Detecting for a living

[lost items recovery]

Just curious!! Any one out there able to survive strickly using metal detecting as there only source of income?

 

[OBN]

I think you could, in the right location.

I hope to be able to test it out one day.

Me too, like starting this summer once retired...Fulltime Pirate. Only problem is the overhead expenses, Gas, for the Boat and vehicles.

 

[SusanMN]

Assuming you had no other income, it would take about 7 or 8 heavy men's gold rings or a whole bunch of ladies to get enough gold to support yourself through a single month. You might be able to do that some months but every month I think would not be likely. Of course you could get extremely lucky and find a whopper, but resale on rings is pretty low. So unless you can live on the beach you might need some other income.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Here's a true story: Back when gold went to all-time-highs the first time, in about 1980 or '81, was *just* about the same time that some enterprising guys, in the sierra nevada foothills here in CA, were starting to discover that detector technology was just-then become refined/sensitive enough, that detectors could be made to find individual nuggets. There were no "specialty" nugget machines then, as there is now. They could only use their certain coin machines, in all-metal mode, and ..... find individual nuggets (hard to comprehend now, with the the specialty machines that have developed since those days!!). Anyhow, this one guy I knew, began to realize, that he was actually making MORE on his Saturday hunts in the tailings piles, than he was at his Monday to Friday job! (when broken down to an hour-by-hour math). So he made the decision that he could make more by metal detecting, than by working! So he quit his job (or took a long leave of absence, or whatever), and started md'ing 5 days per week. Here was what happened:

The minute he started doing this, it utterly sapped the joy out of it. Because now, instead of doing it for fun, there was a "quota" he had to meet each day It sapped the fun right out of it. Eventually, gold dropped back then, as we all know, so eventually he had to get back to a regular job anyhow. But it was an eye-opener to him, that even if the conditions existed for someone to make a living at it, it ends up being not all it's cracked up to be.

 

[CASPER-2]

Just for kicks, let's explore this, might be fun.

I would think it would have to be approached as more of a lifestyle, say a single guy, and first you have to figure out how to support the lifestyle before you can start detecting for a living. For debate, let's say it takes at least a very minimum of $1500.00 a month just to survive. That's $18'000.00 a year just to support a very limited lifestyle. Another $5000.00 tucked away for emergencies each year. Basically this would be right at $23'000.00 a year. Just to show a profit you'd have to do around $2000.00 a month, or say, $450.00 a week. But you would have to live very, very cheaply, and travel would be severely limited.

if you were single - had no ties
bought a small camper/rv - one that gets more than 5 mpg
or possibly a conversion van - plenty of beaches have showers
if you eat cheaply - when Im on a trip by myself - I dont eat breakfast
a small sandwhich for lunch - lot of times I will buy some rolls - some turkey and some cheese
and im all set - at times i'll buy a large pizza and eat it cold the rest of the week - lot of places will give you a cup of ice and water for free or like 10c
so I could easily eat for like $50 a week or less
paying for gas and meters you'd have to do with change found
you have to hope for some silver or gold to make things easy - but you find a good size wedding band
youre looking at maybe $250 - which could give you gas and food for close to a month
I know long before we had forums - 2 guys traveled from Maine down the coast on their machines
if they did not get silver or gold - they slept in their vehicle
they got gold and they would sell and get a cheap room and shower and what not
they got by - with 2 finding change on NJ beaches and Va. to help pay for gas
getting around $5-6 a piece - when gas was cheaper too
this was I think like 30 days too - they wanted to see if they could do it

hey if you got a small rv or conversion van - you could always hook up with TH'ers
from this forum and asked to park over night and maybe use their facilities and maybe grab a meal
and easily make it from the north to the south - would make a good video - or TV show

 

[tnt-k9]

Ultimately it boils down to where you are located and what financial responsibilities you have. I could actually do it if my wife left me and I met a girl that had some money.

 

[bill from lachine]

Folks,

Interesting thread....there's a chap on the Canadian forum that nugget shoots way up in northern BC + Alaska....lives in and RV and maybe does a few odd jobs on the side.....kind of a bohemian lifestyle and single...

But like others have said it would become a job and take the fun away.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[bigscoop]

Travel is a BIG killer these days, the converted van I had got about 20 - 22mpg highway and I lived at least an hour drive to the closet beach. If you could locate very close to long expanses of extremely heavily used beach that weren't seasonal you might be able to stay about water, but once you have to start traveling any distance at all it would really start eating away at your capital. I live just a stone's throw from the beach, drive a vehicle that gets 20mpg, but it's still $5.00 a day there and back. Doesn't sound like much, but multiply that by say, 300, $1500.00 a year. Toss in vehicle insurance, tags, upkeep, etc., there's $3000.00 a year just in the vehicle. Just down the road from me is a fishcamp, about $500.00 a month gets you a spot with electric & showers, and that's pretty darn cheap, but it's still another $6000.00 a year. So in just these two areas, before you ever went on your first hunt, you have already committed to to $9000.00 a year in expenses. And you still have to eat, take care of your health, would probably need a cell phone, etc. Internet? By the time it's all said and done, maybe for $20,000.00 a year, so $1600 to $1700 a month minimum. Would be fun to try it for a year.

 

[Can Slaw]

10-20 years ago it was possible in the US, but with the number of hunters in the water now, not likely.

 

[bigscoop]

10-20 years ago it was possible in the US, but with the number of hunters in the water now, not likely.

True, and you bring up another good point, "precious metal prices". The price of gold helps makes it easier to entertain the notion today, but that price could start steadily dropping at any time. Not quite so attractive a notion at say, $1000 or $800 an ounce.

 

[Treasure finder]

We might all be detecting for a living if this economy doesn't improve. By then we could have deflation and a nickel would
buy a cup of coffee..
Rich

 

[bigscoop]

We might all be detecting for a living if this economy doesn't improve. By then we could have deflation and a nickel would
buy a cup of coffee..
Rich

Unfortunately, deflation isn't going to impact a lot of things at near the same rate, not in today's world. Precious metal prices are supported by speculation, business accounting and year-end profit margins aren't. Not all that long ago I was selling my scrap gold for around $300 - $400 an ounce, but gas was still near $1.50 a gallon. Just as everything hasn't increased at the same rate of gold, nor will it decline at the same rate.

 

[hamiddetecting]

I had always been told the treasure in under Sand :