I lived most of my live in California…I like Nevada for a few reasons… 2.6 million residents, with over 85% of the population residing in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and Reno. Approximately 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government….Lots of places to roam around and look for Treasure.Art
The only US federal land within a 2 hour (one way) driving distance, is a National seashore on Lake Michigan. No metal detecting there, so might as well be 0%. I'm highly allergic to poison ivy, all fences on farmland and woodlands are full of it. Leaves me the choice of city parks or get permission to hunt trashy old yards. Usually, if I metal detect, it will be the local park...it's more like "happy pulltab" hunting.
Last summer, I did take along a pendulum to the park. I really wanted to get out a pair of dowsing rods...but too many kids running around, people watching you because you're holding a metal detector.
First good signal, took out the pendulum instead of using the pinpoint on my detector, I dowsed the target. With a small screwdriver made about a half inch hole, just enough to see and straight down. I came right to the very center of a dime. From then on checked my signals of my detector dowsing them.
I found that if the pendulum moves right away, it is a good target. But if I had to ask where it was to get a response...it turned out every time to be junk. I could pinpoint the junk also. So, holding it over a signal and no response without asking, pulltabs, if registered pulltab on the detector id. Map dowsing ahead of time revealed where all these pulltab patches where, good places to find treasure other T'Hers have missed.