New Member Here, Looking to Outfit Myself for a First Time Hunt

[bigcaddy64]

Hello everybody,

This is my 2nd post on the forum. I joined here to get some info about a ammo pouch/belt buckle i found but now i want to find some more stuff!!!

My main question is what would you recommend for a novice hunter? My brother got into gold prospecting years ago and bought a very nice Tesoro but i don't think hes going to let me borrow it if he knew where i was planning on taking it.

In a few months, i will be heading to my girlfriends family's vacation homes in Mass. Each adult owns a parcel of land and home on about 50 acres of swamp/coastal land in Cape Cod and it has never been searched before.

We will occasionally hunt on the shoreline for arrowheads and have found a few middens full of broken indian pottery but never have used a detector.

What would i need to hunt and what do you recommend for traveling with a detector? Should i ship it to myself or checked baggage in a hard case?


Thanks everybody

 

[MADJOKER]

When I went to Florida with my dectector. I broke it down and packed it in my suitcase along with my sand sccop for the beach wrappend in my clothes for extra protection.

 

[CoilyGirl]

I would just carry it on the plane and put it in the overhead compartment.

 

[mical66]

Mad joker is right, the MD will break down to easy packing size. just pack it in clothing so it wont bump around.
as for need?
I went to lowes and bought a cloth nail apron ,, very cheap and has 2 pockets , 1 for trash and 1 for good items, I also recommend going to Harbor freight and buy a cheap pointer , I got one for 14 dollars I think ,, but it helps a lot when you dig a hole and the MD says it is still in the hole .
also a small garden shovel , the small ones . you can also go cheap if you want or invest in the long run and spend a few dollars more and get a sturdy one .
that should get you started .

 

[bigcaddy64]

How about a detector? I'm not completely in the dark about them and realize its like asking a random person, "what kind of car i should buy?" . From what i heard from brother, some are geared to coins, others to gold prospecting and determining what you are looking for will determine what brand/style of detector to purchase. I also know they are a bit pricey so i don't think i need a top of the line model that gonna run me into the $1000's but something middle of the road.

 

[l2hunt]

yup, i would just do carry-on myself! wow, as far as a detector the possibilities are endless, good luck. HH

 

[SusanMN]

Pack your detector poles in your checked bag but put your electronics and coil in your carry on. That way if your checked bag gets lost, you have only lost the least expensive parts, and a whole detector in checked bags is an opportunity for airport thieves to steal it. As to detector, read though the many posts on the subject and then visit a dealer to try out your favorites. Purchasing online can be expensive if you don't like the one you've chosen - up to 30% restocking fee if you even open the detector box up.

 

[liftloop]

white's Gt
all the bells and power of it's big brother the M6
in a light wait housing
extra batteries a good digging tool, towel, pin pointer knowledge of the area
should get you going a little further hope that helps
there was some good packing tip mentioned...

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

You mentioned coastal and swamp areas. You might consider the Garrett AT Pro, its' fully waterproof and is a good relic machine for it's price.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[TerryC]

Welcome to The Net, Big. No such place as never hunted. Lots of good places that are not hunted out, though. It's kind of like land in the U S. ALL is owned. You just have to look harder and dig deeper. If you can think of a place.... it's been hunted. TTC

 

[George (MN)]

I feel the Garrett AT Pro should do good, it's my favorite detector out of several dozen I've owned since 1976. With the manual ground balance set properly the ID @ depth is very good. Got a 7" deep dime in a heavily detected park , the detector said dime on a dozen or more passes before I dug it. It said 8" deep when it was only 7" deep, but the approximate depth only reads in even numbers. Weighs only 3.03 lbs including the 4 AA batteries, so most can use it many hours without pain. It does ground balance to salt. It air tests 10" on a dime at sensitivity 7 out of 8. In salt conditions, turning down the sensitivity some might be necessary, with a bit of depth lost to quiet it down.

It can go to 10' underwater, but even if you don't want to go underwater, it's land capabilities are worth it. The waterproofing will help protect from salt spray, rain, etc. It has 2 modes, STD (not much learning required) & PRO, which can do some more tricks, like getting a coin under a nail by partially accepting iron. The stock 8.5 x 11 DD coil does nicely at handling almost any ground, and separation of closely spaced targets is very good. Retails for $594.95, but some sellers may quote you a somewhat lower price by phone or e-mail. Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[bigcaddy64]

George and Metal Detecting Stuff,

Thanks for the advise on a detector suited to my hunt. I mentioned the area i will be searching is swampy but its mostly drained swamps but all of the bugs remained. The actual area ill be searching is the easternmost coast of Cape Cod so it will mostly be dry land with lots of coastline/ponds/lakes but i could check the beaches when the crowds die down and the small bay where the house is.

The Garrett seems like it should do just fine and if i don't get time to pick one up, i can always borrow my brothers Tesoro for the month.