Why this hobby can be frustrating...

[frogginfish]

So I had a few hours to kill the other day and decided to go hunt the old church site where I dug my 1903 IH. I had only been there 5 minutes before I found that and was psyched about returning. When I get back out there, I'm all anxious to dig all sorts of old coins, relics, etc that I know must be ripe for the picking! Wasn't how it went down...lol
After about 2 hours and bag full of nails and a 1986 Lincoln I decided to call it a day. I plan on going back there to hunt more...I know there has to be more than just old nails in that area. I'm guessing I need to get through all of that before the good stuff presents itself...

Was it frustrating? Sure. Has it happened to you all at one time or another? I'm pretty certain it has. But, there is no guarantee you'll find treasure every time you head out! You definitely have to have patience with this hobby for sure.

 

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[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

Depending on the machine you're using iron can really mask other items. Were you not finding bottle caps and pull tabs too?

 

[NJSouth]

Rusty nails and junk metal are ALL I'm finding...lol but its fun and I keep all the scrap. I haven't left hunting the front yard of my new house but it sure beats working.

 

[frogginfish]

The old church was torn down in 1974. I didn't get any pull tabs or bottle caps yet. The signals on the AT Pro seem to be jumpy in this area like there are multiple targets in one spot. There are spots like that all over the place there. They go between a low signal like 30-40 range then hits in the low 90s. I have it set to Custom in Standard mode iron discriminated to 35. I dig them up anyways just because there could be something good in with the nails but that day, it only turned up as nails.

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

Sounds a lot like my AT Pro...I only run it in Pro Zero with 0 iron discrimination. If you only hear iron move on and listen for mid and high repeating signals. That ought to find you some pull tabs!

 

[joncooper1986]

funny you started this thread. I just logged in to complain myself. I just spent 2 hours in a crop field that dates back hundreds of years in a town that was incorporated in the 1650s and i didnt find squat. It is very frustrating.

Likewise, i had an old cellar hole site that i detected at a few years ago where in the first 4 minutes I found and 1853 Large cent and an 1863 IH. Boy did i think the day would keep on like that. Havent found anything there since.

 

[NMGold]

I feel your frustration, it happens!

Keep on keepin' on!

 

[opee]

I've dug 99s and got walkers and 99s and got cans. Sometimes mix signal and got two coins and sometimes just rusty nails. Most of the numbers changed a little when I switch coils I have all four. Depth can also change the numbers. I run it in pro mode 5 below GB dis at 11 and found with my bad hearing I can almost almost think I know when it's silver. Lol the thing is a love to hunt and more happy when I find silver. Have my quarter park for battery money dig only 84/85. My hunted out park were I found the most of my silver- hunt more by sound. I could go on but I won't. Thing is practise and you will still be surprised. Good luck. If you want coins try older grassy buss stops park street crossing places were other mder might not have thought to go.

 

[opee]

Sorry just reread your post. Yes it happened more then once.

 

[luvsdux]

I recently spent several hours in a local park and had found only a few pennies and a nickel along with the typical junk. I always hunt back to my vehicle and just a few yards from where I was going to shut down, I got a strong hit. A couple of inches deep I turned up a presidential dollar. Rescanning the area I got another hard hit and turned up a shallow Sacajawea dollar just 12" or so from the first. Goes to show how quickly a near dry run can change.
luvsdux

 

[joncooper1986]

I too have the habbit of detecting ALL the way back to my vehicle. If I walk to point B from point A, i keep the detector on and hover it just in case i get a hit

 

[lastleg]

I've known guys who had that knack for finding good stuff consistently. Almost like they could see
underground. One day my old hunting partner and this guy were ready to go home and as they
were talking the brilliant one found a silver coin next to my buddy's foot. I never saw his collection
but I heard it was fabulous. Then one day he just quit detecting. Guess he mastered the urge to
dig. I beeped with him a time or two and left with my tail between my legs. He wore down coils
till they quit working.

 

[CladGrabber]

I've known guys who had that knack for finding good stuff consistently. Almost like they could see
underground. One day my old hunting partner and this guy were ready to go home and as they
were talking the brilliant one found a silver coin next to my buddy's foot. I never saw his collection
but I heard it was fabulous. Then one day he just quit detecting. Guess he mastered the urge to
dig. I beeped with him a time or two and left with my tail between my legs. He wore down coils
till they quit working.

Dude sounds like a Legend

 

[redcobra8u]

Sounds a lot like my AT Pro...I only run it in Pro Zero with 0 iron discrimination. If you only hear iron move on and listen for mid and high repeating signals. That ought to find you some pull tabs!

I agree but I would set the discrimination to 30-35.

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

I don't like using scrim at all, only because my pro still see's it and then it effects other targets and chokes a bit. It tries not to sound and gets delayed and jerks the sound more making it harder to understand what's in the ground. However this may be because it's not working properly.

 

[RiverRat]

thanks so much for starting this thread...helps to know that even experienced md's ers have junk days....

 

[Pointman]

I went to an old church over an hour from my home. I had permission and just lightly hit it before but just knew something was there because they had gatherings there back in the late 1800s and there was a spring close by that people would walk to. I spent two hours there in the blazing sun and didn't even find a memorial cent. I even went along the fences that went out to a pasture and the fence close to the cemetery. I also went around the outhouse.

I finally left and 5 minutes from the church I got pulled over in a speed trap for going over the limit. Ended up getting a $200 for speeding. The speed limit sign is right up next to the "Welcome to our town" sign and then there isn't another speed limit sign for a mile and a half and he got me just short of the next one. On the upwind side of the sign I was going the limit and he got me as I was coming down hill.

Whats worse is that I went out to the court last week and asked them if they could change the time of the court date because I couldn't make it by 8 am and still get my kids to school where I volunteer, they told me sorry that I could just pay and that they would not change the time. Talk about a sorry butt town.

BTW, the town is Benton AR., where almost everything on the main strips have been hunted out and they like to set up speed traps coming from the one horse towns outlying. Like the cop basically told me "we just want your money". Never have I been to such great places to detect and not find even a nail and people leave gapping holes in the ground after they dig up the nails.

 

[southfork]

On these old camps on my property we dig all signals that old square nail might be sitting on a gold coin or nugget . And the areas near the spring have native American artifacts so the screen comes in handy . A lot of gold rush artifacts here when the weather cools I'll be back out there .

 

[WhiteTornado]

Got out yesterday with my 10-yr-old son to a local high school. We only lasted about 45 min before he was getting bored, plus it was a hot and humid day so that didn't help. All we managed were 2 clad dimes and a few pennies, but it was still fun to get out and spend time with him. He's getting better about how to use the equipment, especially the pin pointer

 

[bzbadger]

Buddies and I got permission to hunt a church from the 1860s and we all just knew this was going to be a hot zone..it sure was because they just put a new roof on it and the roofers dropped twice as many nails as they put in the roof. Those nails scream and as many as there were you couldn't distinguish between a decent target and junk. Managed to pull one wheatie and an old buss fuse and a window weight.