What Makes A Good Metal Detectorist?

Firstly I'd like to point out that in the scheme of things it really doesn't matter what makes a great detectorist, we all do this because we love it, we've all been detecting for different lengths of time using all different types of machines. Some of us hunt for treasure whilst others just enjoy digging metal out the ground. Experience comes in many forms, so just to clarify, in the bigger picture of it all, it doesn't really matter what makes a good detectorist.

What Is Skill?

BUT we're living in the social media age where everyone is watching everyone else, all having different opinions about things. There appears to be a select few that position themselves rather high up in the pecking order when it comes to the online detecting scene. Some aren't shy to tell everyone how amazing they are, shouting about the "AMAZING RELICS" they've found and how their sites are full of "Machine Gun Iron". It's these sites that you need to be an elite detectorist to be able to hunt, and you have to understand your machine on another level only a few can reach, "you've gotta have the skills dude".

I'm going to be coming at this from an analog versus digital angle ... God Help Me.  I don't think there's any skill involved using a machine with a screen, these machines have been designed from the viewpoint of making metal detecting as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. Yes ... it takes a short time to understand how to work these types of detectors but they're pretty much as "turn on and go" as you can get. I understand you have advanced settings but these are only advanced if you haven't been metal detecting for very long. If you have past experience, these settings shouldn't be too much of a mystery, but as we know, many like to make a really big deal out of them because it makes them look and feel really important. 

So let's start on a pretty basic level, Does Watching Loads Of Videos And Reading About Different Detectors On Forums Make You An Accomplished Metal Detectorist? in your head it might make you feel that way but in reality it's just not the case, you can look at as much information as you like but nothing compares to having a machine in your hands and actually swinging it. Due to social media we're in a "more talk, less action" era of human behaviour. I believe more action will make you a better detectorist, don't get me wrong, reading about machines and watching the way they function is great. But learning is found "in the art of doing" not watching, there's far too much bullshit talk these days and not enough doing.

There's A Skill In Hunting With Audio Only

If You Have Really Historic Land Does It Make You A Brilliant Detectorist? Let's break this down, if you've got ploughed land that doesn't contain a great deal of iron and a vast majority of what you dig is treasure a few inches down. This is telling me that it's a relatively 'easy' terrain and pretty much any machine you use will detect a lot of what's there. Let us all remember that you have to get your coil over it to find it and I believe this is something that's really misunderstood, we can't find what isn't in the ground. You can get a really experienced detectorist on land that has no targets, does it make him useless because he's not digging treasure? no it doesn't, it comes down to the simple fact, there's nothing there to be found. Guys out there with super productive land are just really lucky and when someone is finding artefacts and hammered coins in abundance it's due to the land they're on. It usually has nothing to do with their detecting skills, the points mentioned in this paragraph get confused quite easily. 

Continuing on from the paragraph above, if you've got productive land that's loaded with iron and you're finding treasure using an audio only detector. This to me suggests that you know what you're doing because you're working more off instinct and intuition. You're using your ears and your brain to decipher the situation as opposed to staring at a screen. This takes metal detecting back to the art form that it originally was when it all first came about. This is something else that's been forgotten because everything nowadays is technology based. You can argue that understanding the tech takes skill, this might well be true to a certain degree but audio only machines require an 'audio' only understanding. You can trust your ears, you can't trust software programmed by some guy in a factory. Letting the machine decide if you should dig a target or not isn't skilful, actually it's pretty dumb.

I believe the skill of metal detecting really comes into play when you're on really hard environments where both ferrous and non-ferrous targets are merging into each other. Once again, I believe audio is king here because it's impossible to dig by the numbers in these situations. Yes ... you can notch certain items out to quieten things down but that's basically masking the issue which in turn will mask targets. There are no short cuts on this type of terrain. Understanding how to set your machine up, adjust as you go and visualising the environment from a "audible" perspective requires a certain level of skill. Knowing what your machine is telling you through audio alone is a skill, especially if it only has one tone. Taking a machine like this on to a variety of terrain and being successful in what you find shows a broad understanding of your metal detector. Let me highlight the word "successful", what I mean by this is pulling non-ferrous targets out the ground. It doesn't matter what they end up being, if it's nonferrous then you've achieved something. 

The More You Learn The More You Know

Does Owning Loads Of Different Metal Detectors Make You An Expert?

This really depends if you took the time to learn them all properly, if you rushed out buying the next best thing without mastering what came before then that really doesn't make you a skilful detectorist. However, if you put serious time into learning every element of each one, and then you take that experience and understanding forwards. This is an indication that you're applying your mind in the correct way which in turn will increase the skill you use when out hunting. Let us remember that understanding your machine inside and out will enable you to dig more targets because you know exactly what it's telling you. Having a mid-range machine that you know inside and out will find you more than a high-end machine you haven't learnt properly.

If You've Found A Hoard Does That Mean You're A Master?

The above falls into the category of the land that you're hunting, if you walk over a hoard that isn't too deep then there's a high chance you'll be alerted to it. Finding a hoard doesn't instantly elevate you to a master level, you were just really lucky to walk over it. I've met a few guys that have found hoards and they walk around as though they'd found the cure to cancer, one especially was a proper arrogant twat.

I've mentioned this point before but the number of subscribers and followers you have on social media doesn't indicate that you're a 'master' detectorist either. What this indicates is you've probably been uploading consistently for quite a long time and people like watching your channel. I believe this is a point that gets confused easily as well, there seems to be a pattern that forms especially on YouTube. Channels are started and then we have instant experts that aren't experts in anything at all, the world really doesn't need anymore, we're overrun with 'know it alls' as it is. Meshed closely in with these points are the false idols that use their channels to tell you that they are the master of the metal detecting world and "THEY" are the only one's qualified to be testing machines and putting out honest and reliable information. This is the behaviour of a narcissistic ego maniac with self delusion.  

So to wrap this up, I believe using analog, audio only detectors takes more understanding than the digital machines. Being able to decipher your environment through audio alone is an art form, being able to hear masked targets and super deep targets is a skill. Understanding the difference between small and large targets and the subtle audio nuances between small targets as opposed to deep targets is also a skill. Being able to judge the depth to dig the plug depending on what you're hearing is also a skill. Like I said at the start of this blog, none of this really matters but it's good to touch on the subject. A good metal detectorist to me is someone that respects the land, digs tidy plugs and doesn't leave holes and trash. If these elements are conducted right then our hobby will continue, everything else mentioned in this blog is really just hot air.