Do you think location matters more than detector skill?

[LillieSilvian]

I just came here. I am newbie. I have read few threads and some people seem to find amazing items very often while others try hard but don’t get the same results.

So I wanted to ask that do you think location like permissions, history of the land, soil type .etc. is more important than the skill of using the metal detector? Or is it more about experience and knowing how to read signals properly? I am still learning, and it feels like sometimes the ground you search in decides more than the machine itself. Would be great to hear how experienced hunters here see it. Thanks.

 

[mtdoramike]

YES, even a Blind Squirrel can find a Nut if in the right place. To me, it's not the detector, I've used better than 30 detectors over the past 25 years and it didn't really improve my skill level at all. I could have found pretty much most of what I have found over the years with a $100.00 Walmart Bounty Hunter, which I have used at one time. Which ever detector you are using, you must be in tuned with it and really learn the subtle nuances of the detector. The more detectors you use the less you will find or at least that has been my experience.

 

[pepperj]

I guess over the 55 yrs of digging dirt has taught me a few things. If it's not there to begin with a person isn't going to dig it-period.
Besides the Heath kit on a broom stick detector my brother built we have only used 3 different makes. White's, Minelab, Deus.
Of those 3 makes only the best/top models, so I can't comment on a lessor type machine.

Though hunting back in a 400 acre park in Toronto I met up with many over the years while hunting it. I seemed to come out most of the time with better finds.

One guy I hunted with had a Garrett detector (some yellow machine). He did alright till we did side by side, "Would you dig it?"
I got a signal on the Minelab SE and he would go over the same spot, scrubbing the dirt in every direction. He could hear it but he said he wouldn't have ever dig a chirp like he was hearing.
I got a solid signal and told him it was an LC-we dug it out at 10" and it was a LC.
He traded in his detector the next day.

I won't argue the fact every machine will find most surface items-4-6". It's the recoveries that are in the range of 6-14" while mixed with other debris. This is where the higher end machines shine and there's lots of threads debating the high and the low price machines. Yes a lower end machine will find items that are separated from other items.

I've hunted certain cellar holes for over a decade, a new version or a new machine comes out and I return to the location to tweak out a few more lost items that are mixed in the heavy iron. I have seen what another low end machines can find in the same location and they dig lot of iron, big iron, but no noble targets.

So it comes down to location, skill, detector mix those 3 up and they you have it. Buying a cheaper or the best machine means really nothing till you get a 1000 hrs of digging on that machine-then you truly know it and what it's telling you.
Most that have the time in on a machine will dig more targets than a person with a new machine.

Many times I read that a person buys the best machine and takes it out of the box and goes to a new location and finds some top shelve recovery. That is the location and maybe skill talking.
Some buy a high end machine and go on a detecting holiday and find squat-that's where the inexperience comes to play. It's not the location nor the machine-it's the hype of believing they have the best machine but it might as well be a broom stick machine as they have zero experience on the machine.

Yes a Ford/Chev/GM/Dodge......is better than a Ford/Chev/GM/Dodge and most will agree it's the oldest debate going.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

pepperj describes it best. I would say location is the 2nd most important aspect. I rank as follows:

1. Research - will tell you what locations are good as well as when and why
2. Location - will yield good targets under the right conditions if a good spot, otherwise will give you nothing but junk or skunk
3. Skill - will help you efficiently hunt a location and use your detector
4. Detector - will help identify targets, discriminate, and make your digs more efficient
5. Luck - self-explanatory

It also depends on what type of metal detecting you want to do-- I prefer beach hunting, which is a very dynamically changing environment as targets can move a lot after being dropped. They get carried by longshore drift, exposed and reburied in sand cyclically, etc. Some beaches are even regularly raked by beach custodians, which is an important factor to consider if you prefer hunting in the dry sand, like dredging is for the wet. There are subtle nuances you pick up with experience. Bottle caps have a very distinct tone on my detector, it's a "wobble-pop" on pinpoint, and an solid iron grunt on discriminate, so I know with 95% certainty what the target is when I encounter that tone before I even dig it-- I avoid digging them unless I'm bored or feeling generous. Similar principles apply to other targets, you can usually tell what you are digging with significant confidence before you unearth it if you are familiar enough with your detector. Higher end detectors excel in assisting with this. As a general rule for beach hunting, I use clad coins as a litmus test. If you are not at least finding clad coins while beach hunting, then you are likely doing something wrong, or the conditions for the day are suboptimal for metal detecting.

 

[djackson7348]

Research! You will never find treasure where there is no treasure.

 

[jeff of pa]

pepperj describes it best. I would say location is the 2nd most important aspect. I rank as follows:

1. Research - will tell you what locations are good as well as when and why
2. Location - will yield good targets under the right conditions if a good spot, otherwise will give you nothing but junk or skunk
3. Skill - will help you efficiently hunt a location and use your detector
4. Detector - will help identify targets, discriminate, and make your digs more efficient
5. Luck - self-explanatory

It also depends on what type of metal detecting you want to do-- I prefer beach hunting, which is a very dynamically changing environment as targets can move a lot after being dropped. They get carried by longshore drift, exposed and reburied in sand cyclically, etc. Some beaches are even regularly raked by beach custodians, which is an important factor to consider if you prefer hunting in the dry sand, like dredging is for the wet. There are subtle nuances you pick up with experience. Bottle caps have a very distinct tone on my detector, it's a "wobble-pop" on pinpoint, and an solid iron grunt on discriminate, so I know with 95% certainty what the target is when I encounter that tone before I even dig it-- I avoid digging them unless I'm bored or feeling generous. Similar principles apply to other targets, you can usually tell what you are digging with significant confidence before you unearth it if you are familiar enough with your detector. Higher end detectors excel in assisting with this. As a general rule for beach hunting, I use clad coins as a litmus test. If you are not at least finding clad coins while beach hunting, then you are likely doing something wrong, or the conditions for the day are suboptimal for metal detecting.

one thing to add, to K O E II's List being your first time at the spot.
I Know from My Expierence, I Automatically Searched the Same
Path continuously , Especially If The First Time there Was Productive.


it Doesn't matter so Much if Someone else Beat You.
You Need to Beat Your Memory.

It is the Main Reason Why You Find things where others claim are
Hunted Out , You don't Have Their Memory

 

[cudamark]

There are just too many variables to say which is the most important. All are important depending on the individuals, location, skill level, equipment, and what they're trying to find. I've personally seen a complete newbie find a platinum ring on his first 2 minutes of detecting. I know veterans who have never found much of anything. If you have two people with the same amount of experience, both with top of the line detectors that they know well, both hunting the same well researched area, then it usually comes down to luck of getting coil over target. A newbie on his first hunt with a cheap beep and dig machine can make a once in a lifetime find if he either does some proper research, or, is just plain lucky. A veteran with 60 years of experience and top of the line machine can get skunked even in a great location. All things considered, I'd take the veteran with the best gear likely having the most success. Don't discount the 6th sense (AKA treasure sense) either. Some people just seem to have a nose for walking over the good stuff.

 

[Almy]

It's a good question which has caused me to think. I've been detecting about 25 years, using my second machine for about the last 10. It is a beep only detector. I have used it in fields along with others using high end machines and seemed to do as well as they. But recently a fellow hunted a place I had done earlier and he found 5 halfpennies I missed. So I am wondering a bit whether my machine is causing me to miss some things.
In a good location with the targets near the surface, any machine will work. With lots of iron or deep targets higher machines seem to have an advantage. Although I have found a few old coins next to or under iron items that were detected and ignored by a high end detector because it said they were iron and the detectorist passed on. I thought it was only iron too but dug it anyway.
Covering the ground slowly and well really helps.
I've gotten old enough so I don't want to dig deep targets. It takes a lot of effort to go below about 6" and my body will not stand much of that. So a deep seeking machine is not much use to me.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I just came here. I am newbie. I have read few threads and some people seem to find amazing items very often while others try hard but don’t get the same results.

So I wanted to ask that do you think location like permissions, history of the land, soil type .etc. is more important than the skill of using the metal detector? Or is it more about experience and knowing how to read signals properly? I am still learning, and it feels like sometimes the ground you search in decides more than the machine itself. Would be great to hear how experienced hunters here see it. Thanks.

Hello Lillie! After 45-years in the hobby, I have to break it down this way: Time on the headphones 50% / Location 39% / Pure Luck 11%

 

[cudamark]

Hello Lillie! After 45-years in the hobby, I have to break it down this way: Time on the headphones 50% / Location 39% / Pure Luck 11%

Equipment has to be in there somewhere too. I don't care how target rich the ocean is, or, how much experience you have, you go into the surf with a cheap single frequency machine, and you're not going to find anything.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

Speaking of luck, imagine this:

3-YEAR-OLD FINDS $4M 16TH CENTURY GOLD PENDANT WHILE PLAYING WITH DAD'S METAL DETECTOR

A three-year-old boy in England discovered a 500-year-old gold pendant worth millions, turning a first metal-detecting trip into a historic treasure story.

awesomestuff365.com

3 year old struck it rich in a single find on his first use of a metal detector more than what most named treasure hordes are worth 😎.

 

[dz302]

I've found that north-south-east-west sweeps over every target increases digging and bumps target quality opportunities. Try and keep high tones out of your head and investigate everything...don't worry , you'll never walk past a high tone. I like well researched spots where all i find is copper... crop dusters got the silver and left the gold.

dz

 

[malenkai]

There is no easy answer. It is a mix.

For example, I'd rather have an E-Trac with my 13 inch coil and killer program at a hunted out site than a weaker setup at a less hunted site, but that just reflects my experience (I only hunt silver coins).

One thing that makes the question hard is that mineralization varies by location (at least around here). Hunting a mineralized site requires more skill, and also may hide goodies that others missed.

 

[releventchair]

I just came here. I am newbie. I have read few threads and some people seem to find amazing items very often while others try hard but don’t get the same results.

So I wanted to ask that do you think location like permissions, history of the land, soil type .etc. is more important than the skill of using the metal detector? Or is it more about experience and knowing how to read signals properly? I am still learning, and it feels like sometimes the ground you search in decides more than the machine itself. Would be great to hear how experienced hunters here see it. Thanks.

No.
Yes.

Unless you can detect it , it doesn't matter what's underfoot.
Does it?

Amazing items you dig are items you dig. If you're not recovering amazing items you might not like detecting very long. ( Because detecting items is amazing in itself.)
Someone finds the Queens jewels then it really doesn't matter if you can detect efficiently or had permission to hunt where the jewels awaited.
Just worry about a friend following behind you with a cheaper detector recovering something you would rather have dug. Do so in fun,. Or you might not like detecting very long.( Because detecting is fun. Turning it into a blood sport or worrying about not finding the Queens dogs missing tag isn't quite the same fun. Besides you'd need to be on her side of the ocean anyways. No offense to those who are; if they are having fun finding stuff I never likely will.)

Practice though.
And find permitted sites people trafficked long, or in high numbers, or both. Then detect efficiently.
Then you can ask what matters more.

 

[missouribornandbreed]

I guess over the 55 yrs of digging dirt has taught me a few things. If it's not there to begin with a person isn't going to dig it-period.
Besides the Heath kit on a broom stick detector my brother built we have only used 3 different makes. White's, Minelab, Deus.
Of those 3 makes only the best/top models, so I can't comment on a lessor type machine.

Though hunting back in a 400 acre park in Toronto I met up with many over the years while hunting it. I seemed to come out most of the time with better finds.

One guy I hunted with had a Garrett detector (some yellow machine). He did alright till we did side by side, "Would you dig it?"
I got a signal on the Minelab SE and he would go over the same spot, scrubbing the dirt in every direction. He could hear it but he said he wouldn't have ever dig a chirp like he was hearing.
I got a solid signal and told him it was an LC-we dug it out at 10" and it was a LC.
He traded in his detector the next day.

I won't argue the fact every machine will find most surface items-4-6". It's the recoveries that are in the range of 6-14" while mixed with other debris. This is where the higher end machines shine and there's lots of threads debating the high and the low price machines. Yes a lower end machine will find items that are separated from other items.

I've hunted certain cellar holes for over a decade, a new version or a new machine comes out and I return to the location to tweak out a few more lost items that are mixed in the heavy iron. I have seen what another low end machines can find in the same location and they dig lot of iron, big iron, but no noble targets.

So it comes down to location, skill, detector mix those 3 up and they you have it. Buying a cheaper or the best machine means really nothing till you get a 1000 hrs of digging on that machine-then you truly know it and what it's telling you.
Most that have the time in on a machine will dig more targets than a person with a new machine.

Many times I read that a person buys the best machine and takes it out of the box and goes to a new location and finds some top shelve recovery. That is the location and maybe skill talking.
Some buy a high end machine and go on a detecting holiday and find squat-that's where the inexperience comes to play. It's not the location nor the machine-it's the hype of believing they have the best machine but it might as well be a broom stick machine as they have zero experience on the machine.

Yes a Ford/Chev/GM/Dodge......is better than a Ford/Chev/GM/Dodge and most will agree it's the oldest debate going.

I beleive it is the skill you have with your detector but to also getting to know your location.True using a better detector may find you better digs then again who knows.it’s all about skill.

 

[Carl-NC]

For example, I'd rather have an E-Trac with my 13 inch coil and killer program at a hunted out site than a weaker setup at a less hunted site, but that just reflects my experience (I only hunt silver coins).

I'm the opposite, I'd rather hunt a virgin site with a BFO than a well-hunted site with a cutting-edge detector.

That said, I think skill trumps everything else. Unskilled detectorists are far more likely to miss the really good targets, regardless of site and regardless of detector. Second is the site; the better the site, the better the finds. Last is the detector, only because there's a lot a parity in the models even over the last 20 years, especially in average conditions.

 

[OBN]

All I can add to the above is, all play a part, some more then others ...at different levels ... at different times.

 

[pepperj]

All I can add to the above is, all play a part, some more then others ...at different levels ... at different times.

Well your rings goals speak for its self.

 

[russau]

Research! You will never find treasure where there is no treasure.

Yes that is a true statement BUT the treasure is also getting out , clearing your head of the every day things and enjoying your day with nature ! You wont find interesting thinds everytime you go out, so take advantage of the situation and enjoy yourself !

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

I only rely on pure dumb luck myself! haha