One habit separates casual detectorists from consistently successful ones: keeping records. It doesn’t sound exciting, and it doesn’t beep or flash — but maintaining a log of your finds and the places they came from is one of the most powerful tools you can use to improve results over time.
I learned this the hard way.
Why Keeping Records Really Matters
Most of us remember our best finds — but memory is unreliable when you’re dealing with dozens of fields, permissions, and hundreds (sometimes thousands) of individual signals.
A proper log helps you:
- Track progress over time
You begin to see how your skills, research, and site choices improve year by year. - Spot patterns and productive areas
Finds rarely happen at random. Clusters emerge — certain slopes, boundaries, routes, or soil types quietly reveal themselves only when you step back and review your notes. - Refine your detecting technique
Looking back at what worked (and what didn’t) helps you adjust settings, coil choice, and search strategy with confidence. - Preserve historical context
A single coin is interesting. A group of finds recorded with locations and dates tells a much richer story about how a site was used. - Stay organised and compliant
Accurate records make reporting to the PAS, landowners, or clubs far easier — and far more professional. - Create a personal archive
Years later, your logs become a fascinating record of your detecting life — not just what you found, but where, how, and why.
What to Record (Without Over complicating It)
You can go as detailed as you like, but at minimum I recommend noting:
- Date
- Site name or reference
- General location (or grid reference)
- Object type
- Depth (if known)
- Any brief observations (soil, condition, context)
Photos are a bonus — especially shots taken in situ before removal — but written notes remain invaluable long after phones are upgraded or files misplaced.
The Diaries That Changed How I Looked at Detecting
I always admired the metal detecting diaries my friend Brian kept.
They weren’t just lists of finds. They were beautifully detailed records of sites: sketches, field layouts, notes on soil and topography, snippets of local history, even the odd hand-drawn map. Over time, those diaries became works of art — but more importantly, they became an invaluable reference.
What struck me most was that Brian wasn’t just recording what he’d found — he was recording why he’d found it. Patterns emerged. Old routes became obvious. Productive areas revealed themselves not by chance, but through careful observation and record-keeping.
I envied that discipline. Like many detectorists, I told myself I’d “write it up later” and muddled through with spreadsheets, loose notes, and half-remembered details. It worked for a while — until it didn’t.
When finds mounted up, sites blurred together, and I realised I was losing information I could never recover, Brian’s diaries came back to mind. They weren’t just a record of the past — they were a tool for future success.
That’s when I started taking record-keeping seriously.
How I Actually Record Sites and Finds
Over the years I’ve tried spreadsheets, folders, and digital notes, but what finally stuck was a side-by-side system: site information on one page, finds on the facing page.
It keeps everything connected — the place and the objects found there — which is how detecting really works in practice.
Site Record (Left Page)
I always start a fresh Site Record page for each new site. Mixing multiple sites on one page is a false economy — it becomes confusing surprisingly quickly.
At the top, I note the basics:
- Date
- Site name
- Landowner
- Contact details
The Notes section is where the real value builds over time. This is for:
- Research (references, historic maps, estate records)
- Old footpaths, buildings, boundaries
- Field names, acreage, land use
- Observations from the ground
The lower part of the page is deliberately left open. Sometimes I sketch a field layout; sometimes I glue in a map extract or photo. If I have more notes than drawings, I just keep writing. Flexibility matters.
Finds Record (Right Page)
Opposite the site notes is the Finds Record, where each object is logged.
I try to record as much as is practical:
- Identification (or best guess)
- Material
- Measurements (diameter, thickness, weight)
- Any distinguishing features
Photos are invaluable. Ideally, I’ll take front and back shots (and side views for most artefacts), with a scale. If there are multiple images or digital records, I simply note where they’re stored in the Reference column.
The Findspot is best recorded as an accurate map reference where possible.
The Location records where the item is now — drawer, display, with the landowner, recorded, or sold.
For anything that needs expanding — PAS record numbers, detector settings, longer notes — the Reference column links it all together.
If a site runs over multiple pages, I just cross-reference the page numbers. Index pages at the back make it easy to find sites or specific finds later.
A Journal, Not a Rule book
The most important point is this: there’s no single “correct” way to keep records.
This is your journal. Use it in a way that suits how you detect. Some people write pages of notes. Others log only key finds. Both approaches work — as long as you’re consistent.
A Simple Option (If You Want One)
After years of trial and error, I eventually put together a very straightforward logbook based on this system — nothing fancy, no apps, just a practical tool that encourages the habit.
If you’re interested, I’ve linked to the logbooks on my website (which then links through to Amazon). There are versions covering:
- Sites and finds together: the-successful-metal-detecting-site-and-finds-log-book
- Sites and finds together but with twice as many pages: the-successful-metal-detectorists-site-and-finds-log-book
- Sites only: the-successful-metal-detecting-site-log-book
- Finds only: the-successful-metal-detecting-finds-log-book
No pressure — you can do all of this with a notebook if you prefer. The key thing is to start recording and keep going.
Final Thought
Most great detecting sites don’t reveal themselves in a single visit.
They reveal themselves over time, through patterns — and patterns only become visible when you write things down.
Your future self will thank you.
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