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Who Is (your) Detecting Hero Or Mentor ??


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I just wanted to pose a question to all DP user's. Who is your detecting Hero, mentor or person who gave you the detecting/prospecting interest???? or you just plain admired for the dedication and promotion of the hobby. This can be anyone who influenced or inspired you to do what we all enjoy so much. Please share your stories about these people for all of us to enjoy. We do not want their legacy to be forgotten!!  I would like to start with Jack Gifford of Tesoro, For actualizing Tesoro detectors. His life and endevors are what we all strive to accomplish. A truly great person in so many ways. There are also many contributors on this forum that have helped me become a better more informed detector.  GB, Kac, Chase, Joe D, T Vallen, and so many more. I also have to include Mr. Herschbach for creating the best detecting forum on the old interweb. Thanks to all who contribute to this great site.

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Ok, i have a few!

   Of course, besides Steve H., and many other Forum members here! It started more for me with Mel Fisher, And Charles Garrett! Also several Treasure Coast hunters have done a fair share of keeping my interest detecting, even before i found this Forum! Thanks to all!👍👍

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My hero/ mentor is my cousin (second cousin actually) 😄. He was nice enough to take me under his wing and introduce me to metal detecting. That was when I was 7 years old. Now at 58+ I can't imagine I'd still be doing this. I never was one much for heroes in the detecting world, so I guess mentor it is for me👍.

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When I got into detecting back in the 60’s it was just me . I just wanted to be a treasure hunter and as soon I could get my hands on a detector I haven’t stop.

 I’d hunt everyday after work and the major part of the weekend. On vacation I’d hunt every day I was off .

 This guy confronted me wanted me to go hunt this place. The trouble was he said we had to make this hurt at night. I knew I was about to step off in deep something but I said okay. That day came and it had to be the darkest of darkest night. It was so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

 He had me hunting around this big tree. I’d been at it a while without a signal one . All a sudden I seen a light and darn I couldn’t been over 10 feet from the wall of this farmhouse. I told that guy let’s get out of here before you get my butt shot . I never knew where that place was in the daytime and I really didn’t want to know.

 That was the first and last time I done a stupid thing like that.

 Chuck 

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I really don't have a hero for metal detecting, however this forum is a great mentor for someone like me.

I am a newbie in this area, and have been reading a lot about the 800, and trying to learn what to do with it.

At times I just want to beat it against the trees, but I know I have to do my best to continue through the learning process. The people here are kind, knowledgeable, and helpful to the max when anyone needs their help.

So I guess this forum is not only my mentor, but also my hero.

Thank you all for your help.

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 I have had a few along the way, My first and still one of my heroes is Klunker. At the time, he had two GPX 4000s and he invited me to go with him in search for gold He was kind enough to let me use his second machine, he showed me the basics and turned me loose. He invited me to go on several occasions.  He was finding gold on a regular basis and I wasn't. That frustration only grew on me but inspired me to get my own machine, my first nugget came soon after, He has shown and taken me to numerous places to find gold that I would neve have found here in the Northern Sierra Mother Lode area on my own. My second hero is Bill Fletcher aka Bill and Linda's Prospecting. He took me under his wing and showed many things about detecting in the Nevada and Arizona deserts. I will be forever thankful for his friendship and guidance. 

In my search for coins and jewelry my hat is off to my good friend Rob. Given the fact that we live about five hours apart, we usually manage more than one hunt a month. One of his first hunts here after he got his 800, we had been detecting in old schools and parks several miles from home. On the return trip, the conversation turned to the possibilities of finding gold with the Equinox and he was ready to try. I suggested we stop where I found my first nugget. This 78 year old body had had enough, I sat on the bank of the road above the area and gave him the pointy finger. The bank is very steep there with a very small flat spot on the was down to some tailings out of a tunnel where i got my first gold. He made his way to that spot and turned his machine on and started detecting. He was only about twenty feet from me, he said I have a nice signal. Well that nice signal ended up being a nice Merc dime, he started to swing again, I've got another good signal, he said, another Merc. I had been over this place numerous times as well as several other people with GPXs. The trash is never ending. Well he wasn't done yet, another Merc and a 40 nickel. By tis time we were past the time we told our wives we would be home for dinner. Rob always seems to put himself in the right place for a great find. More to learn from him!              

                                                                                                                    Norm

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After I read Norm's account I've had a bit of a thought about mentors.  I'll have to say I've paid for some of the best and each of them has added a little bit to my thick head.  I grew up in flatland Florida and don't have a natural affinity for gold ground.  No matter how much I've tried to have a 'break through' of sorts it just seems like You are going to find more than me.  To that end of not feeling confident I'll work backwards on who has contributed to my gold nugget chase.

Last year I spent some time with Reg Wilson.  Prior to meeting up with Reg I took a class from Gerry McMullen, et al.  Prior to that my wife and I took private lessons from Lunk.  Prior to that we had taken a two day course from Ray Mills.  When I got my 2300 I got lessons from Bill Southern.  My wife and I got lessons from Jon Kishi.  Prior to that I took a private lesson from Mike Furness.  When I got my 5000 in 2010 I got a short lesson from Chris Gholson.  I'm keeping the training industry alive it seems!  haha  Thank you all.

With all of those trainings (I might think of one or two more) under my belt I will still have to agree with Norm that Rob and Roger D. gave me some training in Gold Basin that sticks with me no matter where I go.  They showed me how to find small meteorites and small gold that I could not find before.  Thank you Rob and Roger.

I've had other hunting partners that are better than me also and they have taken their time to help me but there are too many to name.  Norm is someone I like to check in with from time to time himself.  He normally has a nice poke that he lets me look at.

Mitchel

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I would have to say my wife, I was right in to gold panning,dredging and sluicing but not detecting. The wife thought that detecting would be easier and wanted to go to the golden triangle in Vic Aust. So off we went, she was hooked so I had no option but to buy her one the best detector available Garrett DeepSeeker. She found it harder than the Whites 6000D that she tried so I got her one, and ended up with the Garretts. Well Carol found a 1 Oz nugget the battle was on.😬 

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I tend not to "name names" because invariably I'll leave someone out who belongs on the list.  I hate hurting someone's feelings.  So many here who have helped me will remain nameless.  Four (never members here) are deceased and I'm giving them credit (is that the right word 😏).

I've always associated treasure hunting with getting something for nothing.  Not only is that an oversimplification, but it's not true if you consider time and effort as more than nothing.  Maybe a bit better is "treasure hunting is finding something of value which you get to keep but never had to pay for".  (Again, an oversimplification and an inaccuracy.)

When I was six years old I was introduced to coin collecting by my mother and two of her brothers.  To them (and me, even to this day) "coin collecting" meant paying face value for a coin worth more than face value.  We went through pocket change and bank rolls to find the scarce and valuable coins.  Buying coins is also coin collecting, and not counting metal detecting and going through grandma's dresser drawers, that's about all it is today.  There are exceptions but they are so few and far between....  But we didn't really get excited about that.  I wanted something for nothing!

When I got interested in metal detecting (late years of high school back around 1969-71) I started reading anything I could get my hands on.  Eventually I found my way to the Ram Publishing books -- turns out a subsidiary(?) of Garrett Electronics, but apparently no longer in operation.  (Glenn mentioned one of their authors -- Karl von Mueller.)  Charles Garrett was not only an electrical engineer and an entrepeneur, but also a treasure hunter and a writer.  I don't know if he is considered an expert at any of these by the top people in those fields, but he tied all of them together in a complete package.   One book in particular I remember from 1979 he co-authored with Roy Lagal -- Electronic Prospecting.  It took me over 35 years to convert that from an armchair hobby to a real one.  I give Charles Garrett the credit for that.

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