I look for a dead deer and it's usually sticking out of it's side>Sorry, just joking. My bother finds mine with his lawn mower>not a joke. I have overshot my 3d target a few times and searched for the arrow for hours(literally). I have discovered that arrows shot at ground level particularly, can dive under the ground to as deep as four to five inches and be a pain to find and or recover. Not to sure that a metal detector will work well for aluminum. Also just burying under matted grass makes them extremely difficult to find. It makes missing those long shots all the more disappointing when it costs another arrow.