I guess I have about 1,000 tips from over the years....but here are some of the most important off the top of my head:
Make sure you get permission wherever you are going to hunt and leave no trace that you were ever there when you are finished.
For relic/artifact hunting....research......research.....research. You will never find anything old at a site if nothing ever happened there long ago. Overlap your swings by 50% for deep/faint/small targets. Patience yields the best finds....as any rookie can always find the 'easy but not so good stuff'.
Never clean a find in the field especially gold or silver coins. Something waiting 200 years in the ground and you being lucky enough to find it....should not be ruined in the first 4 seconds after it is recovered. Clean them properly when you get home.
When you are a rookie....dig more than less....so you will learn what good and bad signals sound like with your equipment. It takes years and practice to master any one machine.
Remember - no place is ever hunted out. So when a place yields 'good stuff'....go back....and then go back again. And when you live in Nashville and start finding 3 ringers....then invite me to join you.
In the water....if you are not finding lots of pull tabs and aluminum foil....you are going to miss quite a bit of the 'good stuff'.
Dinner time....
Good luck!!!
Alan
Hey good advice there Alan !
you know in respect for the token thread , i didn`t post my latest 2 gold ring finds ,,
but hey were all here now right ?
I hunt in the water at beaches soley for gold , [ get other cool stuff too ] but the $$ is really only in the gold , at least over here , when we have no ancient hammered coins etc
One of the best water detectors ever made , but for advanced users , is the Whites Duel Field , i know there is other great pulses , so i will just say one of the best , as people get used to their own machines ,
here is my latest 2 ,, from only 3-4 days ago , both 18ct , and both from an area i always find rings ,, even after 2 days from an extensive hunt , the golden rule for rings in the water is
once you have found say more than 1-2 rings at a spot , you will always find more there , as , the sand conditions have let you get down to the hard pack , and of course it`s popular .
I have hunted at some great beaches around melbourne that should have expensive gold there , but the sand is deep and course , with constant onshore high winds , i have found jack there so far , as the rings get punched way out of my reach , even with a pulse . so in these conditions , keep your eyes on the beach , one day it will be cut down ,, and BOOM !!
Happy hunting guys ! Paul .