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You won't believe what I found on my first night!
walkerminus1
Posts: 244 ✭
I get home and take my new Garrett Ace 250 out of the box, put it together and then off to cut the grass
. Fortunately I have a great wife that says she will cut with the tractor so I get the push mower out and do the trimming. What usually takes a bout 2 hours to cut was done in about 45 minutes but it looked good enough to sneak by the warden (don't worry, my wife doesn't read these forums).
So my oldest and me head out in the back yard by the old "guest house" (has always been used as a bike shed since we've owned it and start detecting. Right away we are getting hits but no coins so we don't even dig. Finally we get a hit on a dime 6" down and decide to dig. My daughter takes the hori hori (thanks to lordmarcovan by the way for the link to the least expensive place he has ever seen these) off her belt and we start digging. After a few minutes I send her to the tool shed to get a big shovel. Well, after sifting through the dirt of a 1 foot deep by 2 foot wide whole, we never found a single thing except this odd looking rock. So I hold it in my hand and sweep it under the coil, it goes off??? It's just a rock that looks weird and it sets off a metal detector? After a few more sweeps, my daughter wants to try so I hand it to her, nothing??? What is going on, oh wait, she's not married! Mental note, don't wear my wedding ring when detecting or just use my right hand for running things under the detector. After 30 minutes and one huge whole in my yard that has been mostly refilled, we move on. We start to head down into the "lower 40" (what we call the woods heading down to the creek) but decide we don’t want to head all the way to the old beach area or the old boat launch. So back to the yard we go.
This is when it starts getting real good. We’re getting signals left and right and before too long we have 1 memorial cent, 1 Jefferson, 2 Roosevelt (1 silver), 1 Washington quarter, 1 barber quarter, 1 barber half and an 1886 Morgan. I mean, come on, first time ever using a metal detector and I’m getting these kinds of results!!! VTH IV here I come. But hold on, not so fast. I had tossed them in the yard after cutting the grass to see how it would sound and to try and figure out a proper detecting speed. Yes, I found coins I planted on top of the ground, but at least I was able to find them. I was getting a little nervous at first as I couldn’t find the memorial cent and that was the first thing I was looking for. I was figuring I might be short some silver, but those where just pulled from my junk silver box so it wouldn’t have been that big of deal.
Next trip, to a playground…hopefully this weekend.
Rob
I believe I have $210.95 invested and nothing returned on it as of yet.
. Fortunately I have a great wife that says she will cut with the tractor so I get the push mower out and do the trimming. What usually takes a bout 2 hours to cut was done in about 45 minutes but it looked good enough to sneak by the warden (don't worry, my wife doesn't read these forums).So my oldest and me head out in the back yard by the old "guest house" (has always been used as a bike shed since we've owned it and start detecting. Right away we are getting hits but no coins so we don't even dig. Finally we get a hit on a dime 6" down and decide to dig. My daughter takes the hori hori (thanks to lordmarcovan by the way for the link to the least expensive place he has ever seen these) off her belt and we start digging. After a few minutes I send her to the tool shed to get a big shovel. Well, after sifting through the dirt of a 1 foot deep by 2 foot wide whole, we never found a single thing except this odd looking rock. So I hold it in my hand and sweep it under the coil, it goes off??? It's just a rock that looks weird and it sets off a metal detector? After a few more sweeps, my daughter wants to try so I hand it to her, nothing??? What is going on, oh wait, she's not married! Mental note, don't wear my wedding ring when detecting or just use my right hand for running things under the detector. After 30 minutes and one huge whole in my yard that has been mostly refilled, we move on. We start to head down into the "lower 40" (what we call the woods heading down to the creek) but decide we don’t want to head all the way to the old beach area or the old boat launch. So back to the yard we go.
This is when it starts getting real good. We’re getting signals left and right and before too long we have 1 memorial cent, 1 Jefferson, 2 Roosevelt (1 silver), 1 Washington quarter, 1 barber quarter, 1 barber half and an 1886 Morgan. I mean, come on, first time ever using a metal detector and I’m getting these kinds of results!!! VTH IV here I come. But hold on, not so fast. I had tossed them in the yard after cutting the grass to see how it would sound and to try and figure out a proper detecting speed. Yes, I found coins I planted on top of the ground, but at least I was able to find them. I was getting a little nervous at first as I couldn’t find the memorial cent and that was the first thing I was looking for. I was figuring I might be short some silver, but those where just pulled from my junk silver box so it wouldn’t have been that big of deal.
Next trip, to a playground…hopefully this weekend.
Rob
I believe I have $210.95 invested and nothing returned on it as of yet.
4/92
4/123
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Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
0
Comments
Jerry
I have about $1,300 invested and a return of maybe $50.00
Don't try and make the detector pay for itself, it will just stress itself out over the pressure. Just have fun
<< <i>I have about $1,300 invested and a return of maybe $50.00
Don't try and make the detector pay for itself, it will just stress itself out over the pressure. Just have fun
I won't stress over it as I figure it won't pay for itself unless I find coins as fast as Mr. CROCKofCOINS. But I'm just geek enough to keep track of it, just to see.
Rob
I believe I wouldn't stress of it, but if I was getting a return of $50 on my $1,300 investment, my wife might not be so willing to cut the grass for me.
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
Where do you live?
You'll get the hang of it.
<< <i>Creek, old beach area, old boat launch, woodlot, etc. and you want to head to a playground?
Where do you live?
You'll get the hang of it. >>
I plan on hitting the old beach area and the woods eventually, but I figure I have to learn how to use it first. After digging a small inground swimming pool looking for a dime and still not finding it, I figure I will start easy and work my way up.
Rob
I believe my total investment includes the Garrett 250 and the hori hori.
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
Here's another possible scenario..... Let's say you are hunting in "Coins" mode. In this mode most iron targets are discriminated out, but small bits of iron (rusted pieces of old nails and such) can have a halo effect and cause the detector to read it as a good signal.
Now when you go to dig, you will break up that halo. If you swing the detector back over the hole now, it wont read a thing because the small bit of iron is now discriminated out.
To check yourself next time this happens, switch to "All Metal" mode and it will read any piece of iron in the hole and you should be able to pinpoint it and find it.
How high is your sensitivity set? Most folks keep it at 4 bars or as high as possible without falsing and chatter. Settings can very from site to site, depending on mineralization of the soil and such.
Practise pinpointing. I pinpointed with the ACE using the second way shown in the link for shallow and irregular targets.
Link to pinpointing.
Keep after it!
Rob
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
<< <i>Thanks for the info. One other question, should I invest in a coil cover, or are those just exrta's that don't really do anything to extend the life of the detector and/or coil? Rob >>
Get one and don't worry. The coil housing is THIN. Just one swing into a sharp rock or branch is all it takes to damage the coil. The cost is usually under $10.00 dollars.
Jerry
<< <i>Get one and don't worry. The coil housing is THIN. Just one swing into a sharp rock or branch is all it takes to damage the coil. The cost is usually under $10.00 dollars.
Jerry >>
Cool. There is a guy not far from where I live sells out of his garage. He has them for $15 but I can get it on the way home for tonight. Will do.
Rob
I believe my total invested amount is going up again.
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
I believe the mystery dime was his ring?
<< <i>Your mystery dime may have been a false signal, or even a "hot rock".
I believe the mystery dime was his ring? >>
I think he stated he got a dime reading then lost the signal completely after digging.
He then picked up the rock in the dirt pile with his ring hand and it beeped when he waved it across the coil.
<< <i>
<< <i>Your mystery dime may have been a false signal, or even a "hot rock".
I believe the mystery dime was his ring? >>
I think he stated he got a dime reading then lost the signal completely after digging.
He then picked up the rock in the dirt pile with his ring hand and it beeped when he waved it across the coil. >>
What he said. The mystery rock was my ring. The dime must have been a halo.
Rob
I believe I'm going to dig deeper next time, maybe 3 feet down!!!
4/123
-----------
Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)