Posted: 4/19/2006 2:44:44 PM EDT
| Anyone into this hobby? A buddy of mine is always finding stuff. old coins mostly but some other neat stuff. |
| Check these guys out if interested. I have been doing detecting with my brother and some other guys for a few years. Lot of fun. We were detecting about 1 mile from Fort Dodge Kansas and found hundreds of 50-70 empties all in a line. At the end of the line were Spencer cartridges. We think it was the range for the fort due to the position of the empties. We buy our detectors here www.kellycodetectors.com/fisher/fisher.htm |
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I have a minelab GP3500 for gold prospecting that is extremely nice. 206.188.2.79/products/detectors/gp3500.htm Minelab makes the best of the best of the best when it comes to metal Detectors, Fisher Second, and Whites 3rd. I have found over 8 ounces of gold with mine so far. not too bad for eastern oregon metal detecting. This fall I am gonna try to go down to Arizona and play around with it. |
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Tagged... ETA: I stayed up most of last night reading on some treasure hunting forum (sorry I didn't save link) I think I would really like to get into something like this. It would get me out of the house and maybe get me a little exercise too, my only problem is I want a detector that can do it all and do it well. Unfortunately, I didn't see one that can do that. The impression I got is if you have one than is good for locating loose gold, like out in the desert or gold coins, then you kind of give up something when it comes to finding rings and other kinds of coins and relics. If I'm wrong please educate me!!!! If there is one that can kind of 'do it all' what make and model is it and how much does it cost!!! Also is there a place to maybe find a used detector in good shape for less money?? Kind of like a 'starter'......I'd like to get my feet wet, so to speak but don't want to lay out a fortune in case I find this reallly isn't for me??? Any help would be appreciated.....Azman-1 out......  
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| I'm looking at the Garret ACE 250.. Seems to be good bang for the buck. My buddy says its decent. he's got some $1k deal. He lives out near Pittsburgh, where my family is rooted. And just BSing with him while he was using his he found a nice 1942 quarter and a bunch of other old coins right near my grandparents summer house(where I was staying last weekend). I was pretty impressed, all in the course of about 10 minutes. |
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I have been metal detecting for 5 years. I had a crappy walmart one for 4 years, because I was broker than shit. But I still managed to have a lot of fun and some good luck with it. I got a White's DFX last year and I am much happier. I find a lot of stuff, not gold or silver everytime, but if you are patient you will get some surprises. It's also a lot of fun to do research on areas to hunt. I will be buying an underwater detector real soon too. I just wish I lived in a state with more history. Washington state is not very old. People on the east coast find all sorts of goodies, and people in England etc find very very old stuff. If you are new to the hobby I would not recommend a walmart detector. Go for the ACE 250 from what I heard people are very happy with them, and the resale value is pretty good if you do not like it. Come on over to http://www.treasurenet.com/ forums. It's easy and free to sign up and post any questions that you haven't found answered there. My name same over there. |
I live in arguably the richest historical area of the country. I have so many National Parks, State Parks, County Parks etc all dating the Revolution it isn't funny. I'm a few miles from the site of Washington's crossing, Valley Forge, Trenton. The whole place is a series of battlefields disjointed by development. Let's see, Germantown, Brandywine Creek, French Creek, Trenton, Philadelphia, tons of small areas that are historically significant. At least once or wice a year there's an artical in the paper about relics being found during development, or someone digging a new garden. I dont know the rules on historical sites and detecting. I am pretty sure that Valley Forge is off limits but imagine what you could find there! I'm about 1 1/2 hours from Gettysburg also. |
Got a ACE250 for my 50th BD last year.........YES alot of bang for the buck! Best find was my 9yr old St. Christerfer medal he lost 2yrs ago at the ball field...It was in 4in of dirt just before 3rd base.  Great hobby, only had 6month worth last year before it got cold! |
| Metal detectors are prohibited on federal national parks and most state parks. Law states that if you find anything on private land, the item found belongs to the landowner, unless you have a prior agreement/contract with the landowner. If you want to get into metal detecting then you had better like to dig. ---- Do not search alone. Metal detecting is attractive to thieves, not only the items a thief may think you have found such as coins, but also your metal detector. If you do search alone, be constantly aware of what is going on around you. You may also be observed from a distance through binoculars to see how much you are finding. Be prepared to protect yourself from thieves. Know the history of the area that you want to search. Old homesites: look for the clothes line posts. When clothes were hung out, usually upside down, coins fell out of the pocket onto the ground. Also around the mailbox, where money was left in it for letter postage. Golf courses are great if you can get permission. No detector needed there. When golfers retrieve ball from hole, they support themselves with club, raise one leg out behind them and reach in to get the ball. Any coins in the pocket of the raised leg side will roll out onto the green. Parking lots covered with gravel are hot spots, however many gravel pieces also have minerals inside that will give false readings. When you get a signal that a metal object is detected, sift through the ground material carefully and slowly. And do me a favor....have fun and a good day. |
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I started detecting back in the mid '70s, while living in Ca. I planned on doing a lot of detecting when we moved to Az. in '93. I just started going out again back in January. I'm using a 20 year old Fischer 1260 X and a Compass Judge 5. They both work as well as I remember from back when, BUT I hooked up with some gentlemen from Tucson recently and the equipment nowadays is pretty impressive compared to my old stuff. The detectors they were using included 2 MineLabs (not sure of the model number), a couple of GoldMasters (not sure of the maker, White's, maybe), and some White's MTX's. All of these put my Fischer to shame. Not knocking Fischer, just the fact that mine is old. All that being said, I would look for a treasure hunter's club near you. You will get good advice (usually), reccomendations, ideas of what is being found (although some people are pretty close to the vest with where), and you'll get to check out a pretty good selection of detectors. They will also generally be familiar with the local and state laws. If you are going to be looking in schools, city parks, etc., you'll also need some digging tools that won't kill the grass. I use a #0 phillips screwdriver with a 5 inch shaft, as a probe to attempt to locate the item before digging a hole. Quite often the screwdriver is all that is needed. I also carry a Glock 81, if digging is required, to cut a plug out of the grass. The plug can be replaced so there is no large hole left in the middle of the lawn. This is also helpful if you get onto private property. Damn, I get long winded, so I'll shut up now.  |