I live in northern California and I regularly encounter fellow detectorists aka "the competition" whenever I'm pounding the turf at an older park. I started this hobby in January, and I chose the E-Trac because I felt I needed the best in depth in order to compete. But what's interesting is that the majority of old coins I've found thus far (12 Silver, 47 wheats) have been in hard pan soil, and consequently they were less than 6" deep. This means that the majority of detectorists would've been able to find them too, if they had just put their coil over the target.
Like most rookies I began by hitting the local parks and expected that the old coins would just pop out left and right. But after a couple months of finding clad and no oldies, I realized that I needed to change my strategy and perception or find another hobby. So I began participating in this forum diligently and joined a local metal detecting club to share location tips with people that have been enjoying this hobby a lot longer than I have. But the most important change was that I began doing better research, which led me to one spot that has produced 8 of my 12 silvers thus far. But location isn't usually enough anymore, as I'm sure others have detected this spot too. The difference with this location is that the turf is infested with iron, and I suspect it has discouraged the majority of detectorists that have attempted to hunt it. Another difference is that there are bridal paths that are very steep and difficult to climb. Naturally this discourages foot traffic too, but I did find one of the silver quarter and a copper bracelet by taking the initiative to climb these paths with my detector in tow.
Its been stated in these forums time and again - the easy silver targets were pulled out during the 80s and 90s. So you have to get creative with better research and willingness to pound areas where most detectorists are discouraged to hunt. For example, trashy, iron infested turf, heavy brush, bushes, the park perimeter, sidewalk strips etc. I have to admit that I still don't hunt the park perimeter and sidewalk strips, because you're going to encounter a lot more onlookers. This means my competition has an advantage if they're willing to tolerate the extra attention. Now I haven't found any silver during my last three hunts, and I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms. Next week I may just bite the bullet and level the playing field by hunting a few sidewalk strips in the older parts of town.
I hope this helps you find more oldies. Good luck with your new E-Trac.
-Alex
?
