How much can you cover in a day?

[archaeo_NJ]

Hello,
I am a novice medal detectorist and I am wondering how much ground experienced folks can cover in a day. I have read about going slow and low so as not to miss finds, but I am curious as to how much area, one the basics are figured out, one can reasonably cover.
Thanks!

 

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[ticm]

The more your cover in a short time period the better for me to find what you missed.

 

[LuckyThirteen08]

I dont really think there is one correct answer to this,But i would say that it all depends on how many times you have hunted a site/how much you know about what is in the ground at the site,depends on what it is you are looking for,how sensitive your detector is,how well it seperates multiple targets in the ground etc. You can cover anywhere from an acre down to a 20 square foot area in a 6 hour day depending on the site and the equipment used.

 

[spartacus53]

Since you're in NJ, I'd suggest playing on the beach. Covering ground and recoveries go a lot quicker when you play in sand, opposed to digging in hardened dirt

 

[TNGUNS]

Trash, coil size, swing speed, detector type, undergrowth, and many more things will make a huge difference. I recently hunted a small field that had just been cut so used the tire tracks to grid. Most of the field was not terribly trashy and found a lock, 3 ringer, pocket watch, and 3 or 4 penny buttons and of coarse some trash. Pretty sure it had been hunted before. I hunted about 4 hours total and am guessing I covered about 1 acre overlapping slightly. Was swinging fairly fast since the G2 ( 11 inch coil ) likes it a little faster than most. Just making an estimate on ground covered but would say I am fairly close.

 

[Terry Soloman]

It should take you about 4-hours, to cover an area that is 150' x 150' going low and slow, and digging about 120-targets.

 

[cudamark]

It should take you about 4-hours, to cover an area that is 150' x 150' going low and slow, and digging about 120-targets.

Wow....you really recover 1 target every 2 minutes in a park? I can do that in the sand but no way I can dig that fast in sod and do a clean job of it. You must have a lot more energy than I do!

 

[PI PETE]

A probe is the key to digging in Sod. Charles Garrett always swore by it and for the first few years I didn't pay attention because I just hunted old Lots and used a shovel. When I learned the code of ethics and thought it better not to bring my big shovel to the park I QUIKLY figured out that with good pinpointing I could pop targets out of the ground FAST!

 

[ticm]

Wow....you really recover 1 target every 2 minutes in a park? I can do that in the sand but no way I can dig that fast in sod and do a clean job of it. You must have a lot more energy than I do!

Lots of coffee

 

[cudamark]

A probe is the key to digging in Sod. Charles Garrett always swore by it and for the first few years I didn't pay attention because I just hunted old Lots and used a shovel. When I learned the code of ethics and thought it better not to bring my big shovel to the park I QUIKLY figured out that with good pinpointing I could pop targets out of the ground FAST!

Oh, surface stuff, sure. Just poke'em and pop'em. Targets 4" and deeper is a different story. Unless they're laying on the surface, I don't bother with the shallow stuff unless it's an old location where silver is found. Then I dig everything so good deep targets aren't masked by surface junk.

 

[Terry Soloman]

It should take you about 4-hours, to cover an area that is 150' x 150' going low and slow, and digging about 120-targets.

There is nothing remarkable about these estimations. I am in reasonable condition, and do not use a pinpointer. When I dig a soccer or baseball field, I cut a semi-circle cut at the depth I think the target is at and fold it out of the hole. After 35-years of doing this, the target is usually right there when I fold the flap out. Targets every two-minutes is the norm discriminating just iron in my neck of the woods.

 

[hikeinmts]

If you are digging at the beach, or on nice short-cut grass, you will be able to cover quite a bit of ground. In a forested area, then you will do better
to prepare the site, if you can. By this I mean carry a hand-held grass cutter.....a sythe. Trim the grass/bushes from where you want to hunt. And, if
you got snakes in the trees, like I do here (S. Korea), I trim the low-hanging tree limbs, too. I don't want one of the critters slithering down the back of my
shirt. So, trimming the ground, making it as smooth as possible, will take some time. I was in the forest yesterday and day before. Took about 2 hours
day before yesterday, and I was able to work about 15 square meters of ground. Only one good find, a holed coin dating 1740s. So, time well spent.
If you can't prepare the ground, you will be able to hunt a larger area quicker, but you still want to go slow, especially when you are raising/lowering the head of the detector. Going over raised/exposed tree roots, don't go back and forth over them. YOu will get a lot of false signals. Hunt parallel to them.....one side, then the other. Don't worry about being fast......just be thorough.

 

[Sandman]

As for how much ground you can cover it depends on many things, like size of the coil, speed of sweep and how many times you need to retrieve a target and how deep it is. Think of in in terms of having fun rather than how fast I can go.