Bummed

becky21b · Jan 10, 2011

Went to two different places 2 hours each, only to come home with a single 1977 Penny.. :-[

I thought both places would be promising, but I don't know, I dug up a lot of nails and pull tabs. I'm getting really Frustrated with all the garbage. The one place that I went to used to be a 1900's Polo Ground/club house (the club house is still there but its condemned and fenced off), where all the rich people went back in the day. Thought for sure I would get something, but no.... Ill have to fiddle with my detector and get it tuned in better I guess... The crappy thing about that place its a 15 min walk up hill.. lol so it sucks cuz your tired by the time you get up there. Anyway thanks for hearing me rant :'(

bula · Jan 10, 2011

There is something there all you have to do is swing your coil over it. It sounds like a very good site & I am sure that once you get your machine tuned in u will be finding the good sutff.

jrc79inNC · Jan 10, 2011

I understand the frustration. I try to go out just for the sake of enjoyment. Most of what I find is also rusty nails, to the point I am convinced I should change my user name here to Rusty Nail King. I would suggest after you get a place cleaned out of pull tabs and nails to come back and see if your luck by chance changes. Also another thing I do is tinker with the detector some, adjust the sensitivity, discrimination, use different coils, etc. Its surprising what results you may get with that as well. :icon_thumleft:

I am dying to know if your luck changes...
Happy Hunting.

steelheadwill · Jan 10, 2011

we all have our days :thumbsup:

Keep the faith & don't let it get to ya! :icon_sunny:

i'm glad your cent was pre '82, those are worth more than 2 cents scrap value :hello2:

look your area up on this site for some old maps, try to compare what is public land now & find those old dwellings. it works, i've found a few with these.
http://historical.mytopo.com
also try a search for 'old maps' with whatever city you want, there are sites that sell antique maps & you can often enlarge their images enough to get some ideas.
HH :icon_thumright:

cntrydncr1 · Jan 10, 2011

the more you get to know your machine the better you will do. You might go to the same spot 10 times and one time find something fantastic and the rest of the time dig trash. be patient!! good luck.

flip flop · Jan 10, 2011

Thanks Steelhead!!!
I've been looking for that site.

Keep the faith Becky.

artzstuff1 · Jan 10, 2011

Hang in there becky it will get better!!! I promise,,,!!!! :wink:

arthur

Steve in PA · Jan 10, 2011

Becky, the Polo grounds sound like an excellent place to hunt, but I'm sure they were probably hit hard before you went there. That means all the easy pickings have been picked, and you will have to work harder for whats left. However, if the pulltabs are still in the ground, chances are there are other items as well such as nickels and small gold rings! You sound like you may be a beginner. It might help if you can team up with an experienced hunter who can help you get down the learning curve faster.

Woodland Detectors · Jan 10, 2011

Instead of getting bummed think of it like this; every time you dig a pull tab or foil, smile, and say to yourself, "this makes me feel good to do a service project and pick this trash up"

Seriously though, when you go into this hobby with an attitude of having to find treasure vs. just enjoying your day and checking out the cool scenery and not getting frustrated, that you find good stuff. Don't knock my advice until you try it ok?

It's when your calmer, your more focused you pay attention to slight details. For instance, the silver coins beneath your coil, just deep enough that send those "iffy" signals through your phones that normally you would have passed up out of frustration or moving too fast. Those things makes all the difference in the World in this hobby. My best finds were just audible blips or "iffy" high pings swinging very, very slowly. Be patient and keep digging, you'll have a banner some day.

Woodland Detectors · Jan 10, 2011

Oh yeah, and this statement,

"Crappy thing about that place its a 15 min walk up hill."

You should see what me and my digging partners (Billie goats) climb, sometimes finding nothing. Right fellas

OH, and the blood from the briers..... :laughing9:

All in a days fun

CMDiamonddawg · Jan 10, 2011

lol so it sucks cuz your tired by the time you get up there. Anyway thanks for hearing me rant :'(

what is this namby pamby land

$:-\$

There is NO cryin' in metal detecting girl ::)

now toughen up and give it your best shot ... :hello:

becky21b · Jan 10, 2011

Thanks everyone for the nice replies. at the Polo grounds I mainly found just nails. only one pull tab, I did find a narrow tubular piece that looks like it could be silver its got decorative lines on it, its only about 2.5 inches long and 1/2 centimeter around hollow in the middle. Ill try and post a pic that was found at the Polo Grounds. Before it was a polo ground it was a golf course.

I did mention to myself (aloud cuz no one else was around :laughing7:

) several times today, "I'm cleaning the park...." oh well I still enjoy doing it, just sick of the nails.

At the other park I found a lot of the old style pull tabs.

ANTIQUARIAN · Jan 10, 2011

I know exactly how you feel Becky. I've only been out twice since I got my detector back at the end of November. Of course here we have a foot of snow and the daytime temperature is around -11C or 19F. I've dug probably in the range of 50 holes so far and my arms really getting tired! I've found a grand total of $.32 :laughing7:

so far, but I've pulled a ton of garbage out of our local beach.

I want to start hitting kids playground area's and local sports fields because a lot of people on Tnet seem to have had good success in those venues. :icon_thumright:

Keep the faith that one day you'll find something really cool and you'll be hooked all over again.

Happy Hunting! :hello:

Dave

rebeljim52 · Jan 10, 2011

Hang in there girl i don't have the best places to hunt
where i live and i find 99% trash to 1% treasure but i
still love it. As long as the detector beeps means it working.

Damon64 · Jan 10, 2011

Hey, just think...if you hold onto that '77 penny for a hundred years, it might be worth something!!!

clovis97 · Jan 10, 2011

becky21b said:
Went to two different places 2 hours each, only to come home with a single 1977 Penny.. I thought both places would be promising, but I don't know, I dug up a lot of nails and pull tabs. I'm getting really Frustrated with all the garbage. The one place that I went to used to be a 1900's Polo Ground/club house (the club house is still there but its condemned and fenced off), where all the rich people went back in the day. Thought for sure I would get something, but no.... Ill have to fiddle with my detector and get it tuned in better I guess... The crappy thing about that place its a 15 min walk up hill.. lol so it sucks cuz your tired by the time you get up there. Anyway thanks for hearing me rant

I'm glad that you posted this.

I've been thinking about buy a MD, and you've given me some sobering news. There is a great place, in my opinion, to hunt close to me. My older and wiser friend has tried to tell me "You'll dig 4 million nails before you find anything cool."

This news worries me a bit because he used to work at that spot, and supervised the removal of the buildings that stood there. "I'm telling ya, that place is covered in a layer of nails" he says, "and everyone just threw them on the ground."

I do need a cold shower I think. I am chomping at the bit to get a MD. Even if and when I do, it'll have to be a low end machine...

Thanks for reminding me that MDing isn't all banner type finds!

Roland58 · Jan 11, 2011

You shouldn't be bummed, at least you didn't get skunked! I noticed you are in Santa Cruz......there has GOT to be some great parks, old parks, in that area......and the beaches. I would suggest you go somewhere that there is a frequent abundance of people and begin detecting some clad and whatever treasures might pop up with it. What detector are you using? I'm sure there are a LOT of folks on here that would be happy to give you some preliminary settings that would improve your chances of hitting something more worthwhile than rusty nails and poptops. Don't forget to dig those penny signals, most of the silver rings I have uncovered have been in the penny range or high pull tab. One little tidbit of advice, don't go on a hunt expecting to find something, just go for the fun and the 'somethings' will show up!!

Joe Hoo? · Jan 11, 2011

hang in there becky, i would like to suggest something i have been doing lately and thats draggin a nice size magnet around first to cut down on anything surficial... second you need to be patient i know it gets tiring diggin up junk but its all a learning process.. HH :headbang:

FarmerChick · Jan 11, 2011

Bummed? Oh, I know it WELL haha

hang in there is the best anyone can say cause it could be the next swing where you find a great object or coin! I am still new to detecting and scrap metal and pulltabs is all I seem to find lol but I do know I will hit some great stuff, just takes time. the adventure is part of the fun. just hunting is fun for me, thank goodness, so even if all I find is scrap, eh, I hang in there and can't wait for another hunt.

yea you need to understand your detector. I am learning to listen to mine better each hunt. Like anything, time and practice will help ya.

good luck to both of us! :laughing9:

2cmorau · Jan 11, 2011

hey Becky
I find pulltabs and foil all the time but that just gets me all worked up knowing that the next time i dig, it could be a ring.
I might suggest doing a bench test with your detector, gather a bunch of stuff, like a pulltab, nail, rings, bottle cap, and the all important Nickel
take a silver ring or a gold ring pass it over the loop and see or hear the sound ( don't know what MD you have ) then turn the ring on edge and pass it over the loop and notice the diff
do the same for the nickel and other items, 60% of gold rings are found in the nickel range
pass your targets close to the loop and as far away from the loop

HH
Frank