Target Signal Analysis Part 2: The three cons

When learning your detector's personality someone invariably chimes in with the, "you have to dig it all comment". The implied fear is that by using sound/display to selectively dig targets you may walk over the find of a lifetime. Thus I would like to address this ever present warning about "digging it all". I like to look at the three cons:

The first con is context: It is simply where are your hunting and what are the conditions? Are you at the beach where digging it all is relatively easy and signals can be few and far between? Are you detecting in a lake that is very trashy with countless bits of foil and metal? Are you in a park where there are pieces of can slaw from cans that have been run over by lawn mowers. Also part of Context is when you are hunting? Is it a beach cut near a known wreck site after a big storm? Or is it a small creek site you have discovered way off the tracks that has never been detected? Context is everything!

My two favorite detectors are the Excalibur and the CTX 3030. Both of these detectors are good at identifying the American Penny by sound. The CTX 3030 allows you to cross reference with the display. But the context of your hunt is critical. Are you in the water near the local beach pier where the locals are having fun with metal detector guy by throwing handfuls of pennies in the water? Or are you hunting a long forgotten swimming hole where pennies could be "Flying Eagle Pennies". So remember the "You have to dig it all" comment needs to take context in account. I guarantee as a detectorist you will run into situations where you cannot dig it all.

The second con is Constraint: As a detectorist the biggest constraint you will face is Time. Unless you are a retired, full time dedicated hunter you want to maximize your hunting efficiency. And even if you are retired and can hunt everyday you still want to hunt effectively to cover more area maximizing finds. Thus the more constrained you are by "time" the more effective you need to be in digging in a trash laden environment. There is nothing wrong with digging the better sounding, more interesting signals first to more effectively sample an area for potential. Again... you are balancing the context with your constraint of time.

The third con is convergence: I am primarily a beach detectorist and I am always monitoring the local beaches for favorable conditions. Convergence is simply when favorable conditions and advantages overlap. This Convergence can be very advantageous for finding gold and silver. So if you have a recent storm, big erosion, a minus tide and a full moon... you have some great convergence stacking up to increase your odds.

Now converge your advantages even more by honing your detecting skills and knowing your sites and your context. The Icing on the cake is knowing your detector and how it responds to different metals with target signals. Note: If you are in a great detecting situation and you have honed your target identification skills you have the ability to dig it all or to be selective.

I remember being in that exact situation where the dunes had washed out after a big storm. There was a small area with hundreds and hundreds of targets and I had to dig it all. I had made the mistake of bringing a pulse detector. There were thousands of nails and bits of rebar that had washed out of the dunes. Intermixed were some items from a treasure wreck. I was effectively shut down by digging all the Iron. I chose to drive home and get my Excalibur. When I returned I was looking specifically for silver and gold signals. Silver on the Excalibur is relatively easy, because of the high pitch chime (It does overlap with lead and the screw on bottle caps). Gold is tougher in that the low tone overlaps with foil and can slaw. But it made perfect sense to scan the area and dig the high probability signals first before the tide came back in and moved the sand.

So understanding the context of your hunting situation combined with the constraints you are hunting under will influence your approach. And when convergence happens you have the option of digging it all to take advantage of great conditions or digging selectively to eliminate repeating nuisance targets. The Excalibur and CTX 3030 are both excellent machines for hunting in this regard.

If your hearing is not that good then the CTX 3030 display will be a valuable aid when you need to be selective. Regardless of what you use there are no rules other than have fun, be safe and fill your holes. Dig it all when it makes sense and be selective when it gives you and advantage to do so!

Best of Luck!

Tony Diana