Park hunting with the Garrett At Pro.

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The trouble with visiting my parents is all the visiting interferes with new places to have a swing. ;) I fast hour before dinner at a local sports field.
Pretty slow start. Only 2 c 1 cents. Highlight of the day came next, a Florin and two pennies stuck together. One penny fell away as they came out of the hole but the other penny and florin are firmly joined. My first mini coin spill. Another penny $1 $2 and another 1 cent. Half a matchbox car, a small oval disc, some trash and an arrow. Didn't need detector for that.

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bet the inside of those two coins are in pristine(as dropped) condition Ramjet,...nicely done.
 
Nice finds. Just tried an at pro for the first time at a race course yesterday. So many pull tops and bottle caps. How do u deal with those.
 
Today's lessons. #1 Dig everything. #2 Slow down. #3 Don't assume anything.
After night work today I went to a park. Started near some cricket nets. Very first target pinged a 78-79 on the Pro. Bloody bottle cap, oh well dig it anyway. Result $1 coin which is generally 81-82. 2nd target rang up 56-58, pull tab. No, a ten cent piece. A little while later I get another target that's in the $1 $2 range. Using pinpoint mode the target is too big to be a coin, so I'm thinking canslaw. As I'm in 'dig everything' mode today I have a look... another $1. Wave the pro pointer in the hole and another $1. Swing the detector over the hole and a couple of inches away is $2. Score.

I did dig a lot of trash as in the pics. But enjoyed my couple of hours. As it warmed up I moved under a big old tree. Mostly trash but then I got a scratchy 52-53 signal 4 to 5 inches down. Usually small bits of aluminium. Dig it up and it's my first sixpence. Stoked :D That was my last target of the day as a fellow detectorist came over for a chat. Cost me half hour of detecting but he did give me a few hints on some spots for a look in the future.

So a couple of good lessons for the day. I am usually swinging too fast to cover more ground in the hope of scoring some pre decimals. I realise now that I have had the wrong attitude. Slow down and cover the area properly. How many good targets have I missed with my fast pace? Worse still, how many coins have I left in the ground because I assumed they were just trash?

A good day over all. Now to get ready for another night shift 8.(

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Haha a silver! Often dig everything is the better option if you have the time. Leave the cherry picking for places that you can't spend time at, for two reasons. Firstly you'll understand better what's under the coil and get tye vast majority of the targets, no point leaving something good behind for the next bloke,and secondly when you return to the same area you can cherry pick recent drops. All target digging averages out far better in my opinion over the long haul with the exception of spending huge amounts of time being noticed. Mentally mark out the zone and go through when the foot traffic is light on, return and repeat. You'd be surprised how many shooters are out there and the people they know, I personally try and stealth hunt a place out before the next detectorist comes along. If you think about that logically you'll realize if you saw someone swinging for a couple hours in the same spot it would catch my attention and interest.
 
Thanks Goldtarget. Good advice. I definately will slow down and dig more targets. Another reason I hesitate to dig evrerything is that even though I do my best to coin pop and leave as little evidence as possible, it is inevetable that there will be more disturbance in a concerntrated area. They certainly are a huge number of detectorists out there. Guys at work are aften telling me they see people detecting on this beach or in that park etc.
 
I agree Ramjet , You really do have to consider where you are hunting...
There are more than enough people who dont give a shit about what mess they leave behind them or the consequences that we all will ultimately suffer . And for what really? A few coins. Usually no more than $10 ... At most.
 
Thankfully I've been pretty lucky and as the dry sets in things will become tougher. There's definitely some cringe worthy photos and clips out there, and the reason why I get out in the daylight, I find it infinitely easier to leave the places as pristine as I found them when I have enough workable light. Even just making sure the dirt from the lesche goes onto the cloth and then all back in the hole is a daylight task. I carry a water bottle and check up on my digs, I stopped in one Park as the last hunt left a couple of discolouration patches in the kikuyu where I had done plugs instead of slit, there's definitely an art and responsibility that the rouge element out there don't take on board. With enough practice and finesse there would be very few areas with right right conditions that couldn't be hunted. I try and treat it like I own it, leave it as I would like it left if it was mine.
 
Goldtarget said:
Thankfully I've been pretty lucky and as the dry sets in things will become tougher. There's definitely some cringe worthy photos and clips out there, and the reason why I get out in the daylight, I find it infinitely easier to leave the places as pristine as I found them when I have enough workable light. Even just making sure the dirt from the lesche goes onto the cloth and then all back in the hole is a daylight task. I carry a water bottle and check up on my digs, I stopped in one Park as the last hunt left a couple of discolouration patches in the kikuyu where I had done plugs instead of slit, there's definitely an art and responsibility that the rouge element out there don't take on board. With enough practice and finesse there would be very few areas with right right conditions that couldn't be hunted. I try and treat it like I own it, leave it as I would like it left if it was mine.
Click to expand...

That's the exact reason why I won't do over a particular area in the one sitting, I tend to circulate through different areas, or swap over to some beach detecting instead. Yes it may mean less coins and more travelling, but at least I know my footprint in the areas I work will be negligible. :)
 
Any play area of of the sports ovals should be out of bounds for detecting, regardless how careful you are. Simple as that.
Karl
 

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