How do you hunt??

[mifon]

I really enjoy all the info and pictures here. They have really been helpful learning my Etrac (got it in Oct.). All the setup tips and suggestions have really helped me to get to an understanding of what my Etrac is telling me. When Angel and others speak Ive learned to listen and take note.

But now, I have a question, not about the actual setup of the Etrac, but how you utilize the Etrac in the hunt. I love to find old coins, especially the silver ones. But, I notice that most of the programs discriminate the area where gold would appear. I mostly hunt parks and schools, usually very trashy areas. I use the Bill_S Trashy Park pattern. Often it's just too trashy and I will use TTF. I know I could use a program that would open up the areas for gold, etc. I also know that would create more junk hits.

My question for you is..... Can you combine your hunts for both deep silver coins and gold, or do you just go hunt for one or the other?? Recently I was hunting a park with a friend. He was following behind me and was able to find 3 gold rings (one worth over $600). When air testing these rings on my Etrac, they were totally nulled. I was able to find a couple of Mercs that day. But it hurts that I walked right over such valuable targets and didn't even know it!! >:/ Also, these rings were very shallow. I was listening for deeper targets and mostly ignoring the shallow targets (assuming they were clad). Is this what you dothinkingabout:

I think I need to improve my actual hunting habits, or learn to fit the right setup for the right target. Can you give me some direction or help me to be more proficient in my hunts

Thanks for your help
Mike

[RaZR]

I hunt in a program that doesn't see alot of the gold rings and other jewelry also. Mostly i'm after the old silver coins that the E-trac will find among those big trees in the park. If you want the gold rings you need a more open program that will find them. But you will have to dig alot more trash! If you don't mind digging more pull tabs bottle caps and other stuff for the chance of getting valuable gold then you should run something that detects them. I usually get all my gold from the lakes so i run a tighter program on land. It's really up to you how much gold you get. But it'll mean more junk too!
GL/HH

[Epi-hunter]

What program are you using?

I am using Andy Sabisch's program with some modifications. It's posted on this forum somewhere - I'll find it and link to it. It does not discriminate out mid-tones (where gold typically falls).

As for whether you can hunt for gold and silver at the same site, the answer is that it depends on your site. Some sites are modern enough that you don't expect to find any deep silver, so obviously in those sites you are going to want a program which will not disc out the mid-tones.

But I assume you are referring to the sites which are older and where you would typically hunt for deeper, old silver. The answer (at least for me) is that I will sometimes just focus on digging mid-tones (shallow or deep - I have found deep gold before) but most of the time I dig both.

It requires moving VERY slowly and swinging VERY slowly. In most of these areas, after digging for awhile you get a pretty good feel for how deep the clad and the older targets are. I will frequently ignore VERY shallow clad coins but in some areas it is possible that silver coins may be very shallow, so be careful. I learned a quick lesson on that after finding a seated half dime almost on the surface in a rocky, hilly area of an old park where other similar-aged coins were quite deep. It depends on the soil conditions sometimes.

Really, the only way to know for sure whether a mid-tone is gold or trash is to dig it out of the ground. As mentioned above, you will dig a lot of trash, but that's the price you pay.

I recommend that you zero in on a relatively small area of an old park or other such site which has seen a lot of activity over the years, and just dig everything for several square yards. You may be surprised at what comes up.

Definitely, though, I would recommend a program that does not disc out mid-tones. You can always ignore them if you decide you don't want to dig them at a particular time or site. I use the same program everywhere, with only minor tweaks to adjust for differences in ground conditions.

[angellionel]

Give the pattern posted HERE a try. I have found gold rings and small silver coins while using it at parks. The finds POSTED HERE are examples of what can be found when using a more open discrimination pattern. On that pattern I also suggest you open up the lines 18-01 through 18-03 down to 27-01 through 27-03. I have done the same since posting that pattern.

You will hear more of the trash in the ground than what you may be used to, but give it time and your ability to discern between good and bad targets will increase.

I wish you much success in your hunts!

[mifon]

Thanks so much for your replies! I suppose you could probably feel my frustration in the post above after having my butt kicked so blatantly and badly (and by a guy running a Whites, too ughhhhh!). I dread our next club meeting. I'm sure he'll be bragging about how he waxed one of those guys running one of those expensive, overrated detectors!). I'm sure he will win Find of the Month with that $600 ring, too.

OK, the Etrac is a thinking mans' machine. I think I'll try and make something constructive from this experience. As Epi-hunter said, you have to pay attention to what you are finding and where (what depth) you are finding it. I know now that I have not fully harnessed the power of the Etrac by choosing a program that is a misfit for the particular area that I am hunting, and the target that I am likely to find based on location, age, and (maybe) gut feel. I can hardly wait to get back out and try the more open program that Angel suggested (thanks Angel!! .....and I realize that this program may not be the end all, do all either. I do hunt areas where there is so much iron that I have to go into TTF.

Angel, I know that you are quite fluent in Etrac language. But, I wonder if the opportunities that you hear and have a chance to dig are a direct product of your swing speed?? I know slower is better.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate each of you and your willingness to share. Stay tuned.........I AM GOING TO GET THAT WHITES GUY!!!!!

Mike (in TN)

[RobW]

I ONLY use Angel's program that he referred to above.....there is more chatter, because it is a more open program...but through trial and error....and a lot of digging, you will get the hang of it. There is another post somewhere in this section about gold signals/numbers on the e-trac. check that out too. But NOTHING is ever certain. numbers change depending on a lot of variable...size, depth, angle, etc. Good luck and happy hunting thumbsup01

[angellionel]

Angel, I know that you are quite fluent in Etrac language. But, I wonder if the opportunities that you hear and have a chance to dig are a direct product of your swing speed?? I know slower is better.

Thanks for the kind words Mike. Yes, a slow swing speed is very important, but it is even more so when working trashy or iron infected sites. While one can get away with a relatively fast sweep at sites where such conditions do not prevail, that will not be the case where trash and iron litters the site. One site I detected back in 2010 was a very tough one to work due to the density of aluminum screw caps littering the park.



Only by going very slow was I able to separate the good targets from the screw caps layering the site. Depth at that particular site was not the challenge; trash was. Still, the slower swing and persistence paid of, as I ended the day with 29 silver coins. I have no doubt that I would have missed many of those coins had I been swinging too fast.

I ONLY use Angel's program that he referred to above.....there is more chatter, because it is a more open program...but through trial and error....and a lot of digging, you will get the hang of it. There is another post somewhere in this section about gold signals/numbers on the e-trac. check that out too. But NOTHING is ever certain. numbers change depending on a lot of variable...size, depth, angle, etc. Good luck and happy hunting thumbsup01

Thank you for the vote of confidence Rob. No doubt though that you have been applying your own years of experience to tame the machine. keep those great finds coming! You have been doing very well for sure. |

[ssserena]

Ive dug thousands of holes and only (1)gold ring,i feel searching for gold is too tough so I just don't bother any more,i have a better chance of finding a cannonball than a gold ring,now silver coins that's a whole new ball game they are out there and in large numbers I love coins with a passion and I love your picture of the liberty quarter ive never gotten a liberty quarter,i started with a ace 250 3 years ago and got my only gold,then I went to the v3i big mistake the worst machine in the intire metal detecting market whites has great costomer service though just no depth with the machine then in October I traded the p3i haha for a awesome etrac and ive never looked back the etrac is the greatest metal detecting machine ever made im looking forward to hearing your advice on this awesome machine and you have a good web site here keep up the good work.The etrac is a true silver coin magnet