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 Replies: 27 / Views: 7,738 |
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Valued Member
United States
315 Posts |
I went to craigslist today, and there are over 20 MD's for sale. It appears that people are just giving up on the hobby. One guy is selling a brand new ACE 350 after "using it a few times."
Before I buy one (most likely the ACE 350 above,) maybe I should learn a little bit about the drudgery? Poor returns? What turned you off from metal detecting?
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
I didn't. Just need to get out more/find the time.
I have the ACE 350. Nice detector so far.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
Well, if you do a search for cameras, bikes or video games there are a lot of hits too. People try to fill the voids in their lives with stuff and tend to bounch from one thing to another. I think a lot of people get into it thinking they will make a quick buck or something. Most everyone I have ever talked to about metal detecting is always talking about the loot. If you get any loot you will have half a million pull tabs and candy wrapper foils too. Most days I go out I don't find much of anything. I've never found a non-clad coin either, but I am in an area where relics are more common. It is time consuming and if you don't live in an area with some history behind it you are going to find a lot of modern junk.
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Heres what causes most people to stop metal detecting: High expectations.
You look on forums and see all the amazing things people find and when you go to the park and find a few bottlecaps and a penny, you can get discouraged pretty quick. Metal detecting is just like most hobbies, you get what you put into it. If you do the research and learn your machine, it will pay off.
When I first started, finding any coin in the ground amazed me.
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Valued Member
 United States
315 Posts |
Yeah, I think the silver wrappers and bottle caps are going to discourage me quick, so I'm going to set my md for gold only maybe. But, if so, probably I might go dozens of trips before finding anything.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
Yeah, setting your metal detector for gold only isn't going to work like you imagine it will.
It is not looking for gold atoms. Ths signal is based of the conductivity and signature of the object that is altering the magnetic field. Gold rings are often in the same range as pull tabs. That's why people are always digging pull tabs. You can discriminate them out, but then you will never find any rings. A smashed can will look/sound like a silver dollar.
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Valued Member
United States
315 Posts |
Yeah, looks like maybe its not for me. I have a bad back too so being on my hands and knees digging a lot is going to make it worse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
If you are on a beach, check youtube for videos showing where to find rings. There are videos that show where items like rings normally settle. This may help get better returns.
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Valued Member
United States
362 Posts |
Sciatica, Rheumatoid arthritis, Doc quit giving me percocets, I've gained weight, it's hard to hold a cane and metal detector together, my wife takes half of what I find, the land owners change the agreements after seeing what is found, need I go on? But I'd do it all again if either I got a nerve block that worked or more percocets.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
979 Posts |
Don't "invest" in a MDer. Get one for the fun of it. And yeah you will dig trash.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
979 Posts |
Fatman, have you tried a Chiropractor for your sciatica? I know plenty of people who get relief from it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
A few years back, I spent a lot of money on a high-end detector. Finds were dismal at best. I was ready to throw in the towel. Turns out, I bought an expensive bells-n-whistles machine. I noticed my buddy seemed to be finding a lot of keepers with brand X ... I switched, and the difference in quantity and quality of finds was just unbelievable. It's not all about luck. It's about the machine you are swinging.
When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
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Valued Member
United States
425 Posts |
I have to agree w/fistfuladirt. I talked to a lot of MDer folks and decided to go w/a basic detector w/no bells or whistles. I dig a lot of trash...... but it is a lot of fun! In my own back field I have found an old shooting range, where horses stood and/or were shod, and where the cowboys sat around and drank A LOT of beer!
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17941 Posts |
In the UK what makes most people give up detecting is bans by local authorities and the archaeology lobby. It's very hard to get permission to detect on public land like parks - and if you try detecting without permission, someone is bound to come along and tell you to stop (though there may be kids kicking a football around 20 feet away causing much more damage to the turf!) Archaeologists round my way have been calling on farmers and asking them not to let detectorists onto their land. Unfortunately to many archaeologists England is just one big archaeological sites, and detectorists are just vandals out to ruin it...
I haven't given up detecting permanently, but haven't been out this year. I've spent a lot of my free time caring for my elderly mother who's had a stroke - and sadly the metal detector club I belonged to has recently closed as all the committee wanted to give up and nobody else wanted to take it on. There is another club in a nearby town that I plan to join when I get the time.
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Valued Member
United States
362 Posts |
Quote:
Fatman, have you tried a Chiropractor for your sciatica? Yep, it works for a couple of months then it's back again. I'm gonna try a nerve block for the first time on the 29th, hope it works. If it doesn't I'll be back to the chiropractor within a week. Thanks for the idea.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1015 Posts |
Don't give up as you never know your luck,
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Replies: 27 / Views: 7,738 |
Posted 10/09/2013 12:48 pm
