Skate

Great advice. My main goal is to become a better detectorist and increase my skills. My previous experience with gold prospecting involved watching Todd Hoffman make one stupid decision after another, never considering that I too could be just like him LOL. 

Seriously though I understand its a commitment that takes on a whole other level of research and study. Finding gold in a park is more about how many pull tabs you're willing to dig as opposed to anything else. 

Rather than join any group I'll just stick to reading here, I imagine there's more experts and teachers here than anywhere else. 

Best,

Skate

I've been coin and jewelry hunting for years but had never considered hunting for nuggets until the past two weeks that I found Steve's forum. This place is like a breath of fresh air compared to the other "popular" detecting forums out there. I've chatted with Steve a bit about starting prospecting and he's been great. My question is after you decide on a detector where do you go from there?

Do you join GPAA? I just learned about this organization last night and I have one claim near me that gets 3 stars. 

How do you go about finding the places to hunt? I'm coming from the perspective that I hunt on land 90% on permssions and 10% on parks as well as driving to one of my beaches in Ventura and going from there. Is it more of who you know (in terms of getting good hunting grounds) or what you know (where to go) or a combo of each? 

What would be the first steps to take besides the right detector?(I'm currently in negotiations with my better half on why I need another detector)

Thanks

Skate

I haven't had a knee replacement but I have had a complete hip replacement 2 years ago that involved putting a titanium rod down my femur (about 4-5 inches above my knee) and the only thing that goes off is my pinpointer when I put it back into my pocket after I forget to turn it off. My advice is if it hurts enough that it hinders your ability to get out and do what you want to do then get it done. 

The other fun thing about a hip/knee replacement is that you'll always get crotched grabbed by TSA. I'm flying tomorrow night to New York and my wife and I always laugh because we know what's coming. The least they could do is buy me a drink. 

Thanks Steve,

I traded in my CTX due to it's fragile nature (for me) and got the Deus. The GPS phone app was one of the selling points so I hope they reintroduce it soon. I'd pay for a good app at this point as it could save me a ton of time in locating the streets and home locations. Hopefully someone with the skills will create one as I'm sure they'd make a little coin from the MD community. 

September 19th

Never thought about cell service being an issue. I have roughly 100 acres to hunt on two sites that used to be farm housing communities from the early 1900's until roughly 1980's. Now they're huge corporate nurseries so I've been trying to use Google Earth, Historic Aerials to try and zero in on targets. 

Anyone use this? I've read mixed reports on it in terms of android/apple and that it is out and being used and that it's currently not available for use. This would be a huge assist/help to me in hunting the areas I currently have permission for. I never quite figured out the GPS on my CTX and am hopeful my iphone can be integrated into my detecting. 

I would be disappointed for sure if this were true. 6 months of hype is a bit much for an $800 detector. 

I would say that if a person truly wants to learn to use their new Equinox when it's released this will be the forum to do it on. I recognize many of the user names here from the other forums and they're many of the more learned folks in my opinion. I get the impression that many people on other sites are hoping that the Equinox will be a failure just so they can lord it over others. My EQ is paid for and i'm #9 on my dealers list when they come out. I won't be selling my Deus, or my excal II as having a good backup detector is as important to me as anything else. I'd rather take what Steve says than the guy who's using detecting to become the next youtube sensation. 

To be a success at the beach in my area the Equinox has to be able to work mostly in the wet sand and wading. I regularly hunt my beaches here and have yet to see another detector out in the surf detecting as the shore break is just too strong to deal with. I'll detect no higher than mid thigh at most because the waves just pull my excal back and forth and they are no friendlier to my scoop so if the Equinox will handle the wet sand at low tide that will suffice. I vacationed in the keys last summer and that ocean is way different than mine so once again the type of success you will have with the EQ in salt water (when released) will depend on your location. 

I built a CTX travel case about 6 months ago out of a Plano Bow case. I checked it on a flight to Minnesota and it worked flawless for my CTX. I had everything in it, pointer, digger, 2 coils, chargers and knee pads. I ended up selling the CTX because I kept getting lemons from Minelab and I couldn't see having that much money tied up into a fragile machine. Now i have this great Plano case...... 

That is a great day for any of us west coasters at least those I know of and hunt with. I too rarely get silver beyond 6" or so. I found a 1917d last year about 4" down. My heart went a flutter for a moment. I have an equinox on order and paid for. I just hope we get to use it sooner rather than later.