Getting discouraged

[oddgrrl99]

I'm a newbie with a Garrett Ace 250 & a pro pointer. Been out about 6 times now, twice to an 1890's farmhouse. Have not found anything but nails. So many nails I want to scream! How long did it take on average for ya'all to start finding the good stuff? I can be patient & persistent but am I just really unlucky too!?!?

 

[Bucketfreak317]

Sandman made a good point I want to add you can't dig whats not there I've just got back into the hobby so far all I've found is beer cans but I'm not giving up or angry it is giving me the idea of how my MD works I have found some clad along with those cans,also even though you might be hunting older home sites this does not always guarantee the people who lived there were wealthy.
Just be patient and when you hit a target that sounds and reads on the screen to be something other than junk remember those toned and TID's just try not to get too discouraged your going to dig a lot of junk before and after finding good targets that's just the nature of the beast.
GL&HH

 

[Carolina Tom]

I agree with some of the others. Go to a spot that is newer and has clad coins. Everybody wants to find treasure, but sometimes you have to settle for just finding something. I hunt for coins, I find other stuff, but hunt for coins. If you go to a modern park, or more recently built house, or local high school, you are bound to find clad pennies. Finding clad will hone your coin finding skills... and if you are like me, finding ANY coin in the ground, is just plain cool. Good luck and don't get discouraged.

 

[MissIron.Maiden]

Good point Holly, not every just wants to find coins. Me personally, that's what I like to find (I like that I can get an exact date). I know you, and others, really like the relics. To each their own!

I do like finding things I can get a definite date on, its fun

 

[rainyday101]

I don't get discouraged by trash, it comes with the turf. Take a look at the Tesoro and Fisher sections even though you use a Garrett. Guys like Tabman, Revier, and Deliveryboy find lots of rings. It seems like they find them almost everyday, BUT the dig tons of trash. When I am in the water with my Tiger Shark, the discrimination is set real low and anything that gives a good tone gets scooped. This includes bottlecaps and lots of them! I have scooped enough bottlecaps, that given a section of the river, I can easily tell what the preferred beverage is.

It is the thrill of the hunt that should encourage you- never knowing what you are going to find. I don't gamble, but do compare it gambling because you never what you may find. Unlike gambling though, you get exercise and get to enjoy the outdoors. Once you buy your equipment that is all it will ever cost you, and given time and some luck, it will pay for itself. That bit about all it will ever cost is kind of BS though, because you will get addicted and upgrade your equipment at more expense.

Hang in there and enjoy the hobby. There are much worse things you could be doing. If you get bummed, let us know and we will help.

 

[Peyton Manning]

Keep yourself a brass bucket and a scrap bucket at home. The brass especially, is like money in your pocket!!

good idea, but where do you find a brass bucket nowadays?

 

[Seabees]

Well be very careful, they say finding one good thing is like crack, it only takes one time and then your hooked.

 

[Dave Rishar]

Just to give you an idea of the trash to treasure ratio, I'll provide two pictures from the same hunt - one treasure, one trash.

Treasure:



Trash:



And that ring was not made of precious metal, but every ring is precious to me. I'll take it. I'd rather have one crap ring than $5 in clad. I don't know how to explain it. It's like crack. You get that first ring and then you just want rings, and more rings. It doesn't matter what they're made of. MOAR RINGZ.

This is pretty normal with the Deus for me. I'm still learning the machine and I'm digging signals that I know not to in order to improve my confidence, but I'm also very likely to dig anything that's shallow unless it's a completely crap signal. When I hit an obvious piece of can slaw nearly on the surface, I take a few seconds to "pop" it and then I sweep again. It may have been hiding something and the park is a better place for it, and it's not like it took any serious effort to recover. If it's crap that can be recovered easily, I recover it anyway - as opposed to deep crap, which I dig because it might be something nice but it never is.

Most of the gold lives in the trash range. If you want all of the gold, you have to dig some trash. I want all of the gold, so I dig some trash. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It merely implies that you're going after the high value targets that the cherry pickers leave behind - they're only after silver. But how much silver will a gold ring buy?

If I have a two-way repeatable in the trash range, I dig it. I'll even dig it if it's not repeatable, just as long as it's shallow. One piece of gold makes up for a lot of bottle caps.

This (and nearly all of my other finds, and certainly all of my better finds) were made in parks in western Washington that have been hit hard and often. I haven't found silver in them and I doubt that it still exists here. If the old stuff is gone, go for the new stuff. Nothing wrong with gold, right?

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Forget about gold right now. I've been using my Ace 250 for a year and only found one gold plated cufflink. But I have found over 40 silver items (coins and jewelry). Set your machine to the "jewelry" setting and the sensitivity two notches from the top (6 out of 8 on the scale). That will get you coins and silver jewelry up to eight inches deep and weed out the iron items. You will find copper and brass items as well (old buttons and buckles are nice finds).

Those settings will also get you some bottle caps and aluminum junk as well, so they won't work as well for a tot lot. But it should help you a lot with an old property. Good luck!

 

[hunting deer]

Good time to try walking the fields before they plant. Find a field that looks like it has some history in it or around it. Ask permission nicely to walk in it with your detector. You'd be surprised how many times they'll say yes if you try. Look for small old pieces of glass, broken bricks, discolored soil and anything unusual. Concentrate on those areas. Discriminate out the iron on your detector and listen for the high beeps. If you do this you'll find things you like. I used the same detector for three years and found around a hundred or so 1800 coins. The other artifacts can be very interesting also. Good luck.

 

[oddgrrl99]

Thanks everybody! I do have that archeology gene, I've always been a floor-gazing beachcomber finder of things. All things I just had a moment of weakness and will take all of your advice to heart. I'm an Aries too so I tend to get a little impatient...

 

[dirtdiggler10]

My first detector was my moms ACE 250 and the first day I went to an old abandoned WWII army airfield all I found was trash. The next day I spent the whole afternoon and found 1 wheat cent, and the day after that I found a 1944 mercury dime, 1956 rosie and a 1942 Washington quarter. I love the thrill of pulling a plug and seeing a coin caked in dirt. One thing with the garrett's is that they are heavy and after a couple of hours of swinging it will wear a person down. I bought an M4/M16 sling and attached it to it just above the grip. Adding that allowed me to swing it with impunity. Another tip is to check out the usgs.gov link USGS US Topo and Historical Topographic Map Collection with it you can do some research by looking at old maps in your area. Don't get discouraged, keep swinging that detector because you only gain experience by using it. Btw I have VERY LITTLE patience so your not the only one. Good luck!!!

 

[jfeeney]

My experience with older farm houses is try to find the paths people used walk between things like the barn, shed or clothes lines. As other said the the nails will be an issue. I had a farm house where after easily over 20 hours all that was pulled was 3 Buffalo Nickels, 1 Washington Silver Quarter, a few Wheaties, and some clad. Oh and a whole lot of junk. The good stuff only was found after the junk was cleared. Keep at it.

 

[Sandman]

I get discouraged too but it is more of kneeing down to retrieve a coin in a park and having to crawl to a picnic table to get myself up. Even though I have one new knee, the other one is now acting up. I am mainly happy that I can get out.