Just got my first metal detector!! Help!!

[Tunja]

hey guys!

Just got my first metal detector. I've been wanting one for a while, but haven't been able to justify spending any money. I finally found somebody to take an old worthless antique shotgun (valued at $70) off my hands for a brand new Pioneer Bounty Hunter EX. I do realize this is a beginners MD, and I would've loved something more professional...but nonetheless this is the one I'm starting off with.

My main interests are finding older coins (silver) or maybe some jewelery. Any advice on the best settings i should use? Any tips in general as far as using the machines?

I do know what type of places to hunt, how to research, where i want to be looking, etc, but i'm more interested in just some tips for using the detector.

I think within the next week i'm going to take it to the local soccer fields with are not currently in use just to see what i can find. After that I'm going down to southern indiana in the fall to do some camping near a location where an old mill and town used to be located and now it's just a lake and a few campsites.

Any tips would be much appreciated!! Thanks!

 

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[kayden]

Search youtube for your detector ...hopefuly there is a few How to videos there to watch...Good Luck & dont forget to show us all your treasures!

 

[U.K. Brian]

Before you go to a park or public area practise pinpointing as people do tend to dig huge/wide holes with this detector. There's no need for this its just a matter of taking a little care before starting the hole.

As its a lower cost detector you have to try and balance this back. Find a weak sounding signal that indicates good on the meter and try adjusting your sweep speed. Some areas will allow a slightly faster sweep, others and wet sand need slower.

I would never "X" out more than iron. This will give more depth and should still reject some buried foil. I can't remember if there's much difference in I.D. accuracy between the audio and visual so check it just in case one is more accurate than the other. They are linked but best to make certain.

Best performance gains are from having the correct sweep speed and keeping the coil as flat to the ground over the whole sweep movement, the least discrimination you can live with and correct coil height....some sites will allow the coil to be almost touching though an inch and a half to two inches is generally better. Other bad ground sites you can gain depth by keeping the coil higher. Most important for I.D. is that the coil centre needs to pass directly over the buried target which is another reason why its best to practise pinpointing.

The above applies to every detector though some hide the negative effects better which is why you can see experienced people with cheaper/less powerful detectors finding more than their mates with more expensive ones.