[Closed] Detectorist help pls

Oops wrong forum..can it be moved?

Pub?

Garrett Ace 250. Very highly recommended beginner detector but with a surpringly high spec for the money. Got mine from LP on ebay. £189.

Arado?

(I'm sure someone from the DMDC will be along in a minute...)

Oh,I don't know what SNO means but I know me detectors!

Should warn you though. The soul destroying thing with detecting isn't digging up endless junk. You have to do that and it is a necessary evil.

("Discriminators" still signal junk. Indeed, you need them to or you are missing lots of good finds potentially.)

It's the hunt for land. If you have a farmer as a friend etc you are sorted.... But down here in the SE I've spent entire days, days, just driving from one land owner to another trying to get "permissions". Usually with not a single yes.

You're competing against other detectorists that have had permissions going back to the 80's in your area sometimes AND increasingly detecting clubs that pay a farmer to have exclusive use of his land...

It's the only part of the hobby I don't like, it can be soul destroying having a lovely new machine sat there with no where to go except for the beach.... beach detecting is ok down Cornwall etc but it's really not for everyone. Syringes galore and finds tend to be modern. Some love it though.

My advice, get "sno" into a club. The social side is great and motivates you during the MONTHS you might not find much. Just as important, they are likely to have land at their disposal.

Be warned, contrary to "Detectorists" most clubs have big waiting lists to join. If your in Kent I might be able to put some feelers out with a big local club?

Anyway... The ACE is great little machine. I and my lad had them. Simple to set-up and just "go".

If the hobby bites your looking at machines costing into the thousands potentially. Be warned. 😉

That said,I had the amazing honour of being at a club dig when £40,000 worth of Anglo Saxon jewellery was found. With a pretty humble detector too.

Amazing hobby. Takes you to incredible places and you meet some great people.

You must have the patience of a saint though! 😀

Ring pull. 1984. Tizer.

Should warn you though. The soul destroying thing with detecting isn't digging up endless junk. You have to do that and it is a necessary evil.

("Discriminators" still signal junk. Indeed, you need them to or you are missing lots of good finds potentially.)

It's the hunt for land. If you have a farmer as a friend etc you are sorted.... But down here in the SE I've spent entire days, days, just driving from one land owner to another trying to get "permissions". Usually with not a single yes.

This. Completely.

My youngest asked for a detector at Xmas and we bought her a Garrett. She loves it - the model down from the 250.

Luckily we have a couple of friends who have some land and we're rural so there are a few other options but the hunt for permissions is a nightmare. I made the mistake of looking through a few detectorist forums and there were full of old-timers railing against newbies for ruining permissions by asking farmers etc. We're in East Sussex and if there are any local clubs they keep themselves firmly to themselves.

If we weren't that lucky we'd be struggling. I used to go detecting with my dad and grandfather back when permissions were easier to come by (used to go bottle digging too). It's a lovely hobby and it's a pleasure to enjoy it with my daughter as I used to. But there are those who do it for profit and hence make it increasingly difficult for the majority by riding roughshod over the law.

The thing with detecting is that detectors are notoriously secretive and territorial. Lol

There is a land owner near me that has thousands of acres, thousands. Huge amount of history on it too.

One guy detects that land. One guy.

If he detected 7 days a week for the rest of his life he would only cover a fraction of it. Add ploughing into the mix (which brings finds to the surface, replenishing a "worked out field") and the guy is effectively covering even less ground.

Genuinely, no one will be on that land until the guy pops his clogs. Even then, the land owner simply might not let anyone else on it. It's his land after all.

I know of guys that have had feuds lasting decades over "stolen land" another detectorist supposedly pinched! Lol

Anyway...

There are "pay as you go" clubs. Not really clubs as such but it gives you the ability to get on some good land sometimes. Have a look at Weekend Wanderers for instance. Veggie we found a local club I would think nothing of a 200 mile round yep on a Sunday to get to Weekend Wanderer did sometimes as it was the only way we had to get on land...

There will be clubs in East Sussex though bud. Treasure Hunting mag used to list them. Probably still does. Your problem is getting into the club. I waited 2 years to get into a club once.

Oh, when seeking permissions, take your daughter with you. I used to do the same when my lad was young. Occasionally a landowner will relent as he doesn't want to say no to a sweet little kid.Lol You seriously have to be creative. Get business cards printed with a custom design you make with your contacts details and a pic of a gold coin on etc.

Detectorists tend to be greedy too, only going for big areas of land. This can be good for you. Knock on the doors of paddock owners or anyone really with half an acre here, half an acre there. The old timers don't bother with them so much. Generally don't bother with farms on anything resembling main roads. Sometimes they get 2 or 3 knocks a day from people seeking land. Go along the tiny little roads no one thinks of, that's where you can get lucky getting permissions.

Lastly for now! .... On days where the weather is bad or your daughter is flagging through a lack of finds.... Buy fine cheap coins off eBay and palm them as they dig a bit of junk up. "Always check the hole sweetheart, could be another signal in there (very good advice by the way!! )" then as you're both raking through the soil you drop the soiled coin... Boom! That keeps most kids going for another hour or 2 minimum!

Roman coins are as cheap as chips on eBay. 😉

But there are those who do it for profit and hence make it increasingly difficult for the majority by riding roughshod over the law.

Yeah, nighthawkers do a lit of damage, physically and destroy good will too.
However, the big thing these days is that you are competing for land against big clubs now. Or club sometimes gives a farmer circa £400 for a single days detecting on their land. Cash in hand just digging holes in fields the farmer isn't currently making any money from. Money really does talk to farmers. There are even organised trips soley for American detecting tourists that come over these days. It can be big business now.

Yeah, nighthawkers do a lit of damage, physically and destroy good will too.

Down our way, the local Crimestoppers bulletins are full of either farm plant being nicked or farmers waking up to 50+ holes over their fields, planted up or otherwise.

My daughter and I have both joined the NCMD- she found an NCMD enamel badge on eBay and proudly wears it to school. She also got a subscription to one of the detecting magazines so she's super keen - she has dug up the garden but quickly discovered that the prior owner was a plumber and much of the subsoil is littered with his junk that he used to backfill.

I'll have a more determined look for a local club. As per previous - we've 20 acres of pasture and woodland - a friend's small farm that's been attached to a household going back to before 16thc. That should keep us going for a good while yet and we're surrounded by history (down in the Weald - like much of the UK you're surrounded by it - for example there's a Roman ironworks site that covers 7 acres about 0.25 miles from the house...).

..But typically the local landowners aren't keen on detectorists as a rule.

So as a landowner with a modest patch of land (2.5-3 ha total including ~1ha of woodland) how would you go about testing the water to see if anyone would be interested in detectoristing on it? Is there some sort of standard permission contract that is signed? Can you bargain for a cut of the ££££ when they find the loot?

So as a landowner with a modest patch of land (2.5-3 ha total including ~1ha of woodland) how would you go about testing the water to see if anyone would be interested in detectoristing on it? Is there some sort of standard permission contract that is signed? Can you bargain for a cut of the ££££ when they find the loot?

For example:

https://www.ncmd.co.uk/search-agreement/

You agree a split - typically 50/50 but it's in the land-owners hands...

goldfish24 - Member

Ring pull. 1984. Tizer.

😆

Thanks for all the info. SNO is significant nurturing other...my girlfriend!

We live in rural N Wales and my gf is first language Welsh speaker. Im hoping this goes some way to her getting some permissions....we shall see.

I will check out the machines now ive been given a steer.

Thanks

@poopscoop, I'm in Kent too. I thought about joining a club but I'm not keen on the competitive nature, 'find of the month' stuff. Just want to add to the historical record if I can. Do you know the FLO? Just wondered how we?l it works when you make an interesting find. Also, do you have your own youtube channel, 'addictedtobleeps' Kris has the enthusiasm I like.