My youngest son learning the ropes

[pennyfarmer]

My 6 yo son won an Ace 400 at a club meeting. So I had to do some modifications to get it to fit him.

First I added a bicycle bar end to one side so he could use 2 hands. Then I shortened the rod by 4.5 inches. Shortening the rod was a bit tricky but I didn't screw it up. I really wish that Garrett would sell a short rod for use by children. The biggest hurdle at getting kids out is finding a good detector that fits them. I would rather not start them on junk.

Now for the pictures.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[scruggs]

Your son looks like a natural with that modified Garrett ACE 400. Good job!

 

[Loco-Digger]

Nice rig. He looks like a natural. He's young so he can dig all targets and still not get tired. The Ace 400's a good mid-range set-up for him to grow into. How does he like the handle bar swinging method?

 

[pennyfarmer]

The handlebar is good. I suspect that it wont be long until he doesn't use it. When it was full sized I noticed that he wanted to put the off hand under the swinging hand, probably because it was heavy and difficult to control. Cut some inches out of it and he can control it much better.

I just walk beside him and critique his swing, because I am that dad. We also got a good lesson in ground coverage today because he missed a quarter but picked it up on a return through the same area. I love those easy lessons that just occur.

 

[A2coins]

Penny farmer I'm a wheat harvester lol Great to get him started I cant imagine what my collection of stuff would look like if I started that young!!! One day your going to start noticing your detector disappeared lol... Great Family time though!!!!! Great post and Happy Holidays.. Tommy

 

[Loco-Digger]

Maybe you can rig up a small swingy thingy and let him swing one handed with the weight of the detector neutralized.

 

[BigWaveDave]

And he found some bling!.....is it silver?
Must have got him excited to find money.
Good job by you, and him.

 

[pennyfarmer]

Maybe you can rig up a small swingy thingy and let him swing one handed with the weight of the detector neutralized.

Yeah, that was one of my thoughts. I just have to figure out how I am going to do it.

 

[pennyfarmer]

And he found some bling!.....is it silver?
Must have got him excited to find money.
Good job by you, and him.

I was hoping it would be silver but no. That was actually his favorite thing, so I know he will do well in this hobby. People who are interested in only coins often get bored and frustrated with the hobby. People who like the interesting junk stick around.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome!

Hunting with your son...priceless!

 

[against the wind]

That is so cool.
Congrats to both of you.
I'm putting you in for an Honorable Mention.

 

[WaterScoop]

Got bit by the detecting bug early on. A lifetime of memories for him. Good for you dad.
With crypto currency around the corner coins will be archeological discoveries.

Thanx for sharing



Merry Christmas

 

[Kurios1]

Kudos to the DAD of the YEAR! I can't think of a better past time to get a young person involved in than metal detecting. The Ace 400 is no slouch. He'll be digging the good stuff right out of the gate. He'll be grown into this thing before you know it. Yeah, he's a kid and they grow FAST!

 

[pennyfarmer]

Kudos to the DAD of the YEAR! I can't think of a better past time to get a young person involved in than metal detecting. The Ace 400 is no slouch. He'll be digging the good stuff right out of the gate. He'll be grown into this thing before you know it. Yeah, he's a kid and they grow FAST!

I am not really a Garrett guy but I agree. It is a pretty nice detector. Good resolution with the target ID numbers. Seems to have good recovery speed for a beginner. My only issue is the pinpointing. It could be better by focusing the pinpoint to the absolute center of the coil in that mode. But that is minor. Great machine that requires little tweaking. Turn it on and go.

 

[G.A.P.metal]

pennyfarmer
I love that picture of your son in the park metal detecting.
I would have that picture put on a T shirt.... and wear it when i metal detected ...a hat too .
Gary

 

[Blak bart]

Yeah.......my kids 5 and we do a lot of eyeball searching and treasure hunting. Last month he picked up a german reichs mark coin at a spot where someones coin collection was lost during the hurricane. I cant wait to get the same picture with my boy !! Awsome work pennyfarmer !! Nice memory captured on film.

 

[G.A.P.metal]

Kids like your`s get their on " Weekly allowance" ! out of the ground ...smart

 

[sprailroad]

The handlebar is like training wheels, what a smart thing to come up with, seems he has a great teacher/trainer/Dad. You are one of the good guys out there.

 

[highnam]

Nice setup for the youngster...pretty soon you can send him under crawl spaces and decks. Just kidding....Useless it was his idea

 

[thrifty76now]

Holy cow,great looking guy and to think what his future hunting might bring.