I’m Thinking Of Starting Detecting

[TreasureHunter5]

My great grandfather was into detecting and I am thinking of getting into it. It seems fun to get outside, to get away from life, and be with people I like. The potential to find great treasure is very exciting. The whole hunt and surprise of what you will find is exciting! What do you think? Should I get into it? What would be good starter tools.

[GB_Amateur]

Only you can answer these questions.  We all make our own decisions.  Life is full of opportunities, and for most people more than they have the time to invest.

Many have come before you and have had to make a similar decision.  They have come down on both sides of the fence.  It's your turn.

 

[Chase Goldman]

If your singular focus is just on the finds and not on the total picture - the hobby will seem tedious and pointless. 

If you cannot appreciate the intangibles such as getting outdoors and away from the chaos, the thrill of the hunt, the occasional spectacular finds, the friendship that comes from meeting others engaged in similar pursuits, researching and gaining access to productive/historic sites, debates on equipment, busting your buddy's chops on getting skunked, celebrating with your buddy when they find that gold coin that you too can hold in your hand, learning about things you never knew existed, seeing some cool wildlife, grabbing as much silver as you can at a seeded contest hunt, finding a long lost carved Civil War bullet fishing weight, and reuniting priceless items back with their owners then yeah, it will seem like a tedious way to collect trash at a place where you couldn't care less using an expensive piece of gear that is over-designed for the task at hand. 

It's all a matter of perspective.  Most people who simply see visions of easy treasure popping out of the ground before experiencing the realities of the hobby lose interest fairly quickly.  Looks like you are potentially in that camp.  Detecting is what you choose to make of it and it is not everyone's passion.  You have to discover that for yourself and decide your path.  Everything you have said is absolutely true but matters little to the detectorist who gets enjoyment from everything else the hobby has offer.  A coin or relic or nugget found is 100 times sweeter than buying that same item off ebay.

 

[Joe D.]

   I'm pretty much with GB, and Chase on this!  I reread your profile, and must say, you have alot of cool hobbies competing for your time! So maybe/ maybe not on the value of your time! 

   I do see a common thread in them though! You like different forms of history! Old motorcycles, stamps, coins , relics! Etc...! Very few people are ever going to make a living out of detecting! For the most part, most hunts i'm probably averaging a dollar an hour in clad! But that is not why i do it! Its for the mystery, and challenge of the hunt! And i can dedicate as much, or as little time as i please, to it! I'm a collector of many of those same things myself ( except for bikes)! It's more about the thrill of the hunt! And since I've been on the Forum, learning and sharing experiences with others!  

  You are in a very historic state, and i wish i had access to what you have the potential to find! 

I've said it before, but they don't call "Detecting" Finding! Or "fishing"; catching! Finding and Catching would be too much like a job, and take all the fun out of it!👍👍

[TreasureHunter5]

On 7/24/2020 at 7:13 PM, GB_Amateur said:

Only you can answer these questions.  We all make our own decisions.  Life is full of opportunities, and for most people more than they have the time to invest.

Many have come before you and have had to make a similar decision.  They have come down on both sides of the fence.  It's your turn.

 

Thanks for your input. I might have to just spend extra time in the beginning detecting. I have a lot going on in daily life.

[TreasureHunter5]

On 7/24/2020 at 8:02 PM, Chase Goldman said:

If your singular focus is just on the finds and not on the total picture - the hobby will seem tedious and pointless. 

If you cannot appreciate the intangibles such as getting outdoors and away from the chaos, the thrill of the hunt, the occasional spectacular finds, the friendship that comes from meeting others engaged in similar pursuits, researching and gaining access to productive/historic sites, debates on equipment, busting your buddy's chops on getting skunked, celebrating with your buddy when they find that gold coin that you too can hold in your hand, learning about things you never knew existed, seeing some cool wildlife, grabbing as much silver as you can at a seeded contest hunt, finding a long lost carved Civil War bullet fishing weight, and reuniting priceless items back with their owners then yeah, it will seem like a tedious way to collect trash at a place where you couldn't care less using an expensive piece of gear that is over-designed for the task at hand. 

It's all a matter of perspective.  Most people who simply see visions of easy treasure popping out of the ground before experiencing the realities of the hobby lose interest fairly quickly.  Looks like you are potentially in that camp.  Detecting is what you choose to make of it and it is not everyone's passion.  You have to discover that for yourself and decide your path.  Everything you have said is absolutely true but matters little to the detectorist who gets enjoyment from everything else the hobby has offer.  A coin or relic or nugget found is 100 times sweeter than buying that same item off ebay.

 

Thanks for the input! I do like getting outside and the hobby will get me away. I will enjoy talking to everyone on the forum. Well said. You make good points, and just like I told GB, I will spend extra time in the beginning detecting. I don’t have to start completely, maybe for a little to try it out in the beginning.

[TreasureHunter5]

On 7/24/2020 at 8:23 PM, Joe D. said:

   I'm pretty much with GB, and Chase on this!  I reread your profile, and must say, you have alot of cool hobbies competing for your time! So maybe/ maybe not on the value of your time! 

   I do see a common thread in them though! You like different forms of history! Old motorcycles, stamps, coins , relics! Etc...! Very very few people are going to make a living out of detecting! For the most part, most hunts, i'm probably averaging a dollar an hour in clad! But that is not why i do it! Its for the mystery, and challenge of the hunt! And i can dedicate as much, or as little time as i please to it! I'm a collector of many of those same things myself ( except for bikes)! It's more about the thrill of the hunt! And since I've been on the Forum, learning and sharing experiences with others!  

  You are in a very historic state, and i wish i had access to what you have the potential to find! 

I've said it before, but they don't call "Detecting" Finding! Or "fishing"; catching! Finding and Catching would be too much like a job, and take all the fun out of it!👍👍

Thanks to you as well. Well said! No one has to dive in on the start. I can take my time in the beginning and start up more as I learn. I hope I have more posts coming! The hunt will be exciting! I try it out. Thanks for helping!

[Jeff McClendon]

I spent most of my time with a detector (about 10 years) as a gold prospector. I had some decent detectors, found some gold, accidental relics and definitely enjoyed it. I finally realized (I am pretty slow sometimes) I could also find relics on purpose, along with coins (money!!!!) and quality jewelry (even more money). I tried using my Tesoro Lobo Super Traq for that purpose and realized pretty quickly that I needed a detector with a few more features. After trying 25 or so entry level to advanced detectors, technology finally caught up with my soil conditions and the Minelab Equinox was born. My finds rate of good targets (like money and quality jewelry) skyrocketed and now I can't stop unless my body stops me first. I own two Equinox (oops, just bought another one today........) and I paid for both of them in the first year of ownership with money leftover. So.......

The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is a decent entry level detector and may be fine for your hunting and soil conditions but I have no idea really. If you have any inkling that you want to keep going, I would upgrade first and then decide. Maybe this hobby is not for you but the Tracker IV could also be holding you back. 

P.S. thanks for correcting me down below. Since you are using the Tracker ID 505, I really think your detector could be holding you back. Not dissing your detector by any means, but if you think you might get serious about detecting an upgrade would be a big help in my opinion. Lot of us on here like the new Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro/Fisher F19/ Teknetics G2+.

Jeff

[Chase Goldman]

2 hours ago, Joe D. said:

I'm pretty much with GB, and Chase on this!  I reread your profile, and must say, you have alot of cool hobbies competing for your time! So maybe/ maybe not on the value of your time! 

TreasureHunter5 - I also noticed what Joe D. noticed about the cool hobbies in your profile after I posted.  A lot of the enjoyment of metal detecting such as getting outdoors and enjoying fresh air and cool new places is common to some of your other pursuits.  Bottom line, hobbies should not feel like work and should not be boring.  The are an adult way of escaping the rigors of day-to-day living and you should look forward to spending whatever precious spare time you have doing them.  If it's not enjoyable or tedious, then you have your answer.  And you are absolutely right that you should also take a break to keep things fresh.  Work and family naturally keep my hobby fresh because it limits my play time enough that I really look forward to the opportunity to get out and detect and plan periodic week long get togethers with detecting buddies to do nothing but detect, eat, and sleep.  Good luck and hope you stick with it.

[TreasureHunter5]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:32 PM, Jeff McClendon said:

I spent most of my time with a detector (about 10 years) as a gold prospector. I had some decent detectors, found some gold, accidental relics and definitely enjoyed it. I finally realized (I am pretty slow sometimes) I could also find relics on purpose, along with coins (money!!!!) and quality jewelry (even more money). I tried using my Tesoro Lobo Super Traq for that purpose and realized pretty quickly that I needed a detector with a few more features. After trying 25 or so entry level to advanced detectors, technology finally caught up with my soil conditions and the Minelab Equinox was born. My finds rate of good targets (like money and quality jewelry) skyrocketed and now I can't stop unless my body stops me first. I own two Equinox (oops, just bought another one today........) and I paid for both of them in the first year of ownership with money leftover. So.......

The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is a decent entry level detector and may be fine for your hunting and soil conditions but I have no idea really. If you have any inkling that you want to keep going, I would upgrade first and then decide. Maybe this hobby is not for you but the Tracker IV could also be holding you back.

Jeff

I’m not using a bounty hunter IV. I have a old bounty hunter tracker 1-d/505. I’m not sure if they are the same, and the IV is newer? It worked for me for the first time. and I’m happy with how that worked.( it was free after all) . is it a good starter tooI? I am going to keep trying it, I like it so far. Thanks.