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Monte Berry Has Passed Away


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Metal detecting has lost a legend.  I was fortunate to meet Monte just last June at one of his Welcome to the Hunt Outings (WTHO).  He was already quite limited in activity due to both severe spinal degradation and diabetes, but his enthusiasm even under those impediments was contagious.  His son Monte Jr. was kind enough to bring him from Utah out to Nevada for the WTHO week and come back to get him when the expedition was over.  Monte had a faithful dog (can't remember her name but someone here will post it) who was always at his side.  I feel bad for how she will take this....  (Addendum:  I read in Dick Stout's interview, the link posted by Steve, that her name is 'Rikki'.)

Monte could (and likely would) talk to you as long as you were interested in sticking around from dawn to dusk and into the night.  He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about detectors as well as stories of many decades of hunting for jewerly, relics, and old coins.  His success stories made my mouth water.  He loved trying out, testing, and using detectors of every make and model, but as Steve mentioned he had a particular fondness for the Tesoros.

Monte is well known around the world for his Nail Board Performance Test (NBPT) as he liked to call it.  I guess he was too modest to accept the common and popular name it was given -- Monte's Nail Board Test.  He had actually developed a series of tests with numerical scores well beyond the NBPT, though.

There are some members here who knew him quite well, including Oregon Gregg and Utah Rich.  I hope they will post at least some of their memories of Monte here.

P.S.  Both Gregg and Rich have made moving, personal posts on Monte's site in the thread Steve linked above.

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Never met him but did have forum discussions with him.  Was impressed by his assessments of recently released detectors like the Ace Apex and Vanquish.  He quickly identified the flawed implementation of fixed ground balance on the Vanquish (each mode responded to the same patch of ground differently) and gave advice on how to work around it.  I was also amused by his tendency (with lower cost detectors) to buy a detector for each accessory coil that he owned instead of buying just the accessory coils so he didn’t have to futz with changing out the coils in the field, just grab the detector with the coil he wanted out of the vehicle.

His Nail Board test has worldwide recognition and that legacy will live on.

RIP Monte.

 

 

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I, like many of you, corresponded with Monte many, many times over the years.  I always got a kick out of his way of writing up doctoral dissertations to answer any question.  The guy could have written the metal detecting version of Homer's Odyssey!

It's hard to lose the old, classy guys from our hobby, who were in it just for the fun of it.  I hope the good Lord has a Tesoro waiting for him at the Pearly Gates.

Bill

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I met Monte years ago at one of his W.T.H.O. hunts and attended most of them over the years. Monte was all about helping folks improve their detecting abilities and was always open to trying new equipment, and testing to find their best attributes.

Monte had another WTHO scheduled for early June this year which I was planning on attending. It's a sad day learning of his passing and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this time of sadness. 

R.I.P. Monte

Tom Bush

 

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I've only had the pleasure of speaking with him on the forums over the years, but I can attest that he was a very knowledgeable person who was always willing to help his fellow detectorists. RIP Monte.

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