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Beach Detecting at Night?

F

Florida-Hunter

New member
I am for some reason anxious to lay my MXT over some beaches today... But unfortunately I work till after dark later tonight. I was considering going to the beach anyway with a flashlight er something.

Do any of you use your metal detector on the beaches at night? Bad idea? Or good idea? Pros and or Cons of doing so?

The beach I'm thinking of usually has a person or two walking on the beach after dark, low crime type area.
 
Just put everything you find in a pouch and look at it all when you get home. I don't know your area so I don't know what riff raff you might run into. Thats the only con I see. Pro's are you have the whole beach to yourself and the leatherback turtles that nest.
 
Bring a flash light along as a back up to a light that fits on your head. I may not be describing it well but the type of lantern hikers or people on bicycles use to see with at night. By using head lantern you can keep your hands free. You can buy them REI, any sporting good store or most hardware stores as well.

Gerry
 
i love detecting the beach at night it helps to pick out every little sound the detector makes and i've had some belting finds. here in the uk we dont see a lot of gun or knife crime in my area and i've never been bothered by anyone but if i was i've always got my spade with me:)
 
they sell LED headlights at wally mart for a decent price. just make sure to buy the one that uses AAA batts. as the watch batteris are real expensive.
those headlights will outlast you, and your detector batteries usually. :thumbup: and better to have a scoop.
 
I have detected several times at night, very peaceful and there's not a 100 set of eyes trying to see what you just dug up. I use a head mount adjustable light which has about 3 different modes on it, works well and from wall-mart of course.

BCOOP
 
Hey FloridaHunter! I hunt the beaches at night all the time. Usually in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, but, its a nice way to hunt and if it sucks you can always star gaze. As far as lighting a good headlamp is a must! Your hands will already be full with the detector and scoop....trust me...dont carry a regular flashlight. It will make you insane. I have 2 headlamps. One is a Princeton Tec EOS and the other is a Petzl E+Lite. Both are water resistant and do a good job lighting up the target. I wouldnt go into the water at night...especially alone but, wetsand and drysand....game on! By the way what part of Florida are you in? I am on the West Central coast.
 
Head lamp and maybe a second for on the lower leg area of the opposite leg in which you kneel on--just a thought--i have never done it due to i get up at 5.30 am and am on the beach by 6:00am--that is when on vacation. HH
 
Ok, I just got home!

Well great that settles it then... I'm going to the beach here in a few minutes. There' s a great spot that I seldom hunt because it's usually loaded with people during the day, near by a pier. Too bad I don't own a sand scoop, so I'll have to still use my trusty flat screwdriver probe. I'm gonna have to search around for my head band light, I have a good one if I can locate it... I have one around here some where, but I can't remember where I last saw it.

Hey Dig... I'm down a bit South of you, but also on the West coast.... Basically I'm down in the Lee/Collier county area.

Thanks for the posts on night hunting people!

If I find anything good... I'll post here tomorrow!
 
Florida-Hunter,
Spend the money on a scoop , you're gonna need it !

@ Dig , We probably hunt the same areas. How about leaving something for me to find ? ! I've never hunted at night , but I bet it'd be alot of fun !

Good Luck Guys !
 
Well I'm back from my night detecting!
Sort of slim pickins tonight... One new quarter, and two new, zinc pennies... However one of them is so corroded that it's pretty much only a zinc slug at this point, and a single pull tab. I was only out for almost exactly one hour. There's a city ordinance here that says you can only park legally till 11 PM at the beaches, or have the possibility of having your vehicle towed... I got back to my truck at about 11:18 pm, so pushed it a bit. I probably could have worked the beach a little longer if I moved my truck, but wasn't really sure where to park without having to walk a few blocks... Also with the slim pickins, thought I'd just start earlier next time.

Good to know I can detect easily during the early night hours though... Plus this'll let me hit some areas that I'd usually pass up due to crowded beach spots.
 
Where you located FKP... I just assumed you were in the Keys... Lol

Florida Keys Pirate said:
Florida-Hunter,
Spend the money on a scoop , you're gonna need it !

@ Dig , We probably hunt the same areas. How about leaving something for me to find ? ! I've never hunted at night , but I bet it'd be alot of fun !

Good Luck Guys !
Click to expand...
 
Why do you need a light?? I hunt at night on land and never have used a light. I found my 1893CC 10.00 gold piece at about 1:30 am. A light just lets you look at what you found. To me that just shortens hunting time. LOL Well when I held that gold piece and saw the eagle on the back, I QUIT hunting right then and there!!! Moonlight has always worked for me. Also when I hunted the beaches at night in Florida, I had enough light to see everything I wanted to see. So EVERYONE has me stumped in saying you need a light. Can anybody please let me know why its needed at all? Thanks, I really am curious to hear your replies.
 
Florida-Hunter said:
Well I'm back from my night detecting!
Sort of slim pickins tonight... One new quarter, and two new, zinc pennies... However one of them is so corroded that it's pretty much only a zinc slug at this point, and a single pull tab. I was only out for almost exactly one hour. There's a city ordinance here that says you can only park legally till 11 PM at the beaches, or have the possibility of having your vehicle towed... I got back to my truck at about 11:18 pm, so pushed it a bit. I probably could have worked the beach a little longer if I moved my truck, but wasn't really sure where to park without having to walk a few blocks... Also with the slim pickins, thought I'd just start earlier next time.

Good to know I can detect easily during the early night hours though... Plus this'll let me hit some areas that I'd usually pass up due to crowded beach spots.
Click to expand...

Back in the old days, in Naples, you could park at the beach all night. We had keg parties, camping, bonfires, ect. 'They' ruined that town..
 
I have been detecting at night for the past three years and absolutely love it. Where I live we can leave the car in front of the beach all night. From 12 midnight to 8:00am its free. After 8:00am the council charges $3.75 an hour!
I use an LED Lenser head torch for park hunting and it has adjustable brightness, giving out 190 lumens. As I just bought a Fisher CZ21 last week (10 detectors now!) and it goes rather deep in wet sand, a head torch is handy to see what is rattling in the scoop.
No problems with passer bys, most keep to them selves or on a rare occassion are just curious about metal detecting.

Buy a scoop, a metal mesh basket one is ideal.

Alarm system: I just have my poodle with me and within 100 metres, he lets me know if someone is approaching.
 
I only turn the light on to look at my target, and even then I use the red light to save my night vision (I like to keep a minimal profile at night) but, I also believe in being prepared for everything short of Zombies when I go out. My ready bag contains just about everything it takes to fix my detector if it breaks(assorted nylong bolts,gaskets,silicone grease,electrical tape), a jewlers loupe, first aid, extra battery and pod, sun screen, extra water, EMT shears, heat packs, extra clothes and towels,...oh and a headlamp etc...
scubadetector said:
Why do you need a light?? I hunt at night on land and never have used a light. I found my 1893CC 10.00 gold piece at about 1:30 am. A light just lets you look at what you found. To me that just shortens hunting time. LOL Well when I held that gold piece and saw the eagle on the back, I QUIT hunting right then and there!!! Moonlight has always worked for me. Also when I hunted the beaches at night in Florida, I had enough light to see everything I wanted to see. So EVERYONE has me stumped in saying you need a light. Can anybody please let me know why its needed at all? Thanks, I really am curious to hear your replies.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah...I dont like using a light either...I have a very tiny led one clipped to my shirt just in case...at night, your detector becomes your eyes, and your scoop becomes both a self defense weapon and a target retriever...lights only attract attention, most of which you will not want, keep yer head on a swivel, no need to really look down, just a very peaceful stroll and sweep on an empty cool beach is really great! If you do happen to be on the verge of getting jumped, the light is handy for blinding your would be attacker. Other than that, its probably the best time to be there!
Mud
 
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