One out a....

[harvdog42]

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum but have been metal detecting for quite some time...on and off. I am located in S.Ca in Garden Grove so I usually hunt Seal Beach or Sunset which are the two closest beaches to me.

I find my share of goodies but began wondering today about the odds of finding any particular target.

This is what I came up with which is just based on "feel". I've never actually taken any statistics and I don't really plan to.

Is this about what you guys see when you are detecting the beaches? I'd like to get a little feedback from other detectorists. I detect the wet only by the way.

1 out of 2 targets are coins. 1 out of 20 targets are sinkers. 1 out of 50 targets are a piece of junk jewelry. 1 out of 100 targets are a piece of silver of some kind. 1 out of 400 targets are a piece of gold of some kind.

On a handfull of occasions, I've walked out on the beach and the first target I dug was a gold ring. I always look forward to that first target for just that reason. It's sort of like winning the lottery. It hasn't happened for a few years though.

Harvdog

 

[aushunter]

I just think it's just luck of the draw, but I find here I tend to pick my fare share of sinkers more than anything else. So much that with all the junk I found also inc. brass,copper etc
that I gave it to my 2 boys to cash in for scrap and ended up with $100.00 dollars between them. Not bad for a 4yr old and a 6yr old.
This is over a period of about 5 years of keeping the junk.
When you think about it, junk is also worth something.
Heading up the coast this week-end so we'll see if I can pull some gold out.
Keep going mate, it'll come to you soon enough.
Cheers and HH

 

[Cupajo]

Hey Fellow Hunters,

I've spent many an hour hunting in the salt water in the past 25+ years and have found plenty.

A few hunters I know will ease into the brine and hardly even swing their coil from side to side.

These people are letting the "Power That Controls The Universe" guide them, much like using a dowsing rod.

It seems that this is not a conscious decision on their part and it works for them very well.

I have tried that a few times and still don't know if the method is any better than "grid hunting".

My inclination is to run a fairly tight grid pattern parallel to the waters edge, swinging my coil slow and wide and I sometimes find gold that they have missed.

Anytime I get an urge to step off the grid for a few paces, I do so and have never regretted it.

I then go back to where I left the pattern.

It still amazes me how well they do though!!

I have found gold a few times before my coil was hardly wet too. Really makes my day!!

GL&HH Friends,

Cupajo

 

[DrJoeprime]

Hi Harvdog,

Aha..so you are one of my competitors at Seal Beach! That's my beach of choice in the summertime.

Interesting quantification of finds. I've only recently (since September) begun hunting the wet sand with a Surfmaster PI (it's a "+" not the Pro). Love the machine.. a Lot! my regular detector for the dry sand is a Fisher F4 which I also love.

Your numbers for the wet sand sound about right ... overall.

I think that summer hunts are generally better than winter though. A lot more replenishment in summer. I've got my own "back pocket" beach site that has been very, very good to me in the past few months while the regular beach was slowing down. It's produced many Silver coins from Mercs to a Kennedy half and a buffalo nickel sitting on the surface! Also got 8 Silver rings ...and Finally...a nice Gold ring.

HH Joe

 

[deerman]

hi all
as all i do is lakes and rivers here in michigan,your about right on the percents of gold/silver verses junk, but i do tend to find more silver rings and things
if i find three peices of jewery two will be silver one junk but thay come out of the water with a thick black crust on them(it flakes off ) but i also find old coins
too as the lakes were well used to cool off in the summers before central air as well as take baths too i havent been out to calif. in a long time now(i used to live there in santa ana)
and did better in the dry sands then