Metal Detecting Tips/Techs

     1) Talk to your spouse.  This step is first and foremost.  Ask yourself how this is going to affect your family.  For many, this "hobby" becomes an obsession.  From a veteran detectorist, take my word and plan ahead.  Everyone needs time for themselves, but don't let it take over.  Talk to your spouse and establish a schedule.  Some people I know have developed a token system in which certain "honey-dos" and lengths of time spent with the family are worth time in the field swinging your detector.  Believe me, once you start finding some good stuff, you won't even want to put your detector down.  Develop your schedule early on, and it won't cause any friction.  Once you get good at it, take your family out with you and teach them!!

     2) Plan Seasonally.  After the ticks, chiggers, and vegetation have died off (and it becomes a little cooler) autumn is primo metal detecting season.  A few months later, winter will freeze the ground (and your ears) in many areas, so this is the best opportunity to do research.  As soon as spring hits, you'll be anxious to hit some new spots, so all your hard work researching during the winter will pay off!  Summer is wonderful, but make sure you limit how long you're going to be out there, always bring lots of water with you, and try to hunt mostly in the morning or evenings.  If you hit an old spot after a rainstorm, you might surprised at the number of good targets you dig, because water increases conductivity.  Also, check dry washes once in awhile near your good spots, because these are natural repositories for coins and possibly nuggets off the surrounding slopes.  After a good rainstorm, many deep items are also brought up.

     3) Bring the Right Equipment.  Make yourself a detecting bag that has everything you need.  This should include spare batteries, digging tool, pick, first aid kit, bug repellent, and headset.  On your way out, all you need to grab is your detector and bag!  

Power Thoughts.  The biggest difference between successful & unsuccessful people, is their attitude towards risk.  When your fear of failure stops you from taking action, it also prevents you from acquiring the knowledge & skill required to be successful.  Failure is the greatest teacher though.  Thomas Edison tried literally thousands of different materials before he discovered that tungsten would be the right substance for producing the light bulb.

     Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.   ~ Thomas A. Edison 

     Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.  ~ John Keats

     Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.  ~ Sir Winston Churchill

     You always pass failure on the way to success.  ~ Mickey Rooney

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Luckily, success in treasure hunting is much easier than inventing the light bulb!  The one thing you'll share with Edison, if you choose to get serious, though, is the will to keep trying despite fear, self doubt & the occasional failure.  So don't give up!  

     Today is the Day! ~ Mel Fisher