Minelab X-TERRA Forum

well its been close to four weeks now with my 705 and besides a few clad all I keep finding is junk. i tried parks, beach, and an old ghost town area and always junk.It would be nice to find at least one good find to keep the motivation going. I dont know at this point if I a doing something wrong, I tried to follow as much of the tips from here as possible. I have all the extra equipment but its a long way from paying for itself. Well I thought i would just vent on here and maybe get some advise on what i should try next or maybe i just need to give it a rest for a while.

I know it can suck when you don't find something cool but keep at it and it will pay off. We have all had slumps where we don't find anything exciting. In the last two weeks I have only found 1 clad quarter and 3 clad pennies. In regards to settings I can't help ya because I am new to the 705 but I do know the great folks on here will help you out!!

It can be very discouraging at times...some people walk out there door an score a silver coin. ring,or some uplifting find right away...others not,some take more time...tuff time to hunt in this heat and humidity,It can really shorten the hunt .I was lucky to get my first MD as a xmas gift...The right time in Fla I rarely hunted in the summer unless at the beach at night.....You said you were in the spring hill area,ever see any other MDers out?Most are friendly,and at times helpful... We have a large member MD club here in St.Pete.lots of members to help out ,myself included...message me and we can talk on phone if interested .HH bob.oz

I have only seen two in the past two months. one at the beach and one at the park. Like you said its a bit hot out there and get tired real easy. Maybe I will see more as it cools down some. Thanks for the invite and i will message you, only prob St Pete is still a good drive from north of SR 50, I wonder if there are clubs close to me?

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kneedet
I wonder if there are clubs close to me?

BINGO!
That's the place to start. Find a nearby club and join. Get involved with their activities and become known. The info available, the friendship & support, and the other doors that will open might suprise you.

As far as slumps go......I've been in one for a while myself. In the last few weeks 5 Wheats, a '63 Rosie, and a couple of old BSA pins is all I have to show.

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>The Only Difference Between A Rut And A Grave........Is Depth!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Ingham County, Michigan

You might try some apartment complexes. I found a 10k ring and a silver pendent at mine on the same day. alot of hot wheels ect. also try a place that holds flee markets in grassy areas. found my first silver ring there. Usually after a 5 to 8 hour hunt i walk away with about 2 +_ bucks.. I totaled out to around $80, 2 silver rings, a sliver pendent, 2 merc dimes, a bunch of hot wheels, tokens, about 800 pennies lol and a lot of trash the 2 months i hunted last sept/oct. Best o luck too ya

There are a few things that can help you. Being new to detecting, it helps to know how good targets behave as compared to junk. I've taken a few new detectorist out over time and notice how they detect. lack of knowledge is usually the main culprit.
One of the best things that can help at first, is to get used to your detector in a controlled endearment. Go out into your back yard, or local park if you don't have one and find an area that is clear of metal junk in the ground. Turn your detector on and put it in all metal mode to check the ground. Once you have a clear piece of ground, grab some good targets, coins rings and anything else you think you'll like to find in the ground and place them one at a time on the ground and pass the coil over them several times, listening for how they sound and watch what happens to the numbers. (Do a noise cancel first as per instructions in the manual. This helps to keep the detector running stable.) You will note that good targets will give a consist ant number or bounce of numbers that is fairly predictable. Do them all flat for now and in a few weeks experiment with your coins at different orientations. Doing that strait up may give you too much info for now. Also, if you play around with the pinpoint, listening to the strength of the signal and where in the ground it is located, can give you a good heads up. Lifting the coil slightly (or multiple passes, causes the signal to narrow, which can really help at working out where the target is in the ground. Drawing the coil back towards yourself also helps heaps. The signal will normally drop of at the 12 o'clock position of the inner coil.
It's also a very good idea to do exactly the same things to junk items that you may have already pulled out of the ground. They tend to give inconsistent sounds and numbers. After a while you will hear variations in the tones of various targets that you don't notice now. (ear training.) Just remember, that junk targets can often sound like good targets. As long as you are aware of that, you are a lot less likely to get frustrated when it occurs. It's just part of the hobby that we all experience (but don't often post about). Over time, you do get better at figuring targets out. None of us get it right all the time, but your good to bad target ratio improves; usually.:Lil:
Just remember; passing a coil over a target with numerous passes is important and often not done by the inexperienced. This is how you figure out what a target is.
If you can get together with other detectorists, there is nothing like having an experienced operator showing you the ropes for sure.
One other major thing you can do to get you detector over good targets, start to notice where people congregate. This is really important because if you don't get numbers of people at a location at some point in history, then there will be nothing to find. It took me six hours of detecting till I finally picked up my first coin. It was a 5 cent piece. I didn't think that such a low value coin could be so exciting, but after so much initial frustration; it was a sweet moment. I found it because I watched were people were sitting.
Good luck and hang in there. You have a good detector that is easy to get on with. With a bit more time and practice (as well as another detectorist by your side if you can manage it) then you will start to experience the fun of the hobby.
Mick Evans.:useful:

I've read the previous posts, and am just adding mine for further encouragement. Two of the things that keep us going are patience and perseverence. It sounds as if you are being very patient, and dutifully digging lots of junk. Dont worry. We have all done that. Years ago, when I started, I think it took me 4 or 5 hunts to find my first coin. After that, I didn't look back. I know this will happen for you. You are already persevering, now be patient. Keep you swing slow. Keep your coil close and level to the ground. This might sound obvious, but the more frustrated we become, the more careless we get. Most people in a slump will tell you that it is time to go back to basics. Pick a location where you know people go, and where you feel comfortable detecting. There are some places (when we are a newbie) where we might like to be invisible. You need to feel comfortable so that all your concentration can be focused on your detecting, not on where you are and who might be watching.

I'm sure your luck will turn around very soon. Persevere, and you will succeed.

Don't be discouraged, it all comes with practice. Having been detecting for many years, I felt the same way when I switched from my old detector to my 705, I thought that I would never start finding "the good stuff". The more that you use your 705 and the more your ears get trained to the difference of sounds, the better chance you will have to find good targets.

I had been finding good targets with my old detector, when I switched it seemed to be a lot harder. As time went by and practice sessions continued, it became easy to distinguish good targets from junk. You will eventually begin to distinguish differences in sounds that will keep you from having to start at the meter. I would suggest continuing to spend time in the local parks like you have been doing, practice finding the easy targets and digging trash till you hear the difference. Hang in there, it will come. You have a good detector, it just takes some field time to become proficient.

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HotRod
Pittsburgh, PA

Xterra 705 gold
Tesoro Cutlass II
Garrett Pro pointer

Stimulating the economy one coin at a time since 1972.

Its not just about the treasure, it's about the hunt for treasure! (revised quote from Tom Massie)

Most of use can empathize with you because we all were in your situation when we began MD'ing. I am almost too embarrassed to tell you that when I was a beginner with the Garrett Ace 250, I kept getting "silver dollar" signals
and was so so frustrated when I dug bottle tops and other trash, I called Garrett to complain as to why I there were not silver dollars under my coil!!! The folks on the forum have given you some great ideas and advice. Let me add that first of all you have a great machine that will find the treasure that you are seeking! Read everything you can from "Digger" on the site. He has been an inspiration to me and hundreds of other beginners. Finally, as you get familiar with your machine, signals, etc. you will indeed pull the good stuff.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting
Chuck

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hotrod53
spend time in the local parks like you have been doing, practice finding the easy targets and digging trash till you hear the difference.

I completely agree with hotrod53. Park hunting is like training for a marathon. For the most part your are not typically going to find anything old but the most important thing is that you listen to how your detector sounds, what ID you are reading and what you've dug with the combination of sound and ID.

Also, be sure that you are using a realitively slow sweep speed. I try to take between 3-4 seconds from side to side. Also, take small steps. Even just slightly long steps can cause you to miss stuff.

When you go into pinpoint mode while coin hunting and you get a big sound, your chances of it being a coin are pretty slim. Also, bury a pull tab and listen to what it sounds like both in detecting mode and in pinpoint mode. Then, bury a nickel and compare the sounds. It will keep you from digging as many pull tabs. You'll still get fooled from time to time but there is a fairly distinct difference between the two, especially in pinpoint mode. You'll notice that the nickel won't have as sharp of sound as the pull tab.

This might sound a little extreme but what I did when I first started was I pretty much notched out everything except 10, 12, 14, 28, 30, 32, 38, 40, 42, 44. That allowed me to limit the amount of tones that I would hear an help me focus on coin signals. Eventually I got to the point of hunting without too much discrimination unless I'm hunting in a trashy area.

The most important thing is to have fun.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2012 08:57AM by mapper65.

If you have a lake near by try hunting ther. it will be a lot easyer to dig threw the sand. use disc 2 to start out with untill you get use to the sounds and then use less disc.. my settings are for fresh water beaches are are all metal, ground bal, noise cancelation. coins come in at pennys 33-38 nickles 12-16 dimes 33-38 quarters 40-44. silver rings 12-16 ??? earrings same gold rings 10-16 most of the time.

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice is the answer to your problem!!!!!!!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2012 11:29AM by Old Longhair.

I can't thank you all enough for all the encouraging and helpfull words. I will continue on with all the great advise, and at least I know I am not the only one who has been in this postion

Take your time and listen closely to the tones. Maybe you just haven't run your coil over something good? I wish I had a dollar for everytime I'v been discouraged with my machines.