Getting partnered

Good evening everyone. I wanted to write this blog post to let everyone know about a recent partnership I’ve made with Teknetics Metal Detectors. I have never owned a Teknetics machine but I have heard nothing except good things about them and I’ve thought about purchasing one in the past. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a loaner detector to review from Teknetics Direct. I am also looking forward to the future opportunities of field testing their new equipment before it goes to market. I was talking to Mr. Dick Stout about this relationship and he mentioned that Teknetics had a great reputation for their quality.

Now you may be asking what a partnership means. I want to be transparent about the relationship so nobody thinks that I exclusively promote Teknetics equipment. As mentioned above the partnership is mostly about reviewing/testing their equipment. The only caveat is that buy using my PROMO CODE on their website when ordering equipment you can get specials ranging from $50 off + free shipping to just free shipping. This partnership benefits me by the company giving me a commission on referrals. That being said I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to shop their website and see if you need anything. The site features a metal detector for any budget. So do some browsing on Teknetics site and if you decide to make a purchase enter the code A1493 in the promo code section to get your special pricing and help me out.

It has always amazed me how great the people in the metal detecting community are and I hope that you enjoy Teknetics new site.

Thanks for reading and Happy Hunting!

Steveouke *\_

        

 

Good things are happening

Good evening everyone, tonight I spent about 3 hours going through my blog and updating the look, links, and overall feel. This was a daunting task but I have really been thinking about putting more attention on metal detecting and I hope you folks are enjoying it. It has always amazed me at how many people read my blog posts even from years past. Looking at my stats is really what jump started my renewed spirit about the hobby and sharing my knowledge.  I have enjoyed vlogging and have a couple more ready to go and I’m just waiting for the time to be right. I also wanted to let everyone know that I have been in talks with a detector manufacturer to bring my readers/viewers an honest opinion on some of their existing equipment as well as field testing their new products. I am looking forward to the partnership and the thing I like most is that they are not requiring me to be exclusive to their brand. I don’t want to mention who it is just yet as they will be rolling out a bunch of new marketing materials next month. I should be getting one of their machines to try, hopefully I will get to put some hours in on it before everything launches. The coolest part about the partnership is that  I will be able to bring you guys some special discounts on their equipment by simply using a code that I will provide. Start saving all the coins you found in coin star machines over the winter for a new machine. All that being said, stay tuned as things are starting to head in the direction I had hoped for 2017.

 

Thanks for reading and happy detecting

Steveouke *\_

Good things happening!

Well tonight I want to write about some happenings that make me happy.

O’Fallen
O’Fallen Missouri passed an ordinance a couple weeks ago that required all items dug by those metal detecting to be turned into the city. Luckily many people who enjoy the hobby rallied together and they are going to go back and rewrite the ordinance to be sensible. This is the kind of stuff that we need to band together about. I’m glad that the political folks in O’Fallen took our words to heart and seem to be listening. I call that a success!

Wheat State Treasure Hunters
Wheat State Treasure Hunters is now on Facebook. The group is hoping that this will enable our members to communicate outside of our meetings. Be sure to Like the group on Facebook for up to date information. We will announce meetings, finds, and hunt information there.

Arkies and MD’ers working together..
Minelab metal detectors and the folks at Montpelier are working together to uncover some of our countries history. On more of a local level I was talking to Pulltab Miner and he mentioned that an archaeological intern at the local university had commented on his blog. The intern is doing a report about one of his favorite parks to hunt. Is this a sign that things could progress? Time will tell…

Happy Hunting and Thanks for reading!

Social Hour

Lately I have introduced a few people into the great hobby of metal detecting. If you haven’t yet, I would encourage you to check out the link section on the right side of my blog. Specifically I think we all can learn a bunch from socializing with other detectorists. Here is a short list of things that happen by getting involved.

– Find other detectorists in your area.

– Learn more about your machine from others that use them.

– You can get involved in local and national groups.

– You can talk to many retailers of detectors and accessories. You can usually get a little better price on items if you belong to a forum and are active.

– Contests to win detectors, accessories, and many other things.

– View other peoples finds. It is always interesting seeing what other detectorists in the nation and around the world are finding.

Curbing my enthusiasm

Well tonight I decide to hunt the curb strips in the older part of town. My particular location was a curb strip that is the main road between a neighborhood and the schools. The finds were few and far between and lacked precious metals. The only keeper I found was a 1912 wheat penny. I am certain that my finds are directly related to my lack of concentration. My youngest boy will be 2 in October and he loves to go tecting with me. He has two modes while detecting hands on or very distant observer. Both take my focus away from what I am doing. I will take the lack of precious metals if it means quality time with him! He definitely know how to curb my enthusiasm!

Happy hunting!

Duo

Well today marks an acheivement in my metal detecting career. Today was my first multiple silver day.

Hunt #1-

With the sun shining and a perfect 74 degrees I decided to hunt over my lunch break. I went what I call “freestyling” this means I was hunting curb strips in the oldest part of Wichita. First target I dug was a 1962 Roosevelt dime. Second, a 1940 wheat penny. I then hunted for a bit and found some odds and ends. Two items were small and deep which makes me have faith in my machine yet again! One is an old hat pin and the other is an old button. On the way back to the truck I dug two more wheat pennies a 1944 and a 1940.

Hunt #2-

After dinner my oldest boy had soccer practice. I took this opportunity to go see my new buddy John. He is the older guy that has seemed quite interested in our hobby. His grandson had purchased a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV a few years ago and they were not impressed with it. He had told me that he got it from his grandson and may tinker with it. Knowing that John doesn’t have access to the internet or television for that matter I decided to print him off an owners manual for the Bounty Hunter. I wasn’t planning on hunting there this evening with Kolton being at practice. John started asking questions about swing patterns so I had to demonstrate. During the 15 minute exercise I dug a couple memorials and a 1944 mercury dime. Johns face lit up when he saw the shiny stuff come from 4″ down. I have a soft spot in my heart for elders and he is no exception. Every time we part ways he says “God be with you and your family”. Now I don’t think he is a saint or anything but it is nice to hear these words.

Happy Hunting!

Sunday hunts get blessed

Well this afternoon was quite exciting for me. I hunted two different times and had great experiences.

Hunt #1-
I returned to an older school yard that PulltabMiner and I had hunted several months ago. During that hunt Miner found several wheat cents. This morning I realized that the last time I hunted it was before the DD Proformance coil was installed on the Ace 250. I had the two youngest Ukena boys with me so I knew it would be a fairly short hunt. I started hitting zinc pennies quickly. The little Ace seems to love the zinc range! Then I hit a solid dime signal at 4-6″. I told Karson (middle Ukena boy) that this could be silver. I dug a full shovels depth and he pinpointed around the bottom of the hole. Nothing… Not even a chirp out of the propointer. I then instructed him to check the plug. He moved all around it without a chirp still. I then cut the plug in half with the lesche and spotted a coin rim. Voila out pops a silver dime. We quickly rub it enough to see that it’s a merc! High fives all around and even Bryson who is the youngest Ukena boy at 22 months started babbling about mercury and silver dimes. Wish I would have done a live dig of it just for the entertainment value! Is it too early to guide him to yell “Boom Baby” whenever we find precious metals?

Hunt#2-
After dinner I decided to go door knocking. I stop by the oldest standing house in Rose Hill. Luckily the young couple are enjoying a cigarette on the front porch. They grant me permission to hunt the front yard. I start searching and I was slightly disappointed in my finds. I was only digging high tones so the yard didn’t look like gophers had invaded it. I managed $.85 in clad. Still can’t help but think there is silver on the property but not tonight!

I think that after eight months together the Ace and I are finally starting to understand each other. I have been thinking about upgrading but I’m still not certain what brand/model I would like to add to my collection. I have really only one complaint with the Ace and I think I am finally starting to overcome it. Low and slow with the DD coil makes target seperation much easier!

My favorite type of hunt?

Yesterday afternoon I had a long conversation with my cousin who is in limbo about entering the hobby of metal detecting. Our conversation got me to thinking. What is my favorite type of hunt?

The answers would soon show themselves. Over my lunch break I hunted at Hyde park. I was using my favorite discrimination program on the Ace 250. I have been notching out Iron and anything over a quarter. I dug 30-40 trash mid tones and one high tone which was a memorial penny. With this park being one of the oldest parks in Wichita it is full of iron and trash. I struggle with finding good targets and get frustrated.

Tonight I hunted the sports fields close to home. These fields were built in the mid 80’s- early 90’s. I quickly realized that these are my favorite areas to hunt. The ratio of trash targets to good targets is much better than a 120 year old park. In this sports field I have found silver rings, tons of clad, and my oldest US coin. Their isn’t trash everywhere and I suspect that it holds a gold ring or two. I also think that these types of hunts are great for beginners. It’s tougher than the totlots without being totally stressful! It becomes obvious by my finds that I am on a gold kick. I can hardly pass up a solid mid tone!

Don’t get me wrong, I dream of finding many old silver coins in one hunt. However, these hunts are a challenge to come by. Alot of research and being granted permission isn’t as easy as it sounds.

In summary I want to say that you can make metal detecting as stressful or as relaxing as you want. Two things have happened lately that have made my hunts more relaxed. They are the Garrett propointer which seems to be much better than the Whites, the Sampson clone shovel, and my Lesche digger from WW Mfg. I am thrilled to have these tools in my toolbox… Next I may add a headlamp so I can hunt later into the night!

Happy Hunting!

The Garrett Ace 250 with DD coil

I decided to go metal detecting yesterday morning at Linwood Park in Wichita. I was there for about 5 minutes before PulltabMiner showed up. We were there about 20 minutes before Redd showed up. Redd hunts this park often with good results. You can see for yourself by searching on Youtube for Reddcent59. This put us in an interesting situation. 3 different detectors from different manufacturers and different price levels. We decided to swing the detectors over targets that Redd suspected to be good. We had some interesting results. Redd swung his Etrac over a target he suspected to be a wheat penny at 6-7 inches. Pulltab swung his V3i over the target and came up with a foil signal. I was next to swing over the target. My Ace 250 with DD coil locked on it as a penny. This proved to me that even my “entry level” detector can see targets at depths of 7 inches. The Ace gave a really solid signal. What this taught me was to trust my machine, don’t be timid to dig deep targets, and dig more iffy signals. I am not saying that the Ace can hang with higher end machines in every instance. On the higher end detectors you get more information to help you decide whether to dig or not. Overall these non scientific tests rekindled my love for the Garrett. It all boils down to knowing your machine and its sounds as well as being methodical in your hunting.

Happy Hunting!

30 minute hunt with a lasting impression

Well my time for hunting has been minimal the last few days. I spent about thirty minutes hunting with PulltabMiner a couple days ago. I hadn’t hunted since. There is an interesting tie between my last two hunts. And that tie is kids. While hunting with Miner the other day there were 3 kids hanging around us. They were interested in detecting with about 50% of their mental capability. Tonight I hunted for 30 minutes at the local ballfields. I started out digging everything and then it happened. 1 spectator turned into 10 kids spectating. They were not pushy and seemed very intrigued. At this point I started only digging solid coins, nickels included. I ended up plucking a little over $1.00 on this hunt. What surprised me is the fact that there were a few Boy Scouts in this group of kids. I am the area merit badge counselor for geocaching. This group of boys made me wonder… Why isn’t there a merit badge for metal detecting. They have badges for archeology, coin collecting, and geocaching? These seem to go hand in hand with treasure hunting. Anyways after my hunt and on my way home I started pondering to myself. Will tonight be memorable for those kids? Will they dream of finding caches of spanish reales? Gold coins from years past in the USA? Or will they not remember me at all. I like to think that as they watched me detect, retrieve, and fill my holes they saw me as a responsible person enjoying the outdoors.

Also I would like to say that the more I use my Lesche the more I like it. The build quality is superior to the other less expensive diggers. If I lived and hunted only on good soil it would be a mute topic but when dry clay is encountered the Lesche is great!

Happy hunting!