Metal Detectoring

[Big Red 250]

Anyone on here do this as a hobby? Or belong to any clubs? I'm thing seriously of buying a detector, but there is so many on the market that I don't know where to begin. Not interested in anything such as looking for gold in BC or Alberta, would just be a hobby/pastime where I've gotten by age & health that I'm not hunting or fishing anymore, just something that will keep me outdoors. I would be looking for lost coins, jewlery, knives, ax heads, I'm sure there is lots of scrap and lost item's that had been reclaimed by the land. Also looking for Canadian retailer's of detector's and associated item's. Big thanks for any replies.

[buckbrush]

Another hobby I'm considering taking up. I know of lots of old homesteads some back in the tree's with nothing left but a foundation. Would be fun to see what a guy could find. Some of the land owners I know that I've asked about it say they would have no problem looking over the old homestead yards (so long as you split any big treasures) a few of them encouraged it since those homesteads were family and they were interested to see what got buried.

[Fish along]

I have a couple of those detectors and ive used them somewhat over the years cant say I ever found anything valuable,lots of junk bottle caps nails pennies etc.the thing you need to do is go places of the beaten track not so much junk,there are fellows on here that are more of an expert than me though,my best detector is called PROSPECTOR its a canadian tire buy that I bought a long time ago theres probably better ones around now,happy treasure hunting.

[HoytCRX32]

Tried it once...lots of nails, wire, bolts...you need to be patient, that's for sure.

[fishtank]

planning to move the australia ?? there a metal detecting club in edmonton they help people find lost wedding rings..in their back yard .

[ceedub]

I’ve metal detected for years, It’s a highly addicting hobby. Good sites that produce silver coins and valuable finds are guarded more closely than peoples hunting spots. To be successful you need to spend 3 to 4 hours research for every hour behind the detector. When you pull that first gold ring from the plug you’ll be hooked forever.

Craig

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by buckbrush

Another hobby I'm considering taking up. I know of lots of old homesteads some back in the tree's with nothing left but a foundation. Would be fun to see what a guy could find. Some of the land owners I know that I've asked about it say they would have no problem looking over the old homestead yards (so long as you split any big treasures) a few of them encouraged it since those homesteads were family and they were interested to see what got buried.

I had the same thoughts but every old homestead I've searched is polluted with old cans,nails, etc no buried treasure yet. The kids get a kick out of it though.

[ceedub]

Originally Posted by kingrat

I had the same thoughts but every old homestead I've searched is polluted with old cans,nails, etc no buried treasure yet. The kids get a kick out of it though.

The longer you use your metal detector you will learn to ID targets and it will eliminate some of the trash targets you dig. However, pieces of foil and aluminum fall into the same range as gold, so if your leaving those targets you are leaving gold behind.

Craig

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by ceedub

I’ve metal detected for years, It’s a highly addicting hobby. Good sites that produce silver coins and valuable finds are guarded more closely than peoples hunting spots. To be successful you need to spend 3 to 4 hours research for every hour behind the detector. When you pull that first gold ring from the plug you’ll be hooked forever.

Craig

I can see how this could be addictive alright ,I'd like to go medal detecting on a sea shore where there's been shipwrecks in days gone by.

[ceedub]

Originally Posted by Fish along

I can see how this could be addictive alright ,I'd like to go medal detecting on a sea shore where there's been shipwrecks in days gone by.

I’ve metal detected around castles in England, beaches all over the world. My oldest coin is an 1179 “hammered” silver, best is a 1344 Noble pure gold coin. I’ve got over 160 gold rings and a safety deposit box full of pre 1936 silver coins found locally. It’s a great hobby, but getting hard to find good sites for old silver. Lots of folks out detecting and silver coins are a non renewable resource.

Craig

[Red Bullets]

As far as detectors in my opinion the Garret AT Pro is a great detector. Can be used underwater too. Also good to have a small pin finder detector. Not many places carry detectors in Edmonton. The only place I found was Hobby Wholesale on Calgary Trail north, just south of Argyll road. About 750.

Lots of common places to look the detector clubs have detected. A great way to find places to check out is start reading the local history books.

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by ceedub

I’ve metal detected around castles in England, beaches all over the world. My oldest coin is an 1179 “hammered” silver, best is a 1344 Noble pure gold coin. I’ve got over 160 gold rings and a safety deposit box full of pre 1936 silver coins found locally. It’s a great hobby, but getting hard to find good sites for old silver. Lots of folks out detecting and silver coins are a non renewable resource.

Craig

HOLY! That's incredible thanks for sharing.

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by ceedub

I’ve metal detected around castles in England, beaches all over the world. My oldest coin is an 1179 “hammered” silver, best is a 1344 Noble pure gold coin. I’ve got over 160 gold rings and a safety deposit box full of pre 1936 silver coins found locally. It’s a great hobby, but getting hard to find good sites for old silver. Lots of folks out detecting and silver coins are a non renewable resource.

Craig

You should hook up with the oak island team. That is beyond cool.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by ceedub

I’ve metal detected around castles in England, beaches all over the world. My oldest coin is an 1179 “hammered” silver, best is a 1344 Noble pure gold coin. I’ve got over 160 gold rings and a safety deposit box full of pre 1936 silver coins found locally. It’s a great hobby, but getting hard to find good sites for old silver. Lots of folks out detecting and silver coins are a non renewable resource.

Craig

Care to post some photos? Those would be awesome to see!

[ceedub]

Originally Posted by pinelakeperch

Care to post some photos? Those would be awesome to see!

I haven’t mastered uploading photos to this site, I’ll see if I can figure it out. Lots of my photos are on a laptop that needs to be worked on.
One of my coolest moments was finding a gold class ring from 1949 that had the owners name engraved inside the band. It laid in an Alberta lake for 56 years when I found it. Gold comes out of our lakes looking as new as the day it was lost. Took me a month but I tracked down the owner (living in a Calgary senior home) and delivered her ring back to her. A moment I’ll never forget.

Craig

[calgarychef]

I’ve been doing it for a long time too. You gotta be ok with digging up lots of junk but there’s good stuff sometimes. Oldest coin king Henry 111,
Most valuable thing a meteorite, most fun place I’ve searches was the grounds of the place they filmed “Downton Abbey.” Best coin in Calgary 1893 American Morgan silver dollar.

[trapperdodge]

ceedub: What kind of detector do you recommend?

[ceedub]

Originally Posted by trapperdodge

ceedub: What kind of detector do you recommend?

I use Fisher mostly, my favourite model is still my CZ-3D. I also have Garrett’s and Tesoro’s.

Craig

[Commander B]

GPS Central in Calgary is a gpod supplier of detection equipment


B.

[HoytCRX32]

Sounds like a cool idea for a club!

[dukla]

I spent a lot of years detecting on my family's property in Eastern Europe, site of where Germans surrendered by the thousands to the advancing Soviet forces. Really interesting to hold history in your hand. I used a Fisher CZ 7A Pro back then.

[Sitting Bull]

I have a Tesoro as well. I like the simplicity of my unit. I don't get out as much as I want. I really need to make the time. It is so relaxing.

[wack99]

https://youtu.be/KQexMWP10F0

Watching this series may help.

Jason

[Ken07AOVette]

quite a few years ago now the manager of Radio Shack gave me their most expensive detector to test for a couple weeks. I got tired of false beeps and digging up nothing, so decided to test it. I buried a handful of coins at 4", 8" 12".
It could not successfully differentiate between any of them. I never did buy one after that. I would guess if you want a good one now it is going to cost a grand or more.

[Lornce]

Have an old Garrett Treasure hunter (with 2 separate heads) that I take out every now and again. Second-hand unit but works great. Fun to use. Use earphones and adjust squawk will get you to know different metals. Fun with the grand kidlets. BTW check out GPS central for detectors.

[Big Red 250]

Great replies all. So, what does the expirienced guy's recommend for a total newby, one that is not too difficult to learn with, willing to spend up to $500. Like my original post, don't need for gold nuggets, flakes or veins. Just for everything else including trash. I'm also looking for a Canadian retailer, or someone with one to sell.

[calgarychef]

If I was buying a detector I’d get a used garret AT PRO they’re a decent machine and can go in the water a bit. If you don’t like it sell it off and you won’t lose much.

If you want a Cadillac get an XP DEUS, lightweight, no cords to get tangled up, rechargeable, multi frequency available blah blah blah.... I have one and I’m glad I spent the money. But you know what? The AT PRO finds Canadian coins way better than mine does because it’s designed for the metals that old stuff is made of gold, silver, copper, lead... I really have to work to find loonies with it.

[Rock Doctor]

I'm looking at this one right now, it's a little pricey, but I can take it diving. I want to check out a couple old Spanish Wrecks I know of.

https://www.gpscentral.ca/products/m...caliburII.html

RD

[nast70]

We were quading near Whitecourt and stopped for a break at the crater like we often do. There were a couple guys from a club that were out meteorite hunting and found 1. Our kids were fascinated by it. The guys were gracious enough to let our kids, and all of us older kids at heart, have a turn holding it. I have to admit, after holding that thing I had shivers. It was very cool.

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by nast70

We were quading near Whitecourt and stopped for a break at the crater like we often do. There were a couple guys from a club that were out meteorite hunting and found 1. Our kids were fascinated by it. The guys were gracious enough to let our kids, and all of us older kids at heart, have a turn holding it. I have to admit, after holding that thing I had shivers. It was very cool.

Ok that is a great story! Something from space would be the find of a lifetime that would hook someone for life.