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16 Things (Almost)
Every Detectorist Should Pack


Anyone who's been a Boy Scout knows the value of being prepared. We all know the virtue of carrying extra batteries in our detector kit bags, but there are other things you should pack to be prepared for any outing. If you’re going detecting alone, always make sure someone knows where you’re going. And when you go, these 16 items should have a home in your detecting kit bag:

Cellular phone. Indispensable if you fall into a well or keel over from sunstroke or a heart attack in some field in the middle of nowhere.

Handheld GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) unit. Not a necessity for everyone, but it is if you’re a remote area hunter hours from civilization or the nearest hospital. Although a GPS’s longitude and latitude readout isn’t precise to the foot, it’s close enough to pinpoint you for rescuers -- provided, of course, you’ve brought along a cellular phone to call someone for help in the first place. If you think a cellular phone is enough without a GPS, consider this: Directions like, "Well, I see a big rock next to a cactus about a quarter-mile away" will just leave you waiting until wolves eat you for supper. For the rest of us, a GPS unit comes in handy when you come across sites in the woods and you’d like to find them again. Moreover, a decent model costs about as much as a handheld electronic pinpointer-coin probe, so they’re inexpensive enough for most people.

A small hand mirror like those in a woman’s makeup compact If you hunt in the wilderness or other remote locations,. Break a leg, get bit by a rattlesnake or fall into a ravine -- how else do you plan on signaling search teams in the distance or rescue planes or helicopters flying overhead, especially if you’re in too bad a shape to yell for help? On cloudless days, sunlight reflected off a mirror can be seen for miles.

Duct tape. The miracle mender. A lifesaver, for example, should you lose the battery cover of your detector’s electronics box somewhere in the field.

An extra stem that attaches your detector’s coil to the pole, especially if you have a brand with a heavy coil. That thin plastic stem is the weak link in the chain. Snap it in the field and your day is shot. Detectors don’t work with the coil flopping about like a leg with a compound fracture, and depending on where the stem break is, duct tape may not be the mending miracle it usually is.

A container of waterless hand cleaner, like Goop (available at most auto parts stores). Your hands get dirty doing all that digging, and an automotive waterless hand cleaner will clean them right up. They also come in handy if you’re one of those people who frequently stops off for a quick half-hour of coinshooting after work and don’t want your non-detecting husband or wife to know how much time you REALLY spend on this hobby every week.

Container of baby wipes. These also do a respectable job of hand cleaning in a pinch (except for under the fingernails), but their real value is most obvious when those Porta-Johns come up notoriously short on toilet paper. They’re a far better alternative to leaves, newspaper, notebook paper or the Burger King bag in your back seat you haven’t gotten around to throwing out yet .Baby wipes are especially worth their weight in gold when you’re hunting those remote woodland sites and nature makes an unexpected surprise call. (And if you have to do without the benefit of a nearby Porta-John, for Pete's sake dig a hole and bury your business when you're done. Be civilized. Even cavemen and illiterate pioneers had sense enough to do this)

Sheet of canvas or sheet approximately 2 feet by 2-feet square. For putting dirt you’ve dug back into your plug hole and keeping someone’s lawn nice and tidy, silly.

A wide-bladed screwdriver or some other type of ready-made coin digger available from online shops which sell metal detecting accessories. Digging plugs during the dry seasons kills grass. Using one of these implements to lift targets out of the ground instead of cutting a plug with a hand trowel won’t.

Plastic sand sifter. Great cheap tool for sand kiddie playgrounds or the dry sand beach.

Cheapie plastic Frisbee knockoff. Doubles nicely as a makeshift sand sifter or dirt holder from plug holes if you forget your regular sand sifter or canvas.

First aid kit, including gauze, Band-Aids and anti-bacterial ointment such as Neosporin or Bacitracin. You never know what’s in a plug hole, including old, rusted razor blades. A tourniquet (or belt to serve as a tourniquet) wouldn’t hurt, either.

A few aluminum cigar tubes from a cigar store or friendly cigar smoker. Use them to store a small handful of Ohio Blue Tip matches (the kind you don't need a striker to light), just in case you get stranded somewhere and happen to like staying warm by a fire. Or in case you lose your cigarette lighter. Whichever.

Snacks. A few candy bars, beef jerky, small bags of chips, trail mix or whatever else floats your boat. For eating in front of the campfire when you get stranded in the forest, or closer to civilization when there isn’t a Wendy’s handy.

Swiss Army knife. They have a bazillion uses, and you never know when you'll need one of those uses.

Mini Mag-Lite. For peering into plug holes once dusk rolls around. Do yourself a favor and buy an authentic, all-metal Mag-Lite. The cheapie plastic ones just don't hold up over the long haul, and they're not much cheaper than an authentic Mag-Lite. They come in several colors for the fashion-conscious, too.

 




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TIPS & TRICKS

16 things

AirTests

Beach Hunting

 Coin Cleaning

Cleaning bronze and Romana

Cleaning Copper

Conserving

GPS

Going Slow

Good Beginner?

Nothing To Hunt

Restoring Coins

Quick Tips

Water Hunting with the Explorer

Why don't I find Hammered?

 

 

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