Larry (IL)
Well-known member
With the Club silver hunt coming up this Saturday I thought I would post some tips, for you old timers, this is old news but still worth the read. For the new members, I will share some tips to make your hunt more fun and to help get your share of the goodies.
First tip is to make sure you have fresh batteries or your rechargeables charged, nothing ruins your day faster than a dead detector in the middle of a hunt.
Next is to set your detector for minimum sensitivity for a couple of reasons. First, your targets are just under the surface and if your sensitivity is high you will hear a lot of deep targets that takes your time away from the shallow planted targets that you are after. Time and your ability to locate and recover targets as fast as you can is critical when you consider that most of the targets are found within 10 to 15 minutes and if you can get one or two extras in that time could mean a couple of nice prizes for you. .......
Secondly, you will hunting near others and with your sensitivity turned down, there is less chance of others interfering with your detector.
Another tip is set your discrimination to reject everything below what you are hunting for. If the hunt is for silver dimes, quarters, halves and dollars, why would you want to hear everything else in the ground? With everything else rejected, you are left with good signals and if the detector beeps, pinpoint and recover. I don't even try to ID the target because that takes time and it really doesn't matter.
When quickly sweeping the ground, complete your swing even if you hear a target. Many times you hear more than one target in a swing and if you do, set your detector over the other targets(s) while recovering the other one....... more time saved from searching plus you prevent the guy next to you from getting that target........
On most targets you do not have to dig to recover a target. The coins are planted and a slot is made with the planter so the coin can be put in the ground. If you look, you will often see the slot and if you stick you finger in the slot and "hook" the dirt out, often the coin will come right out. Sometimes you can lift the slot flap up to expose the coin too but that usually takes two hands and I try to do all recoveries one handed to keep my detector ready to go to the next target.
After reading the next tip, the coin planting people might change habit, but I doubt it. You will notice the the planting device has a V shaped back to make the coins slide into the slot better..... well the V points to where Mr. Planter came from and the opposite side is probably where he is going to plant the next one. I have watched the person planting in straight lines for the full length of the field before........
Remember, speed is king in planted hunts and a little practice at home doesn't hurt anything. Good luck and see you Saturday, it looks like the weather is going to be a chance of showers so be prepared with rain gear for both you and the detector. Oftentimes a large baggie is all that is needed over the electronics.
First tip is to make sure you have fresh batteries or your rechargeables charged, nothing ruins your day faster than a dead detector in the middle of a hunt.
Next is to set your detector for minimum sensitivity for a couple of reasons. First, your targets are just under the surface and if your sensitivity is high you will hear a lot of deep targets that takes your time away from the shallow planted targets that you are after. Time and your ability to locate and recover targets as fast as you can is critical when you consider that most of the targets are found within 10 to 15 minutes and if you can get one or two extras in that time could mean a couple of nice prizes for you. .......
Secondly, you will hunting near others and with your sensitivity turned down, there is less chance of others interfering with your detector. Another tip is set your discrimination to reject everything below what you are hunting for. If the hunt is for silver dimes, quarters, halves and dollars, why would you want to hear everything else in the ground? With everything else rejected, you are left with good signals and if the detector beeps, pinpoint and recover. I don't even try to ID the target because that takes time and it really doesn't matter.
When quickly sweeping the ground, complete your swing even if you hear a target. Many times you hear more than one target in a swing and if you do, set your detector over the other targets(s) while recovering the other one....... more time saved from searching plus you prevent the guy next to you from getting that target........
On most targets you do not have to dig to recover a target. The coins are planted and a slot is made with the planter so the coin can be put in the ground. If you look, you will often see the slot and if you stick you finger in the slot and "hook" the dirt out, often the coin will come right out. Sometimes you can lift the slot flap up to expose the coin too but that usually takes two hands and I try to do all recoveries one handed to keep my detector ready to go to the next target.
After reading the next tip, the coin planting people might change habit, but I doubt it. You will notice the the planting device has a V shaped back to make the coins slide into the slot better..... well the V points to where Mr. Planter came from and the opposite side is probably where he is going to plant the next one. I have watched the person planting in straight lines for the full length of the field before........
Remember, speed is king in planted hunts and a little practice at home doesn't hurt anything. Good luck and see you Saturday, it looks like the weather is going to be a chance of showers so be prepared with rain gear for both you and the detector. Oftentimes a large baggie is all that is needed over the electronics.