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2007
2,865
251
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 SE and DFX
For someone new...do some research buy a good quality detector and take the time to learn it...yes that includes reading the manual! :D
 

goldencoin

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2005
5,669
446
Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX & Beach Hunter ID
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Don't just wander in circle's, but do a grid-pattern and you'll get the stuff everyone else had missed

HH
-GC
 

S

stefen

Guest
I am astounded how many people explore a plowed farm field and make numerous finds, especially coins...which seems to be just the opposite of the norm.
 

B

BIG61AL

Guest
Dig as may good solid targets as you can stand. You'll dig up a lot of pull tabs but that's where the gold rings hide. Other less valuable rings also fall into this target range. You will be surprised at what odd little things you will dig up.
 

JOe L

Hero Member
Aug 24, 2007
864
275
Colonie, NY , That's around Albany
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra Pro.
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
at a site, don't keep jumping around, search an area thoroughly, you never know what you'll miss by jumping.
This is advice I have trouble taking myself. When I'm working a site I always have a problem of looking up and saying over there looks better, look up, over there looks better,,,,,and so on, so on. Like mentioned above plan your attack , work a grid and take your time. Someday I will learn to follow my own suggestions.
 

OP
OP
MUD(S.W.A.T)

MUD(S.W.A.T)

Gold Member
Apr 15, 2005
8,003
897
Location: Undisclosed
Detector(s) used
I use, Whites MXT and Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Don't litter, and take away the trash you dig. So the next MD can find what you uncovered. ;D

Keep @ it and HH!!
 

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,124
9,688
Moonlight and Magnolias
🥇 Banner finds
4
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
DFX-Gregg said:
For someone new...do some research buy a good quality detector and take the time to learn it...yes that includes reading the manual! :D

Good advice! I must have read my manual twenty times when I got my first machine.

Here's my advice: Time spent researching can be more productive than time spent hunting. The very best sites are found that way.

Second piece of advice: Schedule long shifts to hunt. I don't ever hunt for an hour and call it quits. You have to take the time to get familiar with your site in order to make it produce. Sometimes you have to pinpoint the location of the site through detecting. I like to do at least four hours in the field, but I'll be out there all day (8-10 hours) if I can.

Regards,

Buckleboy
 

stoney56

Gold Member
Oct 4, 2004
6,888
56
Oklahoma
Remember to overlap your swings and don't get in a hurry. One of the 1st accessories to get is a smaller (sniper) coil.
 

doozis

Sr. Member
Jul 31, 2007
301
0
Virginia
Be polite to strangers who ask you about your metal detecting , taking a couple minutes to chat with them may very well lead to
a new hunting site and create a little goodwill for our hobby.

Doozis
 

gallileo60

Hero Member
Apr 30, 2007
971
84
Gulf Coast, Texas
Detector(s) used
AT Pro, Bounty Hunter Land Star, Ace 250, Garrett 1350
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
JoeSWFF said:
at a site, don't keep jumping around, search an area thoroughly, you never know what you'll miss by jumping.
This is advice I have trouble taking myself. When I'm working a site I always have a problem of looking up and saying over there looks better, look up, over there looks better,,,,,and so on, so on. Like mentioned above plan your attack , work a grid and take your time. Someday I will learn to follow my own suggestions.

You are so right, I do the same thing...Also proper tools, and a good dirt sifting box can help out...
 

OP
OP
MUD(S.W.A.T)

MUD(S.W.A.T)

Gold Member
Apr 15, 2005
8,003
897
Location: Undisclosed
Detector(s) used
I use, Whites MXT and Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey all,

Thanks for all the great advise, please give us more!! When we say "Walk in circles" I think we also mean jump around all over the site in a frantic panic like Harrison Ford in a B movie. :D I find my self doing this all the time Thinking I got a hit in that area must be the next area where the next hit is. Wrong answer, then I walk to my car empty handed. :-[ That's likely the worst thing you can do. If your in an area that you think is hunted out and you find something. You have hit a hot spot, and likely it's one of the few places at the site where anything is left. So hunt that area efficiently, but that's old news.

Here is my latest advise. "Stop listening to the dumb tones your machine makes and dig more signals". ;D

Keep @ it and HH!!
 

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sparkymaster

Hero Member
Feb 21, 2005
763
23
South Ogden, UT
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX-XLT-M-6
I don't know if this is the best advice a person could receive or not but here's what I do when I arrive at a site to hunt.

I get my equipment ready then stand back and look, sometimes for 10 minutes or so. This is a great time to have a smoke, a soda, a bottle of water or what ever floats your boat.

I look at the area with a what happens or happened here attitude. Where did everyone sit to watch the fireworks, ball game, to read, to cut through, to rest in the shade, I think you get the idea.

When I decide where to start hunting I usually go to the furthest point of that area and work my way back towards where I parked my truck. I hunt in the same manner as I cut the grass, back and forth in a straight line using land marks for a guide. You can't ever get every inch of soil under your coil but this will help tremendously. I don't get in a hurry because I know the next time I come back I can start right where I left off.

If I see someone in the area I'm hunting I always make the first attempt to say hi. This usually opens the door for some good advice.

For example, I said hi to a young girl at a local school and she replied hello, what ya doing? I said metal detecting. She said the usual "find anything good". I told her I had found a little change and a small ring. She said you should try over by that hill, we always play there at recess and when kids roll down the hill they loose things. OMG!! Why didn't I think of that! I hunted the hill the next time I came back and it produced very, very well.

Just my outlook on the subject.

HH

sparkymaster
 

poppa19

Full Member
Jul 22, 2007
234
4
western new york
Detector(s) used
whites dfx
try to work slow, when i get a target i work all around it with short slow strokes and many times there is more than 1 target, i think when were just swinging we don't realize how big of a stroke were taking sometimes scanning more than signal>
 

Urban Prospector

Sr. Member
Feb 21, 2007
465
12
N OC CA
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT,Compass 94B & 77B
Sounds silly but take the detector out of the closet and turn it on. If I don't "make a date" to go detecting alot of time flies by without me realising. I like to try and hunt areas that were popular in the past but out of vogue now. In reverse skate parks and Frisbee golf courses are good too.If set patterns bore me one day I'll stumble around counting on dumb luck, many times that's how the item got lost in the first place. My main concern is to enjoy detecting however I do it or if I find goodies or just stuff.There are lots of train right of ways and bridal trails around I'll walk 1 sweep wide for a mile or more and return sweeping the other side.
 

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