Gambling and luck

Two things I rarely do is gamble or rely on luck, which is kind of ironic as some people associate treasure hunting with compulsive gambling.
I watched an Oak island special recently with a human behavior expert who stated how treasure hunters have several things in common with compulsive gamblers.
I am not a compulsive gambler was my first reaction, but then I thought about how many detectorists do resemble compulsive gamblers.
What I mean by that is people who continually search the same site or sites hoping to get lucky one more time.
When I thought about it some more, it dawned on me how much I rely on detectorists rolling the dice on areas known for previously paying out, hoping to get lucky just because other people have in the same areas.
I often say on this blog and in my metal detecting books how I play the percentages hitting a site, but I play the percentages to beat other gamblers and the house. 
There are only so many finds on any given day at a site, the more gamblers showing up at the same site hoping to get lucky the less winning chances they really have.
On the flip side, the less people hitting a site the more your percentages of winning or finding something good increase. 
Of course your odds of a successful hunt only increase if you stop going to the same darn sites as everyone else with a metal detector, kind of similar to obsessively playing the same slot machine every one else plays over and over again.
If I am going to play the percentages I want to be more like the owner of the casino, knowing I stand to gain a certain return percentage every time no matter what.
You can be a lucky so and so without ever having to rely on luck, research and timing are way more important than luck to a detectorist. 
Here is a novel approach to metal detecting that has worked quite well for me over the years, research potential detecting sites, search them and if you do find something good keep that site information in your top pocket until it is time to hit the site again. 
Research and timing baby! but timing also refers to being in the right place at the right time which in my opinion has very little to do with luck.
Put yourself in the right place at the right time by going to places that other detectorists would probably not bother to search.
Let other people gamble on small pay outs at known sites with the metal detecting crowd.  
"Unfavorable conditions for finding treasure" is code for lack of imagination and it is no coincidence unfavorable or sanded-in conditions only happen to the detecting crowd hoping to get lucky at the same sites.
My display case has many "Poor beach conditions ratings" finds that came about because I zigged somewhere different while others zagged at the same old sites. 
Some of my best finds are the prequels to the "I hit the beach two hours before low tide" stories you read on metal detecting forums, snagged while local beach and water hunters gambled on waiting for a low tide to change their fortunes.
It did change their fortunes and I love the stuff I recovered while they waited at home for that magical two hours before low tide time.
The odds of finding something good are always in your favor when you are a positive detectorist with imagination. 
Treasure is where you find it, literally!

available at www.garydrayton.com

De-masking solutions for detectorists

There are several different target masking problems a detectorist has to deal with, but iron masking is the most widely known reason why a potentially good non ferrous target would not be detected laying next to an iron object. 
In my opinion ground noise is just as bad at masking good targets as iron objects, especially if you are a beach hunter.
Saltwater beach hunters have to deal with salt the one mineral that causes many metal detectors to become chattery and potentially hide desirable targets in the chattery feedback. 
Add salt to a mix of other minerals in the ground and you have a potential target masking problem much worse than iron masking.
If lowering your sensitivity will not make a difference over difficult ground you are probably using a search coil that is too big for the search area.
Use a large search coil over difficult ground and you will make the problem even worse as a large search coil reads more ground.
The more difficult ground your search coil reads the more good targets you will miss in the feedback from tough ground.
One way to avoid potential ground masking problems in difficult ground is to use a smaller search coil on your metal detector.
In many difficult ground cases, it is like night and day using a small search coil in the same area a large search coil struggled.
At many of my favorite sites I use small search coils to insure I do not miss any "Finger tip finds" which are easily hidden in mineralized ground using a large search coil. 

Just like the low beams seeing better thru the fog analogy, small search coils see better thru the thick fog of difficult ground. 
Changing your search coil often translates into changing your fortunes for a detectorist searching over difficult ground because you can not dig what you can not hear. 
For more tips on how to find old coins and artifacts in difficult to detect areas check out my website at www.garydrayton.com 

The shelly winters fan club

I love searching along shell lines in Florida during the winter months, especially after high winds and surf leave thick carpets of shells on the lower beach. 
Although I use a couple of different metal detectors with VDI screens, my twin optical scanners are not often on the screen they are on the sand I am walking over trying to eye ball interesting things. 
Metal detecting over a line of shells is a good way to increase your observational skills at the beach. 
Before I was into metal detecting I loved "Mud hopping" a local shire term to describe searching for bottles and clay pipes along tidal river banks.
I still use many of the things I learned from my old bottle hunting days while searching shell lines today, one of those things is to always be on the look out for anything out of place.
A shape with straight sides or an unusual color that catches your eye, if in doubt always stop and pick anything up that catches your eye as being odd, because not all Bobby Dazzlers are found using a metal detector.
On the Treasure coast of Florida you may have to pick up ninety nine pieces of sea glass before the hundredth one turns out to be a shipwreck emerald.
This large vase full of sea glass represents two shelly winters of sea glass, that is a lot of "Could it be?" moments even for an Oak Island fan.

I do not just see shells on the lower beach, I see opportunities to recover non metal objects that can often be worth more than the metal targets you are searching for using a metal detector.
Many "Eyes only" treasure finds make treasure hunting headlines around the world, from ambergris and precious gems to messages in bottles and fossils. 
Keep your eyes on shell lines and take anything you deem to be unusual home with you, sometimes you do not know what you have until you do some research.
Believe me, there is no better feeling than picking up a fantastic find that was just laying in a shell line waiting for you to come along and pick it up.
I meet many beach combers on my travels and I have heard some amazing stories of top pocket finds and bobby dazzlers being picked up by people searching for nice shells. 
Join the shelly winters fan club, membership is free and the rewards are often fantastic!

Shore things

This is my idea of fun, searching a rocky shoreline at low tide for old coins and artifacts. 

Searching uninhabited islands is always interesting because you know back in the day, there was only two ways to get to an island, either by boat or swimming.
Beaches around islands are great places to recover old coins and artifacts lost by people attempting to get on or off the island.
The rockier the beach the more chance you have of recovering something interesting, I wear my big boots with good grip because of slippery rocks.
I can not imagine trying to get in or out of a boat back in the day, probably having to carry a weapon or two wading over slippery rocks. 
No wonder musket balls are common finds on island beaches, either lost by people wading ashore or lost by people hunting along the shoreline. 
Other common finds on island beaches are buckles, buttons and coins, along with jewelry.
If you slip and fall you are going to use your hand to stop your fall and probably kiss goodbye to your ring if you push your hand into sand. 
Coins roll out of pockets as people pull themselves into boats or jump out of boats into the water. 
Once you are ashore, buttons and buckles snag, pop or snap off jackets & pants, as you brush past branches or bushes on the edge of the island.
Eventually a regular crossing or landing site may be established, perhaps a wharf or dock is built and camps are made for extended stays on an island.
Unusually high numbers of old coins or artifacts in one area are perhaps a sign of an old crossing point, landing site or inland camp. 
All of these things make island beaches an excellent record of visitors to the island over the years.
Whenever you see an offshore island you can be sure someone back in the day took the time to check the island out, it is just human nature to see what is out there.
Not all artifacts you find on island beaches were taken and lost there, a lot of really cool old objects are put there by Mother Nature during storms.
One of my favorite things to search for is old glass bottles and you will find plenty of old glass around islands, including old glass fishing floats from far away.
Ironically, unless there is a causeway to an island you are going to have to do the same thing they did back in the day to get there, swim or take a boat.
Although jet skis and kayaks make scouting trips to offshore islands fun, just make sure you are not trespassing and following local laws. 
It is island o'clock somewhere if you want to check some place different to search.

Treasure legends & mysteries

There are many treasure legends connected to different parts of the world and if you do your research you will probably find a treasure legend or mystery associated with an area near you.
Ive been lucky enough to take part in several well known searches for lost treasure, even my email address pays homage to one I have spent years trying to solve or at least add to. 
Growing up in Lincolnshire England I had dreams of finding the fabled King Johns treasures, the English Crown Jewels lost somewhere in the "Wash" fenlands in the year 1216. 
Bottle digging around the fens I figured I always had a chance of spotting a gold kings crown covered in rubies and mud. 
Putting down roots in Florida, the Spanish treasure legend of the lost queens dowry and the Spanish 1715 fleet grabbed my attention.
After seeing the first piece of Spanish silver I scooped and held in my hand, the first case of  "Spanish fever" was confirmed in the Drayton family and I have been struggling with a cure ever since. 
My emerald treasure ring could easily be part of the dowry and destined to be worn by Philip Vs second wife the Duchess of Parma, if not for a hurricane destroying the fleet along the Treasure Coast of Florida 305 years ago. 
There are several other treasure mysteries in Florida and further away I have searched and recovered a number of cool finds at, but as they are a work in progress I will leave you in suspense.
Research is the key to going in search of treasure legends or treasure mysteries because there is always some event or perhaps mystery find that triggered the initial search.  
When trying to track down a lead I always try to put myself back in the day, imagining what an area looked like and why an event occurred where it did.
From recent experiences and objects recovered, I can tell you that you have a great chance of recovering some interesting finds if you at least take the time to give it a try.
You may not find the legendary treasure or solve the treasure mystery in your area, but perhaps you will find something from the same period equally as good.
Many unknown shipwrecks and treasures are discovered by people searching for known shipwrecks and treasures.
I have recovered several valuable pieces of modern jewelry trying to locate lost jewelry for people.
This is one reason why I am happy to help people who have lost jewelry, you never know what else you are going to find searching for a lost item. 
Perhaps now is a great time to broaden your treasure hunting horizons, research the history of your area, take a chance on a little history and mystery and see what you can find.

                                  available at www.garydrayton.com

The most difficult things to detect at the beach

I am a firm believer that target separation is more important than target depth, especially at the beach.
You would be amazed how many Bobby Dazzlers you simply walk over at the beach without even knowing it.
Valuable objects waiting to be recovered by the right person who knows they are at a site but more importantly knows how to recover them!
Many of my best beach treasure hunting days were made after spending hours meticulously and sometimes frantically searching one small area I knew had to hold what I was searching for.
Good beach treasure hunting days do not come easy, but with work hard, patience and a little faith you can experience the thrill of recovering awesome things you put the time in to search for.
My best finds come from some of the lamest looking beach sites, good finds I had to "Winkle" out.
For example beach entrances, areas other people turn their metal detectors on and walk away from, where water hunters enter the water and search away from.
It makes sense right? why hang around a trashy area when you can search for jewelry, coins or artifacts in quite areas, wrong!
Beach entrances are perfect examples of trashy areas used by a lot of people, bottle caps, ring pulls, fishing junk, aluminum foil and clad coins will make searching a popular beach entrance a lesson in frustration.
Perhaps it is understandable why a person using a metal detector would want to walk away from the trashy area, something you can use to your advantage if you understand how target masking works.
A humble one cent coin sounds like it is the size of a man hole cover when you run your search coil over it at the beach, a tin can responds the same way.
Add quarters, dimes, pull tabs and fishing weights to the area and you have a noisy minefield of undesirable objects to navigate in order to recover something of real value.
All undesirable metal objects are more than capable of masking a gold ring, old treasure coin or diamond tennis bracelet. 
One persons trash often hides another persons treasure at the beach, if you have the patience to pick thru the trash to find the treasure. 
Some of my best gold chains came off beaches after three day holiday weekends, I recovered a couple after using my secret beach hunting weapon a size 11 dive boot.
Taking the time to foot swipe tin cans, towels or fast wrappers to one side before sweeping my search coil over the trash free sand.
I have recovered dozens of diamond rings including these three beauties after investing in a few pennies, taking the time to recover several pennies from the same area instead of walking away. 

The most difficult things to detect at a beach are good things hidden between and close to trash.
Im not saying you have to dig everything, but you certainly have to remove or move a lot of unwanted stuff to get to what you are really searching for.
Iron objects mask many good targets at the beach, non ferrous objects mask just as many good targets. 

Stay safe

I was thinking back at some of the stunts I have pulled over the years treasure hunting and only one word describes it, yikes! 
Now more than ever safety is important as no treasure is worth dying for, or being featured as that guy out on the beach by the local news crew lol
I am staying home making sure I do not make treasure hunting headlines for the wrong reasons, I also have a longer honey do list than most married guys being away filming for weeks or months at a time. 
Perhaps wisdom really does comes with age because I cannot imagine doing stuff in the name of treasure like I used to do.
From searching in rivers with gators and moving water moccasins out the way with my scoop to being bumped by sharks and being trailed by a Florida panther before dawn, I took far too many risks in the past. 
During times of rough surf I would be the guy you see on the beach cams getting slammed against the cut, I have also been out on the beach during my share of tropical storms and approaching hurricanes.
Looking back I found nothing that could not have waited a few more hours to safely find. 
Another thing I do not miss is the heated run ins with territorial beach hunters on late evening and early morning beach hunts.
Really, getting bent out of shape because another person is metal detecting at the same public beach? 
Ive been cursed at and even threatened to be shot at one heavily hunted South Florida beach, the reason I avoid other beach hunters and heavily hunted sites as much as possible. 
I am still a slippery son of a beach but I now rely on site selection and history of the site to help me avoid taking unnecessary risks. 
A state wide stay at home order and closed beaches have shut me down and I intend to comply staying as safe as possible until this is hopefully over soon.
I have searched a few dangerous areas this year, but I made sure I was covered up, made plenty of ground noise and took as few risks as possible.
In the water I now avoid metal detecting before dawn or after sunset when I know I am probably on the menu.
Sometimes it is easy to get carried away in the moment, especially when you find one or two things you are searching for in an area. 
I remember hand fanning a target by a hole in a coral reef a few years back eager to see another good find, but I mostly remember the size of the moral eel that slowly came out of the hole in front of me.
Dang the open mouth on that beautiful predator as it slowly took a u-turn around me had some teeth in it, situational awareness is unfortunately sometimes only learned on the job.
In my opinion, treasure was not worth dying for before and it certainly is not worth dying for now.
Treasure can wait until I get there, patience can be a virtue for a hardcore treasure hunter. 
Stay safe my fellow treasure hunting friends!

available at www.garydrayton.com

Jewelry hunting sites away from the beach

Although most people associate searching for jewelry using a metal detector with beaches you may be surprised just how many good jewelry hunting sites are located miles away from the closest beach.

When people find out I am into metal detecting the conversation inevitably leads to a story about something they lost and how they wish they had a metal detector at the time.

It also seems like everyone has lost a piece of jewelry somewhere other than at the beach and the story is never lost on me.

Here are a few of the most popular and interesting sites I have been told people lost their wedding band, favorite bracelet or diamond earrings at.

Inland lakes, ponds and rivers

Show me a lake, pond or river and I will show you a location people told me they lost jewelry at, including boat ramps and boat houses, fishing spots, piers, swimming areas, tubing and rafting areas, tree swing ropes, old mining and logging areas, river crossings and barge locks to name a few.

One site that is often mentioned by people losing gold rings and watches is gas pumping stations on intracoastal waterways, stories ending in I heard a plop tying-up the boat and my ring or watch was gone.

Imagine how many old coins you can also find at all of these inland water sites?

Golf courses

If you have a friend who can get you permission to metal detect at the local golf course when the course is being remodeled or landscaped you could get a gold in one! 

Every time I see a golf course I think of all the stories Ive been told of people losing jewelry driving golf balls, getting on or off golf carts and toting golf bags.

Im not telling you to pull a Carl from the caddy shack movie, but if you know an abandoned golf course grab your metal detector!

Dog parks

So many people lose jewelry at dog parks and for good reason, the little buggars get you picking up poop, throwing, running, jumping and playing with them, all activities that cause people to lose jewelry. 

The older the dog park the more chance you have of finding old fido name tags and old coins too.

You often see lost ring, chain or watch flyers posted outside dog park gates.

If you decide to go thru a mine field of dog poop make sure you know how to use a small trowel to cut a plug in the grass, replace the plug and leave the area looking how you found it.

Gas stations and public restrooms

Every "I took off my expensive diamond ring or watch to pump gas or wash my hands in the restroom" story I have ever heard has never had a happy ending. 

Which is the reason why you will see me checking out the top of the gas pumps whenever I fill my tank and checking out the bathroom sinks when I use a public restroom.

You'll all be doing it now lol 

The local park 

First of all your target recovery skills, plug cutting and replacing cut grass plug skills have to be spot on if you intend top go jewelry hunting at the local park.
Even if you are not digging in grass you still have to leave the place how you found it. 

Most jewelry stories in the local park have to do with people sitting around ball fields or playing with the kids.

Any area of the park where people play with kids is a potential jewelry hunting site, sandy or mulch covered tot lots being some of my favorite areas to test small search coils at. 

The older the park the more chances of recovering old jewelry and coins if you know where to look.

Old photos or post cards of a park are excellent snapshots of the past, perhaps showing concession sites, picnic areas, tree swings, park benches or other places people lost valuables long ago.

  
available at www.garydrayton.com 

Search coil selection

I like to use various types, shape and size search coils to help me winkle out what I'm am searching for at search sites. 
This is one of the reasons I use a Minelab CTX 3030 or Minelab Equinox, they have a wide range of accessory search coils. 
A couple of times this year Ive been in very good metal detecting situations away from home and my choice of one single search coil to travel with was probably not the best choice of search coil for the area. 
I did ok as in detecting and recovering very cool finds, but I know I could and should have done much better, dont worry I will not make the same mistake three times lol 
Leaving potential good finds in play happens when you are not using the correct search coil for the area or intended targets, most problems connected to search coil selection have to do with using the wrong type, shape or size search coil.
For example, using a large search coil at a very trashy site or searching for targets known to be shallow is not the best option.
You will suffer from both iron and target masking using a large search coil at a trash infested site.
A small size search coil is not the best choice at a site when searching for older coins or artifacts that are often only detected in deeper levels of sand or soil. 
Assuming the area isn't too trashy, you gotta go big or go home empty handed. 
The type of search coil could also be a problem, for example using a mono type search coil in a heavily mineralized area, where a double-d type search coil is a better choice because they are not effected by difficult ground as much as mono search coils.
The low beams in foggy conditions analogy best describes using a double-d search coil over difficult ground.
On the flip side, a mono search coil with its deeper inverted cone or bowl detection field will punch deeper over less difficult ground, horses for courses is another analogy Ill throw out there. 
Typically the search coil that comes with your metal detector is the best average search coil for your metal detector, meaning it is considered to respond to the widest variety of targets at a good variety of depths.
You play the percentages using the search coil that came with your metal detector, speciality type or size search coils in all types, shapes and sizes serve a speciality search agenda.
I always tell people thinking about buying a new metal detector to think about buying a different search coil for the metal detector they have before giving up on their metal detector as search coil selection could make a difference.
A metal detector not known to be the deepest seeking can be transformed into a deep seeking beast using an extra large accessory search coil.
A metal detector known to have a slow target recovery speed in trashy areas can be transformed into a killer trashy area unit using a small six inch sniper search coil.
Small size search coils lack target depth but because they read less ground and other metal objects around them they excel  as sniper coils, detecting high value targets an 11-inch search coil user probably wouldn't have a chance of hearing.
The difference between going home empty handed or with a top pocket find often has more to do with search coil selection than being in the right place at the right time.
When you know you are in the right place it pays to have the right search coil on your metal detector.
Note to self, extra search coil, extra search coil, extra search coil, extra search coil!