Join a Metal Detecting Club
Joining a metal detecting club can be very beneficial for anyone looking to start out in the hobby of metal detecting and treasure hunting.
For many, the hobby of metal detecting is a solitary life where you are often left to your own thoughts and only the company of nature at your side.
It is usually all a detectorist needs to enjoy any hunt. Other treasure hunters also choose to hunt solo to help keep their “honey holes” from being pillaged by other would-be pirates, and rightfully so!
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What about those searching for not only treasure, but for fellowship out in the fields or for a mentor to help them gain knowledge about the hobby, Proper Detecting Etiquette, and someone to share their treasure hunting stories with?
Well, why not join a metal detecting club and make all of these possibilities a reality?
Being a part of a metal detecting club offers all sorts of benefits for both new and experienced diggers.
Join a Local Club
There are local metal detecting clubs you can join, such as the Michigan Treasure Hunters Club, located all over the state and there is probably a club within an hour of your home town. An online search can help locate one nearest to you in your state or county. One site that I have used to search for metal detecting clubs in my state is Metal Detecting Hobby Talk, which I’ve linked to for your convenience.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Treasure Hunters Club.
By attending a meeting, you’ll meet a whole slew of new and local people who share similar interests as you when it comes to metal detecting. You’ll also find people both young and old, man and woman, as well as beginner and experienced.
This is truly a place where there is something for everyone, which makes joining a metal detecting club such a positive experience in itself and much better than that “Tinder app” all the kids are talking about these days.
Meeting with and talking to other experienced diggers who are willing to share valuable knowledge and techniques about metal detecting can be a huge benefit to being a part of a local metal detecting club and it helps build camaraderie among club members.
Joining a metal detecting club is a great way to meet others who share the same passion for the hobby.
“Talking shop” is very common at club meetings and there hasn’t been one meeting that I haven’t walked away with at least one nugget of information that I could add to my treasure hunting arsenal.
Be sure to take some time at each meeting and chat with other members because who knows, maybe you can help offer them a little helpful advice in return or better yet, you are that knowledgeable pirate helping out the rest of your digging comrades.
While a lot of research takes place on your own time and at your own home, simply chatting with and collaborating with other club members can help put the puzzle pieces of everyone’s research together and help fuel your club’s next treasure hunting adventure.
Local Club Perks
Typically, meetings include a time or area to display your finds and as well as view other members’ display boxes full of treasure.
This is also a great time to ask questions and learn about specific items that someone may have found, how it sounded on the detector, or where it was found, should someone want to disclose that much information.
The club also typically holds a “find of the month” contest where club members can submit their best find in several various categories and they then vote on which find the club enjoyed the most, with winners receiving a small prize in each category.
Photo courtesy of 2014 SWMSS newsletter
During metal detecting club meetings, the general topic being discussed may include how to research new areas to metal detect and how to locate them.
Clubs often bring in guest speakers who are experts in their fields such as a local historian or guest from the local museum/college. Having this type of direct access to experts is a huge value add and perk to joining a metal detecting club because it will certainly help enhance your detecting experience and could possibly improve the quality of your finds.
Other topics that are covered at meetings may include things mentioned in my previous article, essential gear needed when metal detecting or discussing valuable metal detecting accessories like those found on my gear page.
Usually during this type of featured topic, someone will have an example of the unit being discussed on-hand for you to try out and test while comparing it to your own equipment side by side.
This can help save time and money before going out and purchasing a new machine that you may or may not enjoy using.
It is also a great time to ask questions because the person leading the discussion on the topic already has a lot of experience with it and will know the “ins and outs” of that piece of equipment.
Speaking of purchasing new equipment, many clubs are often created or run in conjunction with a local metal detecting supply shop.
Photo courtesy of 2014 SWMSS newsletter
The shop owner not only helps support the club internally (often a board member), but also may give current club members discounts when purchasing equipment from their shop.
They also may support the club and donate prizes during special events, raffles, and even at seeded hunts as a way of helping to pay-it-forward to the metal detecting club community.
Participating In Seeded Hunts
Seeded hunt photo courtesy of Garrett Metal Detectors
GoMinelabbing seeded hunt in Toronto 2013
Seeded hunts are special metal detecting events that clubs host throughout the year to help create fellowship among club members as well as bring a little competition in to the world of metal detecting.
A seeded hunt for those of you unfamiliar with them is a competition-style metal detecting event where the “hunt master” marks off a boundary in a field or beach area.
They then purposely hides coins and/or tokens in the ground without any of the participating diggers watching (hopefully to make the playing field fair). Seeded hunts can have hundreds to thousands of hidden targets spread out across the hunt field.
Photo courtesy of 2014 SWMSS newsletter
Once all targets are hidden (usually less than 1-inch down), the participating diggers gather all around the hunt field with their detectors (ready), raise them in the air (set), and at the “hunt master’s” signal such as a horn (go), everyone begins to flood the hunt area.
Members begin swinging their metal detectors away while trying to locate as many of the hidden targets as possible.
A few common etiquettes to know when participating in a seeded hunt are:
Always wear headphones to minimize sound on the hunt field.
Only use a small digging tool to retrieve your target.
Give at least one detector swinging length between you and your hunting mates.
Repair and fill all plugs as proper digging etiquette still applies.
Some tokens or targets may relate to special prizes or get you additional raffle tickets associated with particular giveaways depending on how your club organizes each hunt.
Seeded hunts can be a lot of fun and bring a new dimension to the world of metal detecting as it almost creates a “sport” out of it. Normally a small fee is associated to participate in a seeded hunt to help cover the cost of putting on the event and purchasing items for participants to find.
My wife won this awesome Minelab metal detecting deluxe backpack in her first ever seeded hunt by finding the secret token
Join an Online Club or Forum
If a physical metal detecting club to meet other hunters is not for you, then you can join a “virtual” club online that will also provide many of the same benefits listed above, but from the convenience of your own home. This can be a one-stop-shop for all your metal detecting information, aside from the Metal Detecting Life of course!
I’m a member and supporter of this great online forum
Finding an online forum can help provide the valuable information that you’re looking for all with the click of a button. An example of one such forum would be The Friendly Metal Detecting Forum, which I am also a member of and contribute posts to the community daily.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Freedom Diggers Facebook group
Another great option for online information would be joining a Facebook group for those of you who use social media platforms.
Groups I currently participate in for example are the West Michigan Metal Detecting and Michigan Freedom Diggers group pages.
Joining a metal detecting Facebook group makes for an easy way to communicate with other detectorists in the area as well as share knowledge about new equipment, places to hunt, and showcasing the Things You Find Metal Detecting from each of your hunts.
Summary
Hanging out with Chicago Ron and friends from my local club while at a seeded hunt
Whether you join a metal detecting club locally or the group(s) you follow are on Facebook or another online forum/webpage, there are many different options, so spend a little time at each and find out what works best for you because there is a lot of information out there as well as great people to chat with and learn from about this wonderful hobby.
If there isn’t a local club in your area, consider starting one and you’ll be surprised at the positive responses and friendships that come of it, not to mention your band of new and merry metal detecting pirates will have a blast going out and digging together!
What type of metal detectorist are you? Do you hunt alone or do you storm the beaches with your viking hoard? Leave a beep and let me know.
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