Newbee How Do You Know???

[MOTHER HUBBARD]

I went mding yesterday and had a strong hit on my machine. I dug down about 5 inches and found a half of a chaulking gun canister. not the gun itself. should I have know that was trash or is that something that as long as you do it is going to happen? Would a belt buckel have given me a different reading?? would pewter have a different one as well and where would it be on the scale??? Thanks in advance Mother Hubbard

[Stainless Steel Rat]

I am not sure what kind of MD you are using but everyone digs trash targets. I have only been using a MD for a few months but I notice every week I dig a little less trash. I alwasy keep the trash items with me and take them home then I take note of what kind of signal they give me. I get a reading on a target then I try to guess what it is then I dig it up and see if I guessed right. If you are relic hunting you will dig a lot of trash no way around it. IF you are just coin hunting you will start to learn the difference between a coin sized target vs a big piece of trash. I saw you ask about pewter I have only dug up 2 pewter jewery items but they both read as high and low zinc pennies.

The more you learn about your machine the less trash you will dig. It just takes getting in lots of practice - practice and more practice. Kinda in a nut shell, the more trash you dig the better your chances of unearthing that elusive find that might be masked siting right alongside of the trash.

[FreeEnterprise]

I have an old whites classic ID. I got a really strong 25c hit and dug down and flipped over the dirt clod.

when I scanned the hole it was gone, so I knew it was in my dirt clod. I scanned the clod and got a strong 1c hit...

I seperated the clod and found the penny, stacked with 2 quarters...

The quarters were facing up when I first found them, then when I flipped over the clod the penny was facing up.

Dig the trash, you never know what you might find.

Last time I went out I found the handle off of a wagon. It was on a sand volleyball court. Better me finding it than someones bare foot...

[Joe(TX)]

You don't! That is the mystery and intrique of treasure hunting!!! I know some hunters who ignore large and wide signal but I don't. Some of those large signals have turned out to be sunglasses, car parts, frontier relics, empty iron boxes, vintage gun parts, cast iron stove doors, plumbing fixtures, etc. So always if in doubt dig....Also sometimes I only dig down to see what it is , if it is a large bulky object such as an iron plate, etc. I'll probably leave it where it sits... Hope that this helps!!