Rough Hunting

Winter is some of the worst treasure hunting. Metal detectorists will tell you that digging in the dirt during the winter is like digging in concrete. The only plus is that you don't have to worry too much about killing the grass. The finds aren't as many in the winter months as people typically stay indoors more.

My favorite hunting is in the water. I have a water detector, that can be taken down 200 feet under water. Most of my hunting is in shallow water, or swimming holes as they are called here in the South. I have found some very nice rings, some silver and some gold. I have yet to find a nice diamond though. Most people that see a person with a metal detector, thinks they are just looking for "pennies." Granted, we do find our share of coins.

I hunt with a great bunch of people from the Upstate of S.C., and some from the Western N.C. area. All of them believe in returning rings or finds, to the rightful owner if they can be tracked down. Some of them go to great lengths to find the owner of a High School or College ring. We also have hunted for and found some items for some of the local and State Police.

One misconception that the public has of metal detectorists is that we hunt for things that we have heard that was lost, for the sole purpose of keeping it for ourselves. That is not the case. If we find something that may be very old as in Archeological value, we will stop digging, and then report it to authorities so that it may be preserved and studied. Til the next time.... Joe :-)