Beach Hunting with MXT

[alienbogey]

Hi,

I might get the chance to hunt a beach with my MXT which I've previously only used for nugget hunting. Any advice on what settings to use and how to use it? Any beach hunting advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lee - MI - MI]

Fresh or salt water? Fresh water is easier. On salt water beaches don't forget to set it for "Salt" or it will be too noisy to use.

I use either the stock coil or the new 14" elliptical on beaches.

Set your threshold to where you can barely hear the background noise then set your gain/sensitivity a little higher than you think you can get away with and pump the coil a few times. If it quiets down at around 10 - 12 pumps, that is about as sensitive as you can get without falsing. If it stays quiet or nulls out within a few pumps, increase the gain a little and try again.

You will have to readjust it as you go from surf to wet sand to dry sand but it usually stays consistent within any one of these areas. In the shallow surf you may find that it will chatter as a wave breaks over the coil and/or the foam or bubbly water washes back over the coil. Especially in salt water. If you want to hunt in this area you will have to back the gain down a little more.

Don't forget, the control box is not waterproof. DO NOT DROP your detector or it will be toast. Especially in salt water. Another warning, if you are in salt water protect the control box from the invisible salt spray. Look down the shore line. Notice the haze? That is salt water spray that you do not see. It is all around you.

Be careful that, while retrieving a target while in the water, DO NOT hold the coil higher than the control box. There is water inside the hollow shaft and it will drain into the control or indicator box.

At the end of the day rinse everything you can with fresh water. Wipe down what you cannot flush off. Take your lower control rod apart and flush it out every day you are in the water. Sand will work it's way into the control rod and seize it up so tight that you may have to destroy the rods to get them apart.

You may want to put a small amount of Vaseline on the cable connector threads so they do not seize or corrode.

I have used my MXT on quite a few beaches and felt that I did pretty good. I have found quarters more than a foot down in the dry sand. I did not go deep enough into the water to need a long handled sand scoop. The basic scoop with integral handle has been sufficient for me. Easily good for calf deep water. Not good for waves. Pretty risky for the detector too.

A final word about backing down the gain. Do not worry about losing depth. Higher gain with falsing is not as good as a workable gain that you can actually identify a target. Even in salt water you should be able to retrieve targets 4 - 6 inches down in the wet sand, even under salt water.

[attachment 14517 THCodger.gif]
HH

Lee

SIG BAG

 

[coolguy]

A one thing that i will ad is the use of salt away that you can buy form a boat supply. This stuff is great on salt water just use a directed,we use it on our fishing boats no rust or salt build up.
coolguy

 

[alienbogey]

Hey, thanks for all the info, this is exactly what I need. I've copied and pasted to a file to save for when I get to go.

By the way, I was asking about salt beaches.

How do you protect the control box against salt spray? Rain cover, I guess?

I have the 14" coil but it's kind of heavy to swing so I was figuring on using the stock 10".

Do you have preferences between the dry sand, the wet sand, and the water itself? I hadn't figured on going in the water, I know my coil is waterproof but I also know that the box is not. Is the water so much more productive that it's worth the risk?

Thanks again.

 

[stgeorgeut]

went to carlsbad beach last weak near san diego,,I used my 14 inch and let it glide over the sand , that took the weight off of the mxt and I pulled up a FIVE diamond men's gold ring at eight inches in dry sand...and do what Lee say's you be just fine..

 

[byoccm]

I LIVE IN NORTH DAKOTA SO WE DON'T HAVE MUCH SALT BEACHES TO HUNT. i WILL TELL YOU ONE OF MY TRICKS, AT THE BEACHES AROUND HERE THERE IS A TEN TO TWENTY FOOT BEACH SAND OR LESS. I HAVE FOUND MORE RINGS AND COINS IN THE GRASS JUST OFF OF THE BEACH THAN IN THE SANDY PART. I GUESS THAT EVERY ONE ELSE CHECKS THE SAND. BUT WHEN I WAS THERE ON HOT SUNNY DAY THERE WAS ALL THE ADULTS OLDER COLLAGE KIDS IN THE GRASS AND JUST THE CHILDREN IN THE SAND. GOOD LUCK HUNTING. BILL FROM THE NORTH