I just finished eight full months of detecting--I started last December with a Prizm II but switched to an M6 in mid-January. I use an 5.3 and a 6x10 DD in addition to the stock coil. I use a Sunray pinpointer. I haven't hit the beach much and hunt mostly parks, schools, and other public places.
Since Jan. 1 I've found 7,325 coins. I keep daily records and I shoot for 210 coins per week--an average of 30 a day. Originally I was going to try to find 8,000 coins in 2009 but at this point I'm thinking I might shoot for 10,000. I live on the central coast of California so really old coins tend to be scarce. I haven't concentrated on finding silver but I've pulled six silver dimes, one Walking Liberty half, and one 14k gold medallion, along with 54 wheaties. I've found coins from about ten different countries, including The Bahamas and South Africa, as well as 17 silver (.925) rings. Naturally, I've dug about a dumpster's worth of trash. August was my best month count-wise, as I found 1,411 coins--I hit over 400 coins two of those weeks thanks to finding a cache of about 350 pennies someone had dumped that took me several trips to clean out.
I work a bit more than full time--I'm a probation officer, the manager of our county's juvenile hall, so I'm on call 24/7--but I try to get out for a bit during lunch three or four times a week. On weekends I usually go out for about 2.5 hours on Sat. and, with a friend, about four to five hours on Sun. mornings. Some of the better areas are in the more dangerous parts of the nearest big town, Salinas, so I only hit those on Sunday with my partner and we go early before the gangsters are up and about. Salinas is right there with Detroit as far as homicides per capita so we watch each other's backs.
I read about the pros who find the really old silver but I guess I may be more typical of most detectorists in that I find mostly clad. Still, I like to detect and my plan is to be more selective next year and concentrate on deeper targets. As is often said, none of us are in it for the money, it's the challenge and the fact that you never know exactly what you'll find.
I've been helped out considerably by reading this and other forums and I appreciate the generosity of those who contribute to these pages.
Since Jan. 1 I've found 7,325 coins. I keep daily records and I shoot for 210 coins per week--an average of 30 a day. Originally I was going to try to find 8,000 coins in 2009 but at this point I'm thinking I might shoot for 10,000. I live on the central coast of California so really old coins tend to be scarce. I haven't concentrated on finding silver but I've pulled six silver dimes, one Walking Liberty half, and one 14k gold medallion, along with 54 wheaties. I've found coins from about ten different countries, including The Bahamas and South Africa, as well as 17 silver (.925) rings. Naturally, I've dug about a dumpster's worth of trash. August was my best month count-wise, as I found 1,411 coins--I hit over 400 coins two of those weeks thanks to finding a cache of about 350 pennies someone had dumped that took me several trips to clean out.
I work a bit more than full time--I'm a probation officer, the manager of our county's juvenile hall, so I'm on call 24/7--but I try to get out for a bit during lunch three or four times a week. On weekends I usually go out for about 2.5 hours on Sat. and, with a friend, about four to five hours on Sun. mornings. Some of the better areas are in the more dangerous parts of the nearest big town, Salinas, so I only hit those on Sunday with my partner and we go early before the gangsters are up and about. Salinas is right there with Detroit as far as homicides per capita so we watch each other's backs.
I read about the pros who find the really old silver but I guess I may be more typical of most detectorists in that I find mostly clad. Still, I like to detect and my plan is to be more selective next year and concentrate on deeper targets. As is often said, none of us are in it for the money, it's the challenge and the fact that you never know exactly what you'll find.
I've been helped out considerably by reading this and other forums and I appreciate the generosity of those who contribute to these pages.