Tell the truth- hunt solo or with someone

[Tigerdude]

I started detecting about 2 years ago. Mostly civil war , picked over camp sites or very small skirmishes. Every once in a while, after doing research and detecting, I find a small campsite where one person can find a few artifacts. Would you share this with fellow detectors? Do you expect them to reciprocate? Being from the area I don't have problems with permission as do my fellow detectors. Go solo? What has been yalls experience?

 

[relic nut]

I have a hunting Buddy, but we are friends first. We share our research and permission equally. If one of us can't go and the other wants to it not a problem. We have different styles and different machines, so we complement each other well. I enjoy his success and he enjoys mine. This is not a competition for us. Don't get me wrong, we both love to find more than the other but who are you going to out hunt if you are by your self​? I couldn't be this way with just anyone but like I said, we are friends first.



HH, RN

 

[USMC Reaper]

I have enjoyed many hunts with members of this forum and others. I enjoy their company and the excitement of their finds. Yes, there has been some reciprocation where I have been invited to sites that they hunt or know about. Anyone I hunt with more than once, is usually someone I respect and enjoy hanging out with.

Doc, I'm on Long Island now. I come here often. If you're ever near Atlanta let me know and we can link up.

Semper Fi

 

[Loco-Digger]

I enjoy hunting with others, but in my area I know 3 other MDers, one only does parks and schools and never looks for permissions, one has a goal of digging $30 in clad this year and also only hunts parks and schools. The third guy I met at a school I was hunting, he walked from the far end of the block to come chat me up, which was okay by me, but then he jumped right in front of me as I was gridding an area and began to dig targets, so I knew he's not the kind of person I'd want to hunt with. Took him all but 2 minutes to show his true colors.

If and when I find another local MDer who I can trust, whom get along with, who will help in finding good permissions I will be part of a team, but until then I am a lone wolf.

 

[CoilToTheSoil]

I prefer to hunt with people but in all of the times I've hosted hunts, only 2 people have reciprocated. If the person is getting started or has no permissions I'm more than happy to get them out in the field. But if the person is an avid hunter and been in the game awhile, I appreciate reciprocity.

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[WHADIFIND]

I enjoy hunting with others, but in my area I know 3 other MDers, one only does parks and schools and never looks for permissions, one has a goal of digging $30 in clad this year and also only hunts parks and schools. The third guy I met at a school I was hunting, he walked from the far end of the block to come chat me up, which was okay by me, but then he jumped right in front of me as I was gridding an area and began to dig targets, so I knew he's not the kind of person I'd want to hunt with. Took him all but 2 minutes to show his true colors.

If and when I find another local MDer who I can trust, whom get along with, who will help in finding good permissions I will be part of a team, but until then I am a lone wolf.

I've been both. I prefer being with someone than alone. But, I also hate being taken advantage of by those who do such. Finding a good partner is always tough. Worth the effort though. But, I think a part of what makes a good one is that one doesn't feel they *have* to find permissions/etc. Find some? Share? Sure. But, *have* to do so? No. Want to, is another thing. No requirements, just common sense and good friend skills should do the rest.

I prefer to hunt with people but in all of the times I've hosted hunts, only 2 people have reciprocated. If the person is getting started or has no permissions I'm more than happy to get them out in the field. But if the person is an avid hunter and been in the game awhile, I appreciate reciprocity.

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If one "partner" is doing ALL the work finding places.......there is no partnership.

Just think about it, if you found a spot where every other coin was an old keeper, would you want to share? Would you be ABLE to share?

 

[snorks]

Great Topic!
I got a co worker interested one lunch time and the bug bit him....HARD. He has far fewer commitments than me and ended up pounding the entire historic town we live in. Essentially spending every waking spare moment thrashing every nook and cranny.
When we whent out hunting together he 'found' a 1/2 cent right after I had thoroughly swept the exact area. He told me once when he hunted with other people that he always kept a coin in his pocket ' because he didnt want to go home empty handed' that led me to question some of his so called 'finds'.
Another time I spent two days of holiday comprehensivley sweeping a beach and recovering nearly 90 coins (some from jaw dropping depth) and a ring . I never told him I was there.....the next day he sent me pictures of three gold rings hed found at the exact same location after only 3 hours hunting with a 5 inch coil....other pictures sent include a shiny 1700s bronze coin (usually a shade of green if buried for 100 plus years) and various photos of partially buried jewelery etc. A extra fine possibly UC silver coin.etc.I hunt with the guy and he digs like a butcher, so the pics appear very staged.
Another reason I quit hunting with a partner is that Im very particular about the way I treat the environment and like to leave as little evidence of digging a plug as possible.
So I just go out on my own now. I love the solitude and the freedom of packing up when I feel like it or changing locations or hiking 6 hours each way etc. I love comradere but cant stand competition in this hobby . Sick of comments on how my F75 is inferior to his Turkish machine etc.etc. So yes , it all got a bit tiring.
I just go solo now.

Not to hijack the thread but have any of you experienced buddies with suspicious 'finds?' I was talking to an old friend of mine who detects alot and showed him these pics and he said he also knows someone who finds an extra ordinary ammount of gold CHAINS on the beach? Do people fake thier finds?
curious to know.

 

[sprailroad]

I'd like to add one more post, more so after reading the other's. As for hunting solo? of which I seem to do, It's this, again, a quote from Andy Sabisch; " The most valuable thing I have ever found while treasure hunting is piece-of-mind" And so because of that, I AM pretty much a "solo" guy.

 

[snorks]

I'd like to add one more post, more so after reading the other's. As for hunting solo? of which I seem to do, It's this, again, a quote from Andy Sabisch; " The most valuable thing I have ever found while treasure hunting is piece-of-mind"

+1 the beauty of nature, the woods , the mountains and interupting the birdsong with a high tone ; )

 

[CRUSADER]

It helps if your detecting partner is your Dad & everything he finds you keep. It means we can grid an acre of land in 2 hours, clearly if I were solo hunting the find rate would drop.
However, to answer your question. I have so much land, that a reciprocal agreement is irrelevant. So when I share land with the odd 'trusted' detectorist, its normally to help them out. It just makes the experience a little more exciting, bouncing off each other.

 

[Ahab8]

I hunt solo 98% of the time. Here are my reasons. I spend countless hours doing research to find long lost colonial cabin sites that had no foundations and are like finding a needle in a haystack. Many times I hike miles to get to the area I believe they were located or I kayak to these places. Once there in just hunting a huge forest for a small iron patch. So perhaps I'm a bit selfish but after doing tons of research and putting in a lot of physical effort to locate these sites I don't care much to share them. To be completely honest most people would never put in the effort I do to get to these spots. Many of them are 1600s sites and the rest are colonial up to about 1800. After putting in the time and effort I'm going to be honest regardless of what anybody thinks of me. If I take somebody to one of my sites and they dig a tree coin or a draped silver or Rev button I'm going to be pretty sad. Some of these things are once in s lifetime at best. As Scrappy said I also use these journeys as a way to unwind and deal with my stressful job. Once or twice a year Scrappy and OutdoorAdv come up to hunt with me. They are close friends and if they dig a killer find I'm happy for them. They're great guys. They have seen the ridiculous lengths I go to just to get to my sites. I love being by myself in the middle of nowhere. So I guess it all depends on what kind of person you are and what you do it for.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

I pretty much hunt solo although I have joined up with friends at public type spots to hunt and if I know of places and I will never get to them I turn my friends on to those spots.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I hunt solo 98% of the time. Here are my reasons. I spend countless hours doing research to find long lost colonial cabin sites that had no foundations and are like finding a needle in a haystack. Many times I hike miles to get to the area I believe they were located or I kayak to these places. Once there in just hunting a huge forest for a small iron patch. So perhaps I'm a bit selfish but after doing tons of research and putting in a lot of physical effort to locate these sites I don't care much to share them. To be completely honest most people would never put in the effort I do to get to these spots. Many of them are 1600s sites and the rest are colonial up to about 1800. After putting in the time and effort I'm going to be honest regardless of what anybody thinks of me. If I take somebody to one of my sites and they dig a tree coin or a draped silver or Rev button I'm going to be pretty sad. Some of these things are once in s lifetime at best. As Scrappy said I also use these journeys as a way to unwind and deal with my stressful job. Once or twice a year Scrappy and OutdoorAdv come up to hunt with me. They are close friends and if they dig a killer find I'm happy for them. They're great guys. They have seen the ridiculous lengths I go to just to get to my sites. I love being by myself in the middle of nowhere. So I guess it all depends on what kind of person you are and what you do it for.

No bad thoughts on my end Ahab. You dig some amazing finds and are rewarded for your efforts. Kudos to you, I also am aware you do hunt with a few others at times and share some sites. I'm certain your trust does not come easily. There is no right or wrong on how one wants to hut, it's a personal preference.. I also research but never have had to hike miles looking for that needle in the haystack.

 

[Retired Fire]

I just started and I hunt alone. But mainly because no one I know has an interest in MDing. Most of them just stare blankly when I tell them what I am doing. So alone I am for now. Maybe when I get the hang of this I can meet up with someone close and hunt with them. Right now I am pitiful, I have no friends! LOL

 

[d2]

My bud is slowly losing his eyesight and it is aggravating for him to read very much, he has macular degeneration, so now a lot of the research part is left up to me. We hunt together 95% of the time the other 5% when we are not with one another or alone he is with a friend that he detected with before we met. One thing I did, in 2002 I think it was, I was alone and was detecting the edge of a battlefield and started finding coins. Wound up finding 23 dimes, 2 half dimes and 5 quarters dates 1836-1860. I went by his house and showed them to him and he asked where they came from and I wouldn't tell him. I told him to give me a couple of days to hit the place hard and I would carry him. I was scared that if I carried him before I searched it hard and he found something great I missed that I would be pissed. Two days later I carried him and he found 2 quarters that I had missed. He tried to give them to me then. A week later I found a fairly rare bullet and traded that to him for the coins, now they are all together. I hated not to carry him to the place but he understood. I was scared if he found something wonderful I would be mad about it and did not want to take a chance, silly I know but that was my reason's. Never done it since...d2

 

[Palmetto Pony]

I have hunted both ways, solo and with someone else. I have hunted with my son and it was a great bonding experience as our schedules are so different we don't get to see each other a lot. I have also been fortunate to hunt with both VMI Digger and Stef45 (though my permission I had obtained was a total bust when we all went out...embarrassing!). VMI Digger has invited me to several of his sites. As such I personally think it's an obligation one should take to reciprocate in kind if someone is willing to share with you. I have promised VMI Digger that I WOULD put him on some good dirt though! LOL

I have one other type of "partner" hunt that I will be pursuing shortly. I had a falling out with a friend from a past hobby about 10 years ago. I ran into him this past year and I started telling him about my metal detecting. He surprised me when he said he'd bought a detector and would like to go but he's never found anywhere (though he did get to go with a local club once). I told him I'd be happy to invite him with one of these days, which I truly meant. Detecting wise I don't see him being able to offer anything. I see the upside as being able to rekindle our friendship and mend fences. If we can dig some good finds, all the better!

Solo has also been enjoyable due to the quiet, relaxed time all by myself. I am cognizant of where I choose to hunt solo, strictly on a safety basis. Several places are kind of isolated woods that could pose big problems in locating me should something happen and I was alone. IMHO both have their pluses and minuses!

 

[Qball]

It's nice to have friends. The older I get the more concerns I have about friends who go alone into rough country. This has not stopped me from going but I like to compete and also mentor you just need enough room for two

 

[Swaveab]

Most that I've come into contact with chiefly just want to find other places they can sneak off to without me that I researched. They also don't want to be around me due to my physical limitations and my relative inexperience. I'll not join a club either as they're interested in dues $. I go it alone by their choices.

 

[Xraywolf]

Question seems a bit skewed - Post title is hunt solo or with someone, then you ask if we share spots.

So I'll answer both - I am a lone wolf but don't mind tag teaming on occasion.
Sharing spots, have done it many times. But of course some spots I keep exclusive. Most good producing sites I have shared are large, time sensitive constructions sites. If its just a lot that is going to be there forever, no real sense in sharing.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I almost always hunt with a friend or two. I enjoy the camaraderie and the "competition" to see who gets the best find of the day. And, a lot of days that would be a wheat penny. But, the main reason I hunt with a friend is for safety. We hunt out of the way sites and most are wooded areas. I am getting up in years so it is nice to know that I have someone nearby in case something happens. Also, I am there if something happens to my friend. I have been within 5 feet of finding my first confederate button but searched in a different direction and my friend found it. Was I mad? Yeah, but not at him. I was upset with myself for not detecting that extra footage. I did return the favor though. At another hunt he had dug a trash signal and searched on. When I got to the site I passed my coil over his hole and got a good signal that turned out to be an 1842 seated dime. We still get onto each other about those hunts but that is what makes this hobby fun for me.

 

[7red7]

I {65 yrs old} hunt alone mostly for the quite, and the animals are always sneaking up on me, which is fine there none meat eating. My sister {70 yrs old} just recieved ace 250 so as the ground thaws {2 more months} we will be going out. Here we have to watch what we discuss about our finds, all of a sudden u could find a 3 acre plot declared of archaeological status. Crown Land is not "public land". As been said already..the sound of only nature around you is a coming effect...not so darn noisy I only have 1 ear that works