How did you get started in the Metal Detecting Hobby?

[RLP5676]

Hi All,
I am new to the board and the hobby. It's interesting to hear how people got started in the hobby. I would like to hear from members how they got started. My story is quite funny. My 3 year old son got me in the hobby! He is a big fan of Bob the Builder. He was watching an episode where Bob and his team were looking for buried treasures with a metal detector. Later that day he asked me if I can buy him a metal detector so he can look for buried treasures just like Bob the Builder. I thought it was a bit silly at first but the following weekend I went out and got him a kids metal detector. The day after he got it i took him to a local beach for a treasure hunt. Little did I know that I would get hooked on it! About 2 weeks later I purchased my first metal detector on Ebay and have been hooked ever since. We haven't found anything good yet but the fun is in the hunt. The treasures are just a bonus!
I'm located in Union County NJ. If any local members ever want to meet up for a hunt- just let me know!

Thanks and Happy Hunting!
Rob

 

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[Captain Caveman]

Welcome aboard TNet! That is a great story. My story isn't nearly as fun. I've been a coin collector for most of my life. I started thinking a few years back that it might be fun to dig up my own coins instead of just buying them. Last year I bought a Fisher F2. Now, a little over a year later, I have 8 detectors and a bad addiction.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

 

[RLP5676]

Hi Captain- thanks for the reply. 8 detectors - WOW!! I didn't realize how addicting this hobby could be! I started out pretty basic myself- with an Ace 150. Went out with my son a few times on the beach and realized it wasn't that easy to recover targets. So i went ahead a bought myself a Garret Pin Pointer which i'm just itching to get out and try it.

 

[Captain Caveman]

If you haven't bought a sand scoop yet, that should be the next thing on your list. I recommend this one for dry sand.

 

[RLP5676]

You read my mind! That's the next thing on my shopping list! I was curious as to the bent/curved handle. Does it make it more difficult to lift the scoop?
Thanks!

 

[Captain Caveman]

My wife likes to walk the dry sand with me. I swing a detector and she scoops whatever I detect. She absolutely loves this scoop and says she enjoys going with me so much more since I bought it. So, to answer your question, it makes it easier to scoop.

Now, if you ever decide to get a waterproof detector and get into the water, well then a much bigger, heavier, stronger scoop (like a Stealth) would be recommended.

 

[RLP5676]

Thanks for the info. I have a metal detecting supply shop not too far from me. I'm going to have to stop by there and check the scoop out.

 

[vpnavy]

Welcome Aboard Rob! Take a look at Sub-Forums: New Jersey for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[beerguy]

I got into it as an adult. I had wanted one as a kid, but my parents were not super well off. 4 kids and 1 job...

When I was 30, I bought my first detector and it was more fun than I imagined.

I try and hunt all I can, and cannot wait until retirement.

Time is the one resource that this hobby takes a lot of...

I now own 7 or 8 detectors, but I have owned many more.

I sold 5 of them to pay for some of my CTX purchase, and I have been happy with the results.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Welcome from White Plains, New York!

I got into it in the 1970's after getting out of the Army. I was turned on to gold prospecting by my father as a kid growing up in Arizona, so I started as a gold "Nuggetshooter," with a Garrett BFO TR machine, and then a C & G Wildcat. I found a lot of old silver coins from the 1800s and early 1900s in the goldfields as well, so that turned me into a coinshooter. From there I got into cache hunting and beach detecting. It's an addiction.

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Welcome aboard Rob...

 

[Xraywolf]

I've always liked to dig, as a kid I'd dig randomly hoping to find dinosaur bones, so I guess detecting was a natural progression.

1st detector was an Ace 250 about a decade ago, though I have advanced to superior detectors I still use it the most as I carry it around in my truck all summer.

 

[Enginefitter]

Welcome from NE Ohio.

Engine

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Great story, thank you for sharing!

 

[adamBomb]

I always thought it was interesting. I live at the beach and am always looking for excuses to go to the beach and just walking is boring. So I bought a cheap detector to see what beach detecting would be like. Once I found my first clad I was hooked. I bought a $1500 machine about 2 months later. Then an $800 machine...then another $1500 machine...and now I am buying a $2500 machine...

 

[bootybandit]

Welcome to TNET!