First Time Ever

[Reddackel]

Well, today I had to leave work early. UPS was coming with my very first MD. Out of the box it came, and off I went. 4 hours later and I all if found was a shotgun shell thingy. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but I'll get it figured out. No grand finds here, but I see gold in my future. Yipee!!

Red

 

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[The Beep Goes On]

You'll get the hang of it Red. The more you hunt, the better you get!

HH!
TBGO

 

[Illinois Jeff]

Be patient and have fun. It will take some time to learn your detector's habits. Once you get the hang of it you wont want to put the darned thing down. If your married, you may have to get divorced. You'll spend more time with the detector than with the wife!!

 

[diggummup]

Well,I guess a shotgun shell casing is better than a pulltab. What kind of area were you detecting? Practice with sample coins and such to get a better feel for the machine.Mess with discrim. and sensitivity(don't know the Ace 250) over the targets and practice,you'll get the hang of it. Swing slow and low.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Red,

hard waiting for that new equipment
to arrive.

Now that you have it, read the instructions.

What type did you get?

Start out with an easy hunt; hit a tot lot,
work in the chips. Take the time to plant
some items and see what your detector
will do.

Hope to see many more of your post
with the photos of gold and silver rings.

have a good un.............

 

[UnknownBounty]

I can tell you, i w as blown away with what people found. But just because on the forums theres a gold ring found everyday, doesn't mean to much, considering how many people are on the forum, searching each day, a nd how much stuff they found before hte goodies. I haven't found any gold yet, that's ok, i'm still a newb swashbuckler. But already i can tell you, over 1 month i've come to know my baby. She treats you right, an d if you are in the right place, she will sing to you very sweetly. The fact is, you hve to understand her song, know the words, get used to this. You may not like digging up all those targets, but the fact is, you hvae to dig up stuff to find the goods. Plus it keeps you in shape. But every find keeps you going. Keep it up.

 

[Dave N Japan]

Throw a few coins on the ground with some trash and get use to the sound and pinpointing...Takes time just like everything else..

 

[willie d]

Read the manual, then read it again and then read it again. Then get to a beach and find EVERYTHING. Find out where the older houses are in your area and knock on some doors. Read the newspaper to see where carnivals , festivals and the like are taking place. Visit your local historic society and visit the library. Ask your friends , your family members, your neighbors if you can hunt their yards. Schools, churches, swimming holes, parks. I'm sure you've heard all this before. Had a few beers after a long day at work and my fingers went a little crazy on the keyboard, my apologies.

 

[The Seeker]

Doing what you did is what most of the people in this forum had done!!! just grab that box rip it open and put that machine together and get out there and find some relics or coins.....You did the right thing ! so now that the thrill of treasure hunting is delayed wiht the sun setting and the excitement is over for the day now you can just grab your owners manuel and read through it, and fine tune that babe and get out there and find some cool finds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck in the future and welcome to this great Hobby!!!!!

 

[Reddackel]

Wow, Thanks Everyone for all the insight. I swear, this forum is better than any manual.

Speaking of, I did read the manual..ha! And, I even watched the DVD the MD came with. I purchased an Xterra 50 with the second coil. Have no idea what the difference is between them (didn't see that in the manual), but I can do some research on that.

Today, I headed out to the woods in back of my neighborhood. I was back there for about 2 hours, but the mosquitoes were getting to me. When I saw 2 ticks taking my pant leg to heaven, I threw in the "trowel". Mosquitoes I can handle, ticks I cannot. Later while I stood admiring my new toy in the garage, my husband came home. He was the lucky winner of a recon trip and off we went in the car. I live in TN, a somewhat historic area, and I had been researching old settlements and the like. I was sure there were some interesting areas near a few particular streams. Anyway, we found an empty field next to a cemetery. I wasn't up for graverobbing, so I walked the field and my poor hubby dug...I'm a lucky girl. After that, we attempted to take a small drive around the rest of the area looking for places we could hunt with permission, but my internal GPS was off a bit and we ended up getting lost. End of story is that it was dark when we got home...so I had no option but to kiss my MD and tuck it in bed.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. Tomorrow will be even better!

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Red

 

[madfranks]

I know that for me the first three or four times outside were actually quite frustrating, because I was still trying to figure out so many things that only experience can fix, such as pinpointing, discerning what sounds are what, tweaking my discrimination, etc, etc, etc. Now that I've been out a few more times I'm getting encouraged with how I'm beginning to "read" what my detector is saying. Don't be depressed that you only found a shotgun shell your first time, my first time all I found was trash, not even a penny. Good times!

 

[Southcacalaky]

Very good input here, HH Art...

 

[Reddackel]

tip one youve been broken in proper now lose the "thingy" lingo its so ,well, just SO...try shotgun shell,no need to over elaberate on simple things(just because your a woman) if you dont know,ask. well tell you how it is..well at least,i will. not sure about some others but im pretty straight forward,if you cant tell.......

Dekalb,

I've enjoyed reading read some of your posts and they are interesting. You seem to be very experienced and I value that. I really do.
No hard feelings but in my opinion I wouldn't call your post straight forward, I would call it rude. Perhaps you meant this in a joking manner. If so, my mistake. If not, let me make clear the reason I come here is to learn, laugh, and make a few friends who share my hobby. Just as nobody addressed your spelling and grammer, chastising someone is just not a very good reason to write a post.

Take care,
Red

 

[SaintSea]

Welcome aboard, Red! And thanks for reminding many of us how it felt to be a "newbie". Sometimes when I'm out detecting, I purposefully tell myself to simply enjoy walking the earth, appreciate the sunshine - and relish in the opportunity to visit with inquiring minds. And if I also manage to free something other than a pull tab from the ground - well, that's gravy!
Keep checking back with us to share your treasure hunting experiences - (using any words/terms you feel appropriate ; we're all in this together!
Ruth

 

[Reddackel]

Thanks everyone!

Today is a new day and tonight I will be out again. This forum is a great place and I couldn't have been happier to find it. You all are incredibly helpful and encouraging.
It is appreciated.

Red

 

[lucky1777]

Congratulations on your new detector. I am looking forward to see what you find. Just a quick warning. Within a few months you wont be tucking it into bed, you will be cuddling up with it.

 

[Cubfan64]

You're right that this is an excellent place to come for advice, guidance, answers as well as to share in a fun hobby.

You've gotten some great advice here already and I'll just toss in my $0.02 - most of which is just reitterating what others have said.

1. After every few times you go out with the detector, re-read your manual - you might be surprised at how much better you understand portions of it as you learn more "hands on" stuff.

2. Collect a bunch of different items you might expect to come across when metal detecting, toss them on the ground and start checking each one. Run the detector fast over them, slow over them, back and forth, N & S etc... and see if you can pick up subtle differences. Play with discrimination if you have it as you do this as well.

3. Make a "test garden" somewhere in your yard or garden and bury some of those items at different depths. Know where each one is and do the same things you did in #2 above.

4. Someone else recommended it and it's an EXCELLENT idea - GO TO A BEACH and dig up everything you come across, but before doing it, try "guessing" what it is based on all your previous knowledge. Guess how deep it is and see how close you can get to pinpointing exactly where it is.

Other people have said it here before and I'll repeat it...

There's definitely a difference between a $1000 detector and a $100 detector, but the gap can be significantly closed when the user gets to really know their machine. Practice, practice, practice and have fun :-)

 

[trk5capt]

RED, Welcome To The Best Hobby In The World. I Hunt Mostly CW Relics, Me And My Hunting Buddy ART Find So Many Shot Gun Shells, That We Call Them Yankee Buttons. Best Of Luck & Good Hunting. trk5capt...

 

[Reddackel]

Thanks so much, everyone.

After all these tips, I've been itching to leave work! I keep telling myself that I have nothing to do. Well, nothing to do right now. Okay, nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. Ha!

It's almost 1 pm here. Let's see how long I last!

Red

 

[birdman]

Alot of the fun of this hobby is scouting around looking for good places to hunt!!