Essential Metal Detecting Accessories
The basic idea of treasure hunting is simple; get a metal detector, fire it up, and dig where your detector tells you. But, before you go and start making holes in the park, remember, there is a proper way to go about digging up, using some essential metal detecting accessories.
All hunters follow a certain code of ethics – atop which is refilling holes in the ground after your adventure.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the tools that will help make the whole hunt a lot easier for you.
Let’s get started.
Metal Detector
It’s obvious but, you definitely want to bring your metal detector 🙂 Here are links to our guides on our top recommentaions in different price ranges and skill levels.
Headphones
Headphones are a necessary tool because metal detecting can be a loud and noisy hobby. Naturally, you would want to be polite enough to keep the noise down to a bare minimum on the one hand. On the other, you’d want to focus on your metal detector’s alerts, so you don’t miss an important find because of distracting background noise.
For a beginner, using headphones while metal detecting can be a good way of ear training as well, since you may not be too familiar with the different tones a metal detector uses when discriminating between metals.
Digging Tools
Most seasoned hunters use a variety of digging tools fit for different types of soil conditions and metals. They have several shovels, trowels of different sizes, sand scoops, and digging knives with tapered edges.
We recommend a good quality trowel and sand scoop for a beginner looking to find coins and relics. The trowel is a convenient digging tool for most grounds like parks – the primary spot for a beginner on a metal detecting hunt. Plus, if you’ve got a pinpointer, you’d only need to make a small hole.
A sand scoop is essential for beach hunts. It has many holes that allow you to sift through the sand and find your relic with ease. Other than that, you could graduate to a serrated digging knife and shovel for harder soils and bigger items or, later on, for gold prospecting.
Carrying Bag
When you’re out on a hunt, you’re definitely going to need a secure place to store all the coins and relics you find. Simply placing them into your pockets from the ground can be messy, unsafe, and even restricting if there are too many items. Instead, look into investing in a carrying bag.
You could use a fanny pack or a bag pack, or some other type of carrier that suits your style and comfort; just make sure it’s durable and waterproof. We’d also recommend a mesh bag for metal detecting on the beach so the water and sand can easily move out of your bag.
Marking Flags
Marking flags are a great tool to help you get organized when metal detecting. You can use them in a couple of different ways, either to mark out the ground you’re about to cover or to make sure you don’t end up going over the same spots you’ve already covered.
Another option is to run over the whole area and mark the spots where your metal detector finds an item, then come back to your buried treasure that’s already marked with a flag and start digging. Either way, it’s a good way to use a metal detector efficiently.
Utility Belt
Many of the tools we talk about in this list are hand-held and may be needed at a moment’s notice – as soon as your metal detector gets a signal. That’s why most people prefer to keep tools like a pinpointer, trowel, and sand scoop at a convenient reach. How do they do it? A utility belt.
A utility belt is a great way to keep these accessories close at hand. You could also attach a carrying bag to the belt and store your finds without having to run back and forth from your car.
Kit Case and Coil Cover
If you’ve decided on metal detecting all day or at least several hours moving between locations, you might consider a kit bag to store all of your equipment. It’ll also make it easier for you to store your detector when it’s not in use.
For additional protection, consider investing in a coil cover as well. The search coil is the most important part of a metal detector. Although you can easily buy new search coils as they are, however, it’s a lot cheaper to keep them safe from damage and wear using a cover.
Magnifying Glass
When on a metal detecting hunt, you may find an item at times, and you can’t tell whether it’s treasure or trash. A magnifying glass can help ease your curiosity.
Extra Batteries / Spare Battery Packs
There is nothing worse than gearing up and traveling far from your house for a hunt, only for the battery to die 15 minutes in. You’ll be very sorry if you have to go looking for a place to buy some or go straight home because you forgot to pack spare ones.
Invest in a good quality rechargeable battery, so the hunt doesn’t have to end so soon.
Harness
This might be a bit much if you’re not metal detecting for hours on end. However, it’s still a great tool many people swear by.
Some high-end metal detectors for relics and gold can be quite heavy. Other than that, metal detecting can be tiring and painful for extended periods of time.
A harness evenly distributes the metal detector’s weight around the shoulders so you can hunt as much as you want without tiring easily.
Drinking Water
I always take my Nalgene bottle with me. It’s important to take water with you on any treasure hunting adventure, not only to stay hydrated, but it helps to have some water on hand to wash off any small finds you come across.
Conclusion
The length of this list may seem overwhelming but don’t worry. You don’t have to get everything all at once. Try your hand at a few absolute essential metal detecting accessories that you think are important for your next hunt. Once you get the hang of things, there’s always room for an upgrade.
Happy hunting!