best finds are what we typically post,so im posting typical finds instead.

8mygritz

Jr. Member
Sep 21, 2015
82
281
maryland
Detector(s) used
propointer,350,AT pro(rarely use,prefer 350).
Primary Interest:
Other
best finds are what we typically post,so i'm posting typical finds instead.

folks that are thinking about starting m/ding tend to see these"best"finds & think gee whiz,i'll invest a few hundred $'s on equip & in a week or so i'll have this huge pot of gold,silver,other treasure!when this doesn't happen....they give it up.this pic.is a typical 4 hr. hunt(well used football/soccer field),i'm sure there are some exceptions,but rarely.there are 7 clad qts,2 clad dms.,8 nics. & 2 pns. in this mess..no gold or silver!bottom line,don't give up just because u had a day like this!get to know ur m/der & use tho DSCN1349.JPG se clads to buy batteries!
 

Upvote 21

Scrappy

Gold Member
Mar 6, 2014
9,204
14,019
17th century
🥇 Banner finds
7
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030 & XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Other
Thanks for the pile pic. I don't post that stuff but I have a pile in my car, another pile of it in my garage, and a 5 gallon bucket of it in my yard. With all the glory comes trash too..
 

relic nut

Silver Member
Nov 29, 2014
4,000
7,275
VA
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030 TELEKINETICS 4000 GARRET AT PRO
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That's the sign of a detectaholic. A drunks truck bed is full of beer cans, mines full of old iron, rusty nails and dead batt.
 

bill from lachine

Gold Member
Oct 30, 2011
22,616
88,899
Quebec
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Pretty much par for the course at trashy sites....the keepers are the exception and not the rule.

Those gold rings in my avatar probably represent thousands of pulltabs and similar junk....lol.

Regards + HH

Bill
 

Pinball

Sr. Member
Dec 18, 2014
287
328
Ashland, Ohio
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Great post! The way things have gone the past couple of hunts I would have been thrilled with the seven quarters :) I need to get out and knock on some doors before the snow comes around.
 

imrj

Newbie
Nov 8, 2015
3
10
Melbourne, Florida
Detector(s) used
Garrett Sea Hunter Mark 2
Fisher F2
Bounty Hunter Pilot(Kellyco Freebie)
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I just hunted a beach for 2 hours and only found 1 fishhook. No other sounds from the dectector at all. I kept checking to make sure it was working. I am new to detecting and it is the thrill I get from anything I find, junk or not. I'm sure sooner or later I will get tired digging bottle caps and pull tabs, but that seems better than
 

Rustynailsandscrews

Full Member
Sep 26, 2014
225
241
Salem, NY
Detector(s) used
AT PRO and a BH 505 that I let friends and relatives I don't like use.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
folks that are thinking about starting m/ding tend to see these"best"finds & think gee whiz,i'll invest a few hundred $'s on equip & in a week or so i'll have this huge pot of gold,silver,other treasure!when this doesn't happen....they give it up.this pic.is a typical 4 hr. hunt(well used football/soccer field),i'm sure there are some exceptions,but rarely.there are 7 clad qts,2 clad dms.,8 nics. & 2 pns. in this mess..no gold or silver!bottom line,don't give up just because u had a day like this!get to know ur m/der & use tho View attachment 1233235 se clads to buy batteries!

What you say is very true and many people have unrealistic ideas of the MD hobby and your picture is a true representation of the fact that you dig a lot of S*** before you find anything of value.
There can be some exceptions and beginners luck but the hard core reality is that you could not make a living MD and the hours invested before making a good find, maybe enough to buy batteries.
My very best find in many years of detecting was a ring I could sell for $250.00
My best and oldest fine for this year is a 1829 Busted Capped Dime.
Sure the Capped dime was a great find but the hours invested and all the trash I dug before I found it would make it a very poor return in hours invested to the value of that coin which I can probably get $20.00 for.
Your post truly represents what Metal Detecting is about, it's a hobby.
I'm very certain that I could make more an hour panhandling and begging on a street corner then I could detecting and that is the truth of the matter.
I personally have never known a detectorist that could support themselves just on metal detecting as an income.
Your post shows what the inexperienced should see.
We concentrate on just the good finds on the forums but never the S*** finds because we all dig the same S*** up all the time and who wants to see it ?
For any one thinking about entering the MD hobby, my best advice is to have a steady income and approach Metal Detecting as a hobby in your free time as hours invested verses pay off makes it a very poor investment.
As a hobby metal detecting can be fun and you can find some cool stuff.
 

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detectahead

Silver Member
Dec 1, 2007
2,563
874
Western, N.C.
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600, Bandido UMax II, Fisher F5, Tiger Shark, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looks like the same pile I recovered today! My money take was $2.42.
 

Subterranean

Silver Member
Jan 31, 2012
3,964
8,892
Southwest Missouri
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro (Julio), Garrett AT Max (Medusa), Garrett Pro Pointer, White's Prism V, Lesche Digger.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If I could pass on a gem of wisdom to newbies, it would be the same as your advise. Stick with it, even through the frustration of fruitless hunts (maybe many of them) Odds are, you will find the goods. Persistence pays off. Sub 8-)
 

thrifty76now

Silver Member
Mar 18, 2009
3,987
3,723
Sunman Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT MINELAB SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yep, you are truly telling it as it is. Except in most tot lots your haul matches mine down to that last pulltab. You and I must have left our horseshoe at home.
 

slowwevo

Hero Member
Jan 1, 2014
509
524
The Sunshine State/The Golden State
🥇 Banner finds
1
Primary Interest:
Other
This is what most days look like for me,but honestly that is like treasure too,I enjoy cleaning up my local area of trash...almost as much as finding gold and silver.i guess im a treehuggin hippie
 

WHADIFIND

Gold Member
Apr 9, 2012
12,062
38,131
South of the Mason-Dixon Line
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT-MAX
Garrett AT-PRO,
Garrett Groundhog,
Pro-Pointer,

Jack Hammer!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yep, I have been advocating the "normal" hobbyist point of view for quite a while.

I agree with most everything said above. One I don't think I can quite hold to is the concept that MD-ing cannot be a primary job. Sure it can. One just would need the fortitude of an Olympic marathon runner. :) I know, because I've done both. :)

A poor analogy might be that of a professional in baseball. No matter how hard one might want it, or how hard they work at it, if one simply cannot hit the curve ball. They won't get very far. LOL

I liken this hobby to that of a smart, long-term, investor with a tinge of that marathon mentality. Where they know that every lil find is counted toward the end total, not to the today total. Seven pennies today ain't much, but seven pennies added to a lifetime of finding them? Well, you know.

Something I also try to get across is that concept of what is a "worthy to post" find. I know, nobody wants to be reading about the amount of trash found. No matter how much it is a truth. They want to get their own "battery" recharged with the possibility that treasure is and DOES get found, STILL! But think about it, very few of us wouldn't feel like climbing a tree when something like a big ole silver appears. When everything calms back down though. We realize that what we found is VERY special!! To us! But the rest of the world thinks, I'll give ya quarter for that beat up, scratched up, dirty, tarnished, gouged silver coin. Ya know?

I seem to average about 2 dollars in clad every time I go out. Whoopie, right? ;) I also average about a ton and a half of trash to get them. LOL So, if I find a clad quarter, it's going into the ring as my entry toward a banner find for the day! LOL

Good post!

We don't have to show ALL the trash, but we also shouldn't "NOT" post because a find isn't "worthy". :)
 

RJ55

Bronze Member
Jul 2, 2014
1,449
1,186
western NC
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus/Garrett Pro Pointer II
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
But, if a certain few found that pile of crap, they would be congratating them for 2 months for that most excellent pile of crap! �� LOL
 

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