New hobbyist because of tv show?

[bluehunter1973]

I am all for welcoming new people to Tnet but how many new members will you think we will get? I am wondering how many will join demanding to know where they can go. Should we help? More or less the moral issue on helping those who want to be serious or the future pains in butt who just dont care.

 

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[normalizer]

On that note, what is the common consensus on removing trash if it's old trash?

I cleared all the broken glass as well as modern stuff while I was digging yesterday but left some of the beer cans that were in better condition figuring someone might enjoy finding them in the future. Is that just a stupid idea? I figure 70 years from now that 70's Shlitz can might be as interesting to someone else as the 1934 shotgun shell was to me.

 

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[bluehunter1973]

I actually posted on your introduction Normalizer before I read this. I totally get why you and "the bone" joined and started hunted the fire was in you before you watched the show. The show just got it rolling. While I have nothing against someone making video's of their hunts and sharing. I am opposed of someone going out and digging up history just to teach others its monetary value and making profit. To me thats not what i feel our hobby is about. You can classify us into two groups those who hunt for the history and sharing with others and those who just do it to further their own greed and dont care who they screw over to get it. Some newbies that join are out for the quick dollar and some make a few at the expense of the rest of us. If I sale some of my stuff its to upgrade my hunting arsenal or I trade to other hunters to complete a collection. Except clad I only like to see how much I can cash in a month for gas. So welcome and you can learn a lot from some guys here.

 

[Chisos]

Guys, remember that Diggers is a TV show with a producer, director, actor(BoomBaby) and believe it or not, I am pretty sure the big finds are planted and the "antique" salespeople are coached on what to say(their lines) and are given the money(and some extra) to appear on camera and pay fatboy for his incredible good luck. Don't mean to sound preachy, but my sister spent 25 years in Hollywood as a producer and when she was visiting we watched the show and laughed. It may be on the complete level because of Nat Geo, but don't bet the ranch on it. As for newbies, we all made mistakes, did some dumb things and learned from our experiences(or was it just me?). People come and go, usually when the temperature hits 100* or so and the only thing you find is pull tabs and broken glass.

 

[bluehunter1973]

Hell I knew the show was a fake as soon as the (fat boy) started talking. Seriously you would think they would have toned down some of the drama. Yea we all made mistakes and we will always continue making new ones. The only metal detecting show that I watch is the one with Chicago Ron he's on you tube and sometimes the discovery channel its 100% percent real. The difference between him and the other guy he doesn't promote everybody grabbing a shovel and digging up whatever you can and selling it for profit.

 

[creeker42]

I watched the last 4 episodes of NGC's "Diggers", and would like to know where they found those two morons. That show is an embarrassment to the detectotists in the USA. Their careless digging habits and running around like a couple of grade school kids, will only prove to hurt us all. On the episodes I saw, no effort was made to restore the dig site to it's original state. How many towns will be enacting new laws after seeing the NGC series? I have been detecting for many years, and realize there is a segment of the public that don't approve of metal detecting. Shows like "Diggers" only reenforces the public's low opinion of all of us. It's really sad, because NGC had a chance to show what detecting really is, and they blew it. I will be contacting NGC, and will voice that they have failed in their attempt to portray what detecting is. If you value your hobby, you may want to do the same. JMHO

 

[Normsel]

I bought my detector and read the book cover to cover and Garrett tells you how to dig and leave your site when finished. I watched probably 5 hours of videos then I got online and explored many metal detecting websites and forums. I asked the typical newbie questions. I was helped a great deal and I would say the majority of the answers I got wer very good. I will add some of the answers were smart alec remarks and those people shouldn't even bother to answer if the can't offer good advice.

I probably have soe where in the 400 to 500 hours of detecting experince so far and no one not even me can tell where i been. Many sites take days to cover and when i go back the next day I can't find where i was the day before. The sad thing is the cherry pickers that go to a park or somewhere and you can see verywhere they been but the dead grass and holes left open. On one day i followed the trail of a cherry picker and picked over $6 in clad just following who ever it was.

I am worried the show won't go into detail enough to show how responsible detectorists dig and leave the site. I have run into a cpl reallu good guys detecting and the go by thebook when digging, removing trash and leaving the site clean. I ran into a lady that was using a garden shovel and then just kicking the dirt in the hole. That prticualar lady got the rest of us banned from detecting in two parks i know of.

I am worried the show won't go into detail about how much work goes into finding stuff. I can dig trash all day long and not find anything worth while keeping especially if i am seeking musket balls or historical finds.

I rattled on enough but i suspect once these guy realize how much trash they dig before they learn their detectors and find out they won't find $500 a day in jewelry and old coins. I have dug over $240 in clad in 4 months and never found my 1st piece of silver and only 7 cents in wheaties.

When the new guys entering because of the show find out how hard it is to find a place to detect that will eliminate many as well. This hobby takes a lot of time and work just like any hobby. Your not going to get rich and for certain it will cost you more in gas than you find.

 

[cooper1841]

I hope all of us new guys dont get lumped together. I just retired and have friends who do this ,and love it. Never knew there was such a show until I was told about this site. In 25 years of hunting for old bottles I never got rich, and I am sure it is the same with this hobby, for me it's the thrill of the hunt, and the history of what you find. Remember expectation breeds disapointment

 

[Jeremy S]

A majority of the people who watch any of these reality shows are probably the average "Joe couch potato". Just in my opinion, considering the lazy society that we live in today, I honestly wouldn't expect more than a very small fraction of the people who watch that show to ever swing a detector. This would require them to uproot their @sses from the sofa, buy a detector, and do physical activity. Of the few who do make it that far, once the reality of metal detecting sets in (pull tabs and rotted zincolin pennies), I would estimate most of them would ditch the hobby entirely.

Too bad they don't use Garret Propointers on the show. Maybe everyone would buy those, get frustrated with the hobby, and flood the used market with them and drive the prices down. I'd love to pick up an extra for a friend to use

 

[Rawhide]

Been at this 2 years, and never sold a thing. Got most my info from sites just like this one. Due to the amount of bottlecaps I dug yesterday, I sure hope some interest gets drummed up here. I have yet to see another person with a detector anywhere hunting. The digger show has turned down the greed. But makes it look like a amazing finds every minute. The new folks will do what we did, they will figure it out.

 

[SusanMN]

Too bad they don't use Garret Propointers on the show. Maybe everyone would buy those, get frustrated with the hobby, and flood the used market with them and drive the prices down. I'd love to pick up an extra for a friend to use

Actually, I think they are using Garret Pro pointers- It was killing me because they had the pinpointer sounding in the air before it came near the target. Apparently the sound guys aren't real tuned in to how a pinpointer works.

 

[Minesweeper]

Hi guys,

I am a new T net member, and new metal detector as well. I am a 26 year old guy, and for about 4-5 years have wanted to buy a metal detector, but I never got around to it. Just a couple weeks ago I was very lucky when my mom bought me a Bounty Hunter Lonestar. Before I got it though, I spent lots of time doing research online about the hobby, and learned about the code of ethics. I promise you all that I will always be respectful of properties I hunt, and not damage anything, or trespass. And will always respect you guys.

As soon as I got my detector, I got to know how to best use my machine. Though it is a beginners detector, I have made good use of it's few features and have found some old junk in my yard (sprinkler heads, nails...pulltabs etc....) and also found some modern coins!

Then I went to a local park a few times and found some more coins, and I also went to the beach, where I found even more coins! So I guess I just wanted to let you know
that I wont give you guys a bad name and wont be a problem to the community and others. Thank you guys and happy hunting!

 

[jefe43]

This thread is about me. I bought a metal detector online DIRECTLY due to the Diggers show. My cousin has had one for quite a while but I have never been out with him, only heard stories. I read the code of ethics on the Kellyco site or maybe it was a MD club website I was looking at. None of it was rocket science. It seems to me that if you are not brain dead or a natural born ass hat you will probably be fine.

As far as the show goes, I haven't seen an episode where those guys struck it rich so I have no idea where the "I will retire off of my findings!" concerns come from. It is obvious that they are on choice locations and it is a TV show so of course they won't show an endless stream of pull tabs and other trash coming out of the ground. In any group of people, be it hobby oriented or other, you will have knuckleheads. I would place money on there being some out there metal detecting before the show was ever thought of.

I am a little concerned, after reading some of these posts, about saying "Hi" to other people now. Should I keep the reason I got off the couch and drug my kids away from the PlayStation a secret? I sure wouldn't want to get the stinkeye simply because I started detecting because of the show.

 

[choppadude]

I don't think this will last for long. We live in a world that now revolves around instant gratification, people want what they want and they want it NOW. The majority of the "newbies" will give up after digging a couple hundred pull tabs and a pound of foil. All that will be left is the die hard guys like us whose battery budget far outweighs the value of our finds!

 

[coin hunter]

I've had a lot of people amazed of my finds not that they were all that great. Man they what to go metal detecting right away but don't have the time. As soon as they find out the price of a cheap detector that will do the job, conversation over. I think the same will happen with the Diggers show groupies. Not every one whats to go into a cornfield a week after cow **** has been spread . Sometime things like that happen. Digger groupies will head to the local parks like every one that gets a new detector. Find very little and thinks this sucks. But your right No Metal signs will become common. Sometimes to find the old stuff you need to do research and that isn't being show on the show.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Jefe43, don't let the opinions here discourage you. The concerns with the detecting shows are that increased visibility will lead to new rules and regulations affecting hunt sites. The antics on the show also upset many here, but I suspect the show would be pretty boring to someone outside the hobby without it.

We welcome you to the hobby and the forum. Without new hobbyists, the hobby wouldn't survive.

Wayne

Www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[rwd mo]

Been detecting 43 yrs and NEVER used an army shovel on a lawn,learnt this early as a detectorist I didn't want anyone to notice and chime in on my good sites etc. If they would just show them covering their holes it would help. Most people just want fast recovery and make a million dollars at detecting but it DOESN'T happen like that. Really wouldn't want many more people detecting as silver and gold items are far and few between nowdays. rwdmo

 

[seekandfind]

The thing is we can not determine who will be a so called good mder or bad.The site is here the information is here, I would suggest to help as much as we can making sure to explain about digging and covering holes and not tearing up private property. if their in it for the gold,lol, they will not be around long. Possibly before being allwed to sign on to the site they should have a short paragraph about digging and filling the holes so they at least got the basic ethics of this hobby.

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Hi guys,

I am a new T net member, and new metal detector as well. I am a 26 year old guy, and for about 4-5 years have wanted to buy a metal detector, but I never got around to it. Just a couple weeks ago I was very lucky when my mom bought me a Bounty Hunter Lonestar. Before I got it though, I spent lots of time doing research online about the hobby, and learned about the code of ethics. I promise you all that I will always be respectful of properties I hunt, and not damage anything, or trespass. And will always respect you guys.

As soon as I got my detector, I got to know how to best use my machine. Though it is a beginners detector, I have made good use of it's few features and have found some old junk in my yard (sprinkler heads, nails...pulltabs etc....) and also found some modern coins!

Then I went to a local park a few times and found some more coins, and I also went to the beach, where I found even more coins! So I guess I just wanted to let you know
that I wont give you guys a bad name and wont be a problem to the community and others. Thank you guys and happy hunting!

Beginner detector? Well what are you looking for, that thing is good for coins...KEEP IN MIND ... it better to pay 200$ and find coins for many years, than paying 2000$ and only find coins.

 

[Skidder]

I have to admit I got into this hobby and I mean hobby and I understand I'm not going to get rich and am not looking to. But let me start over I got into it BECAUSE of that Digger show. I understand yes they are goofy and don't exactly do the correct procedures but that's not the reason. It brought back memories of when I tried and didn't get into it 30 years ago. Back then I was working 90 hours a week to support my family so my wife could stay home with our children and raise them right (it worked). Back then there wasn't extra $$ like I have now. So yes the Digger show did get me BACK into the sport but for different reasons. I actually ordered my Ace 350 the next day. I'll be here for some time because when I start a hobby I go all the way with it. So expect questions from me but they will be sensible questions. Not general questions about where to go and things like that. I was super excited the other day just to see silver in my hole and it was just clad. I was also super excited that the detector did it's job. Thanks for everyones help so far and your gracious welcome to the forum.

 

[hunter_46356]

I've been detecting a prospecting for almost a year now and I have been struggling with an issue. Now yeah every bodies a new bi sometime. The problem I see is not with becoming educated in the hobbies. See questions like how to do this or that is one thing. Or the general questions like where do I start looking for property to hunt. Wen I hear question or comments from newbies that get even more personal like "looking for a hunting partner" I think what they're really saying is "I need a place to hunt". T Net is a place to learn how to Metal Detect. Some seem to want to take some shortcuts that I don't think are deserved or earned. Learning where to hunt as well as finding these places are all part of it in my mind. Now if the newbies comment was "Hey I've got this private property and would like to share it with a hunting partner to help me with the basics" I may feel a little better about working with and helping a newbie. I've done the work I've learned the how too's including finding the places I hunt. It's all part of the learning. Newbies don't take or ask for the shortcuts you will be a better MDer for it.