Critterhunter
New member
Got a late start again today, but headed back to the beach I hit yesterday where they don't care if you detect mid day, so long as you stay well away from swimmers and such. I planned to do that, because I was headed way down the beach back to that cut I worked yesterday and beyond.
When I got there nobody was on the beach except two older women with a detector. I walked up to say hello and they asked if I could help them set up the machine they had borrowed. Took one look at it and never even seen this monstrosity. It was obviously a cheap $30 machine or something and with no brand name on it even. Said I'd be happy to help them and I explained all the controls. It had a sensitivity control, volume control, and a discrimination control. Told them about how gold rings can read as low as foil so to only raise the discrimination a tiny bit if you dig a nail and just enough to block that out so you won't miss any rings. Then explained the sensitivity control and how if it gets erratic you need to lower it some. Told them volume should be as how as it needs to be to easily hear the threshold on it.
Turned out after I played with the controls that at max sensitivity it would stay stable, but even with discrimination at zero it would hardly pick up a quarter at 1" deep, and that was pushing it- Probably half an inch. I asked if the batteries were fresh and they said yes. So I told them, that's as good as it's going to get because I have sensitivity all the way up and discrimination at zero. I told them they need to scrape the coil just barely kissing the sand so they might get a coin or something right under the surface. Explained that they have to keep the coil in motion to hear targets, how to pin point, and more importantly I told them to be sure to pick up their trash and fill their holes, and to stay away from other people because that's the only reason why they'll let you slide hunting this beach when people start showing up. Also told them that pretty much all the other beaches around were a sunrise only deal or you'll get kicked out and we might get banned at them. Threw in a remark about the Ace 250 being a cheap machine with good depth if they wanted to stick with the hobby.
Anyway, so off they go and I'm getting ready to hit the water when another guy shows up with a detector and his little kid. Wow, we saw a total of maybe 6 sand hunters all last year and now here's two in one day. Greeted him and he was also new to the hobby. He had a decent machine from another manufacturer, and asked if I'd show him how to ground balance and set the controls because he said the manual was lacking. He then went on to tell me he's already managed two gold rings at other beaches this summer, but he feels real lucky because he doesn't really know how to set this machine up yet. I told him I'd be happy to walk him through ground balancing and setup.
So I did that, then explained to him what I told the ladies. You can hunt this beach during the day but stay away from people or we'll get kicked out, to fill his holes and take his trash with him, and that all the other beaches within a 30 mile radius were pretty much a sunrise only thing otherwise we might get banned.
Told him same deal I told the ladies about raising discrimination just high enough to knock out iron so he'll find any gold rings that read as low as foil, along with explaining various other controls on his machine. Final bit of advice to him was how to dig a horseshoe plug when dirt hunting with one side still attached and to keep the plugs hid well or we'll be out on our ear at some of the parks people hunt.
Anyway, so then here's another happy camper is all set, and now I'm over an hour there and still haven't water hunted yet, but the conversation was good and the help I gave him too paid off, because he told me he's got a friend with an old house and a bunch of land, and that that land had a train depot on it in the 1800's! I asked if anybody ever hunted it and he said no way, because the house was the guy's parents before he owned it and they never had anybody hunt it either! So then he tells me he'd like me to go with him to show him the ropes on his machine more, how to old coin hunt, and how to work a site like that. I jumped at the chance and said any day you're ready.
He then asked if I had a circle of friends I hunt with and I said "yep, about 4 to 6 guys or so for years." He said would you guys be willing to include a new guy to the group and I said sure, plenty of room for an ethical hunter who isn't greedy either, if that's what your about, because we share spots equally with each other and if somebody makes a good find while others are getting skunked, we'll often tell the other guy to grid around where we just got that coin while we take a victory break.
At that he said, let me see if my buddy will have any problem with you bringing a guy with you to hunt when we hit the train depot. He said him and one other guy is fine but that he'd need to ask if three people in total (him included) would be too much. I said sounds great, and then pitched my closest hunting buddy I always hunt with, and told him if he can squeeze him in on the hunt the guy will of course be inclined to bring you to a bunch of his secret spots too.
Anyway, so we exchanged phone numbers, him and his little kid went off to hunt the dry sand, and I got in the water at the cut I worked yesterday. It had expanded some width wise, so I figured I'd re-grid the entire thing and see what turns up. Right off the bat I get a wheat cent. Great, more old stuff being exposed, but the cut wasn't as deep as I was hoping to really bring the old stuff to the surface more. I worked it intently and dug a few pennies and dimes and the usual trash like round and square tabs and bits of aluminum can shards. Nothing spectacular and it looked like I did a good job griding it yesterday and not much more had been exposed, but it still took me about 2 & 1/2 hours because I really was working it slow with very tight grid patterns from right at the edge of shore out to as deep as I dared go with the GT chest mounted.
Moved down to another cut I noticed yesterday. Not as good of one but it held promise anyway. Worked that cut in the water and only a few more coins. Mostly fluffy light aluminum like round tabs, square tabs, and can shards. Not a good sign. I worked right up against the shore where the sand makes that tumbling motion with waves and drops off that half foot or so, which is a feature found at most every beach I've ever saw with any kind of waves. I like to work those spots because I feel if any sand has eroded from the dry beach any rings might sit at the very first little drop off at the bank and not go anywhere. Only problem with working that edge like that is there are usually a ton of signals from aluminum and foil fluff that ends up getting pushed right up against shore like that.
Either way, it paid off with me digging every signal, because I got a high tone and thought "coin", but ended up seeing a large wire frame woman's ring with the wire frame of a large butterfly on it almost the size of a quarter! It was one of those deals though were you can't tell if it's aluminum or sterling silver, due to both the color and the super light weight because of it being thin frame construction. Not a solid ring, just a frame outlining the butterfly and a thin band for the finger. Flipped it over and saw two words of some type and what looked like a halmark in the center! Looking better, as I doubt they'd stamp a cheap aluminum ring with any kind of words. I can see pretty darn good with my glasses but these words were even smaller than the usual markings on a ring, so I pulled my glasses of as I can see stuff super close and tiny even better with my glasses off. Sure enough! Said ".925", had a halmark after that, and then on the other side of the Halmark something like "ESCG" or something, which I assume is the maker's initials!
So looks like good karma helping two people out paid off today. Not only did I get a new potential guy for our little circle of hunting friends, but it also looks like he'll be taking me to a virgin train depot on private land that nobody has hunted before!
You see, it pays to help people, as I really do believe in karma. What comes around goes around, and if you give people bad karma will bring you bad, but by the same token good begets good in return.
If this train depot virgin site thing pans out (sounds like it is because he just called me and said he's going to talk to his buddy in a little bit here!), I'll be sure to bring a digital camera with me to film us digging what we thing are going to be good coins, and also do some still shots on stuff we uncover still in the hole and such.
PS- This ring I don't plan on cashing in for a while until my silver pile builds back up again, so I'll try to get a picture of it with a better camera and post. Cool looking ring.
When I got there nobody was on the beach except two older women with a detector. I walked up to say hello and they asked if I could help them set up the machine they had borrowed. Took one look at it and never even seen this monstrosity. It was obviously a cheap $30 machine or something and with no brand name on it even. Said I'd be happy to help them and I explained all the controls. It had a sensitivity control, volume control, and a discrimination control. Told them about how gold rings can read as low as foil so to only raise the discrimination a tiny bit if you dig a nail and just enough to block that out so you won't miss any rings. Then explained the sensitivity control and how if it gets erratic you need to lower it some. Told them volume should be as how as it needs to be to easily hear the threshold on it.
Turned out after I played with the controls that at max sensitivity it would stay stable, but even with discrimination at zero it would hardly pick up a quarter at 1" deep, and that was pushing it- Probably half an inch. I asked if the batteries were fresh and they said yes. So I told them, that's as good as it's going to get because I have sensitivity all the way up and discrimination at zero. I told them they need to scrape the coil just barely kissing the sand so they might get a coin or something right under the surface. Explained that they have to keep the coil in motion to hear targets, how to pin point, and more importantly I told them to be sure to pick up their trash and fill their holes, and to stay away from other people because that's the only reason why they'll let you slide hunting this beach when people start showing up. Also told them that pretty much all the other beaches around were a sunrise only deal or you'll get kicked out and we might get banned at them. Threw in a remark about the Ace 250 being a cheap machine with good depth if they wanted to stick with the hobby.
Anyway, so off they go and I'm getting ready to hit the water when another guy shows up with a detector and his little kid. Wow, we saw a total of maybe 6 sand hunters all last year and now here's two in one day. Greeted him and he was also new to the hobby. He had a decent machine from another manufacturer, and asked if I'd show him how to ground balance and set the controls because he said the manual was lacking. He then went on to tell me he's already managed two gold rings at other beaches this summer, but he feels real lucky because he doesn't really know how to set this machine up yet. I told him I'd be happy to walk him through ground balancing and setup.
So I did that, then explained to him what I told the ladies. You can hunt this beach during the day but stay away from people or we'll get kicked out, to fill his holes and take his trash with him, and that all the other beaches within a 30 mile radius were pretty much a sunrise only thing otherwise we might get banned.
Told him same deal I told the ladies about raising discrimination just high enough to knock out iron so he'll find any gold rings that read as low as foil, along with explaining various other controls on his machine. Final bit of advice to him was how to dig a horseshoe plug when dirt hunting with one side still attached and to keep the plugs hid well or we'll be out on our ear at some of the parks people hunt.
Anyway, so then here's another happy camper is all set, and now I'm over an hour there and still haven't water hunted yet, but the conversation was good and the help I gave him too paid off, because he told me he's got a friend with an old house and a bunch of land, and that that land had a train depot on it in the 1800's! I asked if anybody ever hunted it and he said no way, because the house was the guy's parents before he owned it and they never had anybody hunt it either! So then he tells me he'd like me to go with him to show him the ropes on his machine more, how to old coin hunt, and how to work a site like that. I jumped at the chance and said any day you're ready.
He then asked if I had a circle of friends I hunt with and I said "yep, about 4 to 6 guys or so for years." He said would you guys be willing to include a new guy to the group and I said sure, plenty of room for an ethical hunter who isn't greedy either, if that's what your about, because we share spots equally with each other and if somebody makes a good find while others are getting skunked, we'll often tell the other guy to grid around where we just got that coin while we take a victory break.
At that he said, let me see if my buddy will have any problem with you bringing a guy with you to hunt when we hit the train depot. He said him and one other guy is fine but that he'd need to ask if three people in total (him included) would be too much. I said sounds great, and then pitched my closest hunting buddy I always hunt with, and told him if he can squeeze him in on the hunt the guy will of course be inclined to bring you to a bunch of his secret spots too.
Anyway, so we exchanged phone numbers, him and his little kid went off to hunt the dry sand, and I got in the water at the cut I worked yesterday. It had expanded some width wise, so I figured I'd re-grid the entire thing and see what turns up. Right off the bat I get a wheat cent. Great, more old stuff being exposed, but the cut wasn't as deep as I was hoping to really bring the old stuff to the surface more. I worked it intently and dug a few pennies and dimes and the usual trash like round and square tabs and bits of aluminum can shards. Nothing spectacular and it looked like I did a good job griding it yesterday and not much more had been exposed, but it still took me about 2 & 1/2 hours because I really was working it slow with very tight grid patterns from right at the edge of shore out to as deep as I dared go with the GT chest mounted.
Moved down to another cut I noticed yesterday. Not as good of one but it held promise anyway. Worked that cut in the water and only a few more coins. Mostly fluffy light aluminum like round tabs, square tabs, and can shards. Not a good sign. I worked right up against the shore where the sand makes that tumbling motion with waves and drops off that half foot or so, which is a feature found at most every beach I've ever saw with any kind of waves. I like to work those spots because I feel if any sand has eroded from the dry beach any rings might sit at the very first little drop off at the bank and not go anywhere. Only problem with working that edge like that is there are usually a ton of signals from aluminum and foil fluff that ends up getting pushed right up against shore like that.
Either way, it paid off with me digging every signal, because I got a high tone and thought "coin", but ended up seeing a large wire frame woman's ring with the wire frame of a large butterfly on it almost the size of a quarter! It was one of those deals though were you can't tell if it's aluminum or sterling silver, due to both the color and the super light weight because of it being thin frame construction. Not a solid ring, just a frame outlining the butterfly and a thin band for the finger. Flipped it over and saw two words of some type and what looked like a halmark in the center! Looking better, as I doubt they'd stamp a cheap aluminum ring with any kind of words. I can see pretty darn good with my glasses but these words were even smaller than the usual markings on a ring, so I pulled my glasses of as I can see stuff super close and tiny even better with my glasses off. Sure enough! Said ".925", had a halmark after that, and then on the other side of the Halmark something like "ESCG" or something, which I assume is the maker's initials!
So looks like good karma helping two people out paid off today. Not only did I get a new potential guy for our little circle of hunting friends, but it also looks like he'll be taking me to a virgin train depot on private land that nobody has hunted before!
You see, it pays to help people, as I really do believe in karma. What comes around goes around, and if you give people bad karma will bring you bad, but by the same token good begets good in return.If this train depot virgin site thing pans out (sounds like it is because he just called me and said he's going to talk to his buddy in a little bit here!), I'll be sure to bring a digital camera with me to film us digging what we thing are going to be good coins, and also do some still shots on stuff we uncover still in the hole and such.
PS- This ring I don't plan on cashing in for a while until my silver pile builds back up again, so I'll try to get a picture of it with a better camera and post. Cool looking ring.
