Dig it All?

[dale3fan28]

Ok i set my AT Pro to pro/ zero mode... Adjust iron up to 30, hunting a new place, old home is gone.... Should i dig everything above 30, or should i drop it to zero and dig it all?......

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

You are probably going to AT LEAST disc. out iron .

 

[treasurehound]

Depends what you are looking for. If just coins you should be fine. But if you are looking for relics then dig everything. A lot of iron targets are good relics such as gun tools, bayonets, cannon balls, shell frags, gun parts, etc... Also remember that nickels come in under 30 on most machines.

 

[smugglersbluez]

http://metaldetectingforum.com/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=699


hope this helps

 

[Silver Worm]

Nickles come in right at 52 on my ATP. Just saying...

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

If there are a lot of targets, then I try for repeatable numbers. If they jump more than a couple of digits (say 45-85 instead of 52-53), those targets sometimes turn out to be aluminum shards (can slaw).

Wayne

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Its hard to tell you what to do...But if it were ME....What i do in these cases is...I first will go thru and ONLY dig the good coin targets...Until Im not gettign any more ...than i would proceed to dig the higher low tones.

again this is just me..Im sure many people would disagree....But i know if you are hunting an older home area. Im sure you are probally wanting older coins...and why wear yourself out on items you know wont be coins.
Good luck man!

 

[The Beep Goes On]

It totally depends on what's in the ground. If there's so much iron it's nulling out your threshold, dig some of it out and clear out a test area. If it's moderately trashy, cherry pick the high tones and then reduce your discrimination and catch the rest, or at least that is one method you can use. If it's really clean you might want to dig it all.

 

[GatorBoy]

All really good info and suggestions.
I use an AT alot.
And yeah..nickels are low 50's on it... about the same as lead.
I have one more suggestion .. if you have the time you can do what I do..and use a leaf rake to clear the surface and I also sometimes drag a large magnet across an area.
I also agree that if your numbers are jumping on a target...say from 74-83 its probably going to be aluminum.
I definitely focus on the stable tones above 50 when in a trashy site...actually I usually start off ignoring anything below 60..then after clearing the area start on lower tones.
Gotta love those mid 80's and up.
The AT has made the ability to save your energy digging junk so easy to take advantage of.. it would be a little silly not to take advantage of the machine you bought.
If you were going to dig every single beep you could have just bought a cheap pulse detector.
Unless the chatter of iron is so bad that I can't hear myself think.. I hardly discrim. At all.. it gives you an idea of what is going on under your feet.
You can just turn the iron audio off.

 

[CASPER-2]

small gold rings - especially white gold read low
I had a 1 carat diamond in thin white gold band read as junk
I started out before they had discriminators - so used to digging it all - if youre new - best to dig it all and learn your machine
then pick and choose the times and areas you discrim.
good luck

 

[Prestigitation Digger]

Build yourself a test patch in a clean area. Use it in pro coin mode and learn its voice(Zero mode is more of a deep search relic mode). Itll sing to you after a bit. Throw some old square nails over the test bed coins at different depths. Turn iron audio on. Repeat. Don't forget to ground balance. Depending on soil conditions....so far I consider myself lucky. AT Pro is by no means the best but it has treated me well so far for the soil conditions I work in.

 

[dale3fan28]

Thanks for all the info....... Can slaw everywhere on steady tones..... Found one clad dime in 30 mins..... Hitting an old school tomorrow

 

[WheatbackDigger]

Ok i set my AT Pro to pro/ zero mode... Adjust iron up to 30, hunting a new place, old home is gone.... Should i dig everything above 30, or should i drop it to zero and dig it all?......

Depends what your goals are...I mostly coin shoot (non clad)...I may only dig 5 to 10 targets an hour....I look for those deep silver signals...I pass on alot of shallow targets too, unless it is a quarter hit. This is what works for me in trashy old parks...

 

[GatorBoy]

I total agree with that approach for a park..partly because I coin shoot too and get plenty of rings in the process.
You said you dug can "slaw" everywhere on steady tones... I bet if you listen careful you'll notice aluminum will pitch just a touch higher just before your coil passes it.
These are very subtle sounds.
When on pro zero with the A.T. I think it would do alot of folks good to cover the screen all together.
All the info is in the sound..if you get to know it....even the depth.

 

[Nickleanddime]

Lol I dig everything unless I'm tired and its in the tab range. It's paid off I found my first silver today on a whisper. Actually thought it was a 70's pull tab. Dug it 8" and pulled this clean silver. Also got a penny war buster thought it was a zincolns on top. Picked it up and it was a 1884 indian head wheat. Now around picnic shelters I poke around first before I dig. So it's really up to you. If your coin shooting or ring or jewelry hunter then the size will determine if you dig. I don't dig oversize objects. I can tell now with my machine how big something is by listening to where the tone starts to where it's ear busting then back off. A quick whisper beep is a dime, a little longer and sharper is up to a quarter, a penny is embarrassing with how loud mine goes off lol. . A long thunk is a can or spread out slaw. My battery light comes on with steel and aluminum is hit and miss other then can parts.

The best piece of advice that anyone will tell you on here is get to know your machine. Pay attention to the tones.