How many of you dig iffy signals or just focused on certain things and move on

[49er12]

Just thinking not all coins lay flat in the ground which would give best signal. Obvious you should go slow and scrub the ground,I mean every inch matters detecting. So is it true go slow you may cover less ground and have to bend over more often to dig. Coins on a slant don’t give the powerful sound as they would not fully exposed flat. What’s the opinion about iffy signals, thanks

 

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[Jon Stewart]

I detect a state park by me and dig everything if for no other reason is to clean it up. But back in the early 60's the camp ground use to be an archery range so you never know what may turn up.

 

[ticndig]

I'm not a coin shooter , I'm a relic hunter . I DIG IRON and have wonderful civil war collection from doing so. not even iffy signals at times sometimes just blasting iron signals turn into real treasure .

 

[Dirty Digger Doug]

Dig most everything

 

[xr7ator]

Digging just perfect quarter signals will get you a bunch of quarters and maybe some other goodies mixed in. It's the signal that is unique that could be something very unique.
I dig iffy signals and some of my best finds were "trash" signals. I won't be changing my ways. I like finding gold items too much.

 

[AugustMoose87]

Depends on where I am, and what I'm trying for. While I would love to have the time to dig every signal, the reality is I just don't have time. I have had a few places I have decided to "clean out" for various reasons, but that is generally only when I know/suspect that there is something good there either because of the history or a lost item report.

That said, I'm like most of the others, in that most of my best finds were iffy/trash signals I decided to dig.

 

[smokeythecat]

I dig most everything. Of the few gold nuggets (small ones) I have detected, all were small and iffy signals.

 

[Jason in Enid]

If you only dig perfect signals you are leaving a ton of great items behind. The only problem is that a lot of places that might still be holding a ton of great iffy signals can also be the worst places to attempt to "dig it all". Some times discretion is the better part of detecting.

 

[FloodcityTom]

It depends on WHERE you are and what you are digging for. In a civil war site you dig EVERYTHING, especially those faint deep signals. And of course IRON, gun parts, projectiles etc. For house sites the older the house/residence the more "iffy" (deeper) signals you should dig. I've been digging a lot of construction /demolition sites lately and frankly I've learned to be more choosey on the "iffy" signals as it is usually aluminum foil or iron nails or some other worthless junk

 

[malenkai]

I'm almost exclusively a coin shooter. I only dig deep signals if there is at least a 20-30% chance it is a coin. I've been using the E-Trac for so long now that it is just an instinct at this point. How does it sound, how does it bounce, how does it pinpoint, how big is it? In this rock hard dirt and heat, I think you have to be selective or you wear out. In cooler weather and wet dirt, I dig many more deep targets. I still dig plenty of deep iron, but you have to, I think, if even you are simply coin shooting old sites.

 

[MKW]

I dig most everything. I can't even stop myself from digging bottle caps on the beach when I know they are bottle caps. Something in me just keeps saying, "it might be something good! Dig, man, dig." I just can't help it.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I dig most everything. I can't even stop myself from digging bottle caps on the beach when I know they are bottle caps. Something in me just keeps saying, "it might be something good! Dig, man, dig." I just can't help it.

If a hunter isnt digging every chirp on the beach, I want to hunt behind that person!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Repeatable in 2 directions, and other interesting signals.

 

[Truth]

I dig and I dig a lot I don’t over analyze it because I could have already made the plug seen what it was and moved on by the time I did a total 360 of the target. For me it’s a numbers game I dig a lot and I dig often I like it all and some of my best showers pieces have been to Indian tomahawks that were in the shell mound. No I will say that every time I go out to metal detect I always say OK I’m gonna be smarter and not work harder and that gets thrown out the window when I get that first iffy. I’m just sick but luckily it is paid off well. Of course I’m proud of my old Spanish and American silver but I must admit I love my rusted iron and the excitement of the electrolysis which opened up I’ll late 1600s cannonball.

 

[Noah_D]

I'm no one to go by but it just depends on the site. At my older sites with very little modern trash I dig EVERYTHING except maybe obvious nail signals but at old homes and things that are still standing I usually dig everything from about a nickel signal on up and only partly pay attention to how "iffy" it is. At the park however, I only dig the pretty good ones.

 

[Trezurehunter]

I always dig "iffy", and every other type of signal I get.

 

[CalReg]

Depends on where I am. Parks...probably not, but old home sites, absolutely!

 

[Tpmetal]

Just thinking not all coins lay flat in the ground which would give best signal. Obvious you should go slow and scrub the ground,I mean every inch matters detecting. So is it true go slow you may cover less ground and have to bend over more often to dig. Coins on a slant don’t give the powerful sound as they would not fully exposed flat. What’s the opinion about iffy signals, thanks

iffy signals are a must dig in my mind, but its a certain type of iffy. For me a few Iffy signals have resulted in a silver pocket watch waaay deep, 2 silver quarters with a nail stuck to them(seated and old Canadian), a pocket spill of 5 large cents and a seated half dollar, Trimes and half dimes at certain depths get really iffy. I'm sure I have missed some more, but you get the point. Once you start digging all the iffy signals you will start to see which types are worth persuing, I dig pretty much anything that even gives a hint that something good might be there.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

When in doubt, dig it out...

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

As others have said. It depends. I dig ALL signals in certain spots. Sometimes I go back over areas I have hunted to see what I may have missed.


Love The Detectorists. Lance's find was based on a real treasure.