More People Getting In This Hobby Or Not? I Don't Think So.

[Critterhunter]

Sure, I expect the TV shows have brought a few more people into this hobby, but I doubt most of them will stay with it. It takes a certain kind of person to dig a lot of trash looking for one good find. Also, many people aren't as fascinated by history or think looking for coins is foolish compared to making money in some other fashion with their free time.

I think that in say about the early 90's more people did get into this hobby due to the more user friendly machines that could make good finds even if you weren't as experienced with a machine as you should be. But I think the number of people reached it's highest limit in this hobby around that time, and will continue to hold at roughly that percentage of the population from here on out.

What do I base that on? Just a pet theory of mine. There's only X amount of the population who have the kind of personality and interests to find this hobby fun and attractive. Sure, many more people may try the hobby out then years ago, but those people don't last. It takes certain personality traits to really get sucked into it. While we may be fascinated with finding old coins or relics, or are excited by the hunt for gold rings on beaches and in parks, most of the population looks upon us as kind'a weird and just don't see the attraction.

Take hunters for example or guys who fish. I'm a hunter. I know plenty of people who just love steaks, but are simply not interested or even disgusted by the idea of going out and killing an animal on their own. There is a certain fixed percentage of the population who hunts for food or recreation, while many just don't have any interest in it.

Will there be more people trying our hobby due to these TV shows or access to low cost machines that are sold even at department stores? Yes, there will be. But as said the vast majority of those people will soon lose interest and move onto something else. The number of people who detect will stay at a certain fixed low percentage of the population. The reason for that is based on personalities and characteristics of people and what they find interesting, not how available information or metal detectors are to the general public.

 

[mudpuppy]

It takes an outstanding and nearly immediate find for a noob to get hooked...and theres not an abundance of outstanding finds as we know. I agree with your demographic/personality characteristic study. Avid Hunters, Fishermen, Trappers...anybody that has really enjoyed these recreations SHOULD also like this one. Embracing the effort, research, skills and study that encompass success in these sports lends itself well to being a treasure hunter. One thing, theres been days getting skunked in the aforementioned sports, no matter how good a guy is at them, but not in THIS one! This sport can also be very physically demanding, has short time windows on specific locations, and will weed out the crop pretty quickly. I bet sales of detectors and gear are up though...I have not seen another detectorist this year yet, a few signs, yes, but no person. My you sure are full of topics, Critter!

 

[roamin4now]

i just got into it but i like old things and finding them. i fish and hunt but always fun to get out of the house and do something fun.

 

[Dark Chameleon]

I love it but i worked with stone for decades so found old things all the time, history is more interesting to me then money, i think the ones who watch these shows thinking they are going to find dice sized gold nuggets or tree shillings in 2 hours of digging are going to leave the sport but at least that should drop the price of second hand detectors.

The popular places were detected out a while ago so its either finding deeper with modern detectors or modern finds....i think some just got their detectors for their local beach or garden and just never stepped beyond that to asking permission or travelling, joining a club or even a forum, i know if i hadnt found the club id still be trying to pick a good detector and frozen by fear of getting a dud that breaks in a week or a second hand almost knockered MD.

It does take a certain kind of person who doesnt mind several hours on their own listeneing to nothing more then beeping or will dig and dig again when they keep finding foil, ringpulls, rusty nails and bottle tops, probably a good thing they havnt flooded the market though or we'd never find anything and would be openly fighting for our line on a field search

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Critter,I have seen new hunters in my area and the hobby is growing.I agree a lot of them will drop out because its hard work.All these TV programs are staged LOL its amazing that Rick Savage knows the exact value of a whales tooth just recovered(bam!!!!!!!!).The Diggers show does remind us that bigger targets in most areas are never hunted or dug.With the price of gold and silver a lot of more people will be attracted to metal detecting.We do lose a lot in this hobby due to old age,but like most I 'll keep plugging away.HH Ron

 

[Critterhunter]

-- moved topic --

 

[Smudge]

I agree with your assessment, but I think there has been an upsurge due to the high price of gold and the lousy economy. Now a lot of these new guys don't last long, but detector sales are up and have been for awhile.

I think at some point they'll come back to 1990 levels.

 

[matthias]

Lets put it this way. My Mom frequents the 'Thift Shop' in my middle to upper class hometown. I have schooled her a bit on metal detectors because I want her to keep her eyes open at the Thrift Shop for detectors- any detectors. Ya never know! HH. Matt

 

[blue dunbar]

Sure, I expect the TV shows have brought a few more people into this hobby, but I doubt most of them will stay with it. It takes a certain kind of person to dig a lot of trash looking for one good find. Also, many people aren't as fascinated by history or think looking for coins is foolish compared to making money in some other fashion with their free time.

I think that in say about the early 90's more people did get into this hobby due to the more user friendly machines that could make good finds even if you weren't as experienced with a machine as you should be. But I think the number of people reached it's highest limit in this hobby around that time, and will continue to hold at roughly that percentage of the population from here on out.

What do I base that on? Just a pet theory of mine. There's only X amount of the population who have the kind of personality and interests to find this hobby fun and attractive. Sure, many more people may try the hobby out then years ago, but those people don't last. It takes certain personality traits to really get sucked into it. While we may be fascinated with finding old coins or relics, or are excited by the hunt for gold rings on beaches and in parks, most of the population looks upon us as kind'a weird and just don't see the attraction.

Take hunters for example or guys who fish. I'm a hunter. I know plenty of people who just love steaks, but are simply not interested or even disgusted by the idea of going out and killing an animal on their own. There is a certain fixed percentage of the population who hunts for food or recreation, while many just don't have any interest in it.

Will there be more people trying our hobby due to these TV shows or access to low cost machines that are sold even at department stores? Yes, there will be. But as said the vast majority of those people will soon lose interest and move onto something else. The number of people who detect will stay at a certain fixed low percentage of the population. The reason for that is based on personalities and characteristics of people and what they find interesting, not how available information or metal detectors are to the general public.

I agree with you. Even though it's a fun hobby, it does take dicipline to stay with it. Even just digging some of our finds can amount to a day's work be it a Lesch Tool or a shovel. When many find out the actual labor involved at times, it loses it's appeal. The TV shows in one way may actually help to weed out those who don't want to apply what's needed to reap the rewards. And it's going to put a lot of barely used machines on the market which can help to lower the cost of some back up machines if the glut is sufficient.

 

[BarberBill]

Recently, I've seen more people detecting in my area than in years past. Hard to say, in many instances, whether on not we just hadn't crossed paths, but several I've talked to were relatively new to the hobby. What will be pertinent and interesting is how many of these folks will stay active with the detecting and how many will store theirs in the closet and seldom take them out.
BB