new here and to detecting

[texasmetal]

Hell everyone.

I guess I am pretty much new to everything at this point. I am new to Texas. I am new to this website (this is my first post as you can see) and I am new to metal detecting in general. I haven't found very much yet in part because I don't really know how to detect on hard ground. I bought my detector in south florida and spent all of my time detecting on the beaches because it was so easy. I now live in The Woodlands Texas and I don't know where to go or what to do. I also have tons of questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S.
Just to clarify the thing about detecting on hard ground I can get signals but the pinpoint thing doesn't seem to do a real good job or I don't understand it because when I dig I usually end up making a crater and still can't find what is supposedly there sometimes

thanx 8)

 

[Sandman]

Welcome to the forum. First, which detector are you having trouble pinpointing with? It is good to practice on a no target piece of ground and cover some coins with a newspaper to practice locating them. If a coin is on edge or at an angle this will throw you off too. Not much you can do about that as you never know about it till you dig it up.

HH,
Sandman

 

[texasmetal]

It is a garrett Ace 250 which I've heard is a very good detector and I know it works great on the sand but I can't seem to work it right on the dirt. I don't want to go to a school or someone's yard and dig up all these big holes to find some coins but I really want to do this stuff.

 

[Postalrevnant]

Welcome to the forum and hobby texasmetal. I am fairly new to detecting as well. I have been at it for a little over 6 weeks now. With each and every day I get better and better at pinpointing. I am still getting fooled a little, but most digs are now fairly well on.

I have been moving the detector over the item. (oh first its pretty important to get a solid signal on both swings...swing over the target a few times to ensure its staying solid). Once I am sure I go to metal mode and swing over the target from different directions slowly. When I hear what sounds like the loudest, or clearest tone than I should be fairly close to being over the target.

Hope that helps some. Hard for me to explain, but comes easier with practice.

With more experience I am sure that both of us will have very little pinpointing problems.

Postalrevnant

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Treasurenet.
I think perhaps your detector is having what is known as "Beach Withdrawl". Comment ailment when a detector has been used to the easy life of sand digging and then placed into the hard cold reality of digging real dirt!
Take several coins...go out into the yard and bury them. Then test swing over each coin to see how your detector is reacting. How deep...whats the signal...Bury some coins on the side and some flat.
Stick popcycle sticks (marked with depth and coin) in the ground over your coins so you know exactly where they are when you pinpoint. This should help you get a good feel for what your detector is telling you.
In the mean time ...take some of those pink flamingo statues and put them in your yard to help detector through recovery period.
Good Luck and we look forward to some of those Texas finds!

 

[Mighty AP]

Also, get a handheld pinpointer if you dont already have one! These things cut your recovery time in half! If you dont have one & are thinking of getting one, PM me & I'll send you a few links.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Hi texasmetal - I live in The Woodlands too. There are a few others on the forum that live close by as well. If you want to talk send me a PM and I may be able to answer some of your questions.

HH!
TBGO

 

[Burdie]

That is what is great about this forum. You have all the help you need allready. HH Burdie

 

[texasmetal]

Thanx everyone for the advice. I think you may be onto something gypsy. My detector is even looking a little forlorn. What is a handheld pinpointer, where do you get them and how do they work? Where in the woodlands do you live TBGO? Maybe we could go hunting sometime?

 

[-Jones-]

Texasmetal,

I'd bet that the damn dirt in misery, i mean missouri is as hard as what ya have in Texas! For the month of July and August, we've had little rain and many daily highs in the upper 90's!

IMO, when one digs into dirt harder than the hubs in hell ( or i should say soil since I'm a CE), one has got to have a thick bladed knife.

Here are four knifes I use. The top knife is my fav. It's got a thick blade and won't bend when you cut out that cone shaped plug. The next knife has got a sharpen blade on each side and it to is stout. The last 2 knives have thin blades and tend to bend when diggin harden ground.

I agree, beach detectin is alot easier!

Happy Huntin 8)

 

[The Beep Goes On]

I'm in the Golden Sage subdivision near Woodlands Parkway and Cochrans Crossing. I'll send you my phone number if you want to call.

HH!
TBGO

 

[neilo]

If you are in highly mineralised ground turn your sensitivity down, you are getting false signals, slow your swing down, and swing at an even hieght.Most people make a big mistake with the Garrett and run the sensitivity too high it also affects your pinpointing as well. seeya Neilo

 

[Ramapirate]

I keep my ace 250 around the 4th or 5th notch on sensitivity when hunting inland (I was at Oak Island, N.C. this past weekend and I ran it a litttle hotter to hit everything I could swinging relatively fast) When you here a beep, slow your swing over the area where you heard it. When you pick the signal up again, see if you can "X" or "cross" it going left to right and front to back. The 250 should "ping" right where the swings cross at the center of your spider coil. If you get a relatively stable signal using this method, push the pinpoint button and hold it down and slow your swing down even more, again using the "X" or "cross" method. You should have the target pinpointed and know with some certainty how deep it is. Good luck and happy hunting!! I really like my Ace 250, but you are right about it loving some sand.