New, need guidance.

[Fortune Seeker]

Greetings Treasurenet gurus! I am new to the site, and to metal detecting as well. I am from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania which is rich in civil war history, not very far from Gettysburg and adjacent to the area where the Battle of Monterey Pass occurred. I have an interest in local history, civil war history, and now metal detecting. I cannot seem to find a local metal detecting club near me, but I may not be looking hard enough. It seems as though some of the clubs have disbanded. This was a hobby that I was hoping of finding some mentors to educate me, but do not know where to start or look. Any suggestions from you seasoned veterans on how to begin and get started would be vastly appreciated. Thank you!

 

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[Back-of-the-boat]

On here there are state forums, find your state then pm some of the detector guys and gals to ask them where to go to.

 

[CalReg]

Welcome from San Jose, CA!

 

[Wildcat1750]

Welcome to TNet, Fortune Seeker!
Nick

 

[tokameel]

Welcome aboard, Fortune Seeker. Happy 2021

 

[ArfieBoy]

Welcome to the forum from northeastern Oregon! There is a lot of information and there are very knowledgeable people on this site to help you learn your way in the hobby! Good Luck!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

 

[RustyGold]

Welcome to TreasureNet Fortune Seeker! You’ve found the right place. Good luck on the adventure.

 

[vpnavy]

Welcome Aboard! Take a look at Forum: Pennsylvania for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to the great state of PA.

 

[Pick_axe]

Welcome!

 

[teleprospector]

Welcome!
Jon from s/e Michigan

 

[SD51]

Another welcome to T Net from Michigan! Get permissions from friends and neighbors and you will be rewarded with some great finds!

 

[islamoradamark]

Welcome from South Florida

 

[Possum]

[FONT=&quot]Welcome to T-Net[/FONT][FONT=&quot] from Southeast Louisiana!!! "D"[/FONT]

 

[Megalodon]

Welcome to tnet! You live in a great place for metal detecting. I have only visited Waynesboro for track and cross-country meets when my son was a runner in college.

Re: clubs: I wonder if internet resources - such as this one, have impacted local clubs (before the pandemic) or if they have succumbed to increased demand for public meeting rooms. When we had an active club at a library, it seemed like every monthly meeting, a person would stumble in looking for the AA meeting - which was another day. But the room was booked by groups every day/night. The club was a great way to see each other's finds - and it was competitive with votes for best find of the month, and year. We even had a monthly newsletter. But that club and others I knew were active pre-internet.

Get permissions for local farm fields and ask about when you can hunt. You'll need permission from both the property owner and farmer - if the land is leased for farming. Good luck and hope to see your finds posted here.

 

[SlateBeltDigger]

Welcome!!! And I'm not shy, let me know if you need some help with those CW sites!!

I'm not right around the corner from you but I'd def take that drive, especially closer to spring when we'd have more daylight hours. I've been dying to get on some CW areas, and there wasn't much activity here in my area of PA (I'm on the border of Northampton and Monroe counties).

Please make sure you're not hunting places where you shouldn't be too.

 

[angelito1]

Welcome to Tnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[Fortune Seeker]

Thank you all for the great advice! I've gotten in touch with a club, seems the virus has shut many things down for now.

 

[against the wind]

Welcome to the forum from Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Xraywolf]

I have been to Gettysburg numerous times, lovely and historical area.
You really don't need a mentor or group, just a machine and learn how to use it. Obviously, official battleground sites are off limits completely, as is any private property unless you gain a permission.

Probably safe to assume that most public land free to detect in the area has been pounded to death by 100's before, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. Simply using google earth view maps can help you locate areas to detect ,,, And of course, when we are talking major, historic battles, though the main battle site itself may be off limits, routes of march, encampments ect may well be fair game, so some research could pay off as well.
Worth noting that most people into metal detecting notch out iron, as most iron targets in most locations are sure to be junk, but when relic hunting the opposite is true and you want to detect all metal. Sometimes maybe not, but many if not most modern detectors default to modes where iron is notched out, so you can adjust settings or switch modes [most have an all metal mode] and some have a button you can press to include or exclude it at will.