Where to go?

[kcgor]

I bought a Ace 250 yesterday. Spent all day driving around looking for a place to hunt. This is my first MD'er. I started at the grade school under the monkey bars and all I found was a couple of pennies and the underground part of the bars.. At this point I drove to an old abandoned school house.. All I found there were a bunch of old nails, aluminum cans and some trash from the rusty old building.. Is this normal? I thought I could find a ton of places to go but I tend to find myself now wondering where to go. I know there is more to this hobby.. I just don't know where to go or what to do.. Any advice or help please? Thanks

Casey

 

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[jeff of pa]

Yep , pretty much Normal. It just means You found spots that Havn't been Hunted Hard Yet. Which Means Keep after them & you'll find some Nice Keepers mixed in with the trash. WELCOME & GOOD LUCK ; jeff

 

[ghost surf]

Old train tracks..bridges...roads...sidewalks....driveways.....parking lots....paths.....along the lake where people fish.......rivers/lakes/ponds/swim holes.......ditches.....because water tends to bring stuff with it when it rains hard!!!!.....garages....with dirt buttoms....junk areas.....tree trunks and near the roots...rats and squirrels take shiny things down there.....fields.....and not just for coins etc... meteorites!!!!!! ALWAYS!!!!look!.....mud holes...barn yards......frames of old buildings...and the basement areas.....old silos.......they hide treasures too..YA!!!Thats where people make there corn liqueur.......GOOD STUFF...it will knock you for a loop!....NOTE!!Don't breath when you drink it!!Well !That is just the tip of the mountain but there is more then just that..out there to explore!

 

[stoney56]

KC, for one welcome to the forum! You will learn that taking it slow at first is probably best otherwise everything will seem to overwhelm you. I'd start with parks and schools to get familiar with your machine which by the way is a good one to tart with. I'd start with digging all signals and checking the meter to get an idea where they read. Keep in mind that a lot of things can read close togetherand thus the meter is not infallable but still pretty accurate. Listen to the sounds as you move the coil and you can get a picture in your mind of the approximate size. Coins usually make a short small beep where as alum. cans will make a larger stronger sound. Jewelry like chains will mostly but not always sound short but can be a little lenghty like a piece of wire. The 1st thing is patience, I too started out without any knowledge of MDing but as time progressed it became easier and more enjoyable. You might look at joining a local club in your area. They can also be helpful in giving pointers, as well as areas they have permission to hunt that gets you to places with older coins and relics. Happy Hunting and keep smilin'

 

[spotz]

KC! Don't get discouraged. We ALL start out the same way with the same finds. It gets better as you go. Experience requires lots of hours swinging that detector. You are finding things & coins first time out. That is good. If it was totally easy, everybody would do it. Your skill will build every time you go out. Spend some serious time reading posts on this forum. Go back a few months or a year & read everything that sounds interesting to you. It helps a lot. Ask questions on here. We all love to give out what we think is good advice & it is FREE. On the other hand, don't beleive EVERYTHING you read. You will see what I mean as you read. Welcome to the Forum & to a great hobby. WARNING! WARNING! IT IS TOTALLY ADDICTING!
Spotz

 

[dave-enc]

KC,
Like the others say welcome to a great hobby and to a very friendly forum. Now finding some sites to hunt; since you are posting here we know you have access to a computer. Let this be your starting point. Figure out how far you want to drive and then start checking on the computer those counties involved. For example yahoo has a school finder where you type in the county and it will list the schools in elementary, middle, and high school order.Want to hunt playgrounds and parks? do another search type in what state you live in and cites. A lot of cities will have web pages and if they are large enough to have a parks and recreation department , will have a listing of their parks and the facilities they offer. Cities want to advertise themselves to attract folks to come visit, use this to your advantage. Lastly you can use a good mapfinder on here to give you the directions and to map out your plan of attack. Ok one last thought you need to know your machine, this only comes with practice getting out and using it
hh

 

[Jim Cal]

KC, When I started metal detecting I began with my yard at a house that was built in the 1950's. I found coins under the clotheslines, around the driveway, by the front curb, and just about everywhere else in between. I then moved on to neighbors yards. Someone would see me out with my detector and ask what I was doing and one thing led to another with lots of invitations to hunt other yards. I also would talk to others at work about the hobby and that too led to numerous invitations to hunt in different locations. They also told me stories about rings or other things they had lost at one time or another and sometimes I got the chance to search for those items. You will be surprised that the more treasure hunting you do the more invitations you will get and the more places you will think of on your own to treasure hunt.

I also try to read up on the history of my area and especially the old communities nearby. Lots of times you can find books about these towns published to commemorate the 100 th anniversary or whatever that show lots of pictures of how things used to look. With that info in hand and a current map you will find many places to hunt that, on the surface, you normally would not give a second look. Good luck and stick with it...I know you will enjoy the hobby! Jim Cal

 

[Lowbatts]

I try to look in places where people have been. More I detect, farther out of the way I get, the more I realize that if someone was there, they left something behind.

 

[kcgor]

Thank you very much! Everyone is great.. I've been looking everywhere.. I think my detector needs new batteries for one.. There is just something about that seems off... Or maybe thats me... I've found a couple places that seemed like they might be a good idea to begin with, and then I find nothing but old nails, rusty bolts and aluminum cans... I found a lady that let me search her yard.. The house was built around the turn of the century... Found nothing... It has an old Cellar under the house with a dirt floor that she is going to let me search... I am chasing a lead from a friend that has a lot of land .. Going to talk with him about old settlements... As far as the school yards and parks... How do you keep from going to jail? Digging in Public places like that? Thanks to everyone...

Casey

 

[Carl in CO]

KC, I'm not sure how the Garret's work, but it sounds like you could notch out some of that stuff like the old nails by turning up the discrimination a little or using a preset while still keeping the good stuff. If you find any of that good sipping stuff Ghost is talking about, be sure to send some my way!