About to get my first detector

[heepiepow]

I'M EXCITED!!!

My mom and I rented a detector twice in the last few months. And this month I went ahead and ordered a Bounty Hunter IV. I know it's not the best out there by far, but at $25 a rental for an even worse detector, (and us being poor) it makes financial sense for a starter unit. And the only limitations on usage is going to be batteries!

I CANNOT WAIT until it gets here and I can take it out. My whole family on both sides for generations have been some variation of treasure hunters, whether it be gold prospectors or rockhunters. It's in the blood!

Mom and I have already done a ton of research on local areas that might pay off. And we found 30 or so coins with the rental. We aren't expecting a $20 gold coin, but just finding any coin is enough to get excited. The coins are out there in the dirt just waiting, after decades! And we might be the first to hold them in decades. Isn't that cool!

I just want to thank everyone here for your great tales and advice and experiences, as reading them certainly helped me make the jump and buy my/our own detector. Plus from your advice we're going to be "good" detectorists, filling holes, respecting the environment, and making sure our efforts don't bring heat down on others.

Just excited and wanted to share the excitement

 

[dogpound]

congrats on gettin your first detector, its a very addicting hobby as you already found out. sounds like you've already done some good research on places to hunt so good finds should be on your way. do a air or bench test with some different coins and even some trash items and get used to the sounds and what your detector is telling you, practice, practice,practice and before ya know it it'll be second nature what the detector is tellin ya. good luck and happy hunting

 

[heepiepow]

congrats on gettin your first detector, its a very addicting hobby as you already found out. sounds like you've already done some good research on places to hunt so good finds should be on your way. do a air or bench test with some different coins and even some trash items and get used to the sounds and what your detector is telling you, practice, practice,practice and before ya know it it'll be second nature what the detector is tellin ya. good luck and happy hunting

Thanks!

I'm going to set up an air test in my apartment. What I don't have though is any gold pieces. From here it seems though gold beeps or reckons as nickels do? On my initial outings I'm going to dig everything, but I also don't want to miss out on giant billionaire gold pieces.

Without a gold sample to put in the air test, is there other advice for being sure to not cancel it out with discrimination? I don't mind digging everything at all. But is the slim chance of gold finds not worth the extra time spent picking through whatever is also in the gold range?

I think we have a lot of "virgin" coin spots around here so we'll surely practice and "hopefully" figure out what signals indicate what. Don't think we've found any silver yet. But if I find a 1998 penny I'll be thrilled! Thanks for the reply

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Congrats on jumping in there and getting a detector Now just remember these three words!!!

Location
Location
Location​

HH BS

 

[Dano Sverige]

Congrats on the new detector. Try using ring pulls (pull tabs to you),they sound the same as gold mostly and you'll be digging a lot more of them probably!lol.
Good luck.

 

[heepiepow]

Congrats on the new detector. Try using ring pulls (pull tabs to you),they sound the same as gold mostly and you'll be digging a lot more of them probably!lol.
Good luck.

Thanks! Since your post I've found two kinds of pulltabs, so will add them to the other airtests to figure out the sounds or whatever.

Hey, you're that surly Brit who disparaged Americans and Scotsmen and bragged on his UK finds! Hehe that was a fun thread; hope you have a great detecting season!

Congrats on jumping in there and getting a detector Now just remember these three words!!!

Location
Location
Location
HH BS

Thanks! My mom and I have been researching a ton, locating old places and places humans were most likely to drop giant purses of gold, so hopefully we'll gain an advantage from that.

I'm in pretty lousy physical shape though, so even if I go out a whole day and find absolutely nothing, the detector will have been worth it since I'll have gotten healthier.

Good luck/good skill to your searches!

 

[dogpound]

check out the library or historical society for old maps, talk to some "older" locals and ask where the swimmin holes, fair grounds, old schools, picnic groves, parks, old trails ....etc. used to be. also don't forget to ask friends or family members that have old properties if you can hunt their houses. most of all don't get discouraged if your not finding gold coins, just enjoy getting out and spending quality time sharing a great hobby with your mom. happy hunting and good luck

 

[Dano Sverige]

Lol...surly Brit? Yeah i guess that's one word some may use about me,One of the polite ones!
I couldn't have been bragging about my UK finds though as i didn't take up detecting until i moved here to Sweden.I've never detected in the UK. I was probably going on about good UK finds..but not mine. I think you're referring to the cache of American gold dollars found in the UK?...Yeah, that thread got taken way out of proportion and all out war commenced. I tend to have that effect sometimes!

Best of luck when you get out there mate.

 

[Nevada Coyote]

I have a Bounty Hunter detector too, as well as a Whites Gold Master V/sat, and an older Gold bug. It doesn't matter what detector you have as long as you enjoy getting out and detecting. I fine I like the Bounty Hunter because of it's simplicity. I don't care which detector I use as long as I find something. Haven't found the fifty pound nugget yet, but I haven't quit looking.
Keep hunting and getting better. Practice, practice, practice, as well as location. I'm still finding stuff in my driveway.
Nevada Coyote

 

[ThTx]

As a Garrett dealer, I am naturally prejudiced. But, any detector is usually good if you spend the time to learn the machine. Congratulations on your purchase and "Happy Hunting!"

 

[Woodland Detectors]

This is what we live for.
Young ones excited and wanting to learn the hobby.

Call us if you need anything partner.

 

[mts]

I bought a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV as my first machine and I have to say that I think it is about the best detector you can get for the money. The dual tones makes determining what is under the ground much easier. Be sure to practice, practice, practice.

As a side note, the BH Tracker IV is great if you ever get into coin roll hunting for copper pennies. If you put the discrimination all the way up it will make a high tone for copper pennies and a low tone for zinc ones. It sure beats date checking or weighing them. I can sort pennies as fast as I can wave them across the coil.

Congrats and happy hunting!

 

[heepiepow]

This is what we live for.
Young ones excited and wanting to learn the hobby.

Call us if you need anything partner.

Thanks! And thanks for all the great advice and encouragement from everyone. Also, I'll take "young one" as a complement since I'm 38 lol! Just took a long time for me and/or my mom to afford (or rather get around to buying) a detector.

I've had it for three days, the first two full days so far. The first day I found 16 coins, 2 bullets, and 3 tokens. And a TON of ring pulls and larger bottle tops! One thing I didn't find was nails and other iron, the detector does a great job ignoring them!

My second day was the big one as I learned the signals and settings better, plus I hit three parks. Found 92 pennies, 2 nickels, 9 dimes, 3 quarters, one Candian penny, One BRITISH penny (!!), one "Elizabeth Seton Touched Relic" with a bit of cloth she touched (not worth much, and I wish I could return it to who lost it since it's very cool!"

Then today I only spent a couple hours but found 10 coins, and a RING! Looks like brass/copper and I haven't cleaned it much. Then I handed over to my mom (we went half-and-half on price so it's her turn now!) I couldn't do much more soon anyway as my thighs and legs are SORE!

Here's a picture of all my finds. Nothing older than about 1967 yet, maybe the detector doesn't go deep enough where I searched, or others had been through. But WOW! I'm really pleased with the detector! One of my favorites is the bright red penny at the top, it was under an old pine tree so I guess the soil got full of red stuff!

One question--I had to give up searching underneath some benches and near playground equipment due to the big metal there making the sound go crazy. Is there any solution to this?

 

[dogpound]

congrats, sounds like your were very busy. keep up with the practice and you'll really become one with the machine and know just what its telling you. as for a solution to getting closer to playground equipment and around and under trees.....a small 4 or 5 inch sniper coil if your in a park with loads of trash a small sniper coil will also help seperate the targets. just keep doing research and hitting old property and the silver will come. take your time while swingin the detector and practice often. good luck and happy hunting

 

[batcap]

This is what we live for.
Young ones excited and wanting to learn the hobby.

Call us if you need anything partner.

One question--I had to give up searching underneath some benches and near playground equipment due to the big metal there making the sound go crazy. Is there any solution to this?

Your Tracker sounds like a great first detector! Without spending any more money, what I would do when searching under benches or around playground equipment is to turn down the sensitivity. Coins aren't likely to be buried deeply there, so if you can reduce the sens to the point where the bench seat doesn't give you trouble you should be able to work from there. This will help somewhat around the playground equipment too. Many detector companies make a smaller coil that lets you get closer (sideways) to metal without causing a problem. I don't know if BH does.
Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm!

 

[heepiepow]

Thanks for the tips! I think there is a smaller coil for the BH, will hopefully be able to afford that next month. I'll also try the sensitivity trick!

I'm also going to buy all new coin albums, to try to fill them up with only dug coins! (well, maybe not Morgan Dollar albums, but more recent! )