beach hunting

[ThrowDownBrown]

went to the beach today for about 10-15 minutes.. didn't get any strong signals at all.... what do you guys look fo hen you detect? What area of the beach? I was thinking where people lay their towels....I use a musketeer advantage any help is appreciated...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Depends on what type beach you're at, and what your objective is. Were you hunting the wet sand, or dry sand? And I'm assuming ocean beaches, or did you mean lake beaches? You gotta be more specific. If you meant wet sand at ocean beaches, be aware that mother nature is constantly changing that zone. Sand comes in and out, and re-arranges with tides and swells over time. So it is entirely possible that you could've been in acres and acres of absolutely sterile sand (as mother nature might have been piling in sterile sand over the preceding weeks). Soft sand, which is soft to the step, is a sign that sand is "coming in". Firm hard sand (so hard you can practically ride a 10-speed bike on it), is indicative of sand getting compressed, drawn out, eroding, etc... And then there is inumerable other indicators to look for when hunting the wet sand, that would take a book to go into detail about: Scallop shapes (damp or wet looking low or "in" zones, where the surf scours down in specific shapes), cuts, slopes, elbows, etc....

Or if you were hunting the dry sand, perhaps you are on a beach that gets pounded to h*ck by other hunters? Perhaps you were doing something wrong with your machine? Perhaps your beach is just lame to begin with (low traffic, etc...)? Wherever people gather, they tend to be fumble fingers. At the very least you should be getting foil, tabs, caps, etc... on the dry, where people lay about and play.

 

[zeekeys]

ThrowDwonBrown sometimes I am out there for an hour or more before I get a good target. Some days all I get is 1 to 5 coins for the day. Even if you detect the same beach day after day the sand is different, making the detector sounds different. The beaches can be tricky. The rewards are there but you have to be patient and learn from the detector and the beach.
Thanks for reading......Z

 

[crazyman]

Tom might be right. Maybe the area your hunting is well hunted or an area that doesn't have much use. You can be confident that your Minelab Advantage will do a good job on the beach. I use the Advantage on our nasty beaches here in Washington State with good success. Here is a shot from one days hunt around a local fishing/swimming dock with my Advantage.

 

[ThrowDownBrown]

awsome... Sorry I mean the ocean beaches... The hard packed sand was throwing me off.. I also didn't try near the pear.. Maybe I should try that.... I guess what I am asking is if the detector will make the same strong sound that it does when I am in a grassy soft soiled area.....
Nice finds there /\ /\

 

[crazyman]

That dock in this picture where I hunted is on a salt water beach. It's just in a bay and yes it will still give you a strong signal just like on land depending on the depth of the target. Just like on land the deeper the target the weaker the response. Good Luck!

 

[Willee - Texas]

Are you serious?

No ... really ... are you serious about finding good stuff at the beach?

You have invested your money on some equipment and you plan on investing your time doing it.
So why haven't you invested in some knowledge about where to go and what to do.

You should buy and read "Water Hunting ... Secrets of the Pros" by Clive Clynick.

There are other great books out there also, and all you need to do is look for them.
They are much easier to find than the gold rings at the beach.

Willee

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Another thing you can do is at the beach is bury some coins at different depth in the wet and dry sand and see how they sound when you pass the detector over it. That'll give you an idea of what to expect.

 

[ThrowDownBrown]

Thanks guys for all the info.. I will be looking forward to heading back out the the local salt water beach and finding some things.. I will post pics...

 

[bigelmo]

Did you say 10 to 15 minutes? It takes me that long to find my shoes!

 

[maria8forever]

went to the beach today for about 10-15 minutes.. didn't get any strong signals at all.... what do you guys look fo hen you detect? What area of the beach? I was thinking where people lay their towels....I use a musketeer advantage any help is appreciated...[/quote]ThrowDown start out in the soft sand if there is a good bit at the beach,the hard packed wet sand will be very hard to hunt just starting out! It will make the detector act different due to mineralized salt,but it can be done like crazyman said with the Musketeer.You will need to use your manual ground balance most likely.Targets will be farther apart in the wet sand than in the dry sand.The first time i took my Musketeer to the beach i went behind the beach bar volleyball court and found a nice silver wedding band!.It is easier to start in the soft dry sand,and find something to use for a sand scoop like a flour sifter,kitty litter scoop,or maybe make one out of a coffee can or whatever you can think of to make it easier because it is hard to see your target in the sand,or if you can afford it buy a sand scoop.The next time i make it out to the beach i am going to put on the 15"Coiltek on the Musketeer and really cover some sand,I am going to show this hot shot dude that hunts the beach hard with a Minelab Excalibur what time it is,he is going to panic when he see's that 15" pizza pan coming his way! Chuck.

 

[pondman]

went to the beach today for about 10-15 minutes.. didn't get any strong signals at all.... what do you guys look fo hen you detect? What area of the beach? Chuck.[/i]

I hunt on two river front beaches, with volley ball nets. I don't have much knowledge of tides and how sand moves, other than as the river dries and becomes shallower, people move out further towards the water. But all of the reasoning either has to include where people are currently visiting or have visited in the past. I personally dig everything, which impresses the authorities.

Just like any place, if I find a pile of clad under the play equipment, it generally means nobody is working the place.