What Have You Learned From Years In The Hobby?

[Spooyt Vane]

1 Never take a newbie on your favourite site as they always make the best find..lol
2.The grass is never greener in the field next door ,as your mates turn up hammered in the field you left..../
3 Site is never cleaned out,as you find out with a hoard being located on a site you have given up on.
4 Your super duper £1400 machine is not any better than the £200 machine thats just taken a gold hammered just in front of your nose....
5 Experience counts for nothing ,when your grandson locates a gold ring wiith his first swing of your machine.......
6 Dont ignore areas of iron ,as did hundreds of detectorists did at Marsden Moor..where a civil war hoard came to light...
7 Dont think your superior to the women in the hobby  as you look through their superior finds...

[Zeus (Joel)]

Well said

[Whiteduke]

Take everything you hear about finds with a large pinch of salt.

[Spooyt Vane]

Take everything you hear about finds with a large pinch of salt.

I ONLY QUOTE ON WHAT I HAVE SEEN LOL 

[douglas1]

After a few months ive learnt......metal detecting is just like any other hobby in the sense that a generous sprinkling of b.s and stardust attaches itself to it ,somewhere along the way.....bit like fishermen and "the one that got away".....or the one they caught for that matter......so following on from whitedukes post. id say believe very little of what you read ,hear, oer even see ,unless that information is from a trusted source......
            If you can dream -but not make dreams your master
            if you can think -but not make thoughts your aim
           if you can deal with triumph and disaster
          and treat those two imposters just the same..
                               
 rudyard kipling

[alun]

Thats me buggered then, I teach fly fishing as well as this hobby. Great credentials for a politician.
All jokes aside though what advice I have had here has been a real help, members seem well versed ( ) and some finds make me work harder. Geoff is right though my 8 year old is kicking my butt with his garrett to my DFX  but his company is worth every minute.

[cardiffian]

Don't get drawn to the better fields every time you visit a farm. Put in the odd hour, or two, from time to time in the less productive fields. Your favourite fields may turn up more, and better finds. However, remember the least productive field may contain that VERY SPECIAL find.

Never take for granted your permissions. They can sometimes take years to secure but can be lost in a second.

If you are heavily into research don't dismiss sites because your research hasn't shown any history. Research is a good tool for discovering known history. Some sites may have plenty of history but it is unknown and not recorded. Just because google earth etc doesn't show any crop marks, or other signs, doesn't mean that nothing has gone on in particular fields. A lot of the time we only know something has been going on after we have detected, and through the abundance of finds etc. One of the best ways to 'research a site' is by field walking.

Don't be afraid to ask questions(no matter how stupid they may seem at the time) and learn from those more experienced. They can be a wealth of knowledge.

Lastly, if you can build up a good library of detecting related books do so. Then look up and id your finds. You will always pick up extra knowledge while you are doing so.

[glynkid]

well said Rob

[dances with badgers]

try anywhere and everywhere,the finds are not always where they are suposed to be and you need luck on your side

[Dryland]

If at first you don't succeed try switching your detector "ON"

[Neil]

A promising location can often be void of any finds. Whereas the most unexpected location in the middle of knowhere can produce stunning finds - see DW Rooksbridge Rally

People come and go very quickly in the detecting world. The amount of people who for them "detecting is everything" and then 2 months later have absolutely no interest in detecting at all is I am sure what keeps the second hand detector market stocked.

Dig those one way, as well as two way signals.

Each new machine is launched with a fanfare, but very few live up to the hype.

Detectorists are fiercely protective about the abilities of their machines.

Read every book you can on artefacts, but give up on trying to identify classifications of hammered coins!

You can never own enough pairs of headphones.

Always carry a spare spade in your boot.

If it looks like a Bull, it probably is a bull - you don't need to get any closer to find out!

Write your name on your wellies!

Always keep your eyes firmly shut if you have the pleasure of being a passenger in Rob's car.

Never lend a tent to someone who is known to be sick after a few shandies!

[Kev]

don't get beaten by Melonhead for the find of the day award

[carling]

1 search as much as you can on new permissions before moving on
2 dont get caught up in finds races as it seriously spoils the enjoyment of the hobby
3 be thankfull your out on a quiet site rather than shopping
4 never look for gratification on the finds you make,,cause your finding things for the wrong reason if thats your aim.
5 always try any land that you are given permission for,, just beacuse there aint a saxon palace site within 10 miles dosent mean it isnt worth searching.
6 if a site is known to be done to death it usually is.
7 never trust a farmer when they say ,, theres nothing here.

[win]

I've learned that metal detecting has educated and interested large numbers of people in our history. its succeeded where school failed. Most of us have a good grasp of the periods of history, dates of kings and queens and the uses of lots of everyday objects, all thanks to the hobby. I remember a noisy argument between 2 of our members at a DW rally a couple of years ago. The voices got louder, the swear words were flying. And what were they arguing about ? The identity of a worn hammered coin. Haha still makes me laugh. The argument was settled by taking a photo of the coin and expanding it.

[galoshers]

most machines wont find a hoard as they dont go deep enough ,so we are all walking over 100s and 1000s of deep hoards that are out of reach to the average machine.
occasionally someone gets lucky and does the impossible.
a field that has been done to death may hide a hoard that is out of reach..