Some of the best metal detecting tips!

Dirtyhands001

Full Member
Jul 8, 2013
132
196
Canada
Detector(s) used
MXT Pro
MX Sport
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Here are some of the best metal detecting tips given by some of the best in the hobby. If your a beginner and just learning how to metal detect I am sure you will enjoy these tips. We have Dave Wise, Thiltzy Todd Hiltz, Jeff Fisher from treasure facts, Brandon Dr. Tones 24k, Frank W Pandozzi and Charles Ronayne from the Stealth Diggers. I hope some of these great tips help you. We will release part 2 The best of DigTips next week.

1."Don't get frustrated when you start, be patient and persistent". by Dave Wise

2."Slow down, go slow" by Dave Wise, Todd Hiltz, Jeff Fisher

3."remember it's not always treasure so be patient"by Dave Wise

4. "Hunting a site in more than one way. Try using different setting on your machine and swing the same areas. You could pick up things up that were being masked by iron". by Todd Hiltz

5."Make sure your coil is flat to the ground". You will get better depth and miss less targets" Jeff Fisher

6."How to ask permissions to metal detect private property, First thing, make sure to leave your equipment in the car". by Brandon Ray Niece aka Dr. Tones from his book The Metal Detecting Bible

7. "When your asking for a new permission make sure your not in your old dirty ripped up digging cloths or holding something in your hands looking like a salesman. clean casual is best". Brandon Ray Niece aka Dr. Tones from his book The Metal Detecting Bible

8. "Make sure to take two steps backwards from the door after knocking, give them space." Brandon Ray Niece Dr. Tones aka from his book The Metal Detecting Bible

9. "It doesn't matter how much you pay for your machine, what's important is learning it. Dominique Ivy Da Silva from The SilverSlingers

10. "Exploring a new cellar site, When exploring we look for things out of the ordinary. Like seeing a big maple in the middle of no where, depressions in the ground, pieces of glass or pottery shards, or a plant called Myrtle Perry Winkle, they used this plant as ground cover. It helped stop erosion". by Frank W. Pandozzi

12. "Be good to each other, share what you learn and what you know". by Charles Ronayne from the Stealth Diggers.

 

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Wow, that was deep..
 

To make great things it matters not the quality or quantity of tools in a toolbox but the skilled hands that use them that comes from knowledge and experience. This comes from Patience, Persistence and Determination. If you demonstrate those three traits, the rest will come. Learn your equipment, practice with it, master it and you can be successful in this hobby. All that and of course 'research' but practice first.
 

I'll add another bullet the list. "Paint the ground." Be thorough. The place might large but fish tailing to cover it all will lose many targets and a friend will ask you, "How did you miss this?"
 

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There are two rules for success metal detecting:

1) Turn your machine on and use it as much as you can.

2) If you stop having a good time, if it stops being fun, quit for the day.

That's it. That is all you really have to know. :occasion14:
 

I'll add: if hunting in bear or Wild Boar country make sure you are digging with someone who runs slower than you.
 

lol thank you for all the comments and laughs! For me #1 is having fun!
 

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Decide what you are going to try and find. Then get a detector that is designed for that type of hunting. Buy the best you can afford. Learn your machine and don't give up until you have at least 200 hours on it. By then, you'll know two things..... how the machines works, and if metal detecting is something you want to continue doing.
 

Tip.
When hunting near homes,check that object detected ( before recovery) does not extend many feet before stabbing a recovery tool into it.
Shallow buried electrical wires exist. Don't ask how I know.....

Good to see a post from you Dirtyhands. Great tips.
 

You never know what's there until you swing your coil over it.

The more you swing the coil the more you find.
 

Tip.
When hunting near homes,check that object detected ( before recovery) does not extend many feet before stabbing a recovery tool into it.
Shallow buried electrical wires exist. Don't ask how I know.....

Good to see a post from you Dirtyhands. Great tips.

Eeeee lol we dug one once, it may have been just a cable but it's one of those times you decide to metal detect the side yard instead :) nice to hear from you as well RC!
 

Just like the change settings suggestion, change sweep speed. Everybody says "Go slow", but that is not always the best way. Newer detectors say swing at three feet per second. That seems very fast but many good targets will shine brighter. So sometimes you gotta go against the old school thinking.
 

Don't wear steel toe shoes while detecting.
 

Best advice I can give as there is competition out there is to look where others have not or would not look.
 

Best advice I can give as there is competition out there is to look where others have not or would not look.

Really good point, often we find more in the harder areas to detect. Especially in the well hunted sites. We will then focus on the harder areas like the brush, side of hills, between saplings, etc. Those harder to reach sites often yield more finds.
 

Really good point, often we find more in the harder areas to detect. Especially in the well hunted sites. We will then focus on the harder areas like the brush, side of hills, between saplings, etc. Those harder to reach sites often yield more finds.

True for us beach and surf guys, too. I found a great beach to detect that had 3 miles of hotels and private homes but no public parking and very limited beach access. Basically, you couldn't drive and park there to detect, so, I had my wife drop me off and pick me up. I swear, long stretches hadn't been hunted for a season or more. That is also why I hunt the surf, for some reason people are hesitant to hunt the water just because of sharks, jellyfish, red tide, and don't forget the stingrays.
 

My tip is...... DO NOT get into detecting!!! It's worse than being a drug addict! The more you find the more you want. You're looking for that next rush. Not being able to get out to search gives you withdrawls. During the winter storms ALL you can think about is that next fix. Once you start you'll never be able to quit.

You think I'm kidding? Do you get the shakes when you find gold or silver? Yup! You're hooked my friend.
 

Dirtyhands, Your tips & all the above comments are all good. The only thing I can offer is this one thing I always try to keep in mind, "The most valuable thing I have ever found while treasure hunting is piece-of-mind" quote by Andy Sabisch -----and by the way, boogeyman is SO right.
 

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