Help for a newbie

[amybalcomb]

Hi guys, got given an Eagle Discriminator Metal Detector for Christmas and still trying to work the thing out.

Have had a quick buzz around the back garden's veg plot after a frost and some rain, and the couple of bits that I found were quite near the surface (v. old nail, a hinge, piece of metal, old can ring pull).

I reached an area near a wooden stake in the ground that marks out some veggies and the detector buzzed furiously and the needle shot fully to the right (non-ferous) and having dug down a good trowel's depth I have not unearthed anything yet.  The detector kept buzzing and I obviously didn't reach what was down there.  Advice please although the question is fairly obvious - do I keep going, go deeper, or do I widen the area that I'm digging?  The buzzing tone didn't continue out that far from the area I dug and so my feeling is that whatever it is is a lot deeper than I've reached so far.

How deep can finds be?

What are the best areas in gardens/fields to detect around?  Also, how do you go about finding field's owners?

I hope that one of you will spare me some time to bring me up to speed?  Thanks!  By the way, I live in Somerset.

Amy