Host Tyler Kern welcomed Gary Penta to the podcast “Discover the Truth,” where the pair discussed Penta’s history with metal detecting. Penta started his pastime as a metal detector after retiring from the Air Force.
“When I came back, I wanted a hobby,” said Penta. He caught a television program highlighting the activity and thought, “Who are these guys?” Not long afterwards he bought his own equipment and started hunting in Texas, where he was living at the time. Penta and his wife, also a veteran, now reside in Florida.
Penta is a member of the Ring Finders Club. “Ring Finders is a pretty interesting organization,” explained Penta. After signing up, members are given locations and sent out to look out for items, almost always rings. Penta is Scooba diver, and he has discovered his fair share of rings, as well as items like iPhones.
For his day job, his diving skills take center stage. As a treasure salvage diver, Penta works for a search and salvage business. “It has to do with the 1750 fleet, where the Spanish ships washed ashore on the east coast of Florida. 11 or 12 ships broke up, give or take, and millions upon millions of gold coins, silver coins… basically emptied into the shore… so here it is, hundreds of years later and we’re still looking for this stuff.”
Penta also treasure hunts on Florida’s west coast, where he looks for fossils. “We go on these boats, and we dive, and it sounds crazy, but we can actually find 10,000-year-old megalodon teeth just sitting on the ocean floor.”
In his spare time, he makes miniature models and complete dioramas, which he started several years ago as a form of therapy after losing his son in Afghanistan. “I started with miniature metal detectors,” of course. His work can be found at mydetecting.com, as well as his Facebook page: Gary Penta. He showcased several examples on the podcast.
Penta also had tips for aspiring metal detectors. “The best advice I can give for someone is find a hunting buddy or better yet find a club, join a club. Get yourself a machine, learn your machine, you gotta know what this machine sounds like, you gotta do testing.”
“When you swing your detector, keep your coil to the ground.” When you use an upswing, he explained. the coil should be level to the ground. “Low and slow.”
