<p><strong>I've wanted to have my own metal detector since I was a youngster.</strong> Finally at 36, I decided it's time to get one. I've never used a metal detector in my life but did some research and decided that Minelab products were the right place to start, and the X-TERRA 705 was the right detector to start with.</p> <p>I went out today for the first time after watching videos and reading tutorials to make sure I have a basic grasp of using the X-TERRA 705 and had some luck on my very first try.</p> [split] <p>The ground at my chosen location is basically shale, solid clay and fine rock in sold, hard, dry soil, digging was a nightmare and I bent and broke my shovel in the end. The hand held trowel didn't even come out of my bag. I was at an agricultural event venue where 1.2 million people and their children visit every year.</p> <p>Besides TONS of scrap metal, pull tabs and bottle caps, my first ever find, as in the first thing I pulled out of the ground before all this junk, was an un-shot blank rifle bullet (used in military demos) which I now keep on my shelf as a reminder of my first find. I also found an old chrome plated VW keyring, a copper button, 3 coins from the seventies, 1 from the 90's, and my first "real" coin, a 1934 Silver 6D Sixpence (bottom most coin).</p> <p>I was out there for about three hours and would have found a lot more if the ground wasn't so hard and full of rock. Kudos to the X-TERRA 705 for finding anything in that mess. I could spend a year there and never find everything to be found.</p> <p>I'm totally stoked and very happy with my X-TERRA 705, can't WAIT to find my first jewelry!</p>