You Really Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!
Tell me… when you are in the field hunting are you sure your detector is set exactly where you want it? Did you push those touchpads in the right sequence? Did you push the ones on the right side or the left side? Did you push the arrows up, down, right or left? Are you back in the search mode?
Hmm, Can you tell I hate push pads…
…and miss the days when we had knobs, switches and buttons? No guessing, no wondering (or missing targets) – just look down and voilà! And yes I know a lot of it has to do with weight, but damn man the MX Sport is heavier than a lot of the older machines. Yup – give me the days of the Garrett Groundhog, the Fisher 1266x, the Whites 6000 and the seven inch searchcoil.
Equinox – 3 lbs, E-Trac – 3.9 lbs, XP Deus – 2.5 lbs, Troy X5 – 2.5 lbs
Soooo….
Anyone interested in swapping a Troy X5 (in working order) for an MX Sport let me know, or for that matter if you are interested in buying my MX Sport make me an offer.
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On a similar note…
I had this urge for a hot dog. One loaded with mustard, relish and onions. So I went out, bought a package of wieners and a package of rolls. Grilled the dogs and when I placed them in the rolls they were too big. A good inch and a half stuck out on each end?. The wife said well you need to buy “bun length” hot dogs. What? Are you kidding me? I looked at the dogs and they were plain ole hot dogs. The package didn’t say “large” hot dogs and the rolls weren’t labeled “small”? Is this a conspiracy or what?
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The Dog Days…
Thankfully my Lesche has a handguard…
…of summer are here. Days when the low temps are near 80 and heat indexes hover around 110. Of course there are a few die hard tekkies who venture out in this weather but frankly they’re not all there in the head. That or the wife is a real nag…
IF YOU ARE DETERMINED TO HUNT IN THE HEAT BE SURE TO:
- Check with your doctor if any of your medications might preclude being out in the sun
- Have a cell phone on your person (at all times)
- Go detecting with a partner especially if you are hunting in a rural area
- Hunt during the cooler part of the day, either mornings or evenings
- Wear light colored clothes that are loose fitting
- Not only be aware of the temperature but be aware of the “heat index” too
- Use sunscreen and wear a hat that covers the ears
- Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water before detecting as well as during
- Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol (got that Bubba?)
- Take frequent rest breaks
Me, no big deal. I don’t get out that much anymore but if I did I’d invoke the Stout Heat Index Scale.
THE STOUT HEAT INDEX SCALE
- 80 degrees…..Yep!
- 85 degrees…..Probably!
- 90 degrees…..Will think about it!
- 95 degrees…..Nope!
- 100 degrees…Hell No!
- 105 degrees…Are you shittin’ me?
Right now we are in the “Hell No” time period.
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Stout Standards 
“Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol (got that Bubba?)” …ah, well, hunt in the shade! Better still, hunt at night!
I’m just sayin’
Hunt at night? If you did that the pub would close it’s doors….
“only ‘”mad dogs” and englishmen go out in the noon day sun!” hell’s a fire, look like i’m headed out tomorrow.got me ‘juice” and my little analog “switches, and knobs” tesoro mojave, with the 7″ coil on board. hopin’ the mojave will be as “hot” as i will be. wife drove me out da house so i will be happy.just me and ma “bubba” m/d 20-20.and hopefully a tremor two to climb under!..
all ya really need to do is trim the dogs at each end, and then they will fit the buns!.think of it as “bonus food!”
i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
I sympathize with you on the new machine and its settings methods, I bought one to use for tiny nugget hunting, sold it after a week in Nevada with it, wasn’t my cup of tea. I opted for the simplicity of the GM1000 and love it.
Dave I just get frustrated fiddling with pads. If I want to try a different setting it’s sometimes a complicated process where as with knobs and switches it’s easy. Getting older may have something to do with it….
it sucks to grow old mr. russell.you know you are getting old when the “brain” doesn’t want to “think” any more.this can be exceptionally frustrating as you have discovered. dick!..the only solution
is to smile more, so you can “trick” yourself into “thinking”(there’s that word again!) that you are pleased with your state of mind! that will be $20,00 please, so i can pay the “right
reverend” his due.
I’m just saying’!
(h.h.!)
j.t.
My first “good” detector was a White’s 6000di and it had knobs. Next came the Eagle II with push pads and I loved that detector even more. After many years I bought a White’s M6 with knobs again….really nice detector but HATED those knobs because it seemed like whenever I slid my arm out of the strap I’d unknowingly move the knob that changed my discrimination or the sensitivity. I could have skipped using the strap but it helped reduce arm strain so I didn’t. My AT Pro has pads and I’m very happy with that. Your MX Sport detector seems to have a symptom of many of the better White’s units…..a bit too heavy. My M6 was more than 4 pounds but my AT Pro is only 3 pounds and that makes a big difference when I’m swinging it. I guess knobs or pads are just a matter of personal preference.
As for the hot dogs….a comedian once asked the question: Why do hot dogs come in packages of 10 but the hot dog rolls come in packages of 8 ?
Regarding the heat…….now that I’m in my 70’s I can’t take the heat like when I was younger so as soon as the temp is 85 or above I’m not going out. Your tips for being out there in the heat are excellent ones for sure.
Ed I suspect my love of knobs and switches has something to do with my love of boobs…that and I just needed something piss and moan about. I do want to sell my MX sport though and would love to get my hands on a Troy. Just can’t afford the $$$ they’re going for…
dick! why are you pissing and moaning?..you know troy galloway!reach out to him, and explain your dilemma. i am sure he may have a couple ”tucked away” somewhere!..tell him you know me! spent a lot of time on the phone with troy back in the 90’s when he was “playing with fisher, and tesoro”,(or was it the other way around?).hmmm! not sure!anyway,manged to kill a lot of time “at work” talkin; to him.very knowledgeable fellow, and a dedicated “relic” man.as you are aware, the x3,and x5 are built by fisher in los banos cantaffordya. troy developed a “super 7” concentric coil, which “many” believe was the impetus behind tesoro’s introduction of ‘their” thin precision 7″ coil on my mojave.haven’t talked to him in years.hope he’s ok! like i said, i used to ring him up and chat at work.he’s a really nice guy!
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Have reached out to Troy but he has not responded…
Yea, the Garrett Groundhog was what I remember as the metal detector that you think of when you think of a metal detector. Sporting that white 8″ “dinner-plate” co-planar coil. Nice solid toggle switches that would give that satisfying “click” when you changed a setting, and the convenient double-action toggle in the handle for switching from TR to all metal, or de-tuning the machine while pin-pointing the target. I have an E-Trac (3.9 ibs), a Minelab Excalibur (needs a little work) a Nokta Impact with a tiny little digital menu, a Nokta Macro Anfibio water machine with the same tiny little menu, but a vibration mode that helps when your vision is going south. Patti has a Garrett Ace 250, A Garrett AT-Pro, and a Tecknetics G2 but rarely uses them any more. I still miss my Garrett ADS, and my Groundhog though.You can still find em’ but they are getting harder to maintain and repair. Here in Florida a few days ago it was 115-degrees, and I’m not talking about that half-assed “heat index” either, it was 115 DEGREES and 98% humidity. I don’t need the “index” to tell me how the heat is gonna feel, for crying out loud…when did that become a thing? Anyway, I ain’t been out for a month or two but we still have nut-cases out in the heat of midday to be rewarded with a few rusted bottle-caps and some rusted crap they proudly arrange on a paper towel and post all over social media. And on certain beaches, like Daytona, especially in early evening, you need a concealed carry permit and a .380 auto in your pouch because of the crime and bold attacks on beach goers. A friend of mine, guy in his mid-70’s was attacked from behind by one of the less savory beach dwellers, and surprised the attacker across the face with his Lesche hand=digger. The police found the attacker later from the large gash across his face. Good post Dick…cheers!
Still have my Groundhog and may start using it….
Dick……My first detector in 1983 was a Garrett that looked similar to the one in your post but if I remember correctly it had the same red needle at the top of the detector but not as many dials as yours. Was there a lower priced unit ? Mine had a toggle switch at the top of the “J” handle and you could also set it to disc out either bottle caps or flip to pulltab rejection. For the life of me I can’t remember the name of the one I had.
Ed, have a look here
Click to access GT1980catalog.pdf
and if they don’t ring a bell check out more at Sven’s site….
https://www.treasurelinx.com/home1.html
You can download all the older catalogs.
ed b. i can certainly relate to your friend’s incident.i was hunting peacefully in a city park two weeks ago when i heard this rushing noise from behind.as it was coming closers wheeled around and drew down on the largest “malamute” i ever seen in my life .luckily,he stopped short about 6 feet from me.the owner came rushing up after chasing him, and apologized, stating he got off his leash, and thanking me for NOT shooting him.i explained he was lucky the dog was ok as he was a split second from being deceased.anyway,i was shaking for about a half hour after that encounters i can fully appreciate what your friend was exposed to.it’s impossible when in the field, to have “eyes in the back of your head!” you have to be ready for anything these days!
(h.h.!)
j.t.
John Taylor not sure who you are responding to here….just sayin.
my apologies! dick! i was responding to mr. fielding’s post!
damn 20/20!
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Thanks Dick for the link to the Garrett catalog. The detector I had was American TR S2
I’ve still got the Depth Multiplier for a Groundhog – it will find a 6″ cube at six foot. Always used it first of all to check for hoards, Once I was sure, or as sure as could be, the ground was hoard-free, then I’d use the Groundhog. Good machine. Pity I no longer have it.
i’m just sayin’
How did you ever wind up with just the Bloodhound? Was that one of those deals you made at a pub?
Yep! Hic!
dick! john just made an “honest mistake!” everybody makes them! hell’s a fire, even i do,
just not often is all. alas! i’m empty again! time for another ”dog” run! ..sucks when ya don’t
think beyond your nose! always a “price” to be paid!i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
As a hoard finder it was par excellence. Are ya with me?
used to see “charlie” using one in his ads.as you mentioned,may have been more popular “across the puddle” locating the roman payroll caches and the like…i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Yes, JT, Depth Multipliers were/are the mutts nuts! Tell me about your experiences of hunting a hoards/caches and how did you go about it and with what machinery? Where are the likely sites US side of the pond for caches?
i’m just sayin’
hi john!!
the old “yankees” sometimes would bury caches along side the “stone walls”that served as “land boundaries” here.i have looked for them, but have never found one. many others have been successful, and found mostly ‘gold coins” in the 1700’s here many farmers built these walls to delineate their land. the walls are everywhere in the woods here,along with “tons” of cellar holes where the farmers first settled.
i have personally found a lot of “king george coinage” from the period when we were subjects of the fat boy, along with the occasional reale apparently, the “yanks” thought they would “return” to their stashes over time, but alas, this wasn’t to be,as many worked themselves to an early death, and left the goodies in the ground.i occasionally still “hit” the woods, and sometimes discover “old shoe buckles” from the 1700’s and other relics from the past…just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Well, you are up there with the Good and the Great of Treasure Hunting. Er…try an old orchard next….
have found my share over the years! still much to be found!..where i live goes back to the 1600’s.my ancestors arrived here around 1620 at “plymouth rock”.a few “taylors” on board.they took care of the “rum” ration on the way across the puddle.they would have drained the “beer” ration as well,cept they got caught, and pitched into the ‘hold” for the rest of the trip. farm fields are “big” here and many impressive finds have emerged from them! ..just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
You two sure are talking a lot of BS. Just sayin….
dick! i can’t speak for the “reverend” but i ain’t got time to ”spew” horse sh*t. hell’s a fire!..i won’t even lie to my wife! get a “guilty conscience”,and besides, see my “pastor” every week,and discuss the frailties of “man and beast” the ”good reverend” likes to take a taste every once in a while,
and i ain’t talkin’ communion.says it “enriches his soul”, and prepares him for his final journey.who can argue with that! i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
I’ve been using the e-trac for 8 years or so. I also have a back up e-trac. They are both on the same settings, and the settings I use are written down in a few different places in case, God forbid, I have to hit factory pre-set. I tried Andy Sabisch’s Coin program once, it took a you tube video and a good half hour to load it. Forgot to save it, so never used it again. The e-trac is a heavy machine, so I bought the Deus. It took longer to figure out how to turn the Deus on than it took me to start using the e-trac and find my first Coin. I should probably go back to the beginner models with pictures of pull tabs and coins on them.
That’s my point Allyson. I’m never sure where I’m at with pads. Plus I am a proud member of the K.I.S.S. gang.
the k.i.s.s principle definitely has it’s merits. after all, this is a “hobby” we are engaged in, why complicate the issue with difficult to comprehend controls..i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
allyson! are you related to the cohen brothers?..the “prodigious”
producers of many “fine” major films?..just curious! i’m just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Im 51. Swing an ace 300. Hunt in all weather. I do drink lots of water and try to wear light clothing sunscreen hat sunglasses sometimes etc. Was out last week for a few hours in 100 degree weather. Found some shady spots and a few finds too!
100 degree weather? You’re a better man than I!