“How does someone stay interested, all I find is garbage….”
The above was question was recently posted on a FaceBook site for beginners but it’s also becoming a common utterance for long time tekkies and with good reason. You see we’re approaching the law of diminishing returns and if we (especially the manufacturers) don’t wake up this pastime will die a slow death.
Understand I’m not saying there’s nothing good left to be found. Far from it. There’s a lot of untouched ground waiting to be scanned BUT finding it and accessing it is getting more and more difficult. Sites that many of us considered routine and safe years ago are disappearing thanks to factors like population growth, development, laws and regulations. And admit it, that old dependable, hammered hot spot is not giving up the goodies any more.
The Big Wheels
Keeping their customers from getting frustrated should definitely be at the top of the manufacturer’s to-do-list but at the moment they’re preoccupied with beating each other up. It’s the ole “whatever you can do I can do better” song and dance and yes I know staying ahead of the competition is important but they better start looking down the road or there won’t be any reason to be top gun.
Do I have an answer or solution? Not really but it would be nice if we could somehow get more “public” lands opened up and get the pastime more widely accepted much like the NCMD did in the UK with the Sport & Recreation Alliance. A pastime that will be recognized and that garners respect. Let me also piss off a few major players and say once again that shovels have not enhanced our image here in the states.
Have detector willl travel but where?
It baffles me that while we’re losing ground we work overtime enticing everyone and anyone to join our ranks. Can we not see the after effect? We’re already big time into detecting rural fields, something that years ago was only for the relic hunter. Remember too that every newcomer that enters the pastime is one more anxious hunter, one more hasty hunter, one more hole digger and just possibly one more nail in the proverbial coffin.
I know I’m the doom merchant but is it really too soon to think about this problem? Turning it around is certainly possible and doable but each day, each month, each year that goes by it gets harder and after 50 years of participation I’m not all that excited about the prospects of it happening. Prove me wrong. Please!!
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HAPPY SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!
Enjoy the game and have one or two for me.
My Prediction – Chiefs 28 49’ers 24
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Stout Standards 
unfortunately,”we” are in deep sh*T,because of manufacturer’s “greed”. granted, we all “need”
to earn a iving, but hammering away at “all the goodies one will find with the magic stick is “not conducive to harmonious,(and realistic) relations within the hobby.
Selling detectors to the “great unwashed” and basically “tricking” them into believing they will find the “Crown Jewels” is,and of itself, a form of “phscycological torture”,and has discouraged many over time! a more factual approach is needed to explain to one and all that a “realistic” mind set must be “paramount”in adopting, so that one can pursue the hobby with vigor, and pleasure, knowing that success in the field “will” be limited, and one “must” accept this “condition” of the hobby to “remain” in it and enjoy oneself.
(h.h.!)
j ( go s.f.) t.
JT I just read this for the fifth time and each resulted in a WTF? I will admit though that it sounded like it “might” have some merit.
Have one for me and then another and another….
hi dick!
unrealistic expectations generally accompany acquisition of a new detector.
fortunately “most” realize ”over time” that one needs to “acquiesce” to the hobby, lest they be “over come” with unrealized objectives. staying “positive” going forward is a “noble pursuit” in this hobbyand helps to assuage any and all “meager” finds. Always seek to “retain” a feeling of anticipation upon venturing into the field, and “not” let poor results overwhelm….just sayin!
(h.h.!)
j (time for a “taste!” t)
Ah okay, understand….I think. Nah I get it, just bustin chops.
I’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking when it comes to detecting. Likewise it helps to clear your mind, get rid of nagging problems that are bugging you. Worked for me over the years.
Hang in there and have a Super bowl sip of that ratgut for me….
hi dick!
will do! already have a charge in me, and lookin’ forward to seeing the “sucker” bowl without the “pats” playing, i have to “muster” some increased awareness with the “dog” to try to enjoy the “really big show!” i like the underdog 49’rs,because want to see “Purdy” have a great game, and walk away with a victory. “cock a doodle doo!”
(h.h.!)
j (go Purdy!) t.
JT I don’t really have a dog in this fight and just hope it’s a good game. I picked the Chiefs because I’ve seen Mahomes come back too many times to bet against them. He’s uncanny…..
dick! you are right! tough to bet against him! he’s a very “resilient” q.b.
just want to see the youngster win is all. my heart is always with the underdog!
magnificent rendition of the national anthem by reba! may god bless America!
(h.h!)
j (bring it on!) t)
JT he did it again. Hard to bet against guys who’ve been there and done it….
I was hoping against hope that somehow,purdy would get it in the end zone, and end it, but k.c made great play in knocking the pass down, and forced ’em to settle for a field goal. “Andy” faked ’em out of their underwear on that pass!..they honestly didn’t know whether to “sh*t ,or go blind”and they just don’t know if mahomes will run it, or not! guy’s a “weapon!” just sayin’
(h.h.!)
j. (my disappointment is huge!) t.
JT makes a good point. Success as the US angler Charles Ritz said,”It’s not the rod but the hand that wields it.” Imagine the (deserved) mockery a rod-builder would face if he (or she) claimed that his/her rods catches more fish than others. The problem being newbies don’t know the claim is c–p and it takes a modicum of experience to realise it.
I’m just sayin’
Bubba it also takes a little maturity….
Dick, I believe you are spot on with one reason why folks don’t call to go detecting with them anymore, in your Slim Pickings blog post. Yeah, many have long time partners, which is normal and rewarding. I have lost a few over the years.
When I see the others at club meetings they say, ‘Where have you been?’. Da, you have my phone number, but with all of the sites hammered over the years it’s just harder to find a, ‘ Find of the Month’ let alone, a ‘Find of the year’! Probably ‘Slim Pickings’, is another reason why detectors end up in a closet and not used.
Yeah I find it amazing (sometimes amusing) when I see someone share a pouch of fantastic finds. Then again Texas is just not going to give me what NJ would and I have to remember that.
Thanks Tony
Would like to see more areas opened up here in Indiana. Live in a small town, metal detecting is allowed without a permit now in parks, there are some city owned properties I’d love to hunt, been told No. I’m not sure if that person had the authority to make that decision. Not a big deal to me. I’ve seen an increase of new people in hobby in my area, carrying big shovels. Makes me cringe, big holes, messed up plugs, trash left in holes.
They all want the good stuff, won’t take the time to learn how to use detector, or dig a plug. I think these companies are releasing too many new machines, flood the market with cheap machines, everyone can have one. Then they end up in the bedroom closet collecting dust. No more clubs in my area that I know of anymore, I’d gladly join. I’m not sure what the answer is. Have a great weekend.
Jon
Jon don’t think anyone has an answer and likewise no one is even thinking about the problem. Everybody is nuts over digging and filming.
Just checked my Indiana club listings and you’re right. Two out of the three are now apparently gone. Last one standing is East Central Indiana. Not sure exactly where you’re located but they might be an option.
I’m northern Indiana, logansport. Might be a little out of my way. Thank you for checking.,
hi reverend!
”god save the king!”
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Amen to that.