Sharing the Space - Detecting with a buddy

[Iron Buzz]

How do you handle dividing up the space when you are detecting with one or more buddies? Do you section the area off and everyone takes a section? Do you each just wander about as you wish? How do you do it fairly?

 

[Jason in Enid]

It works best if you divide it up into areas. If youre just wandering and you wander in front of one buddy and pull a really nice find, feelings can get hurt.

 

[Just_curious]

I haven't detected with anybody, but if I did, I would want the intent to be to split the finds/value. That said, I would want to split the area. Not to designate a side per person, but rather to cover as much ground as possible. If both (or more) are just wandering aroiund, you're missing ground and covering other ground more than once.

On a side note, in the military we all "get on line" to police call brass, trash, etc. Or do "hands across America" for lost equipment. This is a mass group of guys in line about an arms length to 2 arms length away, slowly walking from the near side of an area, to the far side. I always thought it would be awesome to do the same thing metal detecting in buried cache areas. We cover some serious ground this way, and barely (if any) areas are missed.

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[angelito1]

One is very lucky indeed to have someone to metal detect with. I would think it would be best if you divide the parcel of land in question into quadrants, start on opposite ends grid style and meet in the middle. There is absolutely no way that you can cover an area 100% or even 90% for that matter

 

[3cylbill]

I just like to hunt ,i dont care if he finds right in front of me all that says is your instinct is working .sectioning off an area is boring to me...

 

[PullTabSlayer]

We are wanderers, make sure we cover it all but wander, its also good to overlap each others areas. I also don't care who finds the goods. If i have newbies or kids with me I will mentally note good targets i locate, then steer them toward theses areas so they can find and dig them.

 

[SultansOfSwing]

My friend is new to the hobby and sort of wanders. I usually be line it to walkways and trees while he hits the yard. I enjoy seeing what he finds as much as finding it myself. Ive had a lot of good finds so I dont rush the hunting or try to tell him what to do. We just do our thing. Same with detecting with my dad. He sometimes discuss a strategy but that doesnt always make the odds any better. You never know where anything is for certain.

 

[relic nut]

My hunting buddy and I are like-minded, and are very respectful of each other. Although we are very competitive, which is human nature, that's not why we are there. When we hunt a site we just get out and go where we please. If one of us finds a hot spot then we will get the other and concentrate on that area.
Good friends are way more important than good finds.
Know your partner well before you go.

HH, RN

 

[Carolina Tom]

We used to divide them left side and right side, we would switch sides with each new spot. That way the slow guy gets a fair chance at "his" side... and it gives you a random chance at the "better" side.

We abandoned this methodology a little while back, in favor of the "Free For All" approach. We attack the most promising looking places whilst glaring at the other person and calling him a bottom feeder!

If someone finds something good, usually someone else joins him (bottom feeding), so he doesn't get lonely. We all get along well, and don't take all of this too seriously. It's a hobby and we intend to have a little fun!

 

[Coil-2-Soil]

Sometimes I have as many as three or four hunting buddies with me and while we are getting our gear ready we go over where each is going and where we feel the "hot spot" will be and go from there. Seems to work for us. HH

 

[TheHunterGT]

My wife and a friend of ours would go every few weeks together. The 3 of us just kind of point to a section with a wavy finger and say "I'll be over there".

By the end of the day we would be hunting each other "areas" to see what the other person missed.

Her F19...my T2...his CTX3030....we all found stuff the other person missed due to masking or just plain missing a coil sweep.

We learned plenty from those hunts.

 

[Loco-Digger]

It depends on the site. If it's a yard, the one who secured the permission gets choice as to front or back or left or right. If we scored it together we flip a coin for left side or right side. Once the other has finished going over their side, it's fair game for the other to see what might have been missed. If it's a huge park we just wander off in different directions. I normally let my brother in law hunt the tot lot as I go out looking for the older stuff.

 

[Iron Buzz]

It depends on the site. If it's a yard, the one who secured the permission gets choice as to front or back or left or right. If we scored it together we flip a coin for left side or right side. Once the other has finished going over their side, it's fair game for the other to see what might have been missed. If it's a huge park we just wander off in different directions. I normally let my brother in law hunt the tot lot as I go out looking for the older stuff.

What if neither of you has a coin? OK, just kidding.

Actually, yards is what I had in mind when I posted this. I can see that it would be much less of a big deal to wander randomly when you're in the woods or in a big park. But I'm really enjoying each and every reply to this thread, regardless of where you're hunting.

 

[cudamark]

My hunting buddy and I use the same method as Loco does. Private property, we divide it in half. Whoever got the permission gets first choice. At the beach, we leap frog over each other as we work our way down the beach. Huge parks or schools, we wander or grid as a personal choice.

 

[Underwonder]

I usually go alone but recently introduced someone and we were i. woods so it didn't matter....but I found that the detectors had a lot of chatter when we were near each other making it harder to teach and talk and detect together. Maybe it was the mineralization itself? Anyway, this is an interesting and helpful topic.

 

[cudamark]

If you're getting chatter from another detector nearby, try changing your operating frequency if your machine has that option. If you're running a FBS Minelab, hit the noise cancel button while you're close to the other machine and it will self-adjust.

 

[Hockey_Detectorist]

Personally doing most of my hunts on the beach I have used a few methods while hunting with others. Most of the time my dad and I will generally be in the same area hunting over the course of a couple hours. My other friends and I will either grid out where we are hunting or walk side by side and walk up the beach about a mile then turn around and walk a different path. Sometimes close or further from the surf. Nice post.

HH

Hockey_Detectorist

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[ZR2guy]

Finders, keepers...... there should be no losers/weepers in this hobby. It is about having fun. Look, we post our finds on forums to share with people we have maybe never met, let alone hunted with. With that being said, if I am hunting with someone, I see it as two against the odds; better than one. I can't find everything that is buried in the ground, but I enjoy it when I find something. Double, triple that enjoyment if there are two or three of you hunting.

 

[Underwonder]

If you're getting chatter from another detector nearby, try changing your operating frequency if your machine has that option. If you're running a FBS Minelab, hit the noise cancel button while you're close to the other machine and it will self-adjust.

Thanks, Cudamark...both machines are old and do not have multiple frequencies (White's 4900D/Pro Plus and XLT Spectrum). I just started using them together but both times I tried there was chattering.

 

[cooper1841]

I am a lone wolf, never hunt with anyone. Why? headphones on, cant talk, have to be some distance apart, for machine compatibility. Just do not see the point, not a team sport in my eyes but that's just me..........to each his own On the bright side, I have never had a friend beat me to a find at one of my home sites!