Basic Detecting Skills

[Quick]

I have been detecting for gold off and on since 1986 and I would like to give a little advice.

I believe there are five main things you need to do to be successful.

You need to be in a area that has big enough gold to detect.

Dig all repetitive targets.

It does not matter what sound comes out of the speaker.If it is a repetitive sound dig it. I have dug big deep gold that was nothing more than ground noise but it was a repetitive ground noise and after a scratch or two it turned into a clear target.

Learn your detector, I still learn something new about my detectors once in awhile. I see guys stuck on one setting more often than not.

Sure you dig up hot rocks with the Normal timings on the GPX's but you are also punching deeper than fine gold or sensitive extra in some ground types.

Minelab put all those timings on there because they work! Use them!!!

Swing speed SLOW DOWN!!!

I watched some videos on YouTube the other day and I can guarantee some of those people are missing gold.

The big deep nuggets need a very slow swing speed and good coil control.

Learn how to ground balance. This is what I think is one of the most important things to learn how to do successful. Do it right and do it often and you will add more gold to your poke.

Hope this helps someone, Root

[flakmagnet]

Great reminders, thanks for taking the time.

I especially like the last point. 

Good ground balancing is a key component of detecting well.

That combined with good coil control and slow swing speed will add a lot of gold to your collection.

[Steve Herschbach]

Coil control, coil control, coil control!!
 
I ran a pay to mine operation for years and have been able to watch a lot of people detect, both novices and experts.
 
You can literally tell an expert just by watching. They are very intent on what they are doing, their head is in the game at all times, and almost all their focus is on that coil and what it is doing. The coil is like a little hovercraft moving over the ground and around or over obstacles, always under total control and always close to the ground.
 
Many novices are obviously bored out of their skulls and paying no attention at all to what they are doing. Their minds are someplace else, and they are just going through the motions. In particular, the coils are off the ground, either for the entire swing, or at both ends of the swing (the infamous "golf swing"). The only time the coil gets close to the ground is in the middle of the swing or sometimes not at all.
 
You can coach them on this, but in many cases an hour later that coil is back off the ground. I decided that many people new to the game have no real interest in metal detecting. They want gold, and think a detector will get it for them, so they give it a go. But they really do not enjoy the detecting itself. It bores them, and digging junk in particular frustrates them. Most of them honestly will just never be much good at it except by luck as they do not really have the mental aptitude for it.
 
Metal detecting for me at its best is just like meditation. I am in the moment, not thinking of bills to pay or other issues in life, just one with the detector and the task at hand.
 
Where is this guys head?
 

Source:Wikipedia Commons

[flakmagnet]

Yeah Steve,

agree that metal detecting can seem like meditating.

Consciously working with the detector, being "in the zone," coil control seems fairly easy.

The minute you get distracted; it's too hot, a shoulder is starting to ache,

the threshold is getting distracting…anything like that and coil control starts to go away.

Time to take a break.

[strick]

I've come to the conclusion that metal detecting is the perfect medication for people with OCD. Doctors should write a prescription for a metal detector instead of one for Ritalin. The world would be a better place  except for the fact that we would have more competition. It's not a game for people that get bored or disgusted easily. Finding gold is not easy. As the saying goes "if it were easy everyone would be doing it"

 

strick

[Peteren]

LoL Steve, that picture looks like me after 10 hrs of digging fly shit sized bits of lead shot with the Zed

Do like your words, detecting needs to be "in the zone" with total commitment to coil control

[beardog]

Like Steve has said many times, "it's not the machine, it's the man behind the machine."

Many noobies forget the three cardinal rules for detecting, Ground balance, Thold and coil swing speed. 

Yes, they just want to find gold and are taken by manufacturer ads of, "our machine will find more gold!" Unfortunately, they fall flat on their face and become discouraged, or, will resort to trespass to better their chances - claim stakes, how dare someone put up claim stakes!

It took me many years to learn "low and slow" but when the electronic gold rush started, well, I listened and learned.

Once again, hats off for Steve's generous web site!!!

[Quick]

Another thing I see people struggling with is target recovery.

I wish I could but it is impossible to explain how to do it correctly with words.

Anybody know a good video?

[californiagold]

All very good tips! I see new people here and there and I think 80 percent have the get rich quick concept. Then when they dont find any or much gold, they get frustrated and quit. Usually they put their detector in the closet or sell it. It does help new detectorist to find a piece of gold. It really boost your confidence. Once you have some confidence, it helps you get to the next piece of gold. And so on. For most getting together with a experienced detectorist or join a prospecting club, would be a good option to help them. Or if they can't find these, then a great gold detecting forum such as this could be the best thing. Plenty of experienced people to help them here. Also maybe locally there is a detectorist that you can pay for a trip to get that hands on experience. I know there is a experienced gold detectorist in my area that offers to help new people for a fee.
I feel that you really need to get on the gold for a new person no matter what resource you use. Or new detectorist will lose interest.
Detecting is many things to people. For me it is just so enjoyable being in the outdoors. Especially with a buddy. Also all the research, field research then the rewarding finds for your efforts is great piece of mind. The outdoors is very relaxing away from all the hustle and bustle. So even on a bad day gold detecting, you still get the enjoyment of the great outdoors. so far in 30+ years I haven't got bored with it.
Good luck to all the new breed!

[nvchris]

Ive seen many very experience operators struggle with recovery.

This is a numbers game, the faster you can recover a target the more targets you can process.

This same method works well with the GPZ 7000, only tilt the coil to about 45° and use any of the 4 hot spots on the coils edge located @ the 11, 1, 5 and 7 o'clock positions (look for the embossed lines that delineate the center winding)

A vid I did a few years back on pinpointing.