Metal Detector Enthusiasts?

Any metal detector enthusiasts out there?

What brand of metal detector do you use?

What are some of your favorite sites to detect?

What are your favorite/most valuable/most unusual finds?

 

Bump - 73 views in a month with no responses?

Someone's got to have a few stories to share. My favorite find was a 1944 Walking Liberty Half Dollar in the front yard of one of the homes I mowed lawn for when I was 16.

 

Bump again - We're now past 130 views of this thread and no one has jumped in with a response of their own, so here's another from me...

I found a wedding ring in the front yard of another home that I mowed lawns for, and I brought it to the owner, thinking they'd be so happy that they'd reward me somehow. I guess the reward was a "thank you" - wow was I disappointed. I didn't get the ring or any other financial reward. Bummer. That was a long time ago. Just think what the gold would be worth in today's money at over 1K an ounce. Double bummer.

 

What up MNTaco, nice truck! Yes I too hunt metals, mostly relics but love to find coins also. Nice find on your 44 Walker, silver is hard to find now a days but especially a half dollar. I have used a number of detectors but Tesoro is my favorite. Also it was good of you to return the ring, your reward is doing the right thing – keep it up and happy hunting.

 

Thanks, Jet. Back in early July, I went big on getting a new Minelab E-Trac. It's a lot harder to get used to than the Bounty Hunter's I've had in the past, but it definitely goes deeper and I've gotten some good finds in holes that had both the goodies and junk in the same spot. Never would have gotten those finds with my past detectors. Since I got it, I've gotten a 1944 silver Washington Quarter and a 1950 Wheatie out of a park I've hunted dozens of times before only getting clads (and up to that point, not even much of that). I've also gotten a nice heavy silver ring and about $20 in other change. Lots of fun pulling up money! Best of luck to you on your next hunt!

 

I've thought about getting into this hobby...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/s...asure-hoard-gold-staffordshire-metal-detector

 

It is fun, but very few have the kind of luck described in that story. I just enjoy getting out to detect. It's like fishing - you never know what your going to catch, and you still get sunburn and bug bites. But occassionally you catch something really good, and you don't have to spend the money for a boat and trailer. Usually the finds at least cover the cost of replacement batteries anyhow.

 

man.....i'd love to get into this "sport".....but cant afford a good metal detector at the moment. a good while back tho......i had a cheap metal detector...back in high school, and on the property my mom used to own, we found some old cannon balls, out in the mcconnells area of york county,sc. its right close to brattonsville, where some definite war fighting was going on at some point. it wa spretty cool,because we found around 7 or 8 cannon balls in one area.

 

You know when I first started off in the hobby I found a local club and started going to their monthly meetings, amazing what you can learn. Google your area and more than likely you will be able to find a club close by. You might be able to find a club member that wants to sell a machine at a good price too?! For sure you can find out where the good spots to hunt in your area. With a little research you might find an old ball park, ghost town or war site that can produce some really old neat stuff. Here are a couple of good magazines – Good luck!

American Digger: http://www.americandigger.com/index.htm
Western & Eastern: http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/
Ask a librarian to give you access to the electronic version of the old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (shows old roads, homes and building locations from the mid 1800’s,…)

 

first thought was you must be into security, like a wand detector lol
was i off wow

 

Tesoros are the best, IMO, and in the opinion of many professional metal hunters. They are made here in AZ in a small town north of Phoenix called Prescott, and they are known for their reliability and also for minimizing false reads. Out here in AZ there is quite a bit of mineral that interferes with detectors. Just north of Phoenix is a mountain range that is one of the most mineral-rich in the country. Lots of gold claims there, and plenty of natural silver to be found, too.

Anyways, Tesoro detectors are the best at being able to be adjusted so that you can screen out interferences from other minerals. We have tons of magnetite in our state which very strongly sticks to a rare earth magnet and almost looks like a meteorite. That stuff gives almost a constant false read in much of our gold territory and can drive you nuts, but the Tesoros almost completely filter it out.

Well worth the $$ if you want to take this hobby serious and find more valuable metal than junk.

 

Anyone use metal detectors to look for meteorites?