It always happens. There’s always a person who is able to find deeper targets with the same detector that are great finds. Where did he get his metal detectors for sale? What are his secrets? What can we learn from him?
Every metal detector has an absolute maximum depth that is determined by two basic factors: the geometric shape of the coil, and the circuitry of the machine. The person operating the machine should not be part of the equation.
Put any metal detector in the hands of a pro, and it will turn up deeper, older coins than when that same detector is used by a novice. How do they do it? How does the professional find deeper treasures that you can’t seem to detect? There are several simple rules anyone can follow to increase the depth of their metal detecting finds. By following these tips you will maximize the depth of your machine helping you get the most from your detector. Follow these rules and you will increase the number of treasures that you will find in areas that have already been hunted!
ALWAYS USE HEADPHONES: The best headphones to use are the big headphones with cups that surround your ears. They enable you to hear those weaker (and deeper!) signals that you miss when you use a Walkman-type headphone. A coiled headphone cord is much better than a limp, straight one, because like a telephone cord it doesn’t get in your way while you’re moving this way and that. Depending on your detector and your own sense of hearing, there are two special features you may want in your headphones: a mono/stereo switch, and individual volume controls for each ear. Some detectors require monaural headphones (Garrett and White’s, for example), and some require stereo headphones (Tesoro and Fisher). Headphones with a mono/stereo switch can easily adapt to any brand of detector. If you hear better out of one ear than the other, individual volume controls will let you hear the same relative volume in each ear. Many people use headphones designed for listening to a stereo in an easy chair. These may be too fragile to last long when they face rough treatment in the field. Your metal detector dealer can steer you to a good sturdy pair of headphones especially designed for use by treasure hunters.
KEEP YOUR LOOP LOW TO THE GROUND: If you swing the loop an inch above the ground, you are costing yourself an inch of depth. And you probably paid quite a bit of money for that bottom inch! Keep your coil against the ground as you swing it. (If you don’t have a coil cover to protect your loop, get one). You’ll hit rocks and scrape dirt when you keep your loop against the ground, but it is more than worth these minor aggravations to find the deeper, older coins.
USE MINIMUM DISCRIMINATION: When you increase discrimination on most metal detectors, you lose depth and a lot of gold rings. I recommend that you discriminate out iron, but nothing else except when junk conditions are so bad you can’t live with low discrimination. If you must use higher discrimination, here are instructions on how to set your discriminator to eliminate pulltabs (this will cost you many gold rings): Put a pulltab on the ground and swing your coil back and forth over it, slowly increasing the discrimination until the sound of the pulltab breaks up or becomes erratic (or it may just go silent). Stop! You are now at a setting that will eliminate most junk, including pulltabs, but you will still find all coins except nickels. There are some high-end detectors that have notch filters or target ID systems that allow you to skip pulltabs and still find nickels and some gold rings. Note I said SOME gold rings. If you want to find gold rings, please go back and read that last paragraph again! No, I’m not telling you to hit the flea markets in search of a primitive detector. I’m telling you to turn off the discrimination as often as you can stand it. Play this game: tell yourself that you are going to hunt with no discrimination until you have collected 25 pulltabs, or 50 pulltabs. By then you will probably be batty enough that you just have to turn the discrimination back on. At least this method gives you a fighting chance for some gold rings. Remember, the other treasure hunters who use discrimination are skipping right over those gold rings. Those rings will not be found until some brave soul turns off that discrimination. Shouldn’t that brave soul be you?
HUNT WHEN THE GROUND IS WET: The wetter the ground, the more depth you’re going to get from your detector. We all know we’re more likely to get an electrical shock when we’re standing in water. This is because water is a much better conductor of electricity than is air. Similarly, your metal detector’s signal can penetrate deeper into the ground when the soil is moist, and on a wet day you can find coins that are too deep to detect when the ground is dry. The Garrett Ace 250 is an excellent metal detector for both wet and dry ground. (Note: the ground can on rare occasions be too wet, causing false signals. If this happens, turn your sensitivity control down). Besides better depth, there are two added bonuses of metal detecting after a good rain. The ground is much easier to dig when it is wet, and the root system of the grass is less likely to be damaged by your digging.