Does anyone else get discouraged?

[OldJerseyGirl]

When I first started out, about 9 months ago, I was happy to go to the schools and find lots of clad. Then I wanted to find bigger and better places. Maybe find some silver? Well, I have been here and there, and places that should have been good. Have not found much. Also most of the places that looked really good, I could not get permission to hunt. I do have to say that I live in South Jersey and there are many detectors here. So, most places have been hunted and hunted some more.

Now, when we get a decent day, and I want to hunt the question is where? Depressing. Hoping when Spring comes things will be different. But, sometimes feel like just giving up. I just love it too much to do that.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Spend some more time in the library RESEARCHING the history of your area. There are still plenty of places for you to hit.

 

[airscapes]

Many of the places around me have been inhabited since the colonial days but I think many were cleaned during the MD craze of the 70's and now have 44 years of pull tabs, bottle caps and beer cans on top...
How far south are you OJG, want me to ping you if I out a about any good hunts around the tristate area?

 

[luvsdux]

It's easy to get discouraged, but persistence will give dividends. Places that would seem to be good bets often are disappointing and areas that you don't expect much sometimes give up good finds. It's just part of the hobby. ANY spot is worth swinging over once to check it out.
luvsdux

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Don't get discouraged, TS is right if you want older finds.
We as humans expect things to get bigger and better each time, guess we are hard wired like that, when it doesn't we are disappointed. When you run into a wall like this, look at it from a different angle, think out side the box.

I felt that way about my beach hunting, pop tops, corroded zincs seemed to be all that was left for me, I decided to hunt up next to the sea wall that has rebar, not easy but with patience can be done if you pay close attention to your detector. Got a penny reading, at 8" down knew it wasn't a penny maybe pipe, I was determined what ever it was, was mine! At 10" signal is finally in the scoop, nice copper/gold pendant 14K that others missed.

We all get discouraged from time to time, hang in there. Old things are deeper so if any construction is going on check it out too.

 

[Newfiehunter]

Cheer Up, Jersey Girl! Remember the 3 P(s). Persistence, Patience and Perseverance pays off! I remember when I first got into metal detecting in 1990. There was no internet and I had to learn everything on my own from books, Western and Eastern Treasures, trial and error, research, and learning the detector. Then one day, I found a sweet spot where I recovered close to 100 old coins and a gold ring. Never looked back! Just keep at it and as Winston Churchill once said, "Never Never give up". Hope that quote inspires you! Good luck and HHing!

 

[Frankn]

Well, metal detecting is like life in general. We progress thru stages, master one thru great effort then when conquered, we progress to the next stage.
Hay, you mastered the basic park/school stage so now you move on to the more complexed stage that requires a little research to locate new target areas. Most libraries have a local history room that is loaded with the past history of your area. This is the time of the year to hit it. It shows where events took place that have been long forgotten. These are your new targets. Some are probably virgin territory because many don't make the effort to find where they are. Remember, the most important thing in detecting is LOCATION. Go for it. Frank...

 

[SusanMN]

Of course. If I am land hunting, I can go long periods of time without finding anything but clad, and with water hunting, might only find a couple good rings in a whole season. But every now and then I get a surprise and those are what keeps me in the hobby. For example, I was hunting a couple years back at an old school yard that rarely produced even a modern quarter. I dug what appeared to be just another crusty penny, but when I cleaned it it turned out to be a seated dime. I have hunted for six years and have yet to find a silver quarter, yet last spring I dug a beautiful silver thimble practically on top of the surface. You'd think a quarter would be more likely to be found but apparently not.

If you relax, enjoy the experience of the hunt, the good stuff will show up.

 

[NWMP]

Spend some more time in the library RESEARCHING the history of your area. There are still plenty of places for you to hit.

Excellent answer, that made a night and day difference for me in the hobby. Hit the library and check out local history books on your and surrounding towns. Were did they have their old fair grounds ? Horse racing tracks ?, PICK-NICK spots?, on and on. I moved a few years ago to a small town that has been worked hard for decades, by guys as good and likely better than myself. I'd call myself moderately skilled\knowledgeable. What I learned is that NO placed is totally cleaned out as I went to a park that they gave up on. I found a couple of large cents and some small old silvers in my first month. I had my Tejon maxed out, almost no descrim, and dug anything that sounded reasonable. Those suckers were pretty deep in the dry fall ground. I delightfully surprised myself, but I still earned them through serious effort. The second thing that I did which helped me in a super worked over town was to work the edges and back bush. I will tend to bushwhack through the branch and weed choked areas that are hard to swing, coming out with bits of bark down my neck and spider webs across my face. So I suppose it depends on how much effort I am willing to put in to find the peripheral coins\relics. With the understanding that I was already at a prime location from the past. But one of my best spots out here is a field were annual celebrations were held for a few decades after the turn of the century. This field always coughs up if I am willing to put the work in. I got my first Standing Liberty quarter there last fall and I'm up in the Canadian prairies, not back east in the high population centers. This field also gives me the old Canadian silver five cent pieces which were smaller and thinner than dimes. These rewards were due to my researching the surrounding areas. I even went into the library archives, which was a great resource.

 

[Mackaydon]

You being in Southern New Jersey may find this interesting:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ghost-Towns-of-Southern-NJ/132932896799045
HH,
Don....

 

[dirtydig]

I sure know this feeling all to well. in the 80s i used to dig some of the most beautiful civil war relics. now i feel like i will never have that much fun again. upgraded to what i thought was a better machine , but as it turns out i probably should have stayed in the analog era. keep your head up! with every hobby there will be good and bad days. im in a slump right now but mine is due to the learning curve on the upgrade. research will help you in the winter months and rekindle the excitement when you find that one location your sure will produce. Happy Hunting!

 

[cosmic]

Print up some detecting business card stating who you are and permission to detect on the back for someone to sign. give them out to relatives and friends to distribute.. Signs and cards on local bulletin boards.. Also include that you will look for pre-identified lost items free.. Even hand them out door to door in the older areas..
Most of all, you don't need a better detector, just better places to hunt...

 

[sanddigger]

NEVER NEVER Give UP ! it Just a little Harder to find Coins, I Know I have Been doing this since 1972 a very loog time
Notting is Never hunted out. Sanddigger