Critterhunter
New member
The new guy to detecting I met a day or so ago wanted to meet up with me for a dry sand hunt, so this morning we met at a beach. When I got there there was a guy using a Bounty Hunter, swinging the coil about a foot off the ground. I chatted with him a second and he said he's been detecting for quite some time, so I didn't bother to mention that he was swinging that coil way too high. I figured if he's been hunting a long time he's not going to change, because I'm sure he's been told the problem with keeping the coil too high off the ground a thousand times, so I let it ride and just figured "less competition for me".
Surprised to run into the guy, because we've only seen a handful of dry sand hunters at all the beaches we hit in two years, and just about every one of them were doing the same thing- swinging the coil a mile off the ground. A few of those guys in the past year or so I noticed were leaving the trash right on top of the ground. Not only stupid because you are just going to detect it again next time, but also that's a hazard to something cutting a foot because now they've brought some sharp piece of metal to the top of the sand for people to step on. Not to mention if the park sees them leaving trash around we might get banned.
Anyway, my new friend hadn't showed up yet, so I started my grid pattern over a large area, using landmarks and dragging my scoop to make sure I gridded well. My plan was to grid from well behind the towel line where most people lay, and "mow the lawn" all the way down to eventually right at the edge of the water. Nobody of course was around for me to disturb, because even at the beach we can hunt during the day that's under the condition you stay well away from patrons using the beach, which of course I always would do anyway to avoid problems.
I only ended up with two quarters, two pennies, and two dimes, so it was obvious somebody was digging all the coins. But it was also obvious they were not digging the potential gold signals, because I dug about 8 round tabs, 8 square tabs, several bottle caps (I knew they would be by the sound but with a long handled scoop I don't ever pass up even a sick signal on the beach), along with a bunch of can shards and other assorted junk. Also got a cheap pair of sunglasses.
No gold though. Not even a junk piece of jewelry of any type. I know there is one guy on disability that told me he hits this beach every day, but I also know that guy turns up his discrimination so he only digs coins. He told me when I talked to him that he "knows how to avoid the junk and only dig the good stuff." I didn't say anything when he said that last year when I ran into him and he told me that. I just thought to myself "you got ahead and dig all the coins, and I'll dig all the gold you are passing up." This guy I had caught leaving his trash on top of the ground and not wearing an apron. Tried to tell him that it was insanity to keep detecting the same trash every day, but that's when he said "I know how to avoid the trash", so I didn't push it and thought you just can't teach some people.
No wonder there was so much trash on this beach and always is every time I hunt it. This guy might hunt it every day but even with the discrimination turned all the way up he's still digging trash here and there, and yet he's leaving it right on top of the sand for somebody to step on and he's probably detected that same piece of trash 100 times before on different days. I ended up with about 4 aprons full of trash that I kept dumping into a nearby trash can when my apron was starting to overflow. Now I know of at least one large patch of that beach that is totally clean of even the worst of trash signals. Next time I go back I'll use the landmarks to grid the next section next to it and do the job this guy ain't doing- Getting the trash out of there so I won't see it next time.
About halfway through my grid the newbie showed up. I asked where his headphones and apron were and he said he doesn't have any yet. Told him he needs to head up to Home Depot and get a $2 cloth apron that has two pockets- One for the goodies and the other for the trash. Told him to about the Sony Studio Phones for $20 at Walmart I used that have excellent audio, at least on the Sovereign. Told him it'd be a good idea to get the headphones for that depot we are going to hunt so he'll hear the deep stuff, and also an apron to carry his trash out.
He said he'd get those things tonight, because now he said we might hunt that depot tomorrow instead of Sunday or Monday. Told him whenever he's ready me and my hunting partner are. Really looking forward to that hunt. It's one of those deals where it could be the hunt of a life time, but then again I've research and found private spots like that that were never hunted and didn't get a single old coin out of there. You never know what is going to happen until you run that coil across the ground and see. It could either be silver heaven, or it could be just a sea of iron with hardly anything worth taking a chance on.
Surprised to run into the guy, because we've only seen a handful of dry sand hunters at all the beaches we hit in two years, and just about every one of them were doing the same thing- swinging the coil a mile off the ground. A few of those guys in the past year or so I noticed were leaving the trash right on top of the ground. Not only stupid because you are just going to detect it again next time, but also that's a hazard to something cutting a foot because now they've brought some sharp piece of metal to the top of the sand for people to step on. Not to mention if the park sees them leaving trash around we might get banned.
Anyway, my new friend hadn't showed up yet, so I started my grid pattern over a large area, using landmarks and dragging my scoop to make sure I gridded well. My plan was to grid from well behind the towel line where most people lay, and "mow the lawn" all the way down to eventually right at the edge of the water. Nobody of course was around for me to disturb, because even at the beach we can hunt during the day that's under the condition you stay well away from patrons using the beach, which of course I always would do anyway to avoid problems.
I only ended up with two quarters, two pennies, and two dimes, so it was obvious somebody was digging all the coins. But it was also obvious they were not digging the potential gold signals, because I dug about 8 round tabs, 8 square tabs, several bottle caps (I knew they would be by the sound but with a long handled scoop I don't ever pass up even a sick signal on the beach), along with a bunch of can shards and other assorted junk. Also got a cheap pair of sunglasses.
No gold though. Not even a junk piece of jewelry of any type. I know there is one guy on disability that told me he hits this beach every day, but I also know that guy turns up his discrimination so he only digs coins. He told me when I talked to him that he "knows how to avoid the junk and only dig the good stuff." I didn't say anything when he said that last year when I ran into him and he told me that. I just thought to myself "you got ahead and dig all the coins, and I'll dig all the gold you are passing up." This guy I had caught leaving his trash on top of the ground and not wearing an apron. Tried to tell him that it was insanity to keep detecting the same trash every day, but that's when he said "I know how to avoid the trash", so I didn't push it and thought you just can't teach some people.
No wonder there was so much trash on this beach and always is every time I hunt it. This guy might hunt it every day but even with the discrimination turned all the way up he's still digging trash here and there, and yet he's leaving it right on top of the sand for somebody to step on and he's probably detected that same piece of trash 100 times before on different days. I ended up with about 4 aprons full of trash that I kept dumping into a nearby trash can when my apron was starting to overflow. Now I know of at least one large patch of that beach that is totally clean of even the worst of trash signals. Next time I go back I'll use the landmarks to grid the next section next to it and do the job this guy ain't doing- Getting the trash out of there so I won't see it next time.
About halfway through my grid the newbie showed up. I asked where his headphones and apron were and he said he doesn't have any yet. Told him he needs to head up to Home Depot and get a $2 cloth apron that has two pockets- One for the goodies and the other for the trash. Told him to about the Sony Studio Phones for $20 at Walmart I used that have excellent audio, at least on the Sovereign. Told him it'd be a good idea to get the headphones for that depot we are going to hunt so he'll hear the deep stuff, and also an apron to carry his trash out.
He said he'd get those things tonight, because now he said we might hunt that depot tomorrow instead of Sunday or Monday. Told him whenever he's ready me and my hunting partner are. Really looking forward to that hunt. It's one of those deals where it could be the hunt of a life time, but then again I've research and found private spots like that that were never hunted and didn't get a single old coin out of there. You never know what is going to happen until you run that coil across the ground and see. It could either be silver heaven, or it could be just a sea of iron with hardly anything worth taking a chance on.