Huting for a living

[portcitymarvels]

I love treasure hunting and feel I've been semi successful thus far putting in roughly 200 bucks and having gotten 650 from selling my finds. My question for you folks on treasurenet is do any of you make a successful living from hunting?

 

[62dold]

I have been M.D for about 35 years, so far i have found and sold around ($2,300 .00 ) worth of finds. I found a lot of rings and neckless diving. Back then you could find a lot of swimming holes that had not been detected. I have not paid for my hobby or broke even. but the thrill of the hunt make,s it well worth the effort.

 

[lastleg]

No way can you make a living doing this. I tried and found it took all the fun out of hunting.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

I have been able to make just enough, that I would qualify for food stamps and welfare.
Like lastleg said, turning MD-ing into a job, takes the fun out of it. (unless you're just really really really really lucky, and can hit the motherlode, but, look how long it took Mel Fisher.)

 

[Red James Cash]

portcitymarvels what you should do is sell the relics that youre not interested in,keep the ones that you are.Keep any silver or gold you find in case the economy goes where its heading.

 

[TerryC]

I have been hunting for over 40 years. The closest I've come to a "living" is paying for my beach detectors a coupla' three times over. I living? Not close. Some will tell you yes but they are rare. TTC

 

[choppadude]

If I find enough to pay for my batteries then I am having a good week!

 

[Keppy]

Few very few..... A lot of Gold prospectors make there living doing this..... Some water hunters the divers.... Relics i don't know i was never in to relics...... Some cache hunters......But for the most part coin hunters very few if any...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes, it's possible if you're in an area with hunt spots which are VERY productive. You know, like a guy who could reliably get 2 (or 3 or more) gold rings a day. That's conceivable if you're in a touristy enough beach resort, in a country in-which detectors are an un-known novelty. Or nugget hunting if you're really good, in a very productive geographic region, since gold is very high right now. I can not imagine a coin or relic spot with enough $ potential (in rare coins or relics) to make a living on, but I suppose anything's possible. Or as keppy and pet-tekker-cat allude to: professional wreck divers who've struck a motherload.

But even if you could find a scenario which allowed it, my hunch is the fun would wear off quick. For example: When gold was also at high prices in 1980, I knew a guy who figured out that he was making more $ p/h from his weekend gold hobby in the sierras, than he was at his Monday through Friday job! So he thought he'd wise up, quit his job (or take a leave of absence or something), and go full-time nuggets. Although he might have been making-the-cut, yet within a week, all the fun was gone. What had previously been a hobby/gamble, was now something that had a "quota" (so to speak) that he had to meet each day. It became "work" rather than "fun". So he went back to work at a regular job Not sure if the drop in gold prices as the 1980s moved on, had something to do with that though

 

[spartacus53]

I think you may actually make a better living at hunting deer, selling the skin and meat

 

[ralexander22]

It has been my experience that when you turn your hobby into a job, the pressure to succeed takes all of the fun out of it.

 

[portcitymarvels]

Thanks for the replies fellow hunters. I've got a good feeling that the area I'm from, settled in 1623, has allot of potential. But I think I'll work a day job in the mean time, so not to take the fun out of anything

 

[bill from lachine]

Yep to what the others said....a hobby pure and simple.....probably one of the few that can cover the costs of machines, etc....over time.....and yeah most of us make some keepers from time to time.....do it for the fun...and getting away from everyday stresses, etc....and you're a winner all around.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

I while back, at a club meeting, a very nice lady was selling a huge hunk of her gold, rings, chains, earrings, etc......
I said to her, "some of these things are very beautiful, why you selling them"?
She replied, "to make my house payment".
Nice to know you have a little security, if needed during hard times. Just too mentally taxing to try and RELY on it, to pay the bills.

 

[bill from lachine]

cat,

Very true...heck if you were having a hard time you could always bunk in with me and the missus......could be a hard sell to the missus though....naw on 2nd thought that would be like to much for one dude to handle.....lol.

Regards + HH

Bill

I while back, at a club meeting, a very nice lady was selling a huge hunk of her gold, rings, chains, earrings, etc......
I said to her, "some of these things are very beautiful, why you selling them"?
She replied, "to make my house payment".
Nice to know you have a little security, if needed during hard times. Just too mentally taxing to try and RELY on it, to pay the bills.