Am I doing anything wrong?

[Hunter101]

So I started MDing about a month ago. I've done all my research. I've located the oldest parks, churches, schools, homes, etc., in the city. I go out for two hours every single day but all I find is a bunch of trash. By bunch I mean the signal on my machine bounces like crazy no matter where I am at on the property. So far in the last month, all I have found is 5$ in zinc pennies and new dimes, push pins, safety pins, pull tabs, 22 bullets, etc. and to be honest, I don't think anyone has ever MD in my area ever. what else can I do to get something special? Any tips? I use the Garrett ace 350 with stock coil and the pro pointer at.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

So your telling me it will reach the 18th C layers?

Yup, it will. I've found quite a few coins, buttons and shoe buckles from the 1700's with my Ace 250. Even found a complete colonial shoe buckle 10 inches down (see my avatar). And almost all were found on public land at "hunted out" spots...

 

[TheGreatNorth]

The one tip that helped me when I started was to always dig, dig, dig. I've pulled more keepers from "iffy" signals than anything else. I remember my first week out, my buddy had an Ace250 w/a sniper coil and he beat me any my ATPRO 10 to 1. But he dug all the iffy signals. These guys on here know their stuff. Listen and learn! Good luck and Happy Hunting!!!

 

[CRUSADER]

The one tip that helped me when I started was to always dig, dig, dig. I've pulled more keepers from "iffy" signals than anything else. I remember my first week out, my buddy had an Ace250 w/a sniper coil and he beat me any my ATPRO 10 to 1. But he dug all the iffy signals. These guys on here know their stuff. Listen and learn! Good luck and Happy Hunting!!!

I second that, many of my best finds were iffy signals

 

[Perses]

I am not sure if anyone here mentioned this because I am terrible when it comes to reading the entire thread, but you mentioned that you are in the city. It could be that your machine is going nuts because of all the Electro-Magnetic Interference. Power lines above you, under ground, wifi, cellphones, etc. can really mess with your machine. Does the machine jump around and whatnot the moment you turn it on, whether you are swinging or not? If so, then its the EMF. If thats not the case then it really is all the trash in the ground, to get around that you could lower your sensitivity, get a smaller coil or both. Good luck!

 

[releventchair]

My 350 in long used public areas does make near constant noise.
The amount of targets is amazing.
Areas long hunted by other detectorist's still have many targets and on occasion I recover a nice one.
Depends what you are after...
By removing the majority of targets in a small area you can "reach" targets below them.
There are public places I don't dig all targets because it would involve removing the entire upper layer of soil for several inches!
So each visit I focus on an very small area and remove a dozen or so targets.
Over time with less targets I can then focus on the deeper targets more accurately.
Fresh items on top can be the hardest to locate accurately when such sites are revisited sometimes....
Some old ones that are deep whisper more than ring out...a mellow but clear tone.
Have recovered a silver under nails others have been passing for years for one example..
When discriminating iron out with the 350 a brief tone still results and icon is enhanced. When icon clears you're detecting again.
Lots and lots of iron in some places making it tough to not have a constant tone.
If sensitivity is cranked up in a high target numbers area you will have constant tones.
The 350 will pick up objects so tiny they can be hard to locate even in hand using a pinpointer.
Layers of what was deposited in them vary. Modern ones can be a challenge, but still worth it.
Old sites not polluted with modern trash are a great switch ,but a pile of nails scattered or similar items relates to hunting a trashy area anywhere almost.

 

[releventchair]

So your telling me it will reach the 18th C layers?

Site and conditions will determine range.
Too ,the deepest range, and by having tones rather than v.d.i.numbers there is almost a different language in the difference though slight, in those tones.
One eighteen hundred small silver coin was recovered at around eleven inches.
My state was not populated much until the mid eighteen hundreds.
Tougher to locate deepest range targets if anything else is around.
A moist soil vs dry factors ,as well as composition.
On average ,for myself in local hard packed clay mixed sodded areas, several inches is a basement level of my ability if very patient with a tight wiggle repeated after locating a signal. Often a complete different idea than when first struck by swinging.
Beyond that if locating targets even possible I.D. is only a guess. Silver still has a distinction, though most times quite faint.

 

[tomhighland]

Be patient, go slow. After a while you will recognize signals for what they are. Your 350 is fine for the time periods relating to your state. You will eventually find things that are more likely in your area than in other parts of the country. When you do find silver coins, and you will! Don't be surprised if you get lucky and pull some CC mint marks. If you can find some farmland or ranch areas you could really score. They brought cattle to specific sites for branding in the spring. Wherever folks worked is usually good in rural areas. Keep at it and good luck.

 

[neodetectorist]

FreeBird nailed it basically.
Know your machine and know your tones.
I started out slow as of 5/2016 finding trash and such. I ended the year pretty good and am already starting 2016 great. 2 silver rings so far in 2016. Ended 2015 with 4 silver rings, an 1892 Barber Half, just about 1/2 dozen silver coins $130.00 in CLAD and gallons of trash.
I cant really hang with the colonial diggers because my town was an industrious town built on the main river in early 1800s and did not expand outwards geographically until early 1900s so at best I will find 1900 silvers and jewelry but I am happy with that for now.
Hang in there and keep at it.
Good Luck

 

[basque-man]

look for some youtube videos about your machine......go slow.......and have patients!!! then one day it will all just CLICK!!!! Or beep

 

[david680]

Keep digging, dig the trash, and sooner or later your making the kind of finds you're looking for. Funny how once you make that first find, they start getting easier. Dig the iffy signals and don't pay too much attention to VDI except to help you learn. Tones are better than numbers.

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Don't know if the OP is reading these replies, but here's a couple more cents worth.

Believe me everyone digs trash, I will typically fill my pouch twice with absolute trash items in a hunt.
Also this is funny, after one month you have done "all the research" ... really ? After 9 years I feel there is still more to learn about my area. Real research is big work, and is probably more time consuming than the swinging part.

This hobby does take LOTS of patience, you may have to dig 10,000 holes to make a BIG find, maybe 100,000 holes. Remember it is "hunting, not gathering"

Good luck out there.

 

[Hunter101]

Update: So I read all of your posts and I took notes. I have a couple of things I want to try. One thing I did do today was sit on a picnic bench in one of the older parks in town. I then for an hour watched people come and go. Later in the day, I went to the spots I saw people congregating most of the time. I then started MDing. I did it by looking ahead. Not at the ground and not at the machine. I paid attention to the sounds of the machine and tried to guess what the item was. I had moderate success. I then detected normally and targeted the good signals where this was a heavy trash site. This worked out for me and i had a much higher clad to trash ratio than previous.

One thing I also want to do is talk to an older gentleman in my neighborhood. He owns a small museum in town and has contacts with all sorts of locals who have been around for a long while.

Thanks all for the responses. They have boosted my confidence a bit and given me plenty of ideas.

 

[relic nut]

Update: So I read all of your posts and I took notes. I have a couple of things I want to try. One thing I did do today was sit on a picnic bench in one of the older parks in town. I then for an hour watched people come and go. Later in the day, I went to the spots I saw people congregating most of the time. I then started MDing. I did it by looking ahead. Not at the ground and not at the machine. I paid attention to the sounds of the machine and tried to guess what the item was. I had moderate success. I then detected normally and targeted the good signals where this was a heavy trash site. This worked out for me and i had a much higher clad to trash ratio than previous.

One thing I also want to do is talk to an older gentleman in my neighborhood. He owns a small museum in town and has contacts with all sorts of locals who have been around for a long while.

Thanks all for the responses. They have boosted my confidence a bit and given me plenty of ideas.

And now it begins!!![emoji109]

HH, Relic Nut

 

[pencil5757]

Your getting it and as for research it never stops I find new spots all the time for sure get with the older gentleman at the museum! l got with our old town museum and I'm still using the information I got there year's ago, and if I covers your area use the Historic Aerials web site it's Awesome!!<div>Good Luck</div>