Ive got to get my head in to this hobby!

[kntutt]

I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

So I decide to go out again today. I walk outside and 4 deer look at me in my driveway as if to say.. we aren't moving. I walk around them and decide to check out a road above my house that leads up in to the mountains. We are talking the heart of the Rockies here. This is not Denver in the plains but 20 miles from Aspen, real mountains with lots of rocks. Remember always rocks. We had a foot of snow here in the beginning of the week. Did you see the 70 car pileup on I-70 that was on CNN this week yup, right near me.

So I go up to this road and I am already in the mud. I meet an old guy from the Division of Wildlife who is getting GPS coordinates for the state. We talk for awhile and then I start detecting. As usual I get a hit so I am on the ground in the mud digging something I never find.... again. Every time my spade goes in to the ground I hit rocks. Duh, It's the Rockies, I know! After a bit longer I run in to the same thing. So I am out for an hour and all I have for it is muddy shoes, muddy knees, and a bent spade. I know that this is suppose to get better. Someday I might even find a coin. But, at this point I am a bit bummed out. Also 90% of the stuff posted as finds here I can't get excited about. I'd throw it away.

Sure I can get in to coins. I can get in to the jewelry and some medals. I can even get in to some of the artifacts, but come on a gun shell from a 22 or a 45, that's trash. A squashed piece of lead that was a bullet that obviously hit something or, Oh look a button or a belt buckle. Ok if its from the civil war I can see the excitement but most of it is just stuff that was thrown out or lost and has no particular value. Sorry about the negativity but so far no excitement for me. Maybe I'll get it when I find something of interest....to me!

 

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[Detectingfreak]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Hopefully you find something good soon! Maybe you should go to towns around your area that have grassy fields. Thats what I would do. Even if it takes really long and takes a lot of gas. I'd do anything just to metal detect.

 

[Cynangyl]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Hang in there buddy! Maybe like detecting Freak said, try some grassy fields or playgrounds first til you really get the hang of it? I know what it is like to get real discouraged when you are first starting out and I hate for it to get the best of anyone. It really takes a lot of persistance and practice to start finding stuff and then a lot of research if you are looking for specific items rather than just any metal that comes along. You can do it!!

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Maybe you need to do more research on the wooded areas you're hunting. Trips into the woods where there is no history will result in trips with no finds, which can be frustrating. Try what Detectingfreak says, hit a few schools in town or a few lake parks or tot lots, you can usually always make some good finds at spots like them.
Good Luck!
Glenn

 

[Jeep]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

It gets better, try like the other posters said and try some playgrounds and people places. Also try to research and find old homesteads or miner camps in the area. I don't know what detector your using but it may be a probability that some of the hits your getting may be raw silver or gold ore, ya never know. You are in the silver and gold mine mecca of america. When I was up there last I saw them reworking mines to reclaim what was missed the last time. 99% of my walkabout finds are pull tabs but I still get excited because it just might be good. I have learned that research is the way for me to find good stuff.

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Guess the best advice has been given. You might change where you are hunting. Local parks are a good start. Also the local schools and tot lots. Swimming areas are good places to look. Grassy parking lots. Fair grounds. Try gettin permission to hunt private residences. The older the better. Old picnic grounds. New picnic grounds, camp grounds, soccor fields, any ares where large groups of people gather for concerts, sporting events, fairs, etc... Local churches are good places to hunt if you can get permission. Ask you friends and relative if you can hunt their yards. Sometimes we overlook the obvious places to hunt. Try your own yard, you never know.

Happy Hunting
Hang in there, it gets better.

Think outside the box.


Ray S

 

[SC_hunter]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Since you don't get "excited" by 90% of the finds on here, I'm just wondering..what is it you would like to find?

 

[mlhudson]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

RESEARCH ,, RESEARCH ,, RESEARCH,, YOU CAN START THERE. THEN TAKE WHAT YOU LEARN, AND GO FIND " IT ". SOUNDS SIMPLE , I KNOW. BUT AWARE
OF ONE THING , YOU GET AS MUCH ""AS YOU PUT IN IT"".....NEVER GET BUMMED ABOUT IT , WE ALL HAVE OUR DAYS WITH NOTHING---LOLOLOLO


WHEN THE SNOW MELTS
AND THE MUD DRIES,
THE ASPENS STAND TO THE SUN,
YOU TOO, WILL HAVE YOUR DAY OF "FUN"..

M L HUDSON

 

[texan connection]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

I get discouraged sometimes digging at old sights, so i go to a park and dig clad till i fell better. You gotta get a old house or a stage coach drop. go get a book on your county history their ought to be tons of clues in there.

What really hooked me was a unhunted old church I found acouple silvers and at least 50 wheatleafs, some buffalos, and alot of trash.

 

[cyeager]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

kntutt:
Please don't be discouraged. It works when you want it to. The stuff you should find shouldn't be tough to get - But once and awhile.
I did the Continental Divide. Found 5.00's in 20 minutes... It's weird... If people go there... It will fall. I think I got a ring in Aspen at the Ski lodge coffee shop. I never work at it. I do the relaxed 10 minute scan on good locations. Key- Be a socio/behavior specialist in one place and a histocompatilocator in another. Location is the key. It may not be what it looks like now. Say a missing tree and everybody abandons the old tree..... The best stuff you will find is the stuff that takes awhile to identify.

 

[allen]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

dont give up or get discouraged so easy...it takes time, patience and some dedication...good luck dude

 

[madfranks]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

I live near the mountains (Boulder), and work in Brekenridge once a week, and I run into "phantom finds" in the mountains a lot as well. Can I ask what kind of detector you are using? Do you have one with a ground balance feature? I find that there are so many minerals in the mountain landscape that your MD will chirp and beep due to the variance in the ground, maybe that's why you're not finding anything when you dig? If you can balance the minerals in the ground to your detector, you will have much better luck identifying real targets. Trust me, I've gone after plenty of phantoms myself and after getting the feel for the landscape you'll find some silver in no time! There's plenty up there!

 

[kntutt]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

I live near the mountains (Boulder), and work in Brekenridge once a week, and I run into "phantom finds" in the mountains a lot as well. Can I ask what kind of detector you are using? Do you have one with a ground balance feature? I find that there are so many minerals in the mountain landscape that your MD will chirp and beep due to the variance in the ground, maybe that's why you're not finding anything when you dig? If you can balance the minerals in the ground to your detector, you will have much better luck identifying real targets. Trust me, I've gone after plenty of phantoms myself and after getting the feel for the landscape you'll find some silver in no time! There's plenty up there!

Thanks for all of the support. It is helpful.

I purchased a Minelab Sovereign Elite last month and have been getting a feel for it. So far I have only found foil covered broken bottle necks, pull tabs, and a brass thread connector. I am sure that I have not even begun to figure out the nuances of this machine. I have read as much as I can about it and I do balance it using the quarter technique and setting the meter to read at 550. I set the rest of machine to the default options and go from there.

I'd go out today but it is wet and soggy outside again due to last nights snow. The town is having special meetings this year preparing for flooding this spring, which could start in the next month or so. Fortunately I live several hundred feet above the town at a little over 7000 feet, so I will not be affected. But, flooding could bring some things up, who knows. I am expecting that until I learn to set this up correctly I will get continual phantom hits.

As for doing research I am the guy who is researching the tent town that was near the kilns that I posted about last week. I love doing research. Just a few minutes ago I looked over the valley with binoculars and spotted the old lumber yard that has been here for many years. I am sure that there could be some good finds there. I will need to filter out nails with my machine before I check that out. I need to find out who owns it and get permission before I try there.

Ken

 

[madfranks]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Are you keeping your detector in "all metal" mode? If you are, then you'll run into tons of nails, sheet metal fragments, iron slag, etc. First thing before you go out to hunt is make sure you're blocking out all iron! If you're hunting for gold, put the discrimination just past iron, but keep in mind that you'll also get aluminum (foil, pull tabs, etc). If you're coin shooting or going for silver, then you can almost max out your discrimination and you'll only get nice clean sounds from clad or silver, but you'll always have bottlecaps to worry about as well (they mimic coins very well in the ground).

When I'm in the mountains, I personally am hoping for gold (haven't found any yet!), so I set my discrimination just above iron so I weed out the majority of the crap right away. I think my best find from the rockies was a morgan silver dollar I found a long time ago; it was a big signal and most of the time sounds like that turned out to be buried soda cans or trash like that, but unless you dig them all you'll never find out what could have been there!

 

[kntutt]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Are you keeping your detector in "all metal" mode? If you are, then you'll run into tons of nails, sheet metal fragments, iron slag, etc. First thing before you go out to hunt is make sure you're blocking out all iron! If you're hunting for gold, put the discrimination just past iron, but keep in mind that you'll also get aluminum (foil, pull tabs, etc). If you're coin shooting or going for silver, then you can almost max out your discrimination and you'll only get nice clean sounds from clad or silver, but you'll always have bottlecaps to worry about as well (they mimic coins very well in the ground).

When I'm in the mountains, I personally am hoping for gold (haven't found any yet!), so I set my discrimination just above iron so I weed out the majority of the crap right away. I think my best find from the rockies was a morgan silver dollar I found a long time ago; it was a big signal and most of the time sounds like that turned out to be buried soda cans or trash like that, but unless you dig them all you'll never find out what could have been there!

I do keep it on disc instead of all metal mode. I only use that for pinpointing. I'll try some of your tips for setting this up. I have a better chance of finding Silver than Gold as this is Silver territory. Aspen was the largest producer of Silver at one point and the largest Silver nugget that was ever pulled was pulled from there.

I decided to go out to where the kilns are that I spoke about last week and hit the park next to it. I just got back. I found clad, a quarter, a dime and 5 pennies along with a few bottle caps a nail and a bolt that I gave to the kid who was curious as to what I was doing. I'm letting them soak and I'll take a picture as soon as I charge batteries in my camera. I'll start a new topic, something like I'll stop whining now! I definitely need a new spade as mine was bending and the handle was getting loose. I may have found some silver. But I certainly found some "Joy." You will see what I mean.

 

[Scots Gaelic]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

I agree, it is very disconcerting to find sprinkler parts, iron, and maybe "ooooo! a dicast kids ring" w.g.a.c.! We are here for the good stuff! That's why it's called MD "Hunting" (h u n t i n g = To search through (an area) for prey). Get over it, you think you are the only one among us that does not find the prime finds all of the time?!

Think of it this way, you got out, enjoyed the air, and left all worries behind in your focus of MD'g. That is an MD'er!

 

[kntutt]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Get over it, you think you are the only one among us that does not find the prime finds all of the time?!

Gee I never thought of it that way. You see, I have an IQ of -13 so most of the time I simply sit in a chair and drool on myself. Fortunately I spit shine shoes for a living so I have plenty of product to work with.

Your original comments... not so bad. The one quoted above.... Not so hot.

Ken

 

[Scots Gaelic]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Get over it, you think you are the only one among us that does not find the prime finds all of the time?!

Gee I never thought of it that way. You see, I have an IQ of -13 so most of the time I simply sit in a chair and drool on myself. Fortunately I spit shine shoes for a living so I have plenty of product to work with.

Sorry to offend

Your original comments... not so bad. The one quoted above.... Not so hot.

Ken

 

[SC_hunter]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Get over it, you think you are the only one among us that does not find the prime finds all of the time?!

Gee I never thought of it that way. You see, I have an IQ of -13 so most of the time I simply sit in a chair and drool on myself. Fortunately I spit shine shoes for a living so I have plenty of product to work with.

Your original comments... not so bad. The one quoted above.... Not so hot.

Ken

Ken, don't let it get you down. There will be more of the days that you found very little or only clad. But, then again, everytime you dig a hole there is always a possibility of finding the one great find. Keep at it...and don't drool on your detector..

 

[kntutt]

Re: I've got to get my head in to this hobby!

Hang on guys. If you read this I am about to post my first decent finds even if it is clad. I'll start a new topic called Done Whining and I found Joy!