First of all, WOW!! What an amazing day!!! The weather was perfect for our first annual Pull Tab Gear Dirt Hounds Event.

Where do we begin….we have so much to say and so many to thank for making this day such a huge success.

First, I would like to thank Ben and Jeremy for coming out as representatives of XP Metal Detectors, Your display was gorgeous and truly informative for people who were curious about the XP line. Thank you for the amazing donations of an XP Deus II and ORX metal detector, plus the MI-4 pinpointers. You made some people very happy!

We would also like to thank the Chatham Kent Metal detecting club for sponsoring a bonus hunt at the start of the day. Talk about a warm up hunt. You guys never cease to amaze me with your creativity. A special thanks to Dave Crundwell for providing and setting up an amazing test garden for everyone to tune up their machines for the day as well as Ken, Phil, Andrew and Kathy for volunteering your time leading up to the event and your hard work setting everything up at the beach. You’re incredible, we could not have done this without you.

We would also like to thank the following amazing local businesses that enthusiastically and generously donated some amazing prizes;

Thank you, Phil Szucs and Warren Newcombe of Site Help pro’s in Chatham, for the wicked cool and stunning 1 ounce .999 Silver fender guitar shaped coin. What an amazing addition to the prize lineup.

Thank you, Sue and Bill from Simple Thing’s Antiques & Collectables and Candied Memories of Thamesville, for the incredible retro Candy basket filled with delicious and nostalgic treats, locally made jam and so many other wonderful things. The Chocolate F C for Forest City Metal detector’s was such a cute touch.

Thank you, Kay Page from Drew’s tattoos in London, who also happens to be our daughter. Kay, there were so many people with their fingers crossed to win your $200 Tattoo Gift Card. We are so proud of you for chasing your dreams to become the talented tattoo artist you are. Your thoughtfulness and generosity didn’t go unnoticed. We wish you could have been there to see the event in action and hopefully you got some new followers on your Instagram portfolio and booking center @kaylap.tattoos

Dora from Doralicious!!! Your cookies were incredible. Thank you for your hard work and creativity! We know it was a large order and must have taken you forever. We could all see and taste that each one was baked with love. Thank you for your incredible donation! And an extra thank you for making a customized cookie basket for Team PTG’s one and only, Eric Dani’s birthday!! The artwork was outstanding.

We also received countess donations of small prizes, silver jewelry and coins for seeding from a number of enthusiastic detectorist’s and friends we have made over the years. Paul Shrimpton,
Mike Kreller, Kevin Flynn,
Sebastian Pasnik, Thunder Bay Metal detecting Club, and the many people that provided donations anonymously. We are truly and unbelievably in awe of the love and support you have all shown us.

We would also like to thank some of the amazing YouTubers that came out, captured amazing footage and memories to share, shook hands with participants and even signed some merch!! James Mathias (Relic Expeditions), Ryan Pugh (Hoard of the Rings), Gary Wright (Timeless Digger), Alison Alison M Walker, the pink Power Ali herself ( An incredible metal and dive detectorist with The Ring Finders and Minelab Detexpert) ….and last but not least, Eric Danis and Laurie Gagne ( of Relic Dirty Hands YouTube channel, Red River Gold T.V. Series, Minelab Detexperts and of course our amazing Team Pull Tab Gear brand ambassadors). I hope I didn’t miss any names.

To our volunteers, three of which were our daughters, Breeana,
Baylee and Bianca Bennett,
plus our friends Danniella and Shiniece, who helped keep the prize distribution table organized and running smoothly, the lunch served to over 140 people at warp speed, helping to run registration, the PTG Booth, 50/50, Seeding, setup and teardown…and you did it all with a smile. We are sure you’re exhausted. We couldn’t have done this without you!! THANK YOU!!

We are so happy to announce that we had 118 participants sign up for the event, and almost 100% attendance! Plus, we had so many amazing spectators that came out to cheer on their family and friends throughout the day. A special shoutout to Oakley the pup, a super cute furry addition to the spectator crowd. I hope you got all the pats, love and pizza crusts you could handle little man. Such an incredible turnout for year 1!! We had participants that travelled from as far as Quebec, Petawawa and Kingston. You guys are troopers, what a drive!

Steve and I took a moment to step back, look around to soak in the magic of the event at different times throughout the day. We watched new friendships bloom, so much laughter, witnessed so many hugs and handshakes taking place. We saw the excitement in children’s eyes as they plucked jewelry, world coins, silver and prize tokens from the sand. We scanned the seasoned hunt field and saw the excitement and determination to collect the silver and prize tokens from the sand. We even watched as some participants that already found prize tokens, toss them back in the sand in front of other people so they too could win a prize. We watched strangers sit together to break bread and share stories and chat about their finds. It was all very beautiful and wet our eyes a few times. I would have said all of this at the event but I was starting to get choked up.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation for each and every one of you that were present at the event. You are the reason we do what we do and why we will continue to do it. Without all of you, this event would not have been the friendship building success that it was. We were so excited to see you all sign the hunt jerseys to hang in our store.

We are humbled and honored to have been in the presence of all of you incredibly amazing people. We are truly blessed and our hearts are full.

Much love from both Steve and I at Forest city metal detectors, Metaldetect.ca and of course our Pull Tab gear brand which we built just for you.

We hope to see you all again next year. Until next time, we will be here for you to provide you with our very best customer service and support.

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you!!!

P.S. We have read through all of the comment cards. There were so many sweet messages and some great feedback that will only help us to build and improve on for our future events. We are already brainstorming to make next years even better!! And yes, the next hunt field will be massive!! SAVE THE DATE FOR NEXT YEAR - SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2026