Inexperienced Detectorist

[sndman60]

I am still faily new at detecting. I have a White's XLT that I just purchased last month. I have just been given permission to use it on a farm. Now for the question that may very simple to those with a vast knowledge and experience. Is there a good range or setting and a good technique for detecting in plowed fields? I have used it once in the farmers fields and did ok, but feel I am a lot of good finds. Thanks for all the help and great tips in advance.

 

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[wildrider]

Honestly I get out in the field and move fast, swinging accordingly to my pace. When I get a good target, I slow down and hunt up and down in that particular row hoping to locate something else.

If I get in a high target area, I suggest that you move very slowly (like almost standing still) and reach further ahead. Once that area is covered, I take "a step (1) forward" and repeat the last process. If the signals dwindle, I move on until I can get another good hit and repeat the hunt again.

Hope that helps.

 

[Zincoln Miner]

my standard xlt program has a disc setting of reject -95 thru -39 accept -40 thru +95
I suggest starting with the relic program and set this disc setting.read and reread the manual,and learn
the audio/signagraph/vdi # responces. I have icon off to speed up display,besides that is for the sales room floor in my opinion.dig all to learn.adjust settings to your preference and knowledge.

another two of my personal preference settings are for pinpointing=ratchet pinpointing off(I manually detune) and vco on

follow relic hunting tips for that farm field.

good luck HH

 

[sndman60]

Thanks. I'm sure this will help alot. I plan on going out to the farm this weekend sometime. I do have the icons off but I do tend to rely on the ratchet pinpoint a bit. At this time I have my desc. set @ accept +10 to +94. I will open it up a little. I do notice sometimes I do get bars in the right side that do not ring out a digit indication. Should I pay more attention to this? You have been a great help thanks. I hope to have great and wonderful finds to share with everyone (keeping in mind I am still very new).

 

[Zincoln Miner]

the more you dig the more you learn.not all rejected or low conductive targets are junk.unfortunately
most are but with knowledge of site and machine you can tip the odds.


have fun

 

[sndman60]

Thanks for all your great help. I did have a great day on Sunday. I am feeling more confident about the tones and displays. Here are a few of my better finds from the farm I have obtained permission to check out. There is a bullet with an embossed star inside the back of it. Any ideas? The owner used to never let any one on there, but last month he gave two guys permission, I was one. Thanks again. Good luck to you.

 

[Zincoln Miner]

is that the star bullet in your fingertips?photo is on the blurry side.maybe the star is a mold anomaly or maybe it is a Texans bullet.

dig those large iron hits,practise with an old horse shoe.not all rejected targets are junk.

 

[sndman60]

Yes the bullet in my fingers has a Prominent star in the bottom of it. It was purposely molded that way. I have my machine opened up to accept a very wide range of targets. I dug bullets, a couple of buttons, some sort of a plate or badge of some kind, and a 1926 dime. All the advise and tips have really paid off. Thanks for all your help. If any one sees anything they have good 411 on please let me know.

 

[SamN]

looks like your off to a great start...

 

[sndman60]

All of the above finds came from a farm near bu have been detecting on for about a month now. Because there really isn't alot of trash in the fields, it does make it a bit easier. I have more stuff posted in todays finds area. If you ever have any good 411 on anything I post please feel free to let me know. Thanks for replying.

Gary

 

[nascarfan]

IT sounds like you are getting the hang of this THing thing! I think Wildrider has some good advice in that you need to go fairly fast until you hit a good concentration of targets and then slow way down! It's real easy when you have a vast area to keep thinking that the area over there is better than the spot you're detecting at, then you end up going way too fast. So you really want to keep yourself in check, especially when you are detecting w/ someone else......I get that sometimes when I see a friend digging a bunch and I tend to want to go faster and drift towards where they're at. Then I think, no, keep doing what you're doing!! Kinda like when you're fishing and someone is catching fish in a certain spot, it's human nature to want to move from your spot!! Nascarfan

PS....I generally as a rule, don't get permission to hunt a spot over and over again, a lot of places where I hunt, I'm there once or maybe twice and that's it. So if you have a spot where you can hunt over and over again, then you might want to be a little more thourough (grids and so forth)..........Later

 

[Eu_citzen]

I'd say go slow and keep the coil as level as you can, these places can be littered with trash.
(use small coil if it is much trash)

If a place produces well I'd go over it many times, as you gain experience you'll learn new techniques and there for old spots may produce again.
A relic hunters approach sure is the way to go. Someone may fill you in more then I can.

Regards,
Eu

 

[sndman60]

Thanks for the great tips and help. This weekend I did find myself speeding through non-producing areas to get to what seemed like good spots all because I saw people digging or heard them say that spot was great. I also kept my scope or field of view very limited and found that I should have gone the extra step. Having said that, the spot I failed to hit and left open was later hit by another hunting buddy and came up with silver, wlking liberty and 2 mercs, to be exact. Experience is such a great teacher but can be a little unkind at times. Thanks again for all the grewat advice, it will be used extensively. Good luck you guys.

Gary

 

[johnnycat]

That Merc. is a beauty!!

 

[sndman60]

Thanks, that merc. was my first. Since then I have found a 1926 merc and a 1949 siver dime. That's all the silver I have found so far, but I have only been doing this since Jan of this year. There is alot more potential out there. Thanks for replying.

Gary

 

[BuckleBoy]

Your bullet was made at the Washington Arsenal--they were all marked with the star in the base. That's not a common find, even though the price doesn't represent that fact. I've only found a few out of the hundreds and hundreds of Civil War bullets I've found. Search that area carefully, and congratulations on your first Civil War bullet!


Here's a link:

http://www.relicman.com/bulbulk.htm#Washington_Star


Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[sndman60]

Thanks BuckleBoy, I have actually found 4 of the Washinton Arsenal bullets and 2 of the Williams cleaners now. Also I have found a few nice buttons, of which the General Service Eagle coat button is in great condition and the best. The fields have been sprayed to kill the grass and weeds and they are going to turn the fields soon (I hope). So, now that opens up more possibilities. Thanks for the info. I will post any new great finds I happen to dig.

 

[BuckleBoy]

I will post any new great finds I happen to dig.

I can't wait to see your future finds. Good luck and Happy Hunting.


-Buckles

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

You are off to a great start. Nice finds.

Here are a few links to some programs you might be interested in:

http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk/xlt.htm

http://www.geocities.com/garys_hoard/xlt/

http://metaldetectingworld.com/my_program_for_whites_xlt.shtml

http://www.rtinet.com/~canaday/metal.htm

http://66.51.97.78/jb/programm.html

That should keep you busy for a while. Happy Hunting.

Ray S

 

[sndman60]

Thanks for your help. I will definitely be spending some quality time at these sites. One great thing about this hobby, it is so extensive, there is always something new to learn or someplace new to go, and new things to uncover. Thanks again.

Gary