Do You Ever Pass Up Good Signals?

jaypop06 · Jun 9, 2014

I'm new to detecting (been doing it for about two years) and I gotta say, it's a little harder than it looks starting out. When you first get your detector you think every single beep or bell tone is going to be an 1800's coin or a 24K diamond ring. You have no idea how much trash in under the ground and how much of that trash you will dig and haul away. I'm pretty sure you could find a pull tab or a soda/beer can on the surface of the moon, the damn things are everywhere. Anyway, I was wondering if any of you EXPERIENCED metal detectorist's pass up what sounds like good signals because it sounds too much like the other trash you have been digging all day.

If I pinpoint a target and it shows it to be REALLY big, I usually don't even bother because by this point I'm tired of digging tin cans and pieces of GOD knows what. By doing this, am I passing up good targets thinking they are trash? I mean will good targets give off huge halo's like a tin can while pinpointing or should I keep doing what I'm doing.

To date, I haven't found a whole lot to be honest and I run a pretty decent detector, Garrett ACE 350. I know some on here frown upon the ACE series, but I have read tons of positive things about them which is what led to my decision to purchase it. Anyhow, is it something I'm doing wrong? Am I leaving good targets in the ground thinking they are trash just because I "think" the pinpoint feature on the detector indicates it's trash?

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, Thank's in advance.....

Tom_in_CA · Jun 9, 2014

I cherry-pick ALL THE TIME, depending on the type site I'm at. Some sites are treated in a relic mindset (ie.: dig all except iron), while other sites need a little selectiveness, based on sounds. Just depends.

watercolor · Jun 9, 2014

Whenever I get to a new site I dig most ALL the targets. . . just to confirm the "ground truth" of what I may be digging.

It paid off last spring at an early 1950's property. After digging 2 aluminum can lids in a 5-foot area, the third
"can lid" sounding target turned out to be a 1922 silver Peace dollar. . . so, that will end the lesson for today.

You just never know.

Happy hunting!

str8flexed · Jun 9, 2014

I used to have an ACE250 and found myself getting frustrated at the same noises it would produce for just about everything. I tried the AT PRO and loved it. Being able to hear different tones and having iron audio has made all the difference in the world for me. I am digging a lot, but I am also getting pretty decent at telling what is trash, and what isn't, therefore making my time more productive. Recover time with the AT PRO seems to be quicker too which helps out. I dig good signals, and yes, a lot is trash, but at least I'm not digging trashy signals and can hear the difference now, whereas I couldn't with the ACE series. They work for some, but for me the ACE series almost got me out of the hobby as quick as I got into it.

Pointman · Jun 9, 2014

I've found a lot of silver coins that were real jumpy on the sound and signals. Earlier in the year I passed a 14k ring thinking it was trash and then went back and found it.

In an area, say 50 X 50', I may spend the first 1-2 hours picking the obvious signals and then digging the more sketchy ones the next couple of hours. I always prioritize the sounds above readings. Usually after even cherry picking a spot and then griding it really well, I will go back some time later and occasionally find something that I missed.

If I get permission and the landowner is really on the fence about letting me hunt, then I will cherry pick the good areas first (walkways, cloth lines around the bushes and edges of the house) just in case I get asked to leave. I can only recall being asked to leave twice on a hunt.

On my CTX, I will also switch between programs to make sure that I get everything. One program that I run on seems to get the deeper signals and the second seems to pick out the more shallow signals that the first program seems to miss. I run the Deus against the spots also that I miss with the CTX, but I found that one or the other detector will find 95% or more of all the coins, although the Deus is definitely faster in trash.

Hot zone · Jun 9, 2014

I will dig pull tabs until I decide there are too many in the area... I will dig some iron to get an Idea of what kind of junk it is: car parts, barn items, tools etc...if I find a bunch of aluminum can slaw, I will dig it for awhile... I find that if I dig enough of something on a particular day, I can tell the subtle difference and ignore it... I use a metal probe to feel big sounds to see if it is a big actual target... An aluminum can can be punctured or gives when you push down on the probe... But if the digging is easy, just dig em...

Indianametal · Jun 9, 2014

I have dug alot with the 250 haven't used the 350 but am guessing its close to the same. When cherry picking the good signals, don't raise the sensitivity too high(3-4 bars) or if you run it higher decrease it before you pinpoint and/or dig. With my 250 a half dollar will pinpoint fairly large however it still shows the sharp edge and doesn't drag out the signal. On jumpy signals if I am cherry picking i don't dig unless it doesn't jump more than 2 spots either way. With the exception of going dime to foil. I have had two thin barber dimes do that. Other than that don't forget you can't dig it if it isn't there so research is always good

CladGrabber · Jun 9, 2014

Like others have said it depends on the site which strategy to use.
One thing we all seem to agree on is cherry pick first and then if you have the opportunity to go back again experiment with the sketchy signals.
A good tip to use with the 350 is if it comes up a good signal step around to the side 90 degrees and scan it, if it shows up trash from the side then "most" of the time it is trash.
The best trick to sniff out a large target is to raise the coil off the ground, if its still hitting a foot off the ground chances are it's a large hunk of iron or soda can.

GatorBoy · Jun 9, 2014

You got some real good info and advice there.
There's a lot to be said for the area you're hunting knowing the area makes a big difference in how I treat it.
Keep in mind large targets can mask smaller ones especially iron I'd like to clean out an area often times after doing that you will hear targets you couldn't before and sometimes what seems like big iron junk turns out to be something pretty nice

Dave Rishar · Jun 9, 2014

I suppose that it depends on the machine to a degree. I don't want to turn this into a "this brand vs. that brand" goat-rope, but one of the things that I like about the Deus is that with the settings that I use, in the areas that I typically use it, I rarely find a signal that I'd consider "good" that is trash...bottlecaps notwithstanding, of course, but even in this case I generally know...I just can't be sure, so I keep digging them up anyway. The trash is nearly always iffy to a degree - sometimes a little iffy, sometimes extremely iffy. I know that it's probably all trash, but my fear of passing up good low conductors keeps me digging them. Occasionally it pays off. I don't know what my style of hunting is called, but I'm of the opinion that I don't want to worry about an iffy target later. I like to be able to leave a site and know, with a high degree of certainty, that if there was anything worth digging there that I and my machine could detect, I detected it and dug it.

Were there treasures hiding under some of those soda cans, foil balls, and nail clusters that I walked past? There might have been. I'm an advocate for digging trash to find the gold, but even I have my limits. Some of these parks around here have truly astonishing amounts of trash. In those cases, if any signals sneak through my notches, they need to be repeatable AND sound good AND look halfway decent on the X-Y screen, or I simply don't dig them. I'm working down in the range that a lot of people ignore entirely, but I suppose that it's still cherry picking to a degree...but then again, by my definition, these aren't good signals either.

Let me back up: in a public space, I dig everything that sounds good - even zincolns, but I call them as zincolns to keep myself honest. On a permission site, I might do as Pointman said. (They can keep their effing zincolns. I'm sick of the things.) Really what it boils down to is that I don't like walking over the same ground twice as it's generally an inefficient use of my time, so I prefer to pound the hell out of it the first time and not worry about going back again.

Dave Rishar · Jun 9, 2014

Another thing just occurred to me regarding permission sites where the land owner is not a friend or acquaintance of some sort: when you've scored that permission, how long is it good for? Are you allowed to come back? Are you required to announce your presence if you come back? Do you need to ask permission again?

On a permission site, I'd rather not come back if I can help it. One hunt is not a problem, but if I knock on that door again, I'm now imposing on the land owner a bit. I'm becoming a nuisance. The city lots in town here can easily be thoroughly done in a day, even with a slow machine. My preference would be to go in, focus on the likely hot spots (as Pointman indicated), then shift over to the rest, and then leave. I don't want to ask for permission a second time.

With a bigger site and a long term or indefinite permission, things would probably change for me. I still don't like going over an area multiple times though.

RobRieman · Jun 10, 2014

I cherry pick first to get the good targets before you guys do.

Then I will go back to sites and hit areas with the most descent finds first and dig tab/gold targets if the area has the ability to house dropped jewelry and such. I usually only dig garbage signals when I run out of places to go. I can honestly say out of all the garbage I've dug I could have done without it for sure.

Msbeepbeep · Jun 10, 2014

I will dig questionably targets when I first get on a site then not so much later as I get tired. But if it bounces around in the good range I will dig it.

DDancer · Jun 10, 2014

As others are saying, It depends on the site. I know I've walked away from, and occasionally returned too, good targets. I want to be as productive as possible while I hunt however I desire a good "read" on the sites I hunt. This I feel allows me to maximize my time and energy. I don't consider it cherry picking per se' just researching the site.
I know I've said it in other threads but it bears repeating~ I look for pennies and pay attention to trash as I hunt. Pennies are, funny enough in "hunted out" places, often overlooked and trash can tell you to slow down in areas that normally frustrate others. Other factors like area research, target depths *both machine indicated and actual depth*, VDI's or other readings, soil types also affect my decision to dig or not to dig.
Sounds complicated but it really is not

Now if the area "reads" as something to follow up on to me I will grid and dig like a honey badger (site conditions permitting~ etiquette).

I'm pretty sure a lot of people do the same thing in different ways. That's why no site is ever really "Hunted Out" though picking may be slim. Know your machine, know your site and if you have a buddy who walks away from good signals that are beneath them to dig *as one of our members does

* dig there. Hehh hehh. Keep swinging and it will come.

Sandman · Jun 10, 2014

Lots of good advice from others here. Since we, at least myself do this for fun I will dig when I feel like it while hunting land. I only use a probe and no pinpointer as it's just something else to detract from the fun. My land detectors pinpoint to a dime sized target so if the coin is near the top couple inches I will usually touch it with the probe right away. If it is deep and I am in a park or lawn, I leave it as I don't usually dig plugs. In the water now I scoop everything. No cherry picking there.

fella · Jun 10, 2014

Depends on the site. If it's old, I dig A LOT. I'll dig targets that pinpoint big, I'll dig iffy signal all day. I dig more than I should probably but I'm fine digging trash. At least it's not there the next time I visit the site, plus I DO dig some cool big iron items too.

Some areas I leave "good" signals behind because I'm pretty sure it's a can or some like item. I don't EVER second guess myself and lay a wake at night wondering if I should have dug that "good" signal. Too many other targets waiting for my attention. "Good" zinc cent signals…NO! I never dig zinc pennies on purpose.

dholland02 · Jun 10, 2014

Depends on the site for me also too. My one site I've dug 6 coins from the 1800s so ill dig every repeatable signal. Other sites ill pick and choose what I might dig and depends on my mood too.

TrpnBils · Jun 10, 2014

When I had my Ace 250 I never used to dig anything that rang up above a quarter because it was all garbage. I probably missed stuff...

On the other hand, last year I was at an old site with my Fisher F5 and for some reason dug a big iron signal I probably wouldn't have normally dug. I still don't know why I chose to dig that one because there was a TON of iron trash around I had already dug up and I was starting to get tired of it...but that one ended up being a grapeshot cannonball from the Civil War.