What makes your metal detector good? How to become a good detectorist? Do you care?

[FreeBirdTim]

Wait?! Are you judging how good a machine is by a seeded hunt?

Three seeded hunts. Just as good of a judge as planting coins in a garden and then testing detectors with those coins, if not a better judge. Everyone finds a ton of coins in the first 15 minutes of a seeded hunt, so that's not a good indicator. But at my last hunt, I found a peace dollar three hours into the hunt. Why did I find it and others didn't before me? Because it was near a stone wall that had fence wire running along it. I picked up on the peace dollar because I was going slow and know how to use my detector near trashy spots. So some skill was involved, but I'm also giving credit to the AT Pro for picking it out of the trashy spot!

I also found a really worn half dime four hours into the hunt. I'm sure at least 50 people must have gone over the spot, since it was right in the middle of one of the seeded fields. Again, some skill was involved, but I doubt if I would have found it with my old Ace 250. Too small of a target and it was a good six inches deep in dry soil. Maybe I'm downplaying my skill level, but I'm sure a lot of the guys at these hunts have been detecting a lot longer than me. Just my take on the subject...

 

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[billb]

Calabash digger. I have just come across your videos for the first time .It was the xcal/nox depth test in the garden..
Outstanding comparisons Very well said.

 

[Calabash Digger]

Heck any test that is pre planted with knowledge of the item and depth isn’t the real situation in the field, that’s why I call air test incomplete. Garden test much better but not really because you no it’s there, in the real world it’s not the same. Heck if we all knew where the goods was any detector would recognize target almost. So my opinion is in a unknown area u don’t no where anything is so you much approach it will a slow and sometimes repetitive way, oh u will most likely miss. Folks it’s not about predetermined stuff it doesn’t work that way

Ok .... If you have a planted silver dime at 10 inches and (A) detector will hit and give a ID and (B) detector will not touch it. What does this tell you about which detector most likely will be better on super deep silver coins?

When you are trying to test in the wild you are running blind...Why would I even take a detector to the wild that will not hit a 8 inch dime in my garden?

A Test garden is the most valuable time saving learning tool a detectorist can have...Some will disagree and that is OK its their time so they can waste it however they want...

Test garden can show patterns of a detector etc...........