Fourth time out with AT Pro

Kenkoehn1950

Jr. Member
Jan 18, 2013
94
71
Denver, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Spectrum XLT, ATPro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Out for the fourth time using AT Pro and I don't know whether to think I'm still in learning mode or I' m not at good locations. Have now hit three local parks and have only found a total of $10.14 all in clad and memorial pennies. I have found three rings, two of which were sterling. The majority of my finds are coming up in the 4-6" range. I did try an experiment today and notched out everything below 75 just because I was getting tired of digging pull tabs and pennies. Was still in pro zero mode, but noticed that with disc. That high, I lost a lot of depth. I didn't hear anything lower than 2-3". Don't know if there actually were targets deeper than that or not. Last thing before I sign off. I love watching videos of all of you especially the AT Pro people. Keep em' coming! I have noticed some people aren't very considerate when digging targets. Please keep our hobby legal, and treat all dug targets as if they were in your yard:headbang:
 

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Tin Foil

Full Member
Jun 10, 2013
102
91
Wisconsin
Detector(s) used
ATP, Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Ken, by no means am I an expert. However, I have had pretty good luck finding old coins in city parks with the ATP and am happy to share a few tips. You may know most of these, so sorry if they're too basic. #1. Go slow in the parks. Often the surface coins and bottle caps will blow your ears off and we tend to skip over weaker signals. I listen for weak but solid signals, even tones ~50-70, then pinpoint to center and try to find a high tone that's consistent when the coil swings in two perpendicular directions. This is how I've found several Indian head cents--usually at 6-8" but shallower on hillsides. #2. Parks are often spoiled by fill dirt, putting the goodies out of reach. I try to find areas free of fill dirt. Usually, this means hillsides, wooded areas, lake/stream edges, park borders, and along sidewalks. Near any new structure is also worth a shot as the excavation can bring deep coins to the surface--this is how I found an 1868 shield nickel in a " hunted out" park. #3. There's no arguing that the ATP will find many bottle caps, but you can cut down on these. Caps usually have an audible iron signal heard "outside" of the high tone as you swing. I think the caps tone is "squirty" or "jumpy" compared to the smooth silver tone. #4. I run pro mode zero disc with iron tones on and max sensitivity. You can definitely find coins at 10" with these settings, but again go slow. #5. Hopefully others will chime in here, but you can learn a lot from other AT pro users on this forum.
 

Gridwalker306

Gold Member
Nov 10, 2010
6,012
7,406
Canada
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, ATPro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I run pro mode, iron disc at 32, sensitivity at max, and only switch iron audio when I need to further investigate at target. I never notch anything out. Tiny silver, and deep silver will sometimes ring up in the high 60's and 70's. Go slow!
 

Metal Magnet

Bronze Member
Oct 26, 2010
1,140
512
OH
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
i agree with the posts above. i have found a lot of silver with ATP. Once you find a good spot, be super methodic. grid the area out, go very slow, and dig anything that is deeper. also, notice where your layers line up. if the area has not been messed with much, you will typically find older coins in the same depth layer. Not always, but a good bet. I run pro zero. something you will see too is that signals can ghost. sometimes those signals can make you dig something you shouldn't. and sometimes you won't dig something you should. smaller coils around iron help you nab what others missed!

in a new spot, it is always good to dig everything, so you can get a feel for the spot. and as the others said - go where others wont. or find areas people dont know about. to give you an example. i researched some parks and found a few places that people hadn't known about or hunted. I cleaned up in those locations. open, flat areas are always pounded the hardest - especially in well known areas. you have gotten some silver rings - that's great! if you just keep learning your machine and how to research and read locations, you will start getting older and older stuff. remember, research a lot first, then spend the time to go out and find the goods.

best of luck!
 

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Kenkoehn1950

Jr. Member
Jan 18, 2013
94
71
Denver, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Spectrum XLT, ATPro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Tin foil...thanks a lot! Great tips. Thank you for the great feedback. I will definitely take these and use them.
 

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