Your *most important* piece of advice in MD'ing

[majakldragon]

Don't dig yellow spots on white sand! Just joking. But seriously, swing and keep swinging. There's a lot of dirt and your covering it 3 sq ft at a time. It takes time and patience. My most important advice is answered by the other posts. Listen to the old hands. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt applies to a lot of these guys. Happy hunting.

If your covering 3sqft at a time your most likely missing a whole lot. I overlap my swings as to get every square inch covered. I've been known to spend all day in a 5x5 area just to make sure I've gotten all there is. I've swept the surface and sifted the trash in hopes a small ring or earring would be there. I've scraped the surface and sifted that because there's all kinds of goodies that hide underfoot. I move on when I no longer get any signals in all metal zero on my ATPro or T2.

 

[redred102]

I have an 11×9 in DC coil. A swing from side to side is approximately 3 ft. With a 3-4 in overlap I'm covering about 3 sq ft. Not edsact science but close to true.

 

[redred102]

Dd coil

 

[DBG]

Keep the coil Parallel to the surface of the earth

 

[homefire]

When it becomes more work then fun, your doing something wrong.

 

[swamp yankee]

Read the owner's manual more than once please! First time try your own/relatives'yards, no pressure/getting permission or jerks bothering you. It may sound like gibberish but will put things in context - the sounds you hear will make sense after you use it a few times. I went to a coin shop and bought worn out silver coins as test pieces dime/quarter/half dollar of the period I was looking for 1800/1900's worn out silver's dirt cheep now and mine have increased in numismatic value to about double now to boot! Be happy when you find junque,we all do and it will show there was a dwelling there so you can concentrate on a productive area instead of bopping thru sterile woods/fields and getting nada but ulcers/rubbish. Check out the u tube vids on YOUR detector they may help too. HH and best of luck

 

[MJMcCallie]

Never give up!

 

[against the wind]

Besides some really nice coins,, I have found some really cool tokens, key fobs, dog tags, in the lower than coin range of signals. When the area seems to be void of coins, start investigating the lower numbers. It could revitalize your hunt.

 

[leslie(nova scotia)]

Wear water shoes when swishing in the carribean....long spine urchins make you go................son of a B&^&^th when you step on them!

 

[diggin brains]

do it with a friend

 

[wildlife]

If all else fails take a nap , I never seem to have time for one .

I love naps , I haven't had one in sooooooo long .

 

[wildlife]

Joining TQ was the best for me , but you folks already know that .

 

[KRose]

Never, Never straddle an electric fence.

 

[teamroper]

Never, Never straddle an electric fence.

Amen

 

[ExArtyM109a6]

Always be sure to check and see if the mattress the patient is laying on has metal springs first.

Alexander Graham Bell

:/

 

[Rob1960]

Never, Never straddle an electric fence.

or pee on one.

 

[KRose]

HEE, HEE, HEE......point well taken Rob.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I hunt plowed farm fields 90% of the time. A good friend told me to ride the roads just after sun up and look for the glint off broken glass. That has lead to many a home site and some very good finds.

 

[Orosurf]

If you go snorkelling or diving for gold, the best times for eyeballing are sunrise and sunset. The colour of the light and the angle of the sun combine and make gold show up even better. Another advantage of going at sunrise is that the water is usually clearer before the swimmers and paddlers start stirring things up.

 

[Orosurf]

Oh, and another quick one ; If there is loose weed or algae on the bottom, blow it away with your fins or hand, then search these areas. The algae is heavier than water and therefore sinks to the bottom and will accumulate in the lowest spots just like water does. I often use this method to find channels , vortices, and areas where the current has moved sand from. Of course if you don't have any algae you have to rely on other methods.
I have also noticed over the years, that stingrays are a good indicator that sand has moved, they feed on crabs and molluscs that live under the sand. When there is a big sand movement the stingrays come to get an easy feed on the shellfish that take a little longer to bury themselves again, so lots of stingrays might mean lots of gold. It has worked for me.