Struggling Mightily with Pinpointing - Need some Advice and Feedback

[FurTrade]

I have a Bounty Hunter Quick Draw II that I know is not the best of the best that I have been using for about a month now on a farm property. I have 40 acres, including some plowed fields, large grassy yard, riverbeds, woods, etc. I have started trying to learn in the grassy yard but am having a really tough time finding anything. The ground is littered with nails, broken iron and other farm implements from the last 200 years. I would estimate 10% of the targets that I get a good reading on yield anything on a dig. I would actually be happy to find junk because part of me just wants to clean up the yard. Eventually I want to go relic hunting because there were Mohawk and War of 1812 regiments in this area.

Should I completely ignore the depth reader? I have read I should ignore the discrimination and learn to listen. I am learning the tones but when I go over a target it seems to jump, even after I try to pin point for a few minutes. When I hear a tone is that coming from the centre or outside of the coil or both? Once I dig what I believe was the spot, I go over it with a sweep and find that the detector thinks it is just north or south of the hole I dug.

I also have a cheapo pinpointer that has yet to pick up anything in the ground. It struggles to even go off when I touch it right to an item. I would like one that picks up anything within an inch. I'd rather buy a better pinpointer if that's the problem. I cannot afford a new detector.

 

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[mcl]

I use a Bounty Hunter detector (tracker IV) and for me the depth reader is useless. If you are new to the hobby and need pointers on the basics of locating an object once your detector has alerted, here is a copy of a post I made on another thread for a strategy on locating your find:

Here's the technique I would recommend for making sure you/your detector are not crazy. When you get a hit and have the plug or what not dug out, set the plug aside and run the detector over it, and also over the new hole. If you get a hit over only the plug, you know to search the plug. If you get a hit over both the plug and the hole, there's a chance that either you/your detector are crazy, or you could have a dump/spill site (e.g., a lot of nails in the dirt). Worst case, it could mean you have high metal content in the soil. In any case, if the plug went off, cool, you know where to look. Use the detector or a probe to isolate the hit to one half of the plug, then poke around in it.

Now if it went off over the hole, here is how to proceed. Take a shovelful of dirt out of the hole and set it aside. Now run the detector over both the shovelful of dirt and the hole, the same way you just did for the plug. If you get a hit for the shovelful but not the hole, then you know your prize is near, and you can rummage through the dirt for it. If you only get a hit over the hole, then you know you haven't reached it yet. Time to take another shovelful of dirt. If you end up getting a whole foot deep and still haven't found the target, then try making the hole wider as you may have missed the target in the walls of your hole. The fact is, unless something is wrong with your detector, if you keep getting a hit over your hole but not right next to the hole (over open ground) then there IS something down there, you just need to be persistent.

mcl

If however you are satisfied that you know the basics and feel the problem is more complex, I think my best tip for you that work for my Bounty Hunter detector is the following. Sometimes I get a weird hit that I'm not sure if it is a really deep, weak signal, or just a tiny piece of garbage. Generally it sounds like "breaking up". Learn the sounds associated with the various types of garbage. Wire, nails, staples, and similar objects will be easy to detect when you swing the coil one direction (e.g., north-south) but not the other (east-west), in which the signal will be spotty or give several blips. This is hint that it is a long, thin item. Very small pieces of metal (e.g., the projectiles of bullets) will also be "blippy" but will be that way from any direction.

If you get a signal like this, and you decide you want to dig for it, turn down your sensitivity as low as possible while you can still get a hit. This will help you get a lot closer to the actual location of the object and shrink its detecting "halo".

As for your questions:

1. Yes, ignore the depth reader.
2. In my experience, a jumping target is the result of either a) you removed dirt and the detector is able to discriminate the location better b) you removed dirt and have a decent sized hole, making it difficult to keep checking without swinging at funny angles, or most likely of all c) you removed dirt and in the process, moved the object you were detecting. In this case, use the strategy I talk about in my quoted post: check all scoops to make sure you didn't scoop out the target. If you did, but can't find it, remove small amounts of dirt at a time, detecting both the new pile and the old until you finally locate the piece.
3. Regardless, the most useful area of the detector coil to me is the edge. Use the edge of the coil to "trace" the target. Move the detector back and forth on all four sides of the target, seeing how close you can get before getting a hit. Do this multiple times from all sides, swinging both north-south and east-west, and you'll get a good idea of the target's position and boundaries under the dirt. If you are careful about doing this, you will avoid digging a hole just a couple inches away from the actual target. See answer #2 for help if it seems the target has moved even after you found its boundaries.
4. Can't help you on the pinpointer as I do not use one.

mcl

 

[OWK]

I used to have a hard time until I learned to get methodical.

Step Zero... Get a decent used pinpointer.

1) Use your detector to pinpoint the target. (practice pinpointing with the detector by finding something on the ground at the center of the detectors' pinpoint location... like a particular blade of grass or a clover or something).

2) Don't take your eye off of that spot. Slowly pull the detector away (still watching the spot).

3) Cut a plug about 6 inches around, and about six inches deep centered on the spot, and gently extract it from the hole (set it aside).

4) Insert your pinpointer into the hole to determine if you can find your target in the hole.

5) If its not obvious in the hole, check you plug with the pinpointer. 80% of your targets will be in the first 6 inches of depth.

if you cant find your target in the plug, or the hole, rescan with your detector... it may be a little deeper.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[cudamark]

You may be running too high a sensitivity setting. When you get a solid signal, turn down the sensitivity until you can just get a good repeatable signal. Then do as mcl said by trying to go all around the target without setting off the detector. That should get you centered. You can also determine depth a bit by raising the coil off the ground until the signal goes away. It will take some practice doing that however.

 

[WhiteTornado]

1) Use your detector to pinpoint the target. (practice pinpointing with the detector by finding something on the ground at the center of the detectors' pinpoint location... like a particular blade of grass or a clover or something).

2) Don't take your eye off of that spot. Slowly pull the detector away (still watching the spot).

Here is the technique I use, as applies to these two steps. With the detector, I use the "X marks the spot" method to zero in on a location. I carry golf tees with me and then I stick a golf tee into the spot I just found. Then I dig the plug around the golf tee. Often, I will mark 2 or 3 spots with golf tees then go back and dig them all. Helps break up the monotony at times.

I had too many instances where I would lose sight of the exact blade of grass/grain of dirt I was trying to eyeball, as I fumbled for my digger and pinpointer and tried to lay down the detector.

Speaking of pinpointers, I use the Garrett Pro-Pointer. It has worked great for me, well worth the investment. Try to get a pinpointer with a good name and reputation if you can afford it.

 

[FurTrade]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. I'm going to try to do a better job at listening to the tones and not paying attention to what the digital readout suggests. I may even put some masking tape over it so I don't find myself cheating. I don't have headphones yet because I work in an area with a lot of wild animals and farm equipment, so I really need to have my wits about me at all times.

I have a feeling that when i did and think I have a moving target, I cannot figure out where it is without a reliable pinpointer. By swinging the coil over the new hole, it's at odd angles and likely giving me confusing signals. I also believe that many of my finds, whether they are trash or treasure are right in front of me. As a result of my horrible eye sight and the dark soil a lot of it is hidden under crud. I will work on saving up for a pinpointer of good quality, that will last for years.

Any recommendations on my coil size? I know it covers less area but I did think about getting a smaller size coil so as to help my eyes fix on an accurate target. I love the golf tees idea. You are right Whitetornado, it can be taxing and likely bad on batteries to put everything down or off and then dig and get up.

 

[Lisarez66]

Headphones help alot for pinpoint! The lower you set the sound, easier it is to hear it peak, on the target.

 

[cudamark]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. I'm going to try to do a better job at listening to the tones and not paying attention to what the digital readout suggests. I may even put some masking tape over it so I don't find myself cheating. I don't have headphones yet because I work in an area with a lot of wild animals and farm equipment, so I really need to have my wits about me at all times.

I have a feeling that when i did and think I have a moving target, I cannot figure out where it is without a reliable pinpointer. By swinging the coil over the new hole, it's at odd angles and likely giving me confusing signals. I also believe that many of my finds, whether they are trash or treasure are right in front of me. As a result of my horrible eye sight and the dark soil a lot of it is hidden under crud. I will work on saving up for a pinpointer of good quality, that will last for years.

Any recommendations on my coil size? I know it covers less area but I did think about getting a smaller size coil so as to help my eyes fix on an accurate target. I love the golf tees idea. You are right Whitetornado, it can be taxing and likely bad on batteries to put everything down or off and then dig and get up.

You don't really need to see to detect. A good pin pointer sure helps, but, even that is not necessary. Before there were pin pointers, we still made out ok. It just took a little longer waving our handfuls of dirt (sans rings and watches!) over the coil until we had the target in hand. If you use a piece of plastic or cloth (which you should) to place your dirt on, you can grab the whole pile and swing it over your coil to check for target(s).

 

[Msbeepbeep]

It may help to know if your sweet on the coil is dead center or not.

Clear a 2' X 2' area of ground of any metal, put a quarter on the ground and cover it with a sheet of news paper. Then try and pin point the quarter with your detector, pay attention to where the quarter actually is compared to where the exact middle of your coil is. I find my detector will pin point slightly to the lower right of the coil center, not right in the center where you'd think it would be.

 

[gunsil]

I used to have a hard time until I learned to get methodical.

Step Zero... Get a decent used pinpointer.

1) Use your detector to pinpoint the target. (practice pinpointing with the detector by finding something on the ground at the center of the detectors' pinpoint location... like a particular blade of grass or a clover or something).

2) Don't take your eye off of that spot. Slowly pull the detector away (still watching the spot).

3) Cut a plug about 6 inches around, and about six inches deep centered on the spot, and gently extract it from the hole (set it aside).

4) Insert your pinpointer into the hole to determine if you can find your target in the hole.

5) If its not obvious in the hole, check you plug with the pinpointer. 80% of your targets will be in the first 6 inches of depth.

if you cant find your target in the plug, or the hole, rescan with your detector... it may be a little deeper.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

A 6" diameter hole to find a coin at six inches is huge!! If one is good at pinpointing one should only need a hole 3-4" in diameter to find a coin up to 8" deep. When you can do that you will be considered an expert at pinpointing. Nobody wishes to see 6" holes in lawns, OK in the woods, but not so good in public or private lawns. As everyone else says a quality pinpointer is a great thing, but those of us who hunted for 20 years before such things were invented still did alright with the pin point capabilities of our coils. I believe you are correct about most good targets being in the top 6" of the soil if the site has not been landscaped or re-sodded, this is why many great finds are made with lower end detectors, and the race for more depth is over-rated for many hunting conditions.

 

[FurTrade]

I definitely want to focus on learning those tones and paying attention to pinpointing where a target is, without being reliant on a pinpointer. I went a head and ordered some nice headphones with some adjustable volume. Most of the instructional and recreational videos I've seen show guys taking handfuls at a time and running them by the coil. This is what I will learn to perfect. Thanks for sharing the perspective guys.

 

[WhiteTornado]

Yeah, once I cut a plug, I first run the detector over the plug. If the target is still in the hole and not easily visible, I dig out some dirt and put it on a towel. Then I run the pinpointer over the towel, and if necessary, back in the hole. You could use the detector for that as well. Pinpointer makes it go faster, at least for me, but it's certainly not required.

Happy hunting!

 

[FurTrade]

Well guys I am in a lot better spirits. I am perfecting the art of moving handfuls of dirt across the detector and waiting for that magical noise. I was assuming my eyes would see everything and have now had several spots where I had no idea the item was in my hand as I ran it across the detector either due to size or colour. I also made the purchase of some headphones with adjustable volume. Now I'm really listening. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[cudamark]

That's the way we did it in ancient times before pin pointers!

 

[CoilyGirl]

Also make sure when you're digging your plug you dig straight down and not at an angle because then the target may not be at the depth you thought it was.