- May 28, 2010
- 19,423
- 30,109
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 1
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
A friend of mine commented that he had seen almost a dozen guys on the beach with metal detectors while on vacation in the Bahamas last week. He asked me if, with that much competition, I thought I really had a chance of finding enough to actually pay for my machine. I told him that as an old gold prospector, the one thing I know for sure is nobody gets it all. Then we started discussing the "competition."
WARNING:
The following is PERSONAL OPINION, and not FACT BASED. Thank you.
I think metal detecting is like every other hobby or sport in the world. You have "recreational" players, "amateur" players, "semi-pro," and "professionals." I think (I know.. you're shocked I'm thinking and you don't smell smoke yet), that a full 95-percent of the people that own metal detectors fall into the "recreational," and "amateur" catagories.
These folks may think of themselves as real treasure hunters, but their physical abilities don't allow them to hunt for more than an hour or two. Then there are the "Rolex Warriors." Even though they have the "best" detector on the market, they never swing the coil any closer than 5" to the sand, and walk willie-nillie all over the beach, maybe getting their ankles wet!
It is exactly the same in gold prospecting. Guys will buy a Minelab GPX5000 and run into the goldfields in their Cadilac Escalade. They detect for an hour, then sit in the shade and drink beer while other idiots stop by to admire their machine and look at the little nugget their Minelab dealer "helped" them find. Meanwhile, a guy with a Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ, or a Fisher Goldbug II - who has been gridding an area 50-yards away for nine-hours, comes home with enough to actually pay for his machine.
When I see other guys on the beach, the first thing I do is watch their technique - I really don't care what machine they are using. I know within 30-seconds whether or not I should be walking behind them or not. I know why certain folks find a lot more than most - Practice; Cumulative time spent on the headphones; and Location! If there is nothing there to find, well, that's that!
Most people never spy the guys and gals that are serious about making money, because they are out there at 430am with the low tide, or at sunset when everyone has gone home. Most beach goers only see the "wanna-bee's" and "look-at-me's" on crowded beaches during the day. It's no wonder they think of ALL of us that way..
OK, thank goodness I got THAT off my chest!
WARNING:
The following is PERSONAL OPINION, and not FACT BASED. Thank you.I think metal detecting is like every other hobby or sport in the world. You have "recreational" players, "amateur" players, "semi-pro," and "professionals." I think (I know.. you're shocked I'm thinking and you don't smell smoke yet), that a full 95-percent of the people that own metal detectors fall into the "recreational," and "amateur" catagories.
These folks may think of themselves as real treasure hunters, but their physical abilities don't allow them to hunt for more than an hour or two. Then there are the "Rolex Warriors." Even though they have the "best" detector on the market, they never swing the coil any closer than 5" to the sand, and walk willie-nillie all over the beach, maybe getting their ankles wet!
It is exactly the same in gold prospecting. Guys will buy a Minelab GPX5000 and run into the goldfields in their Cadilac Escalade. They detect for an hour, then sit in the shade and drink beer while other idiots stop by to admire their machine and look at the little nugget their Minelab dealer "helped" them find. Meanwhile, a guy with a Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ, or a Fisher Goldbug II - who has been gridding an area 50-yards away for nine-hours, comes home with enough to actually pay for his machine.
When I see other guys on the beach, the first thing I do is watch their technique - I really don't care what machine they are using. I know within 30-seconds whether or not I should be walking behind them or not. I know why certain folks find a lot more than most - Practice; Cumulative time spent on the headphones; and Location! If there is nothing there to find, well, that's that!
Most people never spy the guys and gals that are serious about making money, because they are out there at 430am with the low tide, or at sunset when everyone has gone home. Most beach goers only see the "wanna-bee's" and "look-at-me's" on crowded beaches during the day. It's no wonder they think of ALL of us that way..
OK, thank goodness I got THAT off my chest!
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My routine is dangerously close to yours, and I could not be having MORE fun! 
