Metal Detecting Search Techniques
Published by Larry on Tagged Metal Detecting Tips, Metal Detector Training
There are many key factors that will help you meet with great success using a metal detector to find treasure and build your coin collections. Having a treasure finding mindset, proper equipment, research, and making good contacts are all very important but good search techniques are critical as well. Whenever I see people detecting, more frequently than not, I see ways to improve their techniques.
The most common problem with technique is keeping the coil too high off the ground. The fact is that the space between your coil and the ground is lost search area. With or without a protective coil cover I scrub the ground whenever possible so I obtain the greatest possible depth. It is very important to have a protective coil cover so the coil will not be damaged by the scrubbing. Most of the covers are about $10-12.00 and worth the expense. In making your sweep make sure that you keep the coil parallel to the ground for the entire motion. Too many hobbyist lift their coil at each end of the sweep causing them only to detect the area right in front of them. If the target is not real shallow they will miss it on either end of their sweep.
Because most coils emit a cone shaped signal, being careful to overlap your sweep will lead to increased target finds. Very deep targets will be missed unless you overlap about 50% on each sweep. This takes a conscious step of slowing down your detecting speed. This can be difficult if you are detecting around others who are moving very fast and covering more territory. I can almost guarantee the slower more deliberate user who is consciously overlapping their sweep will find more of the deeper signals as well as a greater number of finds. The exception to this might be on a very large beach area where many targets in the sand are shallow and covering territory is a neccessity. Under most circumstances slow down and have a good overlapping sweep and you will meet with greater success.
Check and recheck the are around each good find you make. I was hunting a school yard where some monkey bars had just been removed and got a weak signal. At about seven inches I dug up a 1942 wheat cent. I went back over the hole before refilling the dirt and got another signal. I ended up scooping 50 - 1942 high grade pennies out of that hole that someone lost from a pocket and had been protected from recovery by the steel maze of monkey bars. A complete roll of pennies turned on end, and by rechecking the hole, I got them all. Frequently doing a second or third check behind a good find will reap some rich rewards. In salt water metal detecting, multiple signals will be found near where you make a good find. I use a circular motion and check outward four to five feet before resuming my search pattern. I found 13 coins and two gold rings within a three foot pattern at one small beach. This area is referred to as a hot pocket. After a “Northeaster” hit a beach area near me, my detecting buddies found several major hot pockets and 2500 coins and 31 gold rings later, they walked off richly rewarded and exhausted from such intense hunting. Timing can also enhance your good techniques. Hunting hot spots requires careful checking as coins and rings can be turned on edge and a fast speed sweep will miss these targets as the signature to the detector will be much weaker.
Always dig the whisper signals! The lighter signals are usually deeper coins or jewelry finds that most people will miss if they do not slow down and overlap their sweeps and will never hear in the first place without a good set of headphones.
Never hunt without headphones! The summers are very hot and it would be more comfortable to hunt without them. The loss of signals from not wearing headphones will cut your overall success in half.
A last, and a not to be taken lightly technique, is to affix a coin to the top of your shoe so that you can continually check the performance level of your detector. This ensures that your machine is in good working order as you hunt.
Work on improving your hunting technique and always respect the rights and property of others. I hope to see you “diggin” it! Larry
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