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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[lookindown]

Re: I won't promote!

I have always belived that posting and showing off finds was going to to result in negative effects.

AUDuke....... You are right there......... I have never posted or showed any of my finds or even talked about them on any fourm ......................... My thoughts on that was it was just plain stupid and just ego .... Not a bright thing to do at all......... I might get a lot mad by saying that but i don't care ........... It is just not the right thing to do ............. That's my thinking....

I always thought it was STUPID to not show your finds. I'm not scared of competition. That's my thinking.

Well that is were we differ i think you are stupid for showing your finds and trying to build up your ego......

I dont think you have anything to show.

 

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[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

Well lookindown it is like this ... My signature if you look at the bottom of the page has said for years......... "LET NO ONE KNOW WHAT WERE OR WHEN"............. I have always felt that what i find is no ones business but my own.................. I need not build my ego by saying " Look What I Found " I don't have to break my arm by patting myself on the back ............ If you only knew... But you nor any one else will ever know what i found................. Well my signature is not there right now i don't know were the hell it went

 

[lookindown]

Re: I won't promote!

I have no problem with your opinion, only with you calling us stupid.

 

[AUDuke]

Re: I won't promote!

I started detecting over 40 yrs ago, so I may have found something in that time, but the only ones who know what or how much are a few close friends and relatives. Its no one Else's business. Don't feel the need to build up my ego. Have never posted any finds and never will.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

If someone doesn't want to show what they found that is their business and I can respect it, just as it is someone else's business if they want to show what they have found, and there is no reason why you can't respect them, it is completely uncalled for to say someone is trying to build their ego up by showing what they found, and an insult to call someone stupid for doing it. You just called every member here that shows their finds stupid.......

Showing what someone found is not "building up their ego" anymore then displaying what detector they are using below their user name which many of us do including myself and you Keppy....

 

[colorado14ers]

Re: I won't promote!

is it really necessary to call every person who posts their finds "stupid"??

 

[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

If someone doesn't want to show what they found that is their business and I can respect it, just as it is someone else's business if they want to show what they have found, and there is no reason why you can't respect them, it is completely uncalled for to say someone is trying to build their ego up by showing what they found, and an insult to call someone stupid for doing it. You just called every member here that shows their finds stupid.......

Showing what someone found is not "building up their ego" anymore then displaying what detector they are using below their user name which many of us do including myself and you Keppy....

Ok ... I picked the wrong word in stupid..... but when i see find's being posted ....... I just wonder why do they do that??........ I don't understand the need for doing that...... My thoughts is what i find is my business no one needs to know what i find.........Sorry for the word stupid..........

 

[ivan salis]

Re: I won't promote!

i post because quite frankly I just enjoy showing folks some of the cool things I've found -- I also like to see the cool stuff they found as well --exact locations where things were found at and such need not be discussed of course . --( to protect their sites and for other reasons as well )

-- ego building ? --hah I let my finds and knowledge speak for themselves as far as my skills go -- I honestly like to share my knowledge with others and help ID other folks finds --simply because I like to give my brain a good work out now and then , and frankly I enjoy solving "puzzles" . -- if being smart and helping folks is "ego" well guess I'm guilty of it.

honestly lots of folks find things but have no clue as to what it might be -- however by posting it here on T net they can draw upon the thousands of folks knowledge that hangout here to uncover what it is they have found.

as a group the folks here at T net --due their vastly differant ethnic backgrounds , job skills and knowledge bases -- can solve a vast amount of "what is this" questions

 

[lookindown]

Re: I won't promote!

If someone doesn't want to show what they found that is their business and I can respect it, just as it is someone else's business if they want to show what they have found, and there is no reason why you can't respect them, it is completely uncalled for to say someone is trying to build their ego up by showing what they found, and an insult to call someone stupid for doing it. You just called every member here that shows their finds stupid.......

Showing what someone found is not "building up their ego" anymore then displaying what detector they are using below their user name which many of us do including myself and you Keppy....

Ok ... I picked the wrong word in stupid..... but when i see find's being posted ....... I just wonder why do they do that??........ I don't understand the need for doing that...... My thoughts is what i find is my business no one needs to know what i find.........Sorry for the word stupid..........

Thats good enough for me . No hard feelings. Different opinions make the forum interesting.

 

[Lowbatts]

Re: I won't promote!

I just find it entertaining to see some people who think posting beach finds are equal to "giving up" a spot. Huh?

Been at this a long time and I'm the king of sharing spots. Actual old researched spots. Simply makes sense if I find an area that I think can produce and am fairly certain I'm not gonna get there in my life time or have the time to hunt it well. Seen some great stuff found by others at spots I've told them about, very cool. And they are not the ones "ruining the hobby" either.

Seems like this pursuit, as with too many others in the age of guilt and self-loathing has way too many hand wringers. People who see spots on the beach where kids have dug their play spots or self-created little empires sometimes point to those spots later and unknowingly decry them as "the ruination of the hobby."

Oh no! look at those holes in the park! Seen people point to those little 3 inch wide holes that are EVERYWHERE this time of year as the SQUIRRELS come out to play and again some Podunk-born self-ascribed caretaker of MD'ing decries the ruination of our hobby.

Mole crowns. What in the triple F is wrong with some people? Can you not see the trail of upward lifted ground the mole made on the way to the 13" wide by 4" high mound where he crowned out?

And those cavemen with clubs. Teeing off all over some parks and tearing those long deep cuts leaving clumps here and there.

So where are the self-loathing squirrels, groundhogs, moles and golfers?

You guys have enough enemies on the outside, don't go after each other.

Well we know the haters are there. Nature Nazis who think NO ONE belongs off the guided path. Who wins when they get their way? Nature, that most destructive force of all. To "preserve" the "forests" they allow so much wild growth that no, the native Americans could not have lived there, in fact many of the anilmals can no longer live there.

And yesterday I found this, tangled in the overgrowth and extrememly thick brush in a nearby FP.

By the thickness he must have lived a good life unil he tried scraping some of that velvet off in that tangled growth of intertwined slow death he found. He was still there, hanging above the ground in the branches of a tree/bush cluster.

 

[liftloop]

Re: I won't promote!

I think your just greedy sure every buddy loves to find stuff why should it just be you.there is less fortunate people out their.who really needs the finds it's an make or break situation.not a hobby like others.
I give up the copper rich gravel roads to other people even when they say it o.k to hunt with them they don't own the road any way's and I don't need their permission but I no it's their lively hood,and that what they do for a liven and when the snows gone there of the road and in the bush pulling float copper out of the ground.and they let me tag a long then that were I learned how power full the 5900 di pro is and we spit or fines any thing over a hundred pound piece.they dived e monks each other.

 

[Montauk3]

Re: I won't promote!

This is really getting dumb. We're enjoying a hobby for Jezz O'Petes sake!

Don't like whats going on? Help clean up a getto that can't seem to get off it's sitter.

Or perhaps living in a socialized country would be more suitable for you. (You know, where your told when, how, and what color you can do things).

Freedom of choice seems to be a commodity too easily forgotten in this country.

Carry on!

 

[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

This is really getting dumb. We're enjoying a hobby for Jezz O'Petes sake!

Don't like whats going on? Help clean up a getto that can't seem to get off it's sitter.

Or perhaps living in a socialized country would be more suitable for you. (You know, where your told when, how, and what color you can do things).

Freedom of choice seems to be a commodity too easily forgotten in this country.

Carry on!

Your right"'I am sorry " freedom of choice ...You show your finds i will not say a word...... I will not show mine don't ask me to..... If i keep talking like i was i would be like one of those CRAZY polltician's in Washington DC... I don't need to live in a socialized country...... Montauk3 thank you for letting me know how dumb i was sounding......

 

[joeman]

Re: I won't promote!

i post because quite frankly I just enjoy showing folks some of the cool things I've found -- I also like to see the cool stuff they found as well --exact locations where things were found at and such need not be discussed of course . --( to protect their sites and for other reasons as well )

-- ego building ? --hah I let my finds and knowledge speak for themselves as far as my skills go -- I honestly like to share my knowledge with others and help ID other folks finds --simply because I like to give my brain a good work out now and then , and frankly I enjoy solving "puzzles" . -- if being smart and helping folks is "ego" well guess I'm guilty of it.

honestly lots of folks find things but have no clue as to what it might be -- however by posting it here on T net they can draw upon the thousands of folks knowledge that hangout here to uncover what it is they have found.

as a group the folks here at T net --due their vastly differant ethnic backgrounds , job skills and knowledge bases -- can solve a vast amount of "what is this" questions

Well stated..!
I think too many people think that by showing their finds, they are 'giving away' the farm, so to speak... That's Ridiculous! All one has to do is merely type in 'metal detecting' and you'll find out quite quickly what people are finding 'right now'. Hell, I STILL see TH and MD magazines from the 70's, 80's, 90's, in Dentists offices and the like....
It's not like this is some kind of secret either! You could easily take 100 people that have NEVER detected before and ask them what they would be likely to find with it and you'd get at least 70 percent that would include 'Gold, Silver, Jewelery and Coins'.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: I won't promote!

unless your fool enough to give away exact or near exact "publicly huntible areas" locations (or have easily noticible landmarks in your photos you post --leave the gps locator on?) then your not "giving it all away" -- by any means

 

[stagger]

Re: I won't promote!

steve from ohio- You sound as if you think you should be the only one using a detector at the beach. Last time I checked, public beaches are public property for use by all. So, have fun fighting the crowd.

 

[steve from ohio]

Re: I won't promote!

steve from ohio- You sound as if you think you should be the only one using a detector at the beach. Last time I checked, public beaches are public property for use by all. So, have fun fighting the crowd.

Not so at all!

If you read my other posts on this subject, what I am doing is just making an observation that we as "REAL" metal detectorists are going to have to change our tactics. Going to the beach and finding gold is not the same as it was just a year ago. The Johnny come lately I want to find a ring and make a thousand dollars people are now more prevalent than the old schoolers who have been hunting for years. With today's prices for gold and silver there are a lot more people looking for rings and blings at the beaches. And with today's technology, it is easier for the newbee to be at least a bit more competitive with us old schoolers. With today's prices of gold and silver, the PAWN shops and We buy gold stores are also now our competitors.

With today's prices of gold and silver, you would have to be crazy to wear it anyways! What a great target for theft.....wearing a gold chain that is worth a thousand dollars around your neck. Used to be it was worth a few hundred. Now a few thousand.

What I am doing to fight this is doing more research and going to places that were used in the past but no more. Less popular places and less popular beaches. There are still areas that have not seen a metal detector and that is where I am headed. And when I get there, I'll know that at least if I do see someone there with a detector, it was not because I talked them into trying metal detecting.

Let the detector sales people promote. I'm not doing this to make them rich. I'm doing it to have fun and at least have a CHANCE to find something....not spend four weeks on Florida beaches finding NOTHING.

I look at it this way. If I owned a McDonald's restaurant and I was the only one around, I'd be pretty happy and secure knowing that I would have a good chance of making something. But if I was then told that ten more McDonald's would open up right next to me, I would be pretty upset. I would move or try another business.
Well I'm not ready to try another business....I love metal detecting...so I'm moving to another location that has no one there. That is my point. We need to adapt and change as the conditions are no longer as good at the popular beaches as they were in the past.

 

[TexasDigger1]

Re: I won't promote!

I've been detecting since 1976, have seen many guys come and go. I believe, we, as detectorists will keep enjoying our hobby until we can't hunt anymore, these johnny come lately's will soon give up cause we all know, you won't find gold everytime you go out....

 

[stagger]

Re: I won't promote!

I guess I just don't understand what it is that makes you a "real" metal detectorist and what makes the ones that haven't been doing it as long less "real". I'm sure that their goal, just like yours, is find the gold and silver. If that wasn't your goal you wouldn't be swinging a detector.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

I guess I just don't understand what it is that makes you a "real" metal detectorist and what makes the ones that haven't been doing it as long less "real". I'm sure that their goal, just like yours, is find the gold and silver. If that wasn't your goal you wouldn't be swinging a detector.

The "less real" ones are the ones who go out and buy a detector thinking the detector will allow them to just walk down the beach picking up lost gold rings and who give up after a few trips to the beach with no luck on finding gold.....

People complain about pull tabs, but in truth they are our friends as they discourage a lot of the get rich quick new hunters from the hobby because after digging hundreds of pull tabs and pieces of can slaw they think screw this, this is work...