I wont promote!

[steve from ohio]

I won't promote!

I've been down in Florida for the last month. I like to detect for fun and profit. I have noticed a few things.

There are too many people now on the beaches with metal detectors. Too many in the water. Too many with dreams of finding a nice big gold ring or chain. Even their kids are hunting. Just too many. I no longer will tell people to give it a try. Never again. Not my job.

Was at South Beach in Miami. Got there early, or at least I thought. As it turned out, there were at least two dozen people detecting at the beach already at 5 am. Four people in the water and were in the water most of the night! It seems that everyone and their mother have a metal detector now. Just too many. And be honest. I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who gets a little bit peeved when you get to a beach to find it over run with people with metal detectors. I have noticed a bit of anger from the newer MD people as I say HI! They don't want any more people with metal detectors taking away their finds.

Several of the Gulf Beaches are loaded at sunrise with guys and women in the water hunting away. Some have been in the water for several hours hunting at night.
They are everywhere. Siesta beach had at least a dozen people hunting the sand on Monday morning. Hitting the volleyball courts and the towel line. I was going to hunt the water but there were 4 guys already in the water. It was still not even sun up. At 9 am. the parking lot was full at Siesta beach and the famous Siesta cruise, people driving around the parking lot looking for a parking space was in effect. The full parking lot but very few people in the water and almost no one on the beach wearing gold.

I have noticed that there are tons of pawn shops and "We buy Gold" businesses in Florida. They are everywhere! They advertise on TV. So what has happened since the price of gold and silver has shot up, people have sold off their bling. They are not wearing it in the water any more! So findings are mighty slim, at least from what I've seen.

I hunt most of the beaches on the Gulf Coast, Tampa area. Desoto, Siesta, Holmes, Venice, Clearwater, Lido...you name them, I was there. Hunting for hours and hours finding nothing this year. The years before, lots of rings and blings. This year, almost nothing. 4 Weeks of hunting the main and not so main beaches and just a little bit of clad and a few bobbles here and there. No gold at all.

Spent 4 days at the Treasure Coast. Hunted for at least 6 hours each day. The conditions at the Treasure coast is poor with lots and lots of sand. A few good storms and things might open up. I have hunted the TC in the past and have always found something...even if it was modern stuff. This year is different. I always go to the Mclarty treasure museum and talk to the guys there as they are MD'ers. They have pretty much given up hunting the Treasure Coast as the conditions are so poor. Not much modern stuff is being dropped as the beaches were empty even when the temps were in the mid to upper 80's. One of the days I had not one decent signal. It was detecting hell. Lots of can slaw and nothing else. It was a desert.

Getting back to the Gulf Coast, Before I hunt, I watch. I have noticed that there are very few people in the water. The water temps last weekend were in the mid 70's with air temps in the mid 80's. In the past, that combo meant lots of people in the water wearing lots of gold and silver. This year is way different. Not sure why. Maybe the oil spill and the use of Corexit? Not sure but it is very noticeable that there are not a lot of people in the water. And those in the water are not wearing gold. Probably sold off their gold to pay for the gasoline.

When I hunt, I often get lots of questions. Seeing how I am a water hunter, I get lots of the usual....Oh you can use that in the water? or How deep can you go with that? I often get the ....Oh, I've always wanted to do that comment. I no longer tell them to give it a try. Nope. Not any more. It's not my job to put more people on the beach to compete with me. It's not about competition. It's about finding things. And I won't be foolish to tell people to give it a try.

I tell them to truth. I tell them that up to about last year, it was a lot of fun. But now there is very little to find and that the economy has taken its toll on detecting. Modern gold is becoming a thing of the past as it has been pawned or sold outright because of the high prices. I tell them that now, you can find tons of pop can pull tabs and very little else. I tell them that they will have to spend at least a grand on a good detector with very little chance of a payback. I tell them that it takes dedication and lots of free time with a very small payback.

Yeah, you can say that detecting is more than finding gold rings or making the big find. It is about getting out and having a bit of fun. But it just isn't the same when you know that you just aren't going to be able to find what in the past was at least a hope. Now, with all the people on the beach and in the water, it just is not as fun as it used to be. Too many people trying to find what is just not there anymore.

Next year I'm going to forget about Florida and hunt the outer banks. At least I won't have to depend on modern people losing things that are not even going to be there as they have sold it off already. Or maybe get back to land hunting.

 

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[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

I will stick to lake Erie........... The fields & woods do not see to many newbees in that area......... They are all running around the play grounds.............. And like i said going down south has nothing to offer me that i like............I live up on Lake Erie and when i go on Vacation i go up north to Canada..............Every one does not like to go south to the beaches........... I'm proof of that...........

 

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[lumbercamp]

Re: I won't promote!

If I were you, I'd just quit detecting beaches.

I have come to that conclusion and am going to spend my winter at the OBX. I will miss the bikini's though!
Darn-it. I have been doing it wrong all these years. I have never seen a bikini clad girl 3 miles back in the woods where I dig.

 

[bwirth1999]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

It was never like this before but since I have been detecting since 1984, I have noticed that people today are more desperate. Bad economic conditions make for strange behavior in some people.

In my almost 20 years of detecting the beaches of Florida in the winter, this was the first year I was skunked from finding any gold at all when detecting every day and almost all the beaches around Tampa/Sarasota/St. Pete. It is very frustrating to get up early to get to the beach to find out that the beach has been hit really hard already.
Monday mornings at the beaches is a zoo with so many detectors out hunting in the sand and the water. No matter how early you get there, there are people with detectors hitting the beach.

It's not that I won't talk to people. It's just that there are so many of them and they all want to find what you are looking for too. I won't give them any useful information any more because I have had the very same people who I was talking to just minutes before all of a sudden appear right next to me with their brand new detector getting so close as to bump my coil. I really hate that.

Yep, eventually a whole lot of people will realize that metal detecting can be really hard work and will flood the market with used detectors. It takes a different breed to spend hours and hours of time looking for stuff that people lost. And the pawn shop problem is not going to go away. That is why I am going to have to re think the Florida beach scene. The Outer Banks is looking better all the time.

Did you ever think maybe, YOU are pissing them off by being on their beach doing what they do? Jesus man you want some cheese to go with big ole' glass of w(h)ine? Guess what, this is what happens with hobbies,, people get interested.... they lose interest... it's a cycle, for some it's a fad they go through, the invaders to your beach will leave, and you can have everything for yourself.... Ya know.. that kinda sounds like what Archaeologists say about people detecting "their" historical sites..."All of these people are taking "my" stuff..." . I don't mean to come off rude, but you crying about people doing exactly the same things that you are doing is not only immature, it's down right hypocritical.

 

[lookindown]

Re: I won't promote!

The bikinis alone are worth a trip to the beach, finding a keeper is just a bonus.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

Hoosier, I have no idea what your talking about, there are a great many good members here who answer many, many questions, many times the same questions are asked over and over again, yet they are still answered. Just because someone posts a question on a board, it doesn't mean the people that know the answers to the question have seen the question.... Many times I stumble on a question that is a month old that I never even saw, and I am on the forum a lot, there are a lot of boards and sub boards....

TreasureNet is a very friendly place..........

 

[CENLAcoin]

Re: I won't promote!

getting up and down to dig a signal is real exercise.

And exercise tends to weed people out. Hence the # of unused memberships at gyms after March.

Try to get a work out in on Jan. 5, GOOD LUCK. Go in May or June? The place is yours.

It takes effort and dedication to MD well, once folks figure out you don't get a ring on every signal, most will quit. Some however, (like the posters on this thread) and myself, end up enjoying the time, exercise, and occasional bauble...

In the end, we are all playing "dirt roulette", and the expected value is low. let's just not take ourselves too seriously...especially when we don't get jackpots every time out.

HH,
Will

 

[lookindown]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

Hoosier, I have no idea what your talking about, there are a great many good members here who answer many, many questions, many times the same questions are asked over and over again, yet they are still answered. Just because someone posts a question on a board, it doesn't mean the people that know the answers to the question have seen the question.... Many times I stumble on a question that is a month old that I never even saw, and I am on the forum a lot, there are a lot of boards and sub boards....

TreasureNet is a very friendly place..........

When I first started posting on here the members went above and beyond trying to help me, and they still do. I cant thank them enough.

 

[Daedalus]

Re: I won't promote!

I do not detect to make money or try to support myself . I do it because it is fun to me and gives me something to do with my time besides setting in a chair and watching TV .

I can spend all day out detecting and not find but a few things and come home and feel just fine about the days hunt .
That makes it a lot easier for me to go out and do what I do.

And I am not going to be rude to anyone because they are new at the hobby and are wanting to learn . Most of them are likely in hard times and just trying to do what they can to feed there family's or keep from going crazy setting around , besides we all where new at one time and new nothing about what we were doing .

And I have to think back about the older guys and Girls who took the time to teach me what I was supposed to do . If it had not been for them it would have taken me years to learn the hobby .
Yeah it is a mess sometimes when you go out and the area you go to is full already with people , but most of them will not stay with the hobby as they will not be the type who can stay calm while they learn , or they will find that it is not always going to pay you back with cash ! The ones that are left may end up being one who shows you a place someday that you would have never found . And yes there will always be the few who are jerks and puncks and think the whole world and everyone in the hobby owes them big time for just showing up.
I like to make fools of those types , and put them into their place .

But I am not going to stop even if the field is full . And I am going to do this as it makes me happy and it has made me more great friends than I have every had .

 

[steve from ohio]

Re: I won't promote!

Did you ever think maybe, YOU are pissing them off by being on their beach doing what they do? Jesus man you want some cheese to go with big ole' glass of w(h)ine? Guess what, this is what happens with hobbies,, people get interested.... they lose interest... it's a cycle, for some it's a fad they go through, the invaders to your beach will leave, and you can have everything for yourself.... Ya know.. that kinda sounds like what Archaeologists say about people detecting "their" historical sites..."All of these people are taking "my" stuff..." . I don't mean to come off rude, but you crying about people doing exactly the same things that you are doing is not only immature, it's down right hypocritical.

I was not complaining but making an observation about the state of the economy and what it means to metal detecting. I was pointing out that yes we will have to adapt to changing conditions like instead of hunting Florida beaches, maybe go to the Outer Banks and hunt there. Or go back to land hunting and do more research.

I used to hear the old saying, the more the merrier. Metal detecting people in the past usually would stop and talk up the hobby to anyone who would listen. I won't do that any more as the new crop of survivalist detectorists have hit the beaches of Florida. The price of gold and silver have made greed the reason for the new breed of detectorists. I used to wave to anyone I saw with a detector but with the new crop of people, they seem to be more angry and desperate. It is an attitude that I have not seen before in all my years of detecting. They are not as friendly as the people who do this as a past time. They are doing it to survive.

I was at Myrtle Beach not too long ago and met an unemployed electrician from New Jersey. He's been out of work for almost a year. He bought a metal detector and is hitting the beaches of the eastern US working his way down to Florida. He had no idea what he was doing but he wanted to find gold. He needed to so he could make his car payment which was a month late. He was using a Minelab Safari and was not having much luck. He wanted to know what he was doing wrong as he was digging almost two feet down to find nothing but a drain pipe from one of the hotels. He was desperate and you could tell.

I found it odd that for the first time in almost 20 years, I have found not one gold ring when in the past I found several each year in Florida. I noticed that there are way more people hunting and I noticed that they have become very possessive of "Their Beach".
I also noticed that "Spring Break" was broken this year. Not many people and I think that gasoline prices and the Oil Spill had a lot to do with that. And being an observant person, I noticed that the gold that people used to wear at the beach is gone. Sold to pawn shops or to "We Buy Gold" stores as I checked in with several pawn shops. The gold rush of 2011 is just about over as so many have sold off their gold. Even the pawn shops are complaining now that no one has any gold to sell.

So I was not "Crying" but making an observation that times are a changing and we will have to adapt. Florida no longer has the appeal for beach and water detecting that it had even just one year ago.

 

[HoosierPirates]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

Hoosier, I have no idea what your talking about, there are a great many good members here who answer many, many questions, many times the same questions are asked over and over again, yet they are still answered. Just because someone posts a question on a board, it doesn't mean the people that know the answers to the question have seen the question.... Many times I stumble on a question that is a month old that I never even saw, and I am on the forum a lot, there are a lot of boards and sub boards....

TreasureNet is a very friendly place..........

Yes it does seem to be a friendly place... didn't say it wasn't. But when see a thread that has been read 250 times and has one post, you have to wonder ya know? Still new here, so Im not trying to tick anybody off but I am entitled to my opinion. You gotta admit that many people hold their technics closely and don't often share...which is understanable. And that can be felt without saying.... And when somebody says "I won't promote" ... there, it's been said. Not that Steve from Ohio isn't a friendly guy, he's just been pushed to far...as many members probably have.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

Hoosier, I have no idea what your talking about, there are a great many good members here who answer many, many questions, many times the same questions are asked over and over again, yet they are still answered. Just because someone posts a question on a board, it doesn't mean the people that know the answers to the question have seen the question.... Many times I stumble on a question that is a month old that I never even saw, and I am on the forum a lot, there are a lot of boards and sub boards....

TreasureNet is a very friendly place..........

Yes it does seem to be a friendly place... didn't say it wasn't. But when see a thread that has been read 250 times and has one post, you have to wonder ya know? Still new here, so Im not trying to tick anybody off but I am entitled to my opinion. You gotta admit that many people hold their technics closely and don't often share...which is understanable. And that can be felt without saying.... And when somebody says "I won't promote" ... there, it's been said. Not that Steve from Ohio isn't a friendly guy, he's just been pushed to far...as many members probably have.

HP, you said "getting advice is like pulling teeth", but members here give tons of advice all the time..... A thread that has been read 250 times with one reply doesn't mean a lot, there are hundreds and hundreds of people on this site every day that are not registered but can read threads, they just can't post till they are registered so lots of reads on a post has to be taken with a grain of salt, especially when they are in certain forums with lots of traffic.....

I have not seen any posts where experienced members would not give tips or explain something to help someone when asked, we do it all the time.

As far as "not promoting", that only means will not push detecting or a style of hunting to people that don't hunt and you do not personally know, and that is completely understandable. Many of us will not share special hunting areas, or in the water not tell where a find was from, nothing wrong with that. I use to fish all the time, I did not share hot fishing holes to just anyone I met.......

I use to hunt indian artifacts all the time when I lived in Missouri, I did not share certain hot spots that were rich with artifacts to just anyone, they were kept for me or my close friends, but I did share my techneques then, and have done so here on the artifact boards, there is a big difference between sharing techneques and hot spots...

No one is mad, just did not understand your post on not getting advice since we give it all the time...

Good luck, good hunting, and you can reach anyone to ask a question by clicking their name and sending them an IM, I get a lot of them from people I do not know...YET..

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

HP, just so you can better understand what I mean about guests, at this moment there are 707 guests online, those are non-registered vistors, they can read but not post... There are 203 registered members online at the moment who can both read and post...

 

[Montauk3]

Re: I won't promote!

"Did you ever think maybe, YOU are pissing them off by being on their beach doing what they do? Jesus man you want some cheese to go with big ole' glass of w(h)ine? Guess what, this is what happens with hobbies,, people get interested.... they lose interest... it's a cycle, for some it's a fad they go through, the invaders to your beach will leave, and you can have everything for yourself.... Ya know.. that kinda sounds like what Archaeologists say about people detecting "their" historical sites..."All of these people are taking "my" stuff..." . I don't mean to come off rude, but you crying about people doing exactly the same things that you are doing is not only immature, it's down right hypocritical. "

Well said! VERY well said!

 

[HoosierPirates]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

Hoosier, I have no idea what your talking about, there are a great many good members here who answer many, many questions, many times the same questions are asked over and over again, yet they are still answered. Just because someone posts a question on a board, it doesn't mean the people that know the answers to the question have seen the question.... Many times I stumble on a question that is a month old that I never even saw, and I am on the forum a lot, there are a lot of boards and sub boards....

TreasureNet is a very friendly place..........

Yes it does seem to be a friendly place... didn't say it wasn't. But when see a thread that has been read 250 times and has one post, you have to wonder ya know? Still new here, so Im not trying to tick anybody off but I am entitled to my opinion. You gotta admit that many people hold their technics closely and don't often share...which is understanable. And that can be felt without saying.... And when somebody says "I won't promote" ... there, it's been said. Not that Steve from Ohio isn't a friendly guy, he's just been pushed to far...as many members probably have.

HP, you said "getting advice is like pulling teeth", but members here give tons of advice all the time..... A thread that has been read 250 times with one reply doesn't mean a lot, there are hundreds and hundreds of people on this site every day that are not registered but can read threads, they just can't post till they are registered so lots of reads on a post has to be taken with a grain of salt, especially when they are in certain forums with lots of traffic.....

I have not seen any posts where experienced members would not give tips or explain something to help someone when asked, we do it all the time.

As far as "not promoting", that only means will not push detecting or a style of hunting to people that don't hunt and you do not personally know, and that is completely understandable. Many of us will not share special hunting areas, or in the water not tell where a find was from, nothing wrong with that. I use to fish all the time, I did not share hot fishing holes to just anyone I met.......

I use to hunt indian artifacts all the time when I lived in Missouri, I did not share certain hot spots that were rich with artifacts to just anyone, they were kept for me or my close friends, but I did share my techneques then, and have done so here on the artifact boards, there is a big difference between sharing techneques and hot spots...

No one is mad, just did not understand your post on not getting advice since we give it all the time...

Good luck, good hunting, and you can reach anyone to ask a question by clicking their name and sending them an IM, I get a lot of them from people I do not know...YET..

Never thought about the non registered traffic.. You have made some great points and I feel differently now. Thank you for engaging in this conversation with me.

And I do understand that "spots" are sacred, I would never ask for someones spot. I really haven't asked for much actually. Would be nice to be able to use the search function tho...



Now tell me all your secrets muwahahaha

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

Never thought about the non registered traffic.. You have made some great points and I feel differently now. Thank you for engaging in this conversation with me.

And I do understand that "spots" are sacred, I would never ask for someones spot. I really haven't asked for much actually. Would be nice to be able to use the search function tho...



Now tell me all your secrets muwahahaha

Search I believe is once again part of the Charter Membership, (uses a lot of resourses)........ Become a Charter Member and you can enjoy this feature among others.....

 

[Lowbatts]

Re: I won't promote!

Well we can ignore newbies or we can turn them to our advantage. Introduce yourself. Advise as you can or will.

The one thing a bureaucrat/politician looks at is numbers. The zero's on his campaign check. The number of calls to his office. The time ticking by until he gets to go home and hit the snooze button again.

Or just stick your head in the sand and wait until they, and the hobby are both gone.

MD'ing is not new anymore. It's a tradition and one that will be forced out because a few whiny punks liken it to evil self-interest among individuals. It destroys the environment, it plunders our heritage, it steals from our past....

I say bring on the hoardes and let 'em in, corral them and get them to write letters and make phone calls.

Metal detectorists protect the environment, are a part of our heritage, represent and share our past.

Of course I'm preaching to the choir, unless I bump into another newbie this week.

You decide whether you're keeping your head up, or keeping your head up your ...

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Re: I won't promote!

You can thank us for heavy promotion I sell many detectors to the kids we teach in our program and the numbers should double this year if we are lucky. And a bunch of them live in Florida

You may want to find another hobby 8)

My goal is to get ALL teens beeping at some point.

 

[birdman]

Re: I won't promote!

Like everyone has said in this thread,detecting is a lot of work.I have got 3 people into this hobby that sold their machines a short time later because digging hurts your back after a while and they would see my finds and think it was easy. The main thing is ,if you don't have a love for history then digging hundreds of holes is just not fun.
As far as the beach hunters go,I think there will be lots of machines for sale soon. With the price of gas and batteries a lot of people are going to give up after a day of finding $1 in clad and no gold.

 

[steve from ohio]

Re: I won't promote!

You can thank us for heavy promotion I sell many detectors to the kids we teach in our program and the numbers should double this year if we are lucky. And a bunch of them live in Florida

You may want to find another hobby 8)

My goal is to get ALL teens beeping at some point.

Of course you would! More power to ya! That's not my job......so I just won't promote metal detecting. I'll tell them that they probably will not like it as it takes a different person to spend hours and hours walking around with an electronic stick looking for old stuff and digging holes.

My comments are not an attack on metal detecting or all the new detectorists. It is a comment on the state of the economy on metal detecting. I just wanted to point out the desperation that I see in some of the newbee's who are now flooding the beaches. I won't tell anyone that metal detecting will bring them fame and fortune or that they could find gold on Florida beaches now a days. Metal detecting has changed in the last year. The reason why people metal detect has changed in the last year.
It is more a need to find a gold ring than a chance to get out and have some enjoyment. I hunt because I enjoy it. They hunt because they think they can get a lot of money for the gold that they might find.

I have been monitoring this site and others and I see that the finds on Florida beaches seem to be way down. My own personal experience shows me that there is less gold and jewelry to be found for whatever reason.

Find another hobby? Naw......I'll just find another place to hunt. Florida is off my list. Hope you sell tons of detectors. It's good for the economy that everyone succeeds.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: I won't promote!

good I live in the upper NE corner area of florida * nothing left here --- nothing at all -- -- now you can go elsewhere and let me find my old spanish silver in peace since you will now be hunting elsewhere .-- I'm not even going to talk about the "non spanish" relics --like 1763 to 1783 english colonial & rev war stuff --seminole war era stuff and civil war stuff-- spanish american war era campsites --- thats out there.