Does anyone go Metal detecting?

[Link23]

Im from kentucky and my aunt has a farm where a battle in the civil war was fought, i was thinking what is a good beginning metal detector for around 3-400 bucks

Thanks
Link23

[slim1836]

A Garrett Ace 250 is a very good detector for the money and has many features found on higher end models.

Good luck,

Slim

[dpunch]

+1 on the Garret Ace 250. I do not own one but know a couple people that do and they are very nice for the money. I would not buy a Bounty Hunter, the ones I have seen are pretty bad. I have an old Whites Spectrum I may trade off if interested.
James

[shooting on a shoestring]

I have a detector. Detected my front and back yard. Ran out of legal places to detect. Check your local ordinances. Lots of folks are very anti-detector. Parks, school grounds and most public places are off-limits. I think its b/c when you get a hit, the next thing to do is dig it up. That makes a hole, even if you refill after extracting the bottle cap, nail or whatever treasure, there's still a dug-up place. You get hits about every 10 to 15 feet. Means a person detecting can leave a trail that looks like a gopher infestation. Parks and Rec people don't approve. Beaches are usually ok. I've heard of people getting permission from private landowners to detect on their property. Personally, I'd rather cast, reload and shoot.

[Junior1942]

Im from kentucky and my aunt has a farm where a battle in the civil war was fought, i was thinking what is a good beginning metal detector for around 3-400 bucks

Thanks
Link23Make sure your aunt knows you plan to destroy the archaeological record of a possibly valuable Civil War battle site.

[gnoahhh]

It's an archeological record only if the reclamation of the artifacts is done with strict record keeping and plotting of locations with an aim toward confirming/denying historical relevancy, usually under the auspices of museums/universities/governments. Unless said entities have even a remote interest in pursuing the archeological excavation of a site I see no reason not to metal detect it. Otherwise the stuff will just lie there rusting/oxidizing away to no one's benefit.

I was fortunate to have grown up within the Golden Triangle- Gettysburg, Sharpsburg, and Harpers Ferry- when there was plenty of opportunity to metal detect private property. I can't tell you how many minié balls, buttons, shell fragments, etc. I gave away. I could probably retire now if I still had it all! A couple of my best finds were on our property outside of Williamsport, MD, where I found Confederate buttons and a CS belt plate (buckle).

[Junior1942]

>Unless said entities have even a remote interest in pursuing the archeological excavation of a site I see no reason not to metal detect it.

There is more than a remote interest in ANY Civil War battle site. If the property is yours, detect and dig to your heart's content. In this case, the property belongs to the man's aunt. She should know what the man is about to do to her property and, possibly, her wallet.

[44man]

I live near Harpers Ferry and there was a lot going on where I live.
There is an old limestone quarry across the road and workers lived where I do. They just tossed trash out the windows or something. The most valuable thing I found is rusty cans and steel junk from the quarry. I could dig my whole yard up and down the road is worse. Cables and rods, metal of all kinds.
I was out in the field back of my property and found a boolit I had shot. It went into the melt!

[Link23]

well concerning that the place where the confederates camped is now her 1000+ Tobacco field, yes she knows i am going to do it, i have done it before but with a borrowed detector, she kicks up bullets and pieces of metal and old jars when she tills the land, for all of you wondering its the battle of middle creek, i know there is a park but she owns the other part of the land that is not a park.

Link23

[Mooseman]

I use White's Goldmaster Vsat but it is for gold nugget detecting. White makes other models That may be better for what you will be detecting. Garret is also another good one. Tesoro makes some dandy detectors as well. I suggest looking in Pawn shops as I see a lot of detectors in them , but do your research first and see what others say about them.
Stay away from the Minelab as they are hard to set up and expensive and just werent as good as my Goldmaster for depth .
You may want to dig everything in this case so you wont use The discrimination Mode. Lead boolits are similar to gold when it sounds off.
Also , when you get set up, plan to detect when the moon is full on the calendar and you will find more deep stuff that will be closer to the surface, and you will have more dirt than you can put back in the hole you dug...
You need a good trowel, a good sieve, a fanny pack to put your treasures in and I carry 4 small orange stakes to stake out an area to work thoroughly before I leapfrog 2 of the stakes, and start a new area.
Also, use good headphones for deep targets that may just be on the edge of the range.
Good Hunting !
Rich

[WILCO]

for all of you wondering its the battle of middle creek...


http://www.middlecreek.org/history.htm

[contender1]

Ok, as a long time detectorist, and the past president of a detecting club, (ten years worth of that,) I do have quite a bit of knowledge about detecting.
First, there are MANY good detectors out there. Look at your budget, ($3-400) and I will suggest you add a little bit. Why? well if you get in the $500 bracket, you will get a "mid-line" detector. As noted, stay away from the cheaper ones from Radio Shack, or what ever, (such as the Bounty Hunter.)
Whites, is probably the most commonly sold & user friendly brand of machines. Buy one of the newest models you can afford.
Fisher, Minelab, Tesoro, & Garrett's are also good machines.

First do a bit of research, with the type of hunting you plan on doing. In your case, it appears you are looking at "relic" hunting. Ignore the "gold nugget" types of machines. You can also bypass the waterproof ones for underwater hunting.

An easy place to get some insight is to buy a copy of "Western/Easten Treasures" magazine. Even better, do a search for a detecting club near you. Many clubs have a library of reading material, and usually a few dealers of machines as members. Valuable resource for info.

You mentioned a 1000+ acre tobacco field. Excellent. holes are not a problem, (but you should always fill any holes anyway.) Parks & such places do frown a bit on holes, even filled ones.

You will also be hunting with very little discrimination due to the fact that many of the artifacts you can recover will have an iron base. While it may be a bit frustrating at times,, dig all your signals. You will occasionally get a wonderful surprise in a rare find.
Bullets, both dropped & fired can be found, as well as all sorts of other relics. Most are common items to a soldier of that era, yet, some of them can bring good rewards. If you decide to keep all your finds, you will amass a collection of history you'll enjoy. However, if you find yourself with duplicates of items, (such as bullets,) you can sell them to other collectors. Buttons are another item that can be valuable & prized. I have seen many a civil war button sell for several hundred dollars.
If you do go to a local club, use a bit of caution at first. Do not discuss your proposed hunting area to the club. Sometimes there can be a "bad apple" who will befriend you just to gain access to the land & then he'll hunt it hard & with experience. Once you find an honest club member, you can ask them to help you learn on your machine a bit, and not on that property. Once you feel you can trust someone, you MAY then decide to share your hunting grounds.

But I digress a bit.

No matter what brand of machine you get, I will suggest this; READ THE MANUEL FIRST!!!!!!! THEN READ IT AGAIN WITH THE MACHINE IN HAND. Then take the machine out in your yard to try it out first. Play with the adjustments. Or, you can just start out with the pre-set options.

It can be a fun & rewarding hobby. It's the only hobby I've ever enjoyed that the results paid me back for my equipment, (just not my time yet.)

Just do not expect to buy a machine, just turn it on, and go out & find just good items right away & make a fortune. Occasionally, a newbie does get lucky in finding a solid "treasure" but it's a rare occurance.
I dug a LOT of aluminum pull tabs before I dug my first gold ring.

[contender1]

A bit more. Many of the newer machines are really good turn on & go types of machines. Just do a bit of homework before you buy one.
I have been to MANY organized club hunts & competitions. Plus, I have had the pleasure of knowing some excellent detectorists. By far, most of them use a well known name brand, starting with Whites, then Fisher, then Minelab. Do your homework,,,!

[MT Gianni]

My co-worker and I watched a young man, under 10 certainly, work the park area of a MT Hi-line town of under 1200 population. He was after money for fishing lures and he found 38 cents as we watched. We added the coins in our pocket and he went off with a bigger smile. I see no harm in it if you cover your holes correctly and have permission to be there.

[Bill*]

Make sure your aunt knows you plan to destroy the archaeological record of a possibly valuable Civil War battle site.

I think after 150 or so years the plows have taken care of that. sheesh

[contender1]

Actually, plowed fields are great places to find relics. And while SOME items can be damaged by plows & fertilizers, many will appear as lost. The ground gets turned & items lost deep sometimes resurface.

[beagle]

I once found an old school yard that had buildings along the back of the playground along a street. One must have been a printshop as I picked up a pocket of lino pieces that day. Never know what you'll find for the casting pot./beagle

[contender1]

I went to our monthly club meeting last night. We had a well known detectorist & author Andy Sabisch as our guest speaker. (He writes a monthly column for "Lost Treasure" magazine as well.) He is also a dealer in metal detectors.
FIrst, he said that ALL machines in the market if they are from a known company can be good machines. He said if the machines weren't any good, the companies wouldn't be in business,,,, EXCEPT places like Radio Shack & Wal-Mart. But he also explained "You get what you pay for." He highly recommends spending as much as you can to get a really good machine so you get something that will last for several years and be as current in technology as possible. I asked him about my "White's Spectrum" unit, and he says it's still a great detector, but it's size & weight compared to more modern machines, makes it an "old" machine. Plus, there are better features now out there that make detecting easier. Then I asked about my Fisher CZ-20, (An underwater scuba capable unit,) and he said for a Scuba type machine, still one of the best. My Fisher is going on 20 yrs old, and my CZ is about 12. When I bought my Spectrum way back when, it was $900. My Fisher was $1100. Nowadays, a top machine will cost $1500 to almost $2000.
But they are worth it.
You may ask; "Why?"
Well, technology has been catching up, and the costs of manufacturing have risen.

Andy showed us a new type of machine that has been out for about 2-1/2 to 3 years now in Europe, and is just now getting into the US market. It's designer took his engineers and started with a totally fresh approach to building detectors. They looked at current machines, and wanted to design something that took away the "faults" of the machines. I do believe they have succeeded. First was weight. This new machine only weighs 1.9 lbs. Next were the wires. This machine is totally wireless. Modern materials, (carbon fiber rod, digital wireless technology) sealed system, (external battery charging system using the newest lithium Ion type batteries for long life without a "memory" make it a SWEET feeling machine.
Basically this type of machine IS going to be the future of metal detecting. I'm seriously considering selling my Spectrum, and looking forward to buying something like this.
If you want to see all the features, go look them up.
The company & info;
XP Metal Detectors, made in France, The DEUS Wireless detector. www.xpmetaldetectors.com

They retail for $1899.00

Now, many folks will not pay that much for a machine. However, lets look at current gold & silver prices. At around $1600-$1700 for an ounce of gold, or $30 an ounce of silver, you CAN pay for a machine if you invest the time to hunt. Relics, such as Civil War buttons, breastplates, or other artifacts, CAN bring in modest returns to where you recoup your investment.

In 1995, I had an elk hunting trip planned for the fall of 1996. On Jan 1st of 1996, I decided that all the stuff I found & sold would go into a special fund toward my hunting trip. I exchanged my "common" coins for cash, I sold jewelry & other stuff, and when my trip came around, I paid for it fully, AND had money left over. Yes, I hunted a lot in my spare time. Yes, I went to places where my odds of gold jewelry were good. But almost $500 of what I got was common coins.

So, what I'm adding to my earlier info is this. STUDY things a lot before you buy a machine. Buy a machine that will work for YOUR intended purposes. Spend as much as you can on the best quality machine you can. Then learn how YOUR machine works. Lastly USE it & do not get discouraged.

BTW; On our club's "Monthly finds board" just last night were the following; 11 silver coins, 3 gold necklaces, (one was one of mine,) 5 gold rings, 1 platinum ring, 6 silver rings, 2 civil war bullets, a watch, a nice knife, a $20 bill, (we allow eyeballed finds in our "other" catagory) and a monthly total of coins found by members who posted numbers, of over 3000 coins found. All this was from our March meeting until our April meeting.

It is out there,,,,!

[Bullet Caster]

I, too, am planning on buying a metal detector, however, my wife wants to limit it to around $100. I want the best value for my money. I've looked at old White Coinmasters, Fisher, Garret Ace 150, Bounty Hunters, etc. My intended targets include coins, jewelry, relics and boolits/bullets. Any suggestions for a beginner? BC

[leadman]

I have a Bounty Hunter my wife bought me about 5 years ago. It will find items, especially iron and lead. The depth it will go is about a foot at best. It does work but it probably will not detect the really small flakes of gold.
Tried using on the exposed resevoir bed close to home here and there were so many hits from the nails, pull tabs, etc. that it was almost useless.
I did dig up a 44 cast boolit from over a foot down one time and found some coins and a gold ring on a Lake Michigan beach.

I also belonged to the Gold Prospector Association for awhile. Worked most of one day with a shovel feeding a gas powered sluice box to find about 7 flakes of gold, really small flakes.