Metal detecting is a hobby I fall in love with pretty much the first time I knew about it! I don’t know how that happened, yet this is the case of most people who go out digging on a regular basis.
… But, is Metal Detecting a Good Hobby? Metal Detecting has the potential and all the characteristics to be really a great hobby! In fact, everybody from all ages can practice it, the learning curve is not hard at all, it is very enjoyable, the entry is not that expensive and the rewards that you can earn down the road could be highly valuables.
In addition, it is interesting to know more about what it takes to start practicing this leisure the proper way. So you won’t make the most common mistakes that most beginners make.
What Makes from Metal Detecting a Great Hobby?
Weeks ago, I’ve read a nice book by Mark Smith called “Metal Detecting – A guide to Mastering the Greatest Hobby in the World”. This was one of the best books I’ve ever read about the topic and it worth every penny and minute I’ve spent.
After reading this book, I become more aware that Metal Detecting is actually a great and fun activity!
In fact, it is an opportunity to find out more about history of a specific site. Whether it was an old trading side or just a field that has witnessed a civil war before, finding something in these historical places has really a wonderful taste.
This activity in an opportunity to go outside and enjoy every moment to its fullest. If you’ve ever had the chance to try it, you will notice that time runs quickly, much quickly than usual!
Even the time when you come back home full of dirt everywhere on your body! The time when you are getting your shower and cleaning your finds is really enjoyable.
What’s also great about this hobby is that there is no age restriction whatsoever! If you are a kid, a man, a women or an elderly you can learn and do a great job metal detecting.
It is also a smart way to keep your body fit and healthy! Pretty often, you find out that you’ve walked 5 or 10 miles or even more while detecting. Even the oldest practitioners feel their body to be pretty fit due to that! In addition, this hobby includes other kinds of significant efforts like digging and squatting that are all good for your body.
Is metal detecting fun?
It is really rare to feel bored or something like that while practicing this hobby! Indeed, you rarely walk around without hearing signals for potential finds. Of course, you can dig whenever you hear something, but you will soon find out that some of these signals could come from metals from no value.
So you will need to do each time some adjustments on your device to be able to discriminate unwanted stuff.
The time between the moment you hear a signal that could indicates something valuable and the when you start digging to find out the target is really fun and thrilling.
When you find something valuable (gold, gemstone, relic …) or that marks a historical period like a coin then a nice feeling just take over. Indeed, you start researching for the country the find came from and its date which is a fun process to undergo.
I don’t know what country you live in. But in the US there are many metal detecting clubs that you can join and meet nice people in there. By joining them, you can learn tons of new stuff, like the locations you can go dig in, some great tips that you can take advantage of as well as having some help if you’ve got issues with your metal detector for example …
It is alsoa great opportunity to give back and help people to find back their lost stuff.Things like keys, rings as well as other lost properties.
What makesthis hobby even more fun is the numerous online forums out there! It is a greatopportunity to develop relationships, ask questions, help people and also shareyour finds with the community.
MetalDetecting Forum is one of the most known forums online, there are many others!
I find it also a great way to get some help identifying your finds! Indeed, sometimes you have a hard time identifying what you’ve just found, so submitting some pictures to these forums could be really helpful as many experienced people would really appreciate helping you!
Metal detecting is a sweet hobby for travelers
If you travel often throughout the year, Metal Detecting could be a great asset for you to enjoy your travel in a much better way! Indeed, you will take time to learn more about history of the country you are travelling to. Also, you will have the chance to visit more locations in that country and get the chance to find different targets.
Metal detecting is practiced, almost, it all countries. It is even frequent to find local groups and communities of hobbyist that you can reach out to.
The only thing you need to take into consideration is the law. In fact, you should take your time to learn about the laws of the country you are visiting. Also find out the allowed locations for detecting and the procedures to get permission!
You really should have a check at this list of the best countries to metal detect! There are many countires where you can have lot of fun!
Metal Detecting could be a family hobby!
There are several families who have a hard time having fun together doing something fun! Each member of the family enjoys doing something different from the others. There is nothing wrong with that!
But why not practicing an enjoyable activity all together. I mean this would a nice opportunity to have family time on different places than the breakfast or dinner table!
There are many parents who teach this hobby to their kids. And many kids find it enjoyable once they start understanding the principles of the game and better yet, when they start finding interesting targets.
This hobby is an opportunity to make some serious money
If you buy a Metal Detector and start digging to find a fortune and become a millionaire, you are probably in the wrong place! By making serious money, I don’t mean a fortune; I don’t even mean quitting your job and making a living out of metal detecting.
Instead, I mean that after you gain enough experience, you will understand the techniques to find valuable targets. They could be relics, old coins or even gold nuggets or gemstones.
And of course, you can trade all these for money! You can have a look at these good tips to sell detection finds …
There is a little dark side about this hobby
You need to understand that there is a little dark side about this activity. Even if I don’t consider it to be a big deal at all, yet you need to be at least aware of that.
While detecting it is common to find aluminum cans and pull tabs. As they are thrown all over the place, you need a little bit of time and practice to start discriminating signals indicating these kinds of stuff.
You also need to know that there are several types of ground that are pretty filled with iron. This could prevent you from reaching actual valuable targets.
There is also the constraint of weather, that is, sometimes it will be rainy or the ground covered with lot of snow! Also, the ground might be soaked after rain and even muddy.
Don’t get me wrong, it is still fun to practice this leisure under these circumstances. Yet, some people may not find it that way and would rather detect under much more comfortable conditions.
Finally, I want to add that not every site or location is allowed for metal detecting. In other words, you need to know about the law of your city, state or country before you go out digging. Otherwise, you may have some legal trouble with local authorities.
For private properties, keep in mind that permission is needed from the owner. This could include a legal contract or even sharing the finds value with him. Getting permission is not always an easy task, yet it is totally worth it as these private properties are unusually profitable.
Best hobby Metal Detector
If you are just starting out, don’t complicate things by buying an expensive device that usually has a long learning curve. The long time that you will spend learning about using it, is enough to get bored, loose interest and just give up.
One of the best machines you can start with is those from Bounty Hunter. First of all they are really affordable; they are not heavy at all and pretty easy to use.
Bounty machines are really very effective to find coins! And if you’ve got a kid who wants to start, he can use that machine as well.
You can check one of my favorite machines here at Amazon! It is very good for new hobbyists !!
Move from hobby to professional metal detecting
It starts by being just a leisure that you enjoy, but it could also end being a somehow a profession. I mean, you should not aim for that especially at the beginning. However, there are some cases in which you can practice this activity professionally.
Thus, it is important to know what the possibilities are!
Using Professional Metal Detectors: You can’t say that you are a professional unless you are using a highly professional and eventually expensive device! They are not easy to use, but they are the ones that will actually help you find great things if used properly.
Find lost objects: Thereare numerous professionals and group of detecting professionals who provideservices for those who’ve lost something valuable. It could be car keys, a goldring or anything like that. The Ring Finders are notorious for theseservices and you can hire them if you accidently loose something. Of coursethis doesn’t come overnight; these people are averaging 20 to 40 years ofexperience!
Giving advice about machines: Once you’ve experienced lot of detectors you will have enough credentials to teach that to people or even to give advice for those who need it. This could be really useful, because it is pretty common that people choose the wrong machine especially at the beginning.
Troubleshooting: If you get highly experienced in several types of machines; you can even be able to fix them in case there is something wrong. You can’t do that unless you’ve accumulated tons of expertise.
Conclusion
You should understand that metal detecting is a wonderful hobby; it needs some practice and learning! But once you will start finding valuable targets then you will never stop!
Hopefully, this post answers your questions! If so, you can share it with others to spread value.
I really want to hear from you … Could you talk about your experience practicing this activity? If you haven’t started yet, do you feel pumped up to start after reading this article?
Finally, I am sure that you will be interesting about the possibilities to make some cash! If so, have a look at this helpful article on making a living metal detecting … You will learn some clever tips!
