Well I had a pretty interesting inaugural detecting season. I fell onto this hobby by pure coincidence back in June of 2022. if I’m to be honest. I didn’t buy my first detector with the intent that this hobby was going to be my next passionate hobby. Anyone that knows me or has met me, or that follows my detecting posts has probably heard me say this was solely intended to be a past time with my family when we went to some local beaches giving me something to do while my partner and our son played in the water.
However, as we all know, that fairytale ended as soon as I got my dirty little paws onto my first item dug with my first metal detector, the Minelab Vanquish340. and the item I pulled from the grassy park area beside Joel Stone Beach in Gananoque was a 1cent Canadian penny dated from 1950. It was so many firsts of a long list of firsts to come.
It was my first item dug, my first coin, first penny, first currency, the first George the VI small cent I’d ever seen. Infact it’s the first ever Canadian currency I’d laid eyes on not behind glass or in a display that had not had Queen Elizabeth II on it. I thought it was so interesting that I Quickly wanted to go to more and more sites, & find more amazing items like this first penny.
After watching some YouTube videos and tutorials on metal detecting I realized that the machine I bought was not a very good machine, don’t get me wrong, it was still a Vanquish, & Minelab Vanquish machines are actually not bad machines but the lower end model like the 340 just didn’t have some of the features I knew I would want if I were to get into this hobby more seriously. So after some research I decided that although I really wanted the Minelab Equinox 800 I simply wasn’t ready to take the plunge with that kind of financial investment into the hobby, at least not just yet anyway.
So I opted for what I figured was essentially the cheaper version of the Equinox series of detectors, and stayed with the vanquish series only the top model within the series and went with the Minelab Vanquish 540 model instead. Also by this point (month 2), I had already bought so many (if not all the necessity items) I believe one needs when starting this hobby I just needed the better metal detector at this point.
My link to metal detecting necessity items
I absolutely loved my new machine it was deep, accurate, had a pinpointer right on the machine and even had a red backlight for the night hunting that I absolutely loved. So many more functions than my previous 340 machine,
(This new machine was perfect, or so I thought it was, & then a couple months went by!
(Month 4)
All of a sudden I saw an Equinox 600 come up for sale on Facebook. The sister machine to the Equinox 800, “you remember, the machine I really wanted from the start”, & it was on for a great price too.
Ok well I actually tried not to buy this machine, no really I did, I did everything I could to try and convince the owner to reconsider selling the unit considering her reasoning for selling was because her, nor her mother, could understand the machine and therefor ended up getting frustrated and board with the hobby after only 1 outing with the machine.
I offered to take them out and show them how the machine works and if they still didn’t like it only then would I consider buying their machine from them.
So the very next day I headed out to meet with the owners to pick up my NEW Equinox 600 LOL. 4 months into this hobby and I had moved on to my 3rd metal detector. Each one better then the last.
Most people would believe I would be done at 3 machines in my first season surly? Well the truth of it was I had 3 machines 1 of which I had not been using much at all after just the first couple weeks with it, I had lent it out to others a couple times, but the reality was, the 340 had served it’s time within my quickly growing collection of detectors. Besides I had been doing my research on Detectors and I had actually found what I believed to be very compatible with my favourite mid range metal detector “the Equinox 800” and also compatible with my other (not yet mentioned ) hidden favorite machine for the average hobbyists, The Deus 2 but for a much better price point.
In August I had finished writing my first volume to a series of metal detecting books I’ll be writing over the next few years. These books are intended to share personal stories and tips and tricks to the hobby as I learn.
Of course Id like to think that one day I could have the Minelab Manticore but the reality is I think even tho it’s not out in stores at the moment I would like to hear the reviews before I jump in and pre order one. Besides it’s starting to get up in cost with the upperclass models and not so much for the average hobbyist.
The Equinox 800 =$1300.00 +
The Deus II =$2100 +
Minelab Manticore =$2200+
So back in September I started a local Facebook group (called, The Dirt Diggers Of Kingston) to which the group now has 26 local members. Many of our members are new to the hobby, but several are not new at all and have been very helpful when it comes to identifying some old or odd looking artifacts. And contributing with some amazing finds in the area, or posting videos to their YouTube channels.
I had also started my own informative YouTube Channel called Swinging Coils it’s an informative channel designed to take you through what it’s like going from a beginner detectorist to a veteran detectorist and how long does that take ? Only time will tell.
https://www.youtube.com/@swingingcoils
In October I had joined an International group called the Ring Finders . This group of detectorists allowed me to join them for a short while until they found I had been a detectorist with less than a year’s experience. They are an organization of metal detectorists that will help people find and recover lost items. One of the requirements of becoming a “Ring Finder” is you must have 1 year’s experience under your belt, so when I was told this I completely understood and am hoping to rejoin them again in June when my years anniversary date is up.
My Facebook group had gotten together in November at a local beach to do a clean up day. We met several members within the group and had a successful day of taking some very sharp and dangerous items off the beach.
The video of the cleanup can be found at the following link.
Well my research has continued as to what machine I feel might be the best fit for me yet. Don’t get me wrong I love my Equinox 600 from Minelab and have become quite comfortable with its settings and am able to typically guess many of the items prior to actually digging them out of the ground,
now really that is what you want in your machine. (Trust) right? Of course you do! However, there was a machine I have been researching over the past several months that had caught my eye specifically. This machine is not the most expensive machine out there, but had become a contender with some of the other big boys on the market such as the Equinox 800, and even the XP Deus 2. In some tests, this machine has done even better than my fan favourites. It has put a lot of old veteran detectorists in shock with its performance and so I had to add this machine to my arsenal of equipment.
Especially after I met with one of our group members who is also the Canadian representative for this machines company. And yes, I had been researching this machine prior to having known about or met the rep for the machine. although when this individual put this machine in my hands for the first time, I was immediately sold lol. This was a solid unit, much more sturdy than my Equinox, a smidge heavier but it had backbone to it, absolutely zero wobble in the machine when I swung the coil over the ground, the Bluetooth headphones were crystal clear, I didn’t want to give the machine back as soon as I handled it lol. The functions on the machine rivalled my equinox, but I couldn’t help but notice that the similarities between this new machine and the equinox could not have been a mistake. It seems this machine was modeled after the equinox, Infact there was no mistaking it. However it seems that this machine had a few more features and could possibly be one of my favourite machines, new and improved, better cousin, and all for even less money invested.
In my mind the deal was sealed. I had found my next machine to purchase, and with Christmas just around the corner, now seemed like the perfect time. Lol
Now I definitely did not need a collection of metal detectors in my home, nor do I need to listen to my very wise partner complain to me that I am spending more on this hobby than her or the family lol. I Mean I do want a couple of machines for myself and my mrs to use, especially when we are out at a beach for family fun day, but 4 machines in the house was much too excessive.
So It was time to thin out my collection a bit before making this next purchase. I decided to sell off my 2 Vanquish machines, the 340, & the 540. It was actually hard to let go of the 540 as it was & is, such a great machine, easy to use, not too many settings so get someone confused or deterred from the hobby, powerful, & in all honesty if it had been a waterproof unit, I may have never needed or wanted to look for another machine. It may be the perfect (for me) unit, if it were waterproof. But it’s not.
So now that the season is coming to an end, there may be one last hunt in December for me before the ground freezes, and I’m hoping it will be with my new to me controversial metal detector. Which has so many people wondering how you can have such a great detector at such an amazing price point, it’s on sale over Christmas with a savings of over $200 and selling right now for $689.00 Canadian. Introducing my new
NOKTA MACRO LEGEND
This machine will put me in new territory for the upcoming 2023 season. I will now be able to hunt in the water off the beaches path. This opens up some more opportunities no mater where I go, and I can’t wait to see where the next year takes me within the hobby. I feel I’ve already come so far in my inaugural season but I know there is so much more to learn, & now I have another machine I get to start the new season off with in 2023.
Sure there will be a bit of a learning curve but at least I know what to listen for now that the inaugural year is out of my way.
I look forward in continuing my stories next season.
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Treasure Hunting Legend 