...Stretching seams of pouch with JUNK

[Beepbeep13]

Ugh ! alright guys and gals. my best friend's parents own a circa 1760 home. ....ya - 1760! During the summer I did a few hour hunt with my old bounty hunter quicksilver (my first metal detector, a really cheap machine)...came up with all junk as I expected because my machine was so cheap and falsey and no depth and blah blah blah [emoji56] .

I realized quickly in this hobby - you get what you pay for. If your getting into this hobby I recommend getting a middle of the road or better machine because it will change your whole experience of metal detecting.

I ordered up the AT pro with 5x8 coil in October (the "spring package") because im so in love with this hobby, and after my research the machine too [emoji8] [emoji13]

I've been anticipating this hunt all week. Come on, you guys all know the side effects of a planned hunt....losing sleep all week and especially the night before ect...

Get to the house for a solid 4 hour hunt - and came up with all JUNK (except the modern US pin, I found that kind of awesome) I know a better machine doesn't mean your going to dig old relics, coins or jewelry every plug - but i'll be honest, I was hoping for maybe ONE old coin or relic

Anyway. I apologize for the long post as I had to just vent, lol. I know this is 99% of metal detecting and I'm sure my day will come, as some say - this is just the reality!

Thanks for stopping in and HH!

 

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[Greylock]

The more you know the machine the easier it will be to pick out the goods. You'll still have to dig trash but that's part of it. Get some more hours on the detector and learn the audio. You put that coil over an old coin and it will find it.

 

[Beepbeep13]

Not sure if this picture came through on original post...

 

[Old Dude]

That's one thing we don't tend to contemplate about the difference in old house sites and newer ones....they have older trash!

 

[BosnMate]

Looks like you got into my honey hole. Seems like people just keep moving in on me and getting the jump on my finds. Seriously, at the location you are hunting, getting
the junk out of the way is important. Go over the ground slowly, come at it from different directions, and listen for those deep targets that don't make a loud sound. Being at a place
with the history you have, dig everything. There is some good stuff there, and you will be finding it sooner rather than later, it's just going to take some work, and eventually there
will be a bunch of jealous people, including me, at the stuff you are able to find.

 

[treblehunter]

My mom used to tell me, "nobody said it was going to be easy" I don't care what machine you buy, you have to dig junk to get to the treasure. The more of that junk you get out of the way, the better. It hides all the good stuff. After awhile you will be able to use your machine and decipher the good from the bad a little bit better. I was just cleaning out my pouch from today. Here is what I got.



This is what went in the trash, six hours of hunting.
It's not always peaches and cream, dig, dig, dig, and dig some more.

 

[Old Dude]

Amen Brad. For hours of digging in the cold yesterday, I got a clad dime, 6 round balls and JUNK. I had a better time than I would have staying home and watching reruns of Sanford and Son though[emoji3]

 

[Higgy]

Hey Beepbeep, what settings did you have on the ATP? The best mode, imho, for the AT is Pro Zero, 22 iron discrim, Iron Audio OFF. You'll get the full range of grunts tics and pops along with your low-medium-high tones. After a while - more hours, more hunts - you will become accustomed to what you are hearing and then you can make a decision on what to dig or not. The most popular belief is that if you dig it all, good finds will come to you. Soooo...

...work on your recovery times. Work on pinpointing. Getting faster at your recoveries means more time left to swing, and the more you swing, the more targets you will find, hence you will have more chance of finding treasure. Its the LAW...

...of averages!

Seriously, dont get too grumpy. You have a fun fine machine in the ATP. Learn to hear what its telling you.

Also, for what its worth, my niece has a wicked old house down in Marblehead. I hunt that a lot, and I keep coming up with something good every time I go, so dont give up! There may be a sweet oldie in the ground of that old house you hunt.

 

[Ahab8]

An old site is just like an onion. You have to peel through the layers to get to the good stuff. I know a guy here in Maine who's been hunting the same field for 5 years. First 3 years he hardly found any keepers. Last 2 years it's all old coins and lots of military buttons. DO NOT give up on that site. I promise you there are good finds there. It's a process my friend. You put yourself on the good sites and dig holes. You go back and do it again. Eventually you WILL make great finds. Nothing good ever comes easy

 

[Rawhide]

In the hands of a experienced user, your detector will find anything. Most folks to include old hands do not have the patience you have shown, so keep at it, the finds will come. Oh your trash is treasure to me. I love it.

 

[Beepbeep13]

Thanks for all the positive comments, you guys are great!

I use the ATP on pro zero, iron disc around 22 or more depending on how trashy the area is...before spending that amount of money on something, I did so much research I could of opened the box and started using the machine blindfolded  , but as confident as I felt it still took a few days of listening and learning how the machine sounds...

And after a few hunts I honestly feel really comfortable with the machine. But, you HAVE to dig trash to get to the treasure as we all know

 

[Beepbeep13]

An old site is just like an onion. You have to peel through the layers to get to the good stuff. I know a guy here in Maine who's been hunting the same field for 5 years. First 3 years he hardly found any keepers. Last 2 years it's all old coins and lots of military buttons. DO NOT give up on that site. I promise you there are good finds there. It's a process my friend. You put yourself on the good sites and dig holes. You go back and do it again. Eventually you WILL make great finds. Nothing good ever comes easy

Ahab, I'll take your advice any day of the week considering your recent finds [emoji13] ( I Envy you!! )

Great job on your research and commitment!

 

[Beepbeep13]

Thanks Higgy, I responded above with my settings but I do leave iron audio on, I thought I may be able to listen to more objects with it on, next hunt I will try with the Iron Audio OFF, especially because they're was SO much iron around the house it was making my ears bleed [emoji44]

 

[Beepbeep13]

Thanks Casca, most of those repeatable solid signals really get the blood flow going lol!

 

[Argentium]

Beepbeep , you'll be just fine - As the season permits just keep getting back out there and putting in time with your new machine !
Everybody has given you excellent advise already , I would only add: work as many different sites as you can over time to see what
kind of hunting you enjoy - some people like target rich environments - (every swing your hearing something ). Some prefer silent
locations where you might go a while and not hear much - but the targets are older . Some prefer beaches , some turf -
We've all gone through the garbage days , it's just part of the deal - even the veteran detector guys and gals have trashy days!

 

[MackDog]

Can I give you some advice. You have to use the Pro for about 100 hours before you really get to know it. Were you running in the Pro mode Zero? Run the iron up if you want. I run sensitivity max and I use a Nel Storm 13 x 14 coil. It will find half dimes at 8 or 9 inches. Take the time to get to know it. If your running standard coins you are waisting the detector you bought.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting MackDog

 

[MackDog]

Thanks Higgy, I responded above with my settings but I do leave iron audio on, I thought I may be able to listen to more objects with it on, next hunt I will try with the Iron Audio OFF, especially because they're was SO much iron around the house it was making my ears bleed [emoji44]

Run with iron audio off 40 then if you get a iffy signal switch it on it will save time. Another trick is to lift the coil slowly and go over the target as it get weaker it will give you a truer reading.

 

[Beepbeep13]

Thanks Argentium, I enjoy the old house sites, this particular home had alot of iron around the house and backyard, After a few hours it was nice to head out to the way back of the yard for a more "silent" area - I love the old home sites and relics/coins, but I must say I've only had the ATP to the beach once so far and I'd love try it again

Mack, I totally understand that the ATP would be a waste of money if used always in Standard. I also put the 5x8 on right out of the box knowing that it works separate metals so good! (And its true!) I still need to learn the machine with the 5x8, but I've heard good things about the aftermarket NEL coils

Thanks for your input!

 

[beez0404]

I might suggest gridding out a 10' x 10' area in a prime location on the property. Swing over this area from all four sides then corner to corner and dig everything. If it's a prime area and you clean it out and don't find any coins or good targets there is a possibility it's already been hunted before.

 

[RobRieman]

Sometimes the junk is all that there is at an old site. You would think someone would have dropped an old coin or a piece of jewelry. I just hunted a 1900's site and found 7 killer flat buttons, buckles, harmonica reeds, brass door knobs that blew my ears off, the works. Not a single coin found. Sometimes people just didn't drop the coins. Good luck! I'm going back for sure! Never give up!