New guy questions.

[coinAdam]

I'm about ready to get out in the woods behind my house, and start detecting in the area where there were some old horse stables about 100 years ago. I have a bounty hunter lonestar. Any advice? How do I know how deep to dig? How do you guys go about finding the target once you've dug a hole? I don't even really know where to begin, so any other advice would be greatly appreciated. So far all I have done is play with it in my yard, trying to get the settings how I want them, and seeing how my detector reacts to zinc, nickel, clad, silver and gold coins.
Thanks!

[l38ranger]

Don't know about that detector but when you find a target pin-point it
and dig man dig, no anyway the dirt that you put to one side check it
and check the hole as you go, it should be to deep, probly 12" or under
and you will get use to it, plus you might have a depth on it....
good luck and i'm sure somebody that has one or had one will tell you more..........

When you dig your hole, try to cut a 3 sided plug, then you can just flip it over. When you find the target then just flip it back over.
This way you will give the sod a better chance of recovering from the hole you just dug.
Like l38ranger said put the rest of the dirt you dig to the side and check it.
A good idea is to put a towel down and put the dirt on it. That way it is easier to find the article and is a simple matter of shaking the dirt back into the hole.
ALWAYS leave the site as clean or cleaner than when you got there.
When you get into this habit you will find you will get more respect from the owner of the property and fellow detectors.
I hope this has helped in some way.

[coinAdam]

Thanks guys,

[smartfox]

but also at first go about 3 to 4 inches cause a lot of times in my case the stuff is right close to the surface that way i do not spent time filtering all this dirt. also i have a whites dfx and the depth feature is usually right on the money. if you have that feature use it. good luck

[dewcon]

The best way to find the target is with a pinpointer. However, if you dont have one, like they said dig a little dirt and check the pile with your coil. Once you know the target is out of the hole and you dont see it, try taking a hand full of soil at a time running it over the coil. Reading the book is important... after that you will have to dig lots of trash so you learn the good from the bad. Remember some good targets like GOLD rings will fall about anywhere in the low to mid range.

[TwoDogsBob]

Don't know anything about your detector but there is a good way of learning.. Go out and play in the dirt. Find a targets and dig a hole. The best teacher is experience. After a while start paying more attention to what you detector is telling you and what your digging up, you learn your machine and fine tune you search but in the beginning just go have fun.
Good hunting and lets see some pictures of your first finds, they will always be some of your favorites.. I still have my first rusty nail, but then is was a square one... Bob

[coinAdam]

Thanks alot guys. I kinda got rained out yesterday, but I guess that means it should be easy digging today. I'll let you know what I find.

......all these guys left you some very good advice. The only thing I would expand on is, a good pinpointer like the Treasure Mate will be very helpful, and invaluable to you.

I stock them, and as a TQ member, you get a good discount!