When to Dig

Kycoinhunter, This was the first problem I encountered when I started 2 years ago. 3 or 4 things may cause it. The first is you threw the coin beyond the area where you are hunting. I know this sounds crazy but when you throw a shovel of dirt out occasionally the coin which is heavier than dirt will roll away from the pile. Look in the direction you threw the dirt and beyond. secondly If you are digging beyond 5 or 6 inches, coins have a tendency to fall back in the hole. If they are in the bottom of the hole standing on edge your machine may not pick them up. I recommend you get a hand held pinpointer.(Garrett Propointer is what I use) If you can't find the coin probe the walls of the hole and the bottom. Next comes the problem with extremely small targets directly on top of the ground. They will give a loud signal but covering them with 4 or 5 inches of dirt hides them. I kick  the dirt around to be sure I didn't miss anything. Today I was baffled by what turned out to be several staples which were dirt colored. I carry a magnet to pick out the iron (when I have a mixed signal) but these staples were brass!!!.....All of these are the easy fixes. Next come the real problems. There may not be a target. Fresh cow urine will give a sound. Pot metal disintegrates in the ground leaving behind a mess that sound like a coin somewhat but when you dig it out it goes away. Keep in mind the soil around a target often determines how the target sounds. especially if the soil is mineralized or wet. For example, if a clad penny is in the ground a long time it will sometimes sound like a quarter and sometimes like a pull tab. You would think the signal would always get lounder when you are digging down toward a target but not always. Sometimes it gets weaker when you remove the soil over a coin.  Soil mineralization alone will cause "falseing" which is nothing more that the machine sounding off. The cure for this is to ground balance if your machine has it or to turn the gain down. Learning not to use too much gain is important.  The best thing you can do is find a nice clean place in your yard and bury some targets. Not just coins and jewelry but also pull tabs, hair pins, nails and junk you have picked up. It takes a lot of concentration to get the best results with any of these machines and lots of experience. It was a year before I learned how to distinguish an aluminum can buried 6 inches from a from a dime near the surface. I still dig a can every once in a while to keep in practice. ....In summary the time to dig is when the shovel touches the ground but be ready for some surprises.

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If you want to get a cheap pin pointer that works great, go to Harbor Freight i bought one there for $16.95,have it for over 3 years now and it even comes with a belt carrier and a 9V battery.Happy Huntin in the New Year.....DW

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Keep on diggin it all, thats the key to sucess....DW

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a cardinal rule as a beginner... dig everything!

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lots of good advice in this topic/discussion you guys are awsome ! thanks for sharing and thanks for posting questions  even beginners ask some of the best questions and if you dont you may not find out or solve a problem  i still consider myself a beginner though i have been in the hobby a little while and have dug alot but i am still learning thanks to all of you folks  josey

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