In my opinion there are three keys to successful metal detecting. Those keys are Patience, Practice & Persistence! When I bought my first metal detector I did so because I just new I was going to find hoards of lost treasure. I just new the old picnic grove down the street had thousands of dollars worth of old silver coins just laying there ready to be found by me with my new metal detector. I was going to be rich, if not rich, I was damn sure I was going to make ton of money cashing in all those old silver coins and gold jewelry I was going to find.
I really don’t need to say it, but you already know what happened soon after buying my first metal detector. I didn’t find squat! Not even a stinking wheat penny! By this time I began to become very inpatient and to be quite honest I was ready to ship that metal detector right back to where it came from, but I didn’t! I began to accept the fact that me finding huge amounts of treasure was just not going to happen, so I started taking interest in the small, historic odds and ends I was finding. This lead to a true enjoyment in metal detecting and a growing love and respect of history and its forgotten artifacts.
To make a long story short I became a very patient hobbyist, enjoying the little things that make the hobby of metal detecting so great. Something else started happening at about this time, I started making some really swell and respectable finds! Silver coins, some gold jewelry as well as a few Indian Head cents. These higher valued finds were not jumping out of the ground left and right, but at about the same time I started slowing down, having a little patience and enjoying myself I started finding some really great stuff!
Many years later and patience is still my number one tool to successful metal detecting. We all go through are adjustment phases, our trials and tribulations, but if we dont overcome these and let patience take over our success at metal detecting will be nil! Patience is your number one key to becoming successful at metal detecting.
Using a metal detector and being successful with it is no different than anything else. If you want to become good at something what do you do? The answer is, you got it, practice, practice, practice! I often compare my metal detecting to that of a person that plays an instrument. In order to become good with that instrument you have to practice playing that instrument as often as possible. In time you that instrument will become an extension of yourself. Metal detecting and learning your metal detector are no different. In order to use your metal detector well you must practice using it until it becomes and extension of yourself.
With enough practice you will have no problem tuning your metal detector for just about any situation. With enough practice you will come to know your detector so well that in most cases you will have a pretty good idea of what your going to dig before you actually dig it up! And of course practice takes patience!
The key to metal detecting and making consistently good finds is persistence. The moment you give up and loose steam is the about the same time your finds and going to go south!
Combine these three keys to better metal detecting and I assure you that bigger and better finds are in your future. Be aware of them every time your out metal metal detecting.