Do you keep a metal detecting log of all your finds during the course of the year? If you don’t you should probably reconsider. I never did until one day I looked around and starting seeing coins and I forgot where I found some of them. That really bothered me because I’ve been at this hobby for several years and that’s the last thing I wanted to happen. Don’t let this happen to you!
Time to Get Organized.
A friend of mine mentioned to me a few years back that he always documented where and when he found his coins and relics. This was especially important to his civil war collection. At the time, I just told myself that it seemed like a lot of extra work to document everything. But fast forward to today, I wish I would have taken his advice.
In 2019, I decided to get organized and start a log. I was amazed at the value of keeping a log only after looking through 1 years worth of metal detecting. There are several advantages of keeping a metal detecting log and I’ll point out several of them below.
Keeping a Metal Detecting Log Will Pay Off in The Long Run.
In addition to keeping track of what you find and where you find it, here are a 6 good reasons why keeping a metal detecting log will pay off in the long run.
- Document where you found the relics or coins because over time you will pile up a bunch of permissions. By documenting what was found at each site, you will have a historical reference of each permission and what was found at each site. This will provide a reference to the sites that produced good targets and which ones didn’t for a possible return visit.
- As new technology arrives and you upgrade your metal detector, some of those old permission may become new again. Keeping a log of where and when you hunted a site will provide a modern day treasure map back to the riches. X marks the spot!
- Document the name of the person who owns the property. I can’t tell you how many times I lost the name of the owner and their phone number. Keeping this information in your log will preserve the name of the owner and his/her contact information so if you ever need to revisit or want to hunt the permission again you’ll have everything you need to contact the land owner.
- Document your time on the permission. In other words, if you only had 2 hours to hunt and the results were pretty good, you might want to revisit and spend more time there in the future. Knowing how much time you spent at the site will help you identify places to hunt again.
- Document the weather conditions of the hunt. Sometimes the weather conditions can cut a hunt short. But having that historical knowledge may present another opportunity to hunt the permission again but in better weather.
- Sometimes we will stumble into undocumented graves sites or headstones. By documenting, taking photos, and getting a GPS coordinate you can help document these grave sites. Did you know you can help document these locations by uploading the information to Billion Graves? If you visit their site you can download their app to help you through the process. Its really easy and it is a good thing to do.
What Type of Log Should You Keep?
You have a couple of options. A physical log or a digital one. You can keep a physical log or journal and update it in the field or wherever is convenient to you. A log book or journal is convenient to have and can be carried with you anywhere you go. Here are a few metal detecting log books I recommend that you can purchase from Amazon.
But another option is keeping a digital a metal detection log and storing it on your computer, smartphone, or even online. This is easily done by using something like Google Docs or Microsoft Word or even Word Pad. I’ve been keeping a digital log and I store it on my website. I also keep a log in Google Docs just in case my website goes down.
Don’t Procrastinate Start Your Log Today.
I really can’t stress enough how starting a metal detecting log will pay off in the long run. I’m glad I started my metal detecting log in 2019 and I will continue to keep a log in 2020. I was amazed at the finds I totally forgot about in only 1 year of hunting. Whether you decide to keep a log book or keep your finds documented on line, its never too late to get started.