WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?!.... dunce at schools....

[RiverRat]

Hi....I'm still a greenhorn and have tried to detect several schools...including elementary, middle and high schools...
All without much luck...
I've tried the playground areas, under the bleachers and along sides of sport's fields, entrance to school, etc....all without getting much except only minimal clad...I don't think the schools I've tried have been hunted much...
Yet I read so many postings that describe very successful hunts at schools....
.sooooooo ..WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
Please help!
Thanks...

 

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[gberl001]

If you hunt the common areas expect your finds to be likewise.

Nice, I like this phrase.

 

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[WhiteTornado]

8-10" depth should be plenty. Try down the foul areas along the 1st and 3rd base lines of the ball diamond. I've had a bit of luck in those areas.

 

[mikeraydj]

That machine is a lot like the Quick draw 2 I used to have. The settings I used killed the coins and jewelry. I set sensitivity at the 9 o'clock position and notch at 11 o'clock, then hit auto notch and you are set.

 

[Phantasman]

I find questions like this a lot. Haven't been hunted much? One never knows if someone was there 15 years ago with a new Garrett 2500 and found deep old coins. If that is the case, your chances are better to find 15 year old coins and jewelry that has dropped since then. If you are hunting common areas that attract first time hunters (like yourself), expect that others have done the same before you.

Location, location, location. A lot of the true successful finds isn't just with a good detector, but the research that goes into where to hunt. Anyone can go to easy areas to hunt. Seek out sites that were common areas historically (100 years ago), and you may find a less common area by todays standards, that can yield good finds even with the shallower cheaper detectors. Location is more important than depth, IMO.

 

[TwoYewts]

RiverRat,
Looks like you have already received of bunch of great advice from the community. I'll just add "try to think outside the box", look for spots where other hunters may have overlooked. You have to figure that besides one's own yard, public schools/parks are the next easiest place to hunt and therefore tend to be hunted to death. But, even though I'm in an area with many hunters I still find plenty of goods at local schools/parks. Some things that I do:

- hunt places that provide shade, such as trees like others have said or tall shrubs, building overhangs.
- look for places where people are likely to sit to watch a ballgame or general areas where kids would throw down their bags. I had hit a school and only pulled minimal clad till one day I saw a practice taking place and noticed that all the kids threw their stuff down on a small grassy area near the track and not where I thought they would. Next time there I hit the area and pulled out my best day in clad (54 Quarters, etc) and two silver rings
- look for hills near fields where people would sit to get a better view of ballgames. I often do very well hunting hill slopes
- My favorite spots are on the edges of basketball/handball courts. I get a big smile when I come across a school that has a basketball court surrounded by grass since people tend to place all of their belongings along the court's edge. Same thing for soccer and football fields. I work the outer edges mostly where people usually place their stuff.
- Another great spot to check is grassy areas near parking lots that could be used by snow plows. Plows love to use nearby grassy areas to push snow onto when they plow the lots. Well, more than just snow gets pushed onto these areas

Well, hope that helps and best of luck!
TwoYewts

 

[RiverRat]

Awesome!...what a good tip!...thanks!

 

[RiverRat]

Thanks, Mike.......!...I'll try that!

 

[RiverRat]

wow!...this is awesome advice...had thought of some of those things but not all of them...I really appreciate your taking your time to help me and others with same issues...THANKS!

 

[mikeraydj]

Let me know how those settings worked for you. When I was told about them they made the targets more stable for me but still had good depth. Of course you can't find something that is not there. So the tips on locations are great hints on how to get that coil over the good stuff.

 

[Coin Digger]

What makes you think the schools haven't been hunted much? I thought the same thing when I first started in the hobby, and as I progressed I soon realized that there's a huge and very active metal detecting community in my area who absolutely hammers all of the parks in school in the county.

Competition!
I use to think I was just about the only one here that detected, except for an old gentleman I saw detecting the fair grounds once.
After they built the new school, the old one was 100+ years old, was to be torn done. It always had a sign, about as old as the school was it seems "NO METAL DETECTING" in the window.
They had an auction for the stuff inside and the very next day it was a free for all for anyone with a metal detector. I couldn't wait to get over there only to find at least a dozen people swinging away. It stayed like that for about a week, I still see people hitting that spot to today.
Moral of the story: Go where others haven't.

 

[RiverRat]

This is such great advice and I very much appreciate the time you took to share this with me....such exciting ideas!...thanks again...

RiverRat,
Looks like you have already received of bunch of great advice from the community. I'll just add "try to think outside the box", look for spots where other hunters may have overlooked. You have to figure that besides one's own yard, public schools/parks are the next easiest place to hunt and therefore tend to be hunted to death. But, even though I'm in an area with many hunters I still find plenty of goods at local schools/parks. Some things that I do:

- hunt places that provide shade, such as trees like others have said or tall shrubs, building overhangs.
- look for places where people are likely to sit to watch a ballgame or general areas where kids would throw down their bags. I had hit a school and only pulled minimal clad till one day I saw a practice taking place and noticed that all the kids threw their stuff down on a small grassy area near the track and not where I thought they would. Next time there I hit the area and pulled out my best day in clad (54 Quarters, etc) and two silver rings
- look for hills near fields where people would sit to get a better view of ballgames. I often do very well hunting hill slopes
- My favorite spots are on the edges of basketball/handball courts. I get a big smile when I come across a school that has a basketball court surrounded by grass since people tend to place all of their belongings along the court's edge. Same thing for soccer and football fields. I work the outer edges mostly where people usually place their stuff.
- Another great spot to check is grassy areas near parking lots that could be used by snow plows. Plows love to use nearby grassy areas to push snow onto when they plow the lots. Well, more than just snow gets pushed onto these areas

Well, hope that helps and best of luck!
TwoYewts