What Inspired you to Metal Detect?

[fistfulladirt]

T’was about 1971 or 72, I either saw a detectorist or a TV commercial, don‘t quite remember. The next year at age 11, I had my first.

 

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[Nate in Ga]

I use to hunt Indian artifacts in Missouri, I moved back to Florida and the "finds" law had changed, can't hunt any city, county, state, or fed land, cant remove points from the fields, creeks, streams, and rivers unless on private property, I missed the thrill of the hunt so took up metal detecting.

You ever come back near branson hit me up, Ill take you somewhere on family private land that will knock your sox off... i too have between florida/ga and mo most of life

 

[Georgivs]

My dads friend had an old bounty hunter, he and my dad were hanging out doing dad things (drinking and smoking) and pushed me and my brother out the door with the detector and told us his wife had lost her wedding ring in the garden. He hadn't had any luck finding it over the years but had a nice collection of silver coins he found on the property. Armed with a stick (pretty sure he didn't trust us with a shovel) we went detecting in the garden. We got a good signal and started digging with the stick, the signal disappeared and we were bummed out until my brother looked at the end of the stick, big diamonds and gold, the dudes wifes wedding ring! Been chasing that high ever since.

 

[pepperj]

I guess it came to us organically the lure of hunting for things. Game/fish/rocks/old bottles/antiques, and the hook was all set for detecting.
Older sibling built as Heath Kit model, and I still remember hearing it beep when we put a coin under a phone book!
We really got into it when our father traded his 30-06 and $150 for a White's GoldMaster detector.
14 AA's was the allowance sucker for us, had to dig into the beer bottle return money to supplement the habit.
Now over 50 yrs later still hooked as I was when the age was close to the first double digit.
My very first old coin was a 1936 penny (no dot) from the one room school house we all went to-including my mother.
That day is still ingrained in my thoughtless brain.

 

[invent4hir]

I've been loving this community, especially getting to see stuff out of the ground that's older than me. And sometimes older than most of yall XD. However, I have to wonder, what inspired any of you, ladies and gentlemen to metal detect? I know when I got into metal detecting, I always wanted to do it when I was a young lad, and actually brought my first metal detector at 19 the (Bounty tracker IV) I think that's what you call it. I never used it as much, i then brought the at pro, and still haven't used that one as much, mainly because college has been keeping me distracted.

Hope to hear your comments, have a safe day, and happy holidays.

My dad. Back in the 1960s he bought a Heathkit metal detector. After assembling it we went out and dug lots of junk. We discovered it made the same sound regardless what kind of metal was under the coil. After a few outings we took up another hobby. Then life happened and I didn't get another detector (Whites DFX) until 2001. Didn't get out much for the next 15 years. Then, on what would've been his 97th birthday in 2015, I dug a 1918 Wheat Penny. I paused, looked up to heavens and thanked him.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You ever come back near branson hit me up, Ill take you somewhere on family private land that will knock your sox off... i too have between florida/ga and mo most of life

I will do that and thanks for the offer.

 

[mikefromIllinois]

In 1968 I was 12yrs. old and my granddad used to get Frontier Times and True West magazines and I read all the treasure stories in them, and drooled over all the metal detecting ads in them.

 

[ARC]

In 1968 I was 12yrs. old and my granddad used to get Frontier Times and True West magazines and I read all the treasure stories in them, and drooled over all the metal detecting ads in them.

I have a stack or so of True West's... they were good... enjoyed them... hand me downs eons ago.

 

[ArfieBoy]

When I got out of the service (Army) I worked with a guy who was a coin collector. He got me started in collecting coins. I started reading coin magazines and started seeing ads for metal detectors. Then one day I got an offer in the mail for a free copy of a treasure hunting magazine, so I sent for it. Got me hooked on the idea of finding coins I couldn't afford! I was working full-time, married with two kids, and going to college full-time and couldn't afford a metal detector. In 1972 I finally saved enough money to buy a cheap BFO detector. First find hooked me for sure!

 

[pulltabfelix]

I liked digging for old bottles and always got annoyed at all the rusty cans mixed in with them. But then I realized they were a blessing in disguise. I could locate bottle dump sites that were hidden from view with a metal detector.

Most dump sites are obvious because no one bothers to completely cover the trash up. But I have found many bottle dumps with my detector that were carefully covered up, so I never would have found them without one. I still use it to look for bottle dumps to this day, but my main interests now are pre-1900 coins and colonial relics.

You are right about that. I found one metal detecting in the woods. Under about 3 inches of dirt and of course covered in layers of pine straw. unfortunately when I dug down to the bottom, it seemed to be only going back to the 1950's.

Also got started in the late 80's when an experienced gold hunter told me to look for corroded lead bird or buck shot and then dig the gravel in the small creeks and branches and run them thru the sluice and then pan the results. He was so correct that I bought a Fisher Gold Bug to make it easier to find the lead shot. Rarely failed me.

Years later I use the detector to find things and have been at it ever since.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

In 1962 I was 13 yrs old, and going to Brosville School, just West of Danville, VA. Attended 18 different schools prior to finishing high school, so I've zero lifetime friends. I was walking on the school playground just kicking dirt clods, and out popped a 1766 Spanish Reale. Gave it to my Stepfather as it was his birthday.

He was killed in an auto accident about 10 years ago now, so I inherited it back from him. So, I still have it somewhere around here.

But finding that coin lived with me through today. Picked up a treasure mag at a convenience store in '83 and was inspired to buy a detector = Garrett Deepseeker ADS III, and have sporadically been digging dirt since then.

You go out swinging = you get away from it all - all things bothering you.

TH'ing is a wonderful way to put your troubles behind you. AND sometimes you find things which delight you

 

[pulltabfelix]

In 1962 I was 13 yrs old, and going to Brosville School, just West of Danville, VA. Attended 18 different schools prior to finishing high school, so I've zero lifetime friends. I was walking on the school playground just kicking dirt clods, and out popped a 1766 Spanish Reale. Gave it to my Stepfather as it was his birthday.

He was killed in an auto accident about 10 years ago now, so I inherited it back from him. So, I still have it somewhere around here.

But finding that coin lived with me through today. Picked up a treasure mag at a convenience store in '83 and was inspired to buy a detector = Garrett Deepseeker ADS III, and have sporadically been digging dirt since then.

You go out swinging = you get away from it all - all things bothering you.

TH'ing is a wonderful way to put your troubles behind you. AND sometimes you find things which delight you

amen to getting out and away from it all. My wife escapes by talking to her mom, three sisters and two daughters. If I logged as many detecting hours as she logs cell phone hours I would be picking in the tall cotton.

Nice story about the Reale. I tried to think of another hobby, but for my age, this is the best. I served a little before you I guess. 64 - 67. Never made it to Vietnam. Spent almost 2 years in Korea. That was great duty compared to stateside and Vietnam.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Oh Good Lord = you got so many responses....

I came into the thread to post something, but now I believe you guys got it covered!

Live in Faith my friends = what they gonna do = kill us?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Oh, it's pretty early yet, but my main cat just got up and walked to my bed. Time for me to got too. Love you guys = time for me to go.....

 

[dougachim]

I found most my stuff without one. I bought a cheap one and left it at a buddies ranch, a Whites Gold master 2 and gave it to a buddy in Chihuahua with the promise I get to see anything he finds first. I am looking to buy another sometime soon.

 

[dognose]

It was back in the 60s, my dads sister and her husband lived out on an old dairy farm in the country. They did not have any children and our family were very close with them - they were like second parents to us.

when they purchased the farm the previous farm family left all sorts of things there, I guess they may have passed. It was strange all the items left by todays standards. We had fun looking through all the items in the farm, in the old dairy barn, the tack barn and even an old chicken coop used for storage by them.

My uncle Les had an old BFO detector, very obsolete by todays standards, maybe even then for all I know. We had fun detecting around the barn and grounds.

Just to the north of the farm in the very hilly forest, an old maple syrup processing area was there on a hillside. An old brick fire area and other things to check around.

Back in the forest in an old ravine was the farm dump area. A neighbor and I dug back there for old bottles and other crazy antiques. We found all sorts of things from the turn of the century into the 1930's.

A lot of fun.

 

[Randy Combs]

My wife and I were watching TV in 2011 and Ric Savage American Diggers was on, my wife thought it would be fun to metal detect so she sesrched and bought 2 Garrett Ace 250 detectors from Kellyco. Been hooked ever since.

 

[Riverbum]

While arrowhead hunting I kept finding strange metal objects which didn't make much sense to me considering they are not what I'd expect to find Arrowhead hunting. Old cans , cups, hinges, nail, etc. SO I bought a Metal detector , still using it today while arrowhead hunting......found lots of coins , table wear, even a metal cigar box with a beat up looking cigar in it. These two hobbies work hand -in -hand with me. Been doing it since 1973

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

I've been loving this community, especially getting to see stuff out of the ground that's older than me. And sometimes older than most of yall XD. However, I have to wonder, what inspired any of you, ladies and gentlemen to metal detect? I know when I got into metal detecting, I always wanted to do it when I was a young lad, and actually brought my first metal detector at 19 the (Bounty tracker IV) I think that's what you call it. I never used it as much, i then brought the at pro, and still haven't used that one as much, mainly because college has been keeping me distracted.

Hope to hear your comments, have a safe day, and happy holidays.

Well, my intro was from a couple directions, a buddy here in town, who was the Chairman of a Detecting club, AND at work....! Yeah, at work.
In 2007, The Heritage Resources Dept of the USFS.here, were shepherding a group of Passport In Time folks, who were working on a few segments of a wagon road nearby, and I caught the last two days of their week on the project, thanks to their last minute suggestion..
I used a borrowed analog machine first day, didn't find much, being a newbie.
Next day, the volunteer-type Ramrod lent me his Tesoro Cibola. The first target was a perfect 1.5" Cut Nail - I was hooked....!
After attending several club meetings, and no help in choosing a machine - they all had Whites or Garrett units. I got my first machine, the Tesoro, as it was so light weight and tough ...and one 9v battery.
I found my first coin in my yard, a clad cent - boy, was I proud of that coin....!

 

[RGINN]

Growing up in SW OK, my great-uncle Hi was a bona fide treasure hunter like you read about in stories. He would work in the fields in the season, make some money, then take off for the Wichita Mountains forever searching. I got to hear about all those treasure stories before they became popular, Cave with the Iron Door, Jesse James 17 mule loads of gold, etc. He was particularly interested in some outlaw loot near Devil's Canyon. Ultimately, he was not a treasure finder. He never had a detector. He relied on signs, markings, and bits of info from old timers. That never worked, so I decided I would go high tech and get a metal detector when I could afford one, as I knew all the stories and where to look, so should be short work. Well, by that time you couldn't get access to all the places he went. Turns out I'm not a treasure finder either. Still, it's just cool to hit a signal and dig up even a penny. Not worth much, but just a great feeling for me.