Jason in Enid
Active member
So, I finally got my Equinox800 out to my local lake beach for a test spin.
-background-
I have been hunting this beach for 18 years. It was a secret garden of silver when I started. 5+ sterlings and handfulls of coins every hunt. over the years, finds dropped (as I hunted them out!). I never found gold until a severe drought lowered the lake, exposing the swimming area, then gold and more silver emerged, but eventually it got low on finds again. Now the lake has re-filled. Now I have a new detector to try to find some some tiny missed gold.
Yesterday-
I think there must be someone else hunting my beach because the dry sand was D E A D. A couple fresh drop coins and couple pieces of trash. Reluctantly I headed into the water, because I hadnt planned on it. I dont have waterproof phones yet. I decided it was worth the minimal risk in a few inches, maybe knee deep. It was night and day! I immediately began getting hits. Pulltab, pulltab, pulltab, [attachment 358571 laketabs.jpg]
then coins... green and black crusty coins that you couldn't see anything of the actual target, just corroded sand cookies. [attachment 358570 lakegood.jpg]
Then rings (and more tabs). Very first ring was a 10K gold with a tiny stone chip in the center. Then black and crusty silver rings and some very crusty junkers. [attachment 358567 goldring.jpg] [attachment 358568 silverring1.jpg] [attachment 358569 silverring2.jpg]
The most amazing part of this was that I never left a 10ft area!! I was just turning in circles digging targets! I've hunted this spot, hundreds of times. I hunted it underwater and when it was dry. This lake beach was damn near silent the last few times I visited. See the pick with the crusty crown caps? Every single cap was with another target. Sometimes tabs, sometimes coins, sometimes rings. Every time I saw one in the scoop I though I had been fooled, but I always found something else with it. [attachment 358572 lakeiron.jpg]
My only problem has been what I THINK are lead balls, but its a guess.... I never got one to the surface. They hit solid with a 5 or 6, but are gone (with the sand) before I can get the scoop up. My guess is buckshot pellets, because 22 bullets are hitting like nickels (have dug many in the dirt) so this is likely something much smaller. Even though I know what probably is, its maddening to walk away from a solid target response.
-background-
I have been hunting this beach for 18 years. It was a secret garden of silver when I started. 5+ sterlings and handfulls of coins every hunt. over the years, finds dropped (as I hunted them out!). I never found gold until a severe drought lowered the lake, exposing the swimming area, then gold and more silver emerged, but eventually it got low on finds again. Now the lake has re-filled. Now I have a new detector to try to find some some tiny missed gold.
Yesterday-
I think there must be someone else hunting my beach because the dry sand was D E A D. A couple fresh drop coins and couple pieces of trash. Reluctantly I headed into the water, because I hadnt planned on it. I dont have waterproof phones yet. I decided it was worth the minimal risk in a few inches, maybe knee deep. It was night and day! I immediately began getting hits. Pulltab, pulltab, pulltab, [attachment 358571 laketabs.jpg]
then coins... green and black crusty coins that you couldn't see anything of the actual target, just corroded sand cookies. [attachment 358570 lakegood.jpg]
Then rings (and more tabs). Very first ring was a 10K gold with a tiny stone chip in the center. Then black and crusty silver rings and some very crusty junkers. [attachment 358567 goldring.jpg] [attachment 358568 silverring1.jpg] [attachment 358569 silverring2.jpg]
The most amazing part of this was that I never left a 10ft area!! I was just turning in circles digging targets! I've hunted this spot, hundreds of times. I hunted it underwater and when it was dry. This lake beach was damn near silent the last few times I visited. See the pick with the crusty crown caps? Every single cap was with another target. Sometimes tabs, sometimes coins, sometimes rings. Every time I saw one in the scoop I though I had been fooled, but I always found something else with it. [attachment 358572 lakeiron.jpg]
My only problem has been what I THINK are lead balls, but its a guess.... I never got one to the surface. They hit solid with a 5 or 6, but are gone (with the sand) before I can get the scoop up. My guess is buckshot pellets, because 22 bullets are hitting like nickels (have dug many in the dirt) so this is likely something much smaller. Even though I know what probably is, its maddening to walk away from a solid target response.
That is a PILE of targets!
With the holiday weekend approaching, its getting busy. I'm going to wait until next Tuesday. Maybe there will be some fresh gold drops!
