Metal Detecting Official 2011 Tracking Thread

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Two more scouting trips after my midnight shift. Found some areas, again, that doesn't seem to have any competition for me. Once again lots of pennies everywhere. I only bothered with the surface ones or those which were showing 2 inches on the Ace. Totals for the scouting trips...$3.82. Doesn't sound like much but I can't wait to hit it harder. Both places are loaded! Also, found another skateboard/bike park. Will scout that one in the morning after work. Gotta get out before the ice sets in. It was snowing and sleeting on the way home this morning! Back to the 60's this weekend!

Scout Totals.............Year Totals (since August 14th)

$-0.......................$-4
Quarters-7..............Quarters-300
Dimes-16................Dimes-495 +1 silver '57 roosie
Nickels-5................Nickels-191 (17 pre-60)
Pennies-47..............Pennies-1661(copper 672)(9-wheat)

[AGgressive Metal]

Thanks for keeping us posted - gives me motivation to get out once I have a chance.

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Hit '4' spots today. Two new and two old. The first, a middle school, that I've had my eye on. Had to wait til the weekend because it's been busy with school back in. I was right. It was the right call. Spent the better part of an hour there. Just working their play area. The wood chips were solid white.....big freeze last night. The day shift guys that lived to the east got hit with 3 inches of the white stuff. SNOW! We only got a flurry or two....for now. Anyway, this has to be somebody else's territory because I had all shallow signals. And, all of the clad came out clean. This hour hunt produced 21 quarters, 13 dimes, 14 nickels, and 24 pennies. I also got 1 key and 2 zippers. The next two spots were old ones that produce if I leave them alone long enough. Together they produced 8 quarters, 8 dimes, 6 nickels, and 35 pennies. And last, a new spot that I tried to scout and hunt at the same time. It's a great big sports complex. Has 8 softball fields, a soccer field, a football field, a practice field for both soccer and football, and it's all surrounded by grass and gravel parking areas. The football and soccer fields are locked up and off limits. But everything else was open to hunt. I just tried to do alot of hit and run in different areas to see where to concentrate on my next hunt there. It has to be 15-20 acres minus those two fields. Anyway, my hit and run activities produced 11 more quarters, 19 dimes, 0 nickels, and 19 pennies. A majority of my finds today were on the surface or just below, not alot of actual digging. 178 coins for $15.78. I just went out and had fun today. It won't be too long and I'll be waiting on spring to get here to get out. I did not like seeing all of that snow today on those cars at work!

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Had 20 minutes to kill so I stopped at my favorite skateboard park. Ended up with 1 quarter, 3 dimes, and 10 pennies. I hunted in the areas where the snow had melted. This ground is nice and soft now. Was hard as rock earlier this year. No digging again, either surface or just under. I'll get out tomorrow for a little longer then no hunting until next Sunday...if that!

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Got out for about 1/2 hour. Went over to the skateboard park I've been looking at. A big time bust. I hit $0.33 so I hit the road. I'm glad I went there today. It would have been horrible to plan a day aroung hunting this spot. It was nice, though, to hunt this spot and be outside in the 68 degree weather. This spot had 3-4 inches of snow on it just the other day.

[Rodebaugh]

Well thanks to you TJCF an Ace250 is what santa is getting me this year. I love reading about your trips......keep posting.

Maybe after the new year I can share a story or 2 myself.

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

You guys might think I'm crazy but I keep my detector in my truck..and if I get the time and opportunity I'm gonna hunt. Reality hit home last week with the lake-effect snow just east of here. So I know with the crappy weather just around the corner...in January I'll be wishing I had got out more. To make thing worse...my employment, this time of year, turns me into a vampire-like creature. I go to work and it's dark...I come home and it's dark. 12 hour shifts. I do work 4 days on, 4 days off. So 4 of the days I don't get much natural light unless I do without sleep. Anyway, blah blah blah, small hunt report below.

Had an hour to hunt today. I spent half of that time at a different part of my favorite park. This little scout trip produced a single dime. So, I went back to cleaning out the area around the skateboard park. I've found tons of pennies here with a decent amount of dimes. Not as many quarters and nickels. I would say close to $20 from this spot. The park workers were blowing leaves from the skateboard ramps and I tried to stay out of their way. I ended up with another 4 dimes and 15 more pennies. One day I'm going to clean it all out for good. I left alot of signals as I was trying to cherrypick dime andup signals or anything really shallow. The 15 pennies were either on the surface or just below.

Now, for those who might get an ACE 250. I love my machine. And will never get rid of it. But, after using it for three months, I will tell you it does great on shallow objects. Most silver, at least in my area, must be deeper than this machine will go. Some areas I've been hunting go back over 100 years. So, if silver is your goal, you may need to buy a bigger coil from Garrett for the Ace250 to get to the deeper signals. Or try another machine. Do your research on what you want to do with it. But for the price, you can't beat this machine. I've almost paid for mine in 3 months! And, that's without finding any gold rings yet.

[Rodebaugh]

Went out today to an area that is a man made beach on a lake. Took my grandfathers POS metal detector. The thing has NO discrimination...just a monotone beep.

Long story short had a good time but wasn't very productive. dug a hundred holes all trash except for this:



I'll take it! But I need an ACE.

TJCF, Do you dig all your signals or is the ACE's descrimination pretty good?

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

I turn the discrimination down to 2 or 3 bars...I think it goes up to 6 bars. There's lots of junk in my areas. Anyways, there are some cool, informative Ace250 videos on YouTube. The screen will show you what the signal is depending on what 'mode' you are detecting in. The ace has 4 modes. Or, you can modify and create your own mode. If you want to hunt dimes and up..you can set it not to beep or tone on anything else. It's easier to explain and show in person. I use the "coin" mode 99% of the time. In thismode, no iron or foil signals to slow your hunt with junk. When you get a ding, ding, ding, as you sweep, and if the led on the screen doesn't bounce back and forth, then 99% of the time it is what it is showing on the screen. The only issues I have is that sometimes solid dime signals end up being pennies. My learning curve has taught me to keep swinging over dime signals to see if it will ever bounce over to the penny on the screen. If it ever bounces...then it's a penny. I guess I get in a big hurry to get that dime. Now, nickels are kinda funny too! The freaking pull tabs will cause you to get a solid nickel hit. A nice bit of aluminum foil also will get you a nickel hit. And, most gold rings, will show up as nickels. I've been told that lighter women's rings will show as foil on the screen. I've yet to hit gold, but I 'air-tested' gold rings to see where it lights up the screen. Needless to say, I got more pulltabs than anything else on nickel hits. Quarters on the screen are almost always quarters. The only exception I've seen is a buried aluminum can or a bigger piece of aluminum siding scrap. These bigger objects will always show as a dime or quarter. Now, the coolest feature of the Ace250 is the pinpointing. Once you get a signal, you just press and hold the pinpoint button. The led screen has row of bars to guide you to the object. The closer the center of your coil is to the object, the more bars will show up. When all the bars are showing, the coin or whatever should be below the dead center of your coil. The key is to do a 'X' when pinpointing with the ace. Go one way while pinpointing, then go another. This part took alot of practice because it's easy to be off a couple of inches. Doesn't sound like much, but when you are digging down...the hole just keeps getting wider and wider...and you get a bit angry. I did hate this machine after my first day...but after I learned a little bit I think this is the coolest thing since margarita's! I'm thirsty....later!

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Got out for a couple of hours today. Hit the big outdoor sports complex again. Still wondering where the action is here. More of a scouting trip for next year. Found a decent amount of clad and copper/zincers. Then I went to try another small park that had a couple soccer fields. Another scout trip for next year. I ended at my favorite tot-lot where I have learned the most about my Ace250. I've been there at least 10 times...and today I found 2 quarters that I missed all those other times! Both at about 3 inches and very dark stained. You can never really find everything! At the tot-lot I had two little guys following me and doing the digging for me. They had a blast and I didn't even know who they were. I let them keep whatever they dug up. It was mostly pennies and a couple of dimes. My little guy will be big enough to hunt this time next year! Totals $6.06 No rings or jewelry....I've been hunting around alot of girls softball fields. I would thing I would have gotten at least a couple of earrings.

quarters........15
dimes...........16
nickels...........2
pennies.........51 (22 copper)

[misteroman]

good reading and where are you that you're getting lakeeffect snow already?I'm in WNY and nothing even close

[TXBullion]

TJCF is Indiana. Im in Chicago right now (right down the neighborhood) and still havent gotten snow. I was surprised to here this and not see it myself

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

The snow was right before this little warm up that we just HAD...! The lake-effect was on the border line of Lake and Porter Counties and east to the South Bend area. It was all gone in a couple of days. It was only 2-4 inches. Been pretty lucky the last few years with that lake effect staying east of me. It all depends on the wind direction. My house is about 3 miles from Lake Michigan. If the wind blows just right....forget it! I drive in and out of it all winter on the highway. It's almost like a fog bank. One second the sun is out or it's just cloudy...the next second you start to see this wall in front of you..like fog...and boom SNOW. That's on my way home from work driving east. Now when I leave the house...it's the opposite. I clean off the truck..drive slowly...and watch out for idiots...then after a couple of miles...no snow. Sometimes we'll have 6-10 inches at home on the ground blowing and drifting and 20 miles to the west at work not a single flake on the ground!

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Had another hour and a half to kill, so I went back to my killer tot-lot. All the kids would be at school so I would probably have it to myself. I quickly ran the high percentage spots. This, as always, produced a few coins. Next was to concentrate on the deeper signals that I've been saving for this time of year. Most of these were nickel signals that might be a nickel, balled up aluminum foil, pull tabs, or maybe gold jewelry. Most were nickels, foil, and the favorite pull tab! And, once again, I hit two more quarters that I've missed the last dozen or so times I've been there. Nice and dark stained, so I now I've missed them everytime I was there. I then adventured into the adjoining grassy areas to cherrypick quarters and dimes that I may have missed the last time I was here. Found 5 more quarters out in the grass. I also dug a few shallow pennies. It was a nice day. No wind. About 50 degrees. Perfect for hunting. This would have been great weather for a day long hunt. Total for 1 1/2 hours of fun! $3.11.

quarters........7
dimes...........8
nickels..........5
pennies........31 (10 copper)

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Got out yesterday morning after work. Plan was to hit that school again that produced so well about 2 weeks ago. Where I work it's very hot, so when I was hunting I had on shorts and a sweatshirt. The cold temperature only felt cool to me. Funny thing was I had some ice forming on my mustache. Anyway, I get more strange looks for the shorts this time of year than I do with the metal detector. Well I was right, this school has become my new go to spot. The playground (woodchips) is not very big which makes it kinda fast to hunt. I ended up with 16 quarters, 14 dimes, 8 nickels, and 18 pennies. 99% of that was newly dropped coins. I think I dug two quarters that I missed last time. While leaving, I decided to hit another school a couple of blocks away. I've looked at this school before but it was always crowded. I knew I had to hit it on the weekend and early in the morning. This school has a bigger play area. The usual tot-lot set up but this school is adjacent to a city park. Lots of grass to hunt at a later time. Between the woodchips and a short walk in the grass area, I ended a 20 minute hunt with another 7 quarters, 8 dimes, 2 nickels, and 9 pennies. But the ground was very, very hard. I had lots of signals but I didn't have my jackhammer with me. I do plan on going back in that grass before it freezes over. Rain is forcasted today so it might soften up a bit to dig! Now last, I ran down to a school closer to where I'm at. I've been there before but with "0" luck. This school has a HUGE tot-lot play area. About the size of two basketball courts. So, I know I'm in somebody's hunting ground. The other time I was here, it was summer, and I didn't even find a penny! With school back in, I was hoping to score ANYTHING! It was slow at first but I kept hunting. Eventually I hit a penny to perk me up! Next a nickel. Next a 'SILVER' horse earring. Up to three pieces of silver jewelry overall now. I ended up with 9 quarters, 2 dimes, 6 nickels, and 18 pennies to go along with the silver earring. Total for the morning hunt: $11.65

quarters..........32
dimes.............24
nickels............16
pennies...........45 (11 copper, 1 canadian copper)

[Rodebaugh]

TJCF

I am now in the game....or will be in a week or so.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... MEWNX%3AIT

[TXBullion]

TJCF, on these hunts, have you been using that pinpointer ?

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

On these hunts I carry that Harbor Freight pinpointer but only use it when I can't seem to zero in with the pinpoint feature on the Ace250. Santa will be bringing me the Garrett Propointer. I've just about wore out the "HF" one in three months. The 'on' button doesn't want to work all the time anymore. You get what you pay for I guess. It has served it's purpose, though. Hard to beat $16. But the Garrett Propointer will cut the digging and finding to about 1/4 to 1/3 of my current time to recover the object. I'm getting closer to the $200 mark. Not bad for 3 months! So if you are listening Rodebaugh...get that Garrett Propointer from the start. I did it the hard way....so you won't have to! Feel free to ask me any questions. I think I'm going to have alot of time this winter just sorting pennies instead of dirt hunting and sorting!

[Rodebaugh]

Thanks for the heads up....I will go ahead and get the propointer.

I hope I can get this going before the snow falls and stays.

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

I wanted to get out and hunt a little today but it was too cold with a little snow and sleet. The killer is the wind. If it wasn't for that wind I would have gave it a try! Don't eat too much turkey!

[Rodebaugh]

Got out today for two hours with my new ace 250. I had given it a trial yesterday around the yard to see what I could find. Not much around the house. Just a lot of scrap mixed in with old refuse and slag. Still thought I was ready to go out on my maiden treasure hunting voyage. Picked an area on the lake where folks like to swim. Whitewater season has come and went and subsequently the lake is down to its winter pool. I just detected the area around where swimmers climb back onto the rocks and a little area where they jump. Long story short had a darn good time minus the cold and wind and was very successful for my first hunt far as I am concerned.

FOUND SILVER!!!




Marked 925

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Ah yes...the fun I wish I was doing right now. We're in a bit of a cold snap. Very windy and colder than I want it. Only low to mid 30's today. Big warm-up coming on my next off work days. I need to hunt a little more before everything freezes up. Congrats on your finds. You got outside, a little exercise, found some cool stuff, and had fun. You think this might be addicting to you at some point? GOOD LUCK!

[Rodebaugh]

There is gold in them there hills!!!!

[hobo finds]

a site for found class rings www.jostens.com/rings/class_rings_cp_found_rings.html

maybe she is hot

[Thogey]

That would be cool if you were able to return it.

That would be really fun to do!