Metis sharpshooters & the best metal detector out there

[Muddyhandz]

In case you don't know, a Metis is a half-breed or someone with Indian descent and I have a little story here from the top of my head.
Historically, the Metis were always known as incredible marksmen and were able to take down a buffalo with one shot, sometimes a great distance away.
They also could fire with remarkable accuracy while on horseback and were famous for defeating over 1,000 Sioux warriors with only 90 men.
They invented what you see on old western movies when the wagons made a square formation to defend off attackers except they used Red River ox carts.

News spread across the world and European generals would come out here to the Canadian Prairies to study Metis fighting techniques and strategies.
Especially since they primarily used out-dated flintlock (musket) guns that were never known for accuracy.
Some of these poor hunters that were known sharpshooters were reported to be using musket rifles that had bent gun barrels!

While new advances in firearms produced revolvers and semi-automatics (to name a few) using convenient cartridges, the Metis were still fueling the fur trade (and were top producers) with their old black powder guns.
They were masters with the tools they had. Can you imagine some dude walking into an Indian camp sporting the most expensive knife on the market and trying to out-skin a Native using an old make-shift knife fashioned out of scrap metal?
The greatest knife in the world could not outdo sheer experience. Heck, some types of flint when sharpened, can be 20 times more sharper than steel.

Anyway, I am a Manitoba Metis and I am a sharpshooter. I use a 1266X and have decades of experience with it. In 2014, I had the most incredible season ever in 30 years of hunting.
Last season I knocked off some rare bucket list finds and I NEVER even for one single moment, thought about getting a new detector.
This is not just from searching new sites as I made super recoveries from old hunted out parks as well as new spots.
My skills increase every year and I can waltz into a hunted out place and know how to extract goodies in amongst the trash, as I completely understand the language of my machine.
Detectors that boast they can see through trash makes me laugh. No, I can see through trash but I use my ears to see!

Enough about me. Here's what I think is a problem. Too many focus on the detector and not the individual.
It's like all the marriages that end in divorce these days. If only a couple stuck together through all the hard times and DID THE WORK it takes to move forward, many relationships would be saved.
Take it from someone who has a failed marriage! So you bought a detector and find some things difficult with it or you have the "grass is always greener on the other side" complex.
Did you really give that detector a fair chance? Don't listen to everyone else and all the hype you hear. Did you master that detector before you decided to move on with another unit?
Do you feel you're on top of your game as a skilled treasure hunter? Can you go out and find goodies WITHOUT a metal detector?
People all use the term "upgrade" when it comes to technology but do they ever use that term about themselves?
Sorry for the long post but I want this to be a wake-up call for some of the newer members to this hobby.

Number 1. It is YOU that has the ability to become a top treasure hunter through keen senses, dedication or passion, experience, and skill.
Number 2. It's the detector you choose to buy.
Like the old Chinese proverb....It's not the size of the weapon but the fury of the assault!
More important is that you have fun with whatever tool you feel comfortable using.
Cheers,
Dave.

 

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[bill from lachine]

Dave,

Well put....I'll stick with my beep and dig machine I can still sniff out some keepers from my pounded sites every season.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[jeweler21]

Just some more food for thought regarding your post. I've been detecting for fifty years and yes some of first detectors I can still do about as well with but it takes a lot longer to make the decision to dig or not and I enjoyment the upgrades more than the older detectors.
As for marriage, my second wife and I were on our honeymoon, there was a coin operated machine that you entered you and your mates birth dates in and it gave you an analysis of your marriage. Our result stated, "With a lot of hard work, this marriage can last. But why?"
The machine was right, two years later, we divorced.
I feel the same way about detectors as the machine did my marriage. I can use an outdated detector. But why?

 

[Muddyhandz]

Thanks for the comments. I certainly do not feel my detector is outdated as it will keep up with new machines quite fine. Because it's old doesn't mean it's inadequate.
The bottom line is you could give me the best ice skates and hockey stick ever made and I still won't make the NHL.
I'll still suck at hockey!

 

[bigfoot1]

well said !!!I have owned several machines.I spent almost 10 yrs swinging a gtax 1250.it was high end for its time,has features I wish my atp had.it had its shortcomings but I had absolutely mastered it and did very well,even when hunting with buddies who had current high end machines.I tried to"upgrade"several times but was left less than thrilled with any even after a couple hundred hours.

what I have found is that for me the attributes needed in my daily machine have evolved.I need lightweight,fast,manual gb,consistant id on bottle caps,decent depth,coil options and weather proof.I'm quite happy that I made the move into my new machine.upgrade?dunno...just differant and fits my current expectations better.The man makes the tool...but...you have to have a decent tool.now thats a marrage that can last !!

 

[Muddyhandz]

Thanks for the replies. I would have gotten back sooner but I thought this thread died like all the threads I start.
I agree that our needs change and we seek those needs in whatever is new on the market.
My detector is heavy but then I found that weight (excellent balance) is good for smashing through tall grass where my buddy complains his Tesoro is too light and suffers in tall grass.
I get tons of audio information from it as it's one of the noisiest detectors ever made. It has a depth capability greater than most modern machines and bangs on all non-ferrous and has a TRUE all metal mode.
The things finds silver with my eyes closed and every season I usually have a silver streak that never ends!
I could really go on and on about this detector which is my fourth after starting out with a Micronta (sucks) and two different Whites.
The newer 1270 was supposed to be an improvement of the '66 but it isn't half the machine of it's predecessor. I can go on and on about the 1266X but that isn't the point of this thread.

Actually, lets talk about my previous detectors. Skipping the Radio Shack crap, My first real machine was a Whites Liberty II which lacked depth, was quiet and only beeped on coins.
I hunted all the time and became so good with it that I out hunted my partners who had more expensive detectors.
One day after searching a yard until the point of no more good signals, I decided to crank the sensitivity to the max. It was "unstable" but I started to find old coins everywhere!
I learned something important and from that day on, every detector I would run with max. sens. and hate quiet machines.
Anyway, after fooling around one day and digging a "tick" that turned out to be a Queen Vicky large cent at 5 inches deep, I moved on to a Whites Coinmaster Classic 3 which is EXACTLY the same as the modern Prism or IDX (without a screen) and it was an improvement.
It had that "Zing" type of signal that I love so much with the 1266X. I did real good with that second Whites but it was no where the work horse as the '66 nor did it go as deep.
The point of all of this is that I MASTERED each detector before moving on with the next and then I found a model that I love and stuck with it. I'm a relic hunter so it suits me just fine.
The only detectors I would want to buy is an old Compass and any modern Nautilus. The Naughty uses OLD technology and goes deeper than any detector out there! Oops, I let the cat out the bag!

The story of the Metis is only to illustrate a simple point. They out hunted everyone using a modern firearm because of their great experience as hunters. The gun didn't make them great hunters.
I've seen all kinds showing up at the parks or beaches wielding the most expensive detector. They swing a mile a second (with the coil not even flat to the ground) with a uneven search pattern, cherry picking the best signals after they spend 5 minutes scrolling through their programs. They need a pinpointer because a lot of modern (new improved?) detectors can't pin point worth shite and leave a mess digging massive holes.
Not to mention the biggest turn-off for me......
Most of these great new expensive detectors seem to null out when they're searching heavy iron beds. That just isn't the right tool for my kind of hunting!
What am I really trying to say here?
If your new and starting out, buy a STARTER machine! Don't buy an E-trac because everyone here tells you to. Learn how to detect by using a simple turn on and go unit and learn how to LISTEN to the audio information the machine is giving you. Put some mileage on it and learn how to become a HUNTER. Once you've mastered it and feel it's time to move on to something of an upgrade then do so based on your needs, not the hype you hear about the latest and greatest.
There were a lot of detectors that were double the price of the 1266X back in the 90's but most of them fell by the wayside and did achieve a legendary status like my old beast.
Don't let the price decide for you! Newer doesn't necessarily mean better!
Oh, in case someone brings up the car scenario..... Just because you own a Cadillac that doesn't mean you're a better driver than someone with a Pinto!

 

[mrwilburino]

Most of these great new expensive detectors seem to null out when they're searching heavy iron beds. That just isn't the right tool for my kind of hunting!

They all null. That dead-space will always be there whenever you swing you're coil over a target that is being disc'd out. You just won't hear it if you're not running with an audible threshold.

It definitely IS important to use the right tool for the job. No point in taking a slow, "deep identifier" to a heavy iron bed if you have a fast, "target separator" available. Both machines have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[releventchair]

Beware the man with only one gun...he may know how to use it.
There has been a report of natives torquing a barrel between two trees , gradually working a very slight bend allowing it to shoot to point of aim.
While trade gun smooth bores generally only had a front site and depend (ed) on the shooters cheek weld/position for a rear site , familiarity through practice goes far in accuracy.
After working up a proper load.

I seem to relearn and learn new things/words from my detector each spring.
Should it become old hat I might consider an upgrade.
Depth is tolerable depending of course on what the object is , the rest is on interpreting the units speech or better yet by recovering the object.

A string and safety pin could in theory out-fish a fancier outfit if knowledge and understanding of what the potential is of the site and what is there is better understood by the user.

Nothing against higher end stuff than I run. Just more than I need capability wise for what I'm doin with it... for now.
Might be better , or more efficient but I would still need to learn the new gears language and idiosyncrasies to be truly more efficient.
Still seems digging most located objects would follow in old areas though.