Time to share

[Shane]

Ive been reading topics here for a few weeks now since joining and I have finally decided to contribute.
I purchased a 705 just after chrissy and with some time off work I decided to give the beaches and parks a hammering.
To date my total is a little over $630 in change (another day out and ill pay off the 705!!) 1 9 carat amethyst-diamond set gold ring, 2 x 925 silver rings, and a Rodgers bone handle pocket knife.
Other items crossed of my bucket list include, bullets, dog tag (from a dog!), foreign coins, condoms in the packet :/ , full can of jim beam and cola , kitchen knives, about 30 matchbox cars, pot smoking cones, 1901-2001 commemorative medallion, weird religious medallion, scissors, trigger from a gun, screen door lock, keys, 1 & 2c coins and some bomb shrapnel (I think based on type of metal, location, depth and shape).
No pre decimals yet.
...and found a little gold nugget out on a lease while prospecting.

Below are some pics with the most recent first where I got 221.90 and a silver ring in three hours. I was only digging 'gold coin' targets. I left all the 5 & 10 cent targets for another day. The day before I got $110.15 in under 3 hours in the same spot.
The last image is from a beach. Looks like it has already been worked but they left all the trash!!

PS sorry about the crap images

 

[beach detecting addict]

That's a good haul mate, well done.

cheers Rob

 

[gtol29]

Some very nice finds there Shane well done.

Good to see at least you picked up the trash if others didn't

Happy huntings

Gary

 

[silver]

Well done Shane, each find is better than a scratchie aint it !

 

[Still Looking]

Brilliant finds there Shane...must be a popular beach ..the 705 sure handles the beach well...what sort of sensitivity do you have to use on the beach mate...haven't hit the beaches with the 305 yet...oops I didn't read the post properly looks like most of the goodies came from parks?..

 

[Shane]

Hey Still Looking,

I use the 'All Metal' setting and based on how the tone sounds and the numbers on the readout I decide to dig or not.
I set the sens to 25 then when I am near concrete or metal structure I go as low as 3 to get really close to the steel. I found that even at 3 the coins up to an inch deep still show up.
The area I am working is a grassed park and there are regular events held that attract large numbers of people.
The security guards there tell me they pick up money and personal items all the time. This area has never been worked so its no surprise its loaded.
My guess is it will take me a year of 3-4 hour trips to get the bulk of it out.
Once I have got all the gold coins out I will go back and dig all the small coin signals.
I have a 15inch coil that makes grid searching much faster.

The hardest bit is not destroying the grass so security let me continue.

I am so busy at work right now but I will be heading back on the weekend to try to beat my $221. Im going for 300!!!

 

[Still Looking]

c'mon 300......good luck

 

[Guest]

Impressive.

I also bought a 705 just after xmas and have about 1/6th of that haul.

I seem to come home with about $5 and the odd pre decimal and other bizarre items.

That strike rate is not sustainable or is it?????

Leave something for the rest of us. lol

 

[silver]

No way .... you keep it up,.... like a vacuum cleaner, that's what I do too.
Go over it again with different approaches and, win win win.

 

[Sa_bogan]

Impressive.

I also bought a 705 just after xmas and have about 1/6th of that haul.

I seem to come home with about $5 and the odd pre decimal and other bizarre items.

That strike rate is not sustainable or is it?????

Leave something for the rest of us. lol

I'm in the same boat mate. He did mention it is after a large group of people have been in the one spot he will head down there which makes sense. These coins must be sunbakers to get a total like that in such a short time. It takes me a good few minutes to get a coin out at the best of times. Depending on what state your in, check out the big events and head down afterwards. In adelaide we have a few big ones in the next few months which im looking forward to!

 

[Shane]

I was really surprised by the large number of gold coins. Previously the highest total for me was about $30. The key is this place has never been worked. I have developed a really good technique for removing coins that are within an two inches of the surface. It take less than a minute to find most targets once they are pinpointed.
Im guessing that I will get one more good day there where I hope to crack the 300 then it will be mostly 5-10c pieces and trash/deeper targets.
This is only one place I have identified. There are heaps of other places that get heavy traffic that I will be working once this one is done.
The other key to finding so much in so little time is the 705. I can tell instantly type of target and how deep so its easy to choose which targets to dig.
I will be going out Friday to give it a nudge.

 

[Sa_bogan]

I agree that the 705 is good at telling you what's good and bad and I too hunt in all metal mode. They must not drink there a lot as I have found that screw tops from wine bottles and some soft drinks come up as 32 which is the Goldie number. I use a screw driver to get those out after using the pro pointer but hard ground and add time to getting them out. Job though

 

[dave14110]

I have the Xterra 70 never found no more than $35 in one spot. But that one spot I was only at for 15 -20 minutes & no digger but not visable, all were just under surface. Scrape foot to find & then 1 of my kids were picking up coin, I had often found next coin as they picked that one up. I don't keep running total any longer but I'm guessing that in 4 years I have found at least $1000 each year in coin.
Best find to date was 22 caret gold chain weighing 8 grams. Not sure on Value but gold was at time $52 a gram.
Totally agree with you all about screw caps & goldies, but don't be dishearten by this as if you scan signal & with each scan you move coil away the machine start to jump in numbers if it is screw cap, where as with goldies it will just stop reading signal. Randy Hortan ? writes & explains in his book. Recomended read if you have Xterra. It takes experience & often saves me digging. Tried & test. works 95% of time.
My understanding is we aren't alone as a friend has a Garrett at pro and he has same problem with pull tabs & goldies.

 

[Paulmarr]

LOL - I find this hobby of metal detecting very similar to gambling in a lot of ways....

Gamblers are quick to tell you about the big wins they have - but fail to mention the many times they were not so lucky and lost their dough - detectorists are quick to display the big finds and booty they uncover but fail to mention the times they find a buck twenty and 72 bottle caps....

Gamblers also fast to tell you about the 1000-1 shot they hit with a $5 note at the pub but don't tell you about the 100's of hours they sat at the pub and couldn't pick a winner to save themselves - detectorists are quick to tell you in 20 minutes they found a $100 and a gold ring but slow to reveal they were out in the mid day sun for hours without hitting anything but pull tabs ...

Oh yeah - throw fisherman in on the analogy too!

 

[Guest]

Priceless analogy!

I have a confession!

3 hours scan off night work. $4.23 (yes there are plenty of 1c coins left)

Pennys 1945, 1949, 1957 (marked when extracting)

Half Penny 1917 (unmarked)

1953 Shilling (hit by a lawn mower)

Was is worth it? Absolutely, learning the 705 is mentally stimulating.

Todays lesson: Swing coil a lot slower over a suspected target and it will discriminate far more accurately.

Looking for that lost Gold sovereign!

 

[dave14110]

LOL So true. & yes I have found plenty of rubbish too but with the right machine in the right hands you can leave plenty of rubbish in the ground. As I stated most of the time I can tell what it is now with my xterra. Here's another clue if your know the area & understand what it has been used for then you should know what your signal is. Example would be if your go to a picnic ground & you pick up 50 twist caps of stubbies in a row and they all read 32 are you going to keep digging 32.
My xterra read a modern ring pulls at 14 & no coin reads 14 so I rare dig ring pulls.
Metal detecting is not just about swinger it & digging holes. Expierienced metal detectors using coin or digital screens can tell you 9/10 what the target is before dug.
I know I get much less rubbish now than I did when I started.
I will add to this if I uncover rubbish it is all removed unless to big.

 

[Guest]

Bugger, I forgot to add the important part to my confession....50 or more pieces of junk!

 

[Sa_bogan]

LOL So true. & yes I have found plenty of rubbish too but with the right machine in the right hands you can leave plenty of rubbish in the ground. As I stated most of the time I can tell what it is now with my xterra. Here's another clue if your know the area & understand what it has been used for then you should know what your signal is. Example would be if your go to a picnic ground & you pick up 50 twist caps of stubbies in a row and they all read 32 are you going to keep digging 32.
My xterra read a modern ring pulls at 14 & no coin reads 14 so I rare dig ring pulls.
Metal detecting is not just about swinger it & digging holes. Expierienced metal detectors using coin or digital screens can tell you 9/10 what the target is before dug.
I know I get much less rubbish now than I did when I started.
I will add to this if I uncover rubbish it is all removed unless to big.

I also use the screen and understand what the target ID's are. But as you would know that a pull tab could also be a gold ring. If you dont dig 32 you wont find the gold coins. i know if an area is junkie i will move to another part of the park to see if there are better targets around. The target ID is an indication of what the target and isnt always 100% correct otherwise you would only dig the goods.

 

[Goldpick]

....and that's the sacrifice you have to make, either use discrimination less or run in all-metal and dig everything (or try to decipher good from bad signals with experience), or discriminate out everything bar silver and coin targets for the sake of a quick clean out of an area. Target ID's are great at shallow/near surface targets, but not so flash for anything at depth, especially if they jump around. Mind you, some parks you have run a generous amount of discrimination due to the high density of crappy targets in the ground, meaning you wouldn't have a chance in all-metal unless it was a screaming shallow or surface target.

 

[Shane]

Some parks have so many targets under ground that the detector barks up to a dozen times per swing with the 15inch coil.
I have changed to the small dd coil that comes with the xterra at places like this and I can id each target a bit better.
Real trashy places like Mindil beach up here I just avoid completely.

I don't dig deep targets generally especially in grass. My coin popping tool only goes about 50-60mm deep.
I did have a dig in my back lawn, some as deep as 200mm and only found ally cans, ring pulls and silver paper. All the coins (over $7) were just below the grass.