First hunt for 2007

[THing4CSA]

Hi All My TH'ing Friends
I was asked what detector I use when I searched and found my latest finds; well ever since 1984 I have only used Whites detectors and don't see myself changing any time soon. I got my first Whites in Sacramento, CA back in 1984, it was a 6000 Di III. I still have this old timer although it is in need of repairs. what I didn't understand about metal detectors was that after using one for several hours the circuit boards heat up and as they cool moisture condensates. This is not normally a problem except when you consider the fact that the dealer had used clear rubber sealant on my detector (it was a dealer's model) and sealed the speaker to keep out the rain, not that I would ever TH in the rain! LOL I know everyone will eventully get caught in a summer down pour, but I would protect my detector from everything I could. Anyway the problem was that my detector was unable to breath and the moisture stayed inside the machine, which after time it started to corrode the pins on all of the intergrated circuit chips (IC chips) which caused a total failure. I then moved up to the Whites 6000 Pro Series. This was said to be a great machine, but as I had my 6000 Di III repaired and had the sealant removed, I did not bother to relearn the differences I continued with the 6000 Di III. In 1999 I used my year end gain share from work to purchase the Whites XLT, I thought this was just the greatest detector ever! I searched many of the same places that I had gone over (and I mean 'gone over') and started finding smaller and deeper signals than I ever imagined. Well in 2003 I received a larger year end gain share than was expected so I purchased the Whites DFX. My finds went through the roof. I have posted several super finds to the Whites customer's stories, which if you have not sent a story with a picture for possible posting I can assure you it is worth trying.

I have purchased the smaller coils, extra battery packs, the hard case for use when I travel, coil stabilizers, extra extension rods, head phones, the list goes on but the beauty of it is, I used the Gift Certificates provided by Whites for the posting of my pictures and stories of my finds. None of this would be possible without the Whites metal detectors.

I poke fun at my TH'ing buddies for their non-Whites detectors, but to be honest they are all about the same. The biggest difference between detectors is the ability or lack there of by the user. You have to get to know your detector, how it works, what a signal sounds like for a good target and a junk target. My biggest secret is that I dig up everything. I may dig a hundred targets before I find a keeper, but answer this question; how many of us have walked away from a good target just because the display screen said it was a bottle cap?

I use my Whites DFX with the standard coil in the coin mode and any time (most of the time) if the screen displays a bottle cap with any coin most of the time it turns out to be a Civil War bullet. Now to be fair I have also found beer bottle caps that are rusted to a blob and had them show up the same way, but please hear me out on this as I have shared this suggestion with many TH'ers on this web site as well as several others, if you dig up every target and have a 10% ratio of good finds how many good finds do you find in a day? If you find yourself (as my TH'ing buddies and myself are currently) in the middle of a Civil War Encampment (or any super site that is producing lots of great finds) what is the best method of clearing the entire site without missing anything and I don't mean using a screen to dig up and screen every square inch of soil. I mean by using your metal detector alone. This method works best with a site that is not in the process of being developed or built on next week, what I mean is a site that is a field or forest that is there for the owner, farmer or rancher to use (or ignore) as thsy wish. Get the owner's ok to clear out dead fallen trees, you might cut the wood and haul it for the owner as an added incentive to get an invite back. If you have a field you might haul away rocks that you find while searching for coins and artifacts. What ever you do show the owner how you have helped make their property better. I show the owner all the nails, pieces of old rusted wire, staples, nuts and bolts. I return any tools as I know the feeling of losing farm equipment tools. Anything you can do to make a bond with the owner is a step closer to being invited back, I sometimes carry my Whites XLT and offer to show the owner or one of their kids how to operate and recover items. This does work!

I hope these ideas will help you develope and find more places to search. I know some of you newer TH'ers will ask how do I get the ok to search in the first place. This is one of the hardest questions but it does have a simple answer. If you know somone with land that looks like if might have been around for a long time and may have had older buildings, or a history of some battle or troops marching through, ask the owner for their permission to give it a search. I find that if you ask the worst that will happen is they will say 'No!'. I have never been killed or hit or had rocks thrown at me. Most people will say yes. Again I will tell you be honest with them up front. This is how I ask: I knock on their front door, (leave the detecor in your car), I introduce myself and any TH'ing buddies that I may have with me, I give a short resume of the years I have been a TH'er and list any of the neighbors that they may know so if they want to call to confirm they can. I tell them what I do (I am a part time treasure hunter and live in city and state, I would like to search your property for list the items, i.e., coins, Civil War artifacts, etc. I have a TH'ing Fun Card (I don't like referring to it as a business card). I ask them if they have lost anything that we should look for and if found will return to them. I explain how we locate items with a metal detector, what digging methods we use, what we do with the items we recover (I recycle everything I am able to). I show them the digging tools (I use an old Spanish or US Military Bayonet) This sometimes takes them by surprise but I come back with the fact that the blades have worn down and are no longer sharp as they were originally. I also go on to ask if they have any part of their property that they would not want us to search (you would be surprised at how many people have buried their pets in the back yard!). This information is shared with all my TH'ing buddies so their in no excuse for a mistake. We do out searching, digging, and recovery, and at the end of the day we show the owner what we have found. Most owners will look at the items and be assounded at the varity of finds, few will ask if they can have one item. Normally they don't ask for anything but if they do you have to decide is an Indian Head Cent given up today worth a return trip next month. If you are new at TH'ing you could plead that this was your very first Indian Head Cent, if may work, but be ready to give up something you have found. I have turned over coins, jewerly, Civil War Bullets and Buttons, lots of silver ware, tools, the list goes on but the idea is to get invited back for another search. Sometimes the finds are slim the first time and on a return trip you unearth the mother lode.

Have fun and be safe in all you do, but remember to first do right in all you do. :-)
Dave Mork
'Digger-Dave'
THing4CSA
PS: Remember; Don't leave it in the ground!

[FinalLastDays]

THing4CSA - I enjoyed reading your detailed post just now. I like how you went into detail explaining how you go about receiving permission to metal detect private property. From your experiences, I am sure you have made quite a many of friends in the field of MDing as well as from private land owners. Thank you for posting that story, I am sure many will benefit from it!

[THing4CSA]

Hi Stephen and all my TH'ing Friends

I do thank you for your kind words. I have long made it my mission of sorts to assist any and all TH'ers in any way I can. I have taken strangers to some of my most promising sites and found little or nothing only to turn around and search it again only to find multiple good items. It just the luck of the draw as I see it, you win some and sometimes you don't do so well. This hobby is fun and making friends is just part of it. One thing about TH'ing if you have a fear of talking to people you will be very limited as to where you will be able to search. I have no problem knocking on people's front doors and placing my cards on the table.

I have used a metal detector since 1977 and in that time have met many people that have asked what I was doing; yes I could have ignored them and continued to dig for items in the ground, but I find that if you are honest up front and open. I once was TH'ing in augsburg Germany when an elderly German lady stopped and asked me what I was looking for; I explained that I was looking for old German coins, I showed her a few Nazi coins that I had just dug up, her reaction was simple 'These are no good!' She made me laugh and she also laughed, my one regret is that I did not take the time to learn more German so I could have heard her stories of what it was like during WW II.

I share my thoughts with anyone that is willing to listen. I have explained how I find more items than my TH'ing buddies and once they start TH'ing the same way their finds increase. :-)

I wish you all well. Have fun in all you do and always do what is right in all you do!
Dave Mork
'Digger-Dave'
THing4CSA
PS: Remember; Don't leave it in the ground!