:usaflag:3 Hours Wading In The Last Of Low Tide This AM :detecting:

[Cupajo]

Most of my time lately has been spent scouting local beaches looking for a place where the sand has thinned out enough to do some hunting. At a small local community beach I had been wanting to try I scored a lead bonanza this AM.

The sand had thinned out just enough for Mr. Dual Field, Diablo and me to recover 63 targets in 3 hours. The last hour the wind speeded up out of the west starting a bit of chop and generally making the experience a lot less comfortable.

[attachment 259588 3-13-13Finds004.JPG]


I found several 1sts during this hunt. 1-a .22Cal. shot shell casing, a .25-20 rimmed cartridge case and a small bell such as those fishermen put on the end of a rod in a sand spike to alert them if a fish gets hooked. 8-sinkers and 7- lead fishing weights usually used on nets and not as sinkers.

[attachment 259589 3-13-13Finds005.JPG]

[attachment 259590 3-13-13Finds007.JPG]

[attachment 259591 3-13-13Finds015.JPG]

The bronze oarlock is in great shape and the few coins, mostly pennies, didn't stir as much excitement as the lead.

It was good to get out there even if gold and silver are hiding for another day.

GL&HH Friends,

CJ

 

[scott.f]

n/t

 

[tomcatpl]

they cant all be golden.... buy the research will pay off for sure

 

[OldBeechnut]

Cupajo, even when you out scouting the gold is not safe...Good Luck on your next outing..........

 

[Cupajo]

Thanks for your replies Friends!!

The .25-20 case is an oldie that started as a black powder cartridge. I have been a shooter most of my life and have never seen one before.

One never knows what will drop into the sifter!!

GL&HH,

CJ

 

[Water wizard]

You sure found lots of stuff, lots of lead and odds and ends. Gold and silver evaded you, but you did end up finding some rollocks, I need some for my boat, my oars are no good without 'em! Good luck next time

 

[djbutch]

Nice finds always like seeing what you find always a treat.I have cast my dual field pi Whites to the side for over a year I cant for the life of me figure out how to set the pulse delay etc it drives me crazy and people tell me it is an excellent machine any settings would be helpful .

 

[fongu]

Nice finds, Cupajo. I need a small floatable sifter to tie behind me when I work the local river. My scoop comes up full of fresh water mussels and shells and it's frustrating digging the change or jewelry out of the sifter without losing it. Especially the way the coins are hard to spot after being in the water so long. Gold rings are easier to spot than sterling silver, but I need a small sifter with about a 1/4 inch mesh.

 

[jyt2017]

Lotta interesting stuff there. I did not get out today. Wont tomorrow either. Wednesday, its on!

 

[KinTN]

Where's theres lead, the gold isnt far behind. And reloaders that cast their own bullets are always looking to buy more lead.

 

[Cupajo]

I cant for the life of me figure out how to set the pulse delay etc it drives me crazy" .

Butch I started using my DF in '09 and have learned many things about how it responds to the variations in hunting conditions I encounter here on the shore of Long Island Sound.

Clive James Clynick has a great book, "The White's Surfmaster P.I. Dual Field: "An Adfvanced Guide"", that covers just about every one of those variations and more and I whole-heartedly recommend you read it and absorb the info therein. (Google Clive's Gold Page.)

On page42 there is a photo of these settings, Gain at or just above the set point, Pulse Timing just clicked on and no more, T-Hold near the set point so you can here a steady tone with the coil sitting still.

Clive covers the kinds of conditions when these settings will need to be changed, but they work very well in general.

If you are hunting in an area where radio wave interference is a problem you will likely have a difficult time learning how to separate signal from chatter caused be the EMF. Where I hunt there are passing trains, planes and boats that all can cause problems with interference, but I have learned to ignore most of it unless it gets really bad. It usually passes or reduces in a few minutes and there are times of day when these signals are not as bad, before or after the commuter planes and trains have done their job.

Trying an alternate beach location may be necessary for you to get away from the problem.

On days when the water is rough signal oscillation (rising and falling tone) can be annoying when hunting in a line parallel to the water's edge, but again easily ignored. A couple of Friends hunt toward deep water and back to water's edge and seem to notice less of a variation.

Slow coil swinging is important to allow the control time to react to targets and has largely been the secret of my success. (I have covered very small areas, perhaps an 1/8Th of a tennis court, in the water in the length of time it takes other hunters to cover a foot-ball field of area!)

To quote Clive, "try slowing your sweep speed right down to a crawl pace to allow the machine more time to tune and compensate for the salt, minerals and moving water." Deeper water will create more reaction and slowing your sweep will be important.

Get to know your DF and you will swear by it and not at it!!

CJ

 

[Cupajo]

" I need a small float-able sifter to tie behind me when I work the local river. My scoop comes up full of fresh water mussels and shells and it's frustrating digging the change or jewelry out of the sifter without losing it. Especially the way the coins are hard to spot after being in the water so long. Gold rings are easier to spot than sterling silver, but I need a small sifter with about a 1/4 inch mesh."

[attachment 260175 3-3-12SifterDetails004.JPG]

[attachment 260176 3-3-12SifterDetails003.JPG]

[attachment 260177 3-3-12SifterDetails009.JPG]

Fongu this sifter is free of metal, except for the drag I use to keep things under control, composed of three large sinkers.
and the weight on the tow-line that helps stabilize the unit too.

I found the pan for free at our local recycling center and drilled 5/16" holes to create the screen. (Patience and removing any burrs are important here!)

Electrical zip-ties hold the floaty tightly to the pan and I use a brass snap to secure the tow line to a loop on a lanyard attached to the back of my wader belt.

The mesh bag w/drawstring is for those odd large items that won't fit in my pouch and is hanging at the rear of the sifter deep enough to not interfere with my coil, but not dragging on the bottom.

Size-able waves or heavy current will make it very difficult to use a sifter, but where I hunt they are rarely a problem.

Hope this helps,

CJ

 

[fongu]

" I need a small float-able sifter to tie behind me when I work the local river. My scoop comes up full of fresh water mussels and shells and it's frustrating digging the change or jewelry out of the sifter without losing it. Especially the way the coins are hard to spot after being in the water so long. Gold rings are easier to spot than sterling silver, but I need a small sifter with about a 1/4 inch mesh."

[attachment 260175 3-3-12SifterDetails004.JPG]

[attachment 260176 3-3-12SifterDetails003.JPG]

[attachment 260177 3-3-12SifterDetails009.JPG]

Fongu this sifter is free of metal, except for the drag I use to keep things under control, composed of three large sinkers.
and the weight on the tow-line that helps stabilize the unit too.

I found the pan for free at our local recycling center and drilled 5/16" holes to create the screen. (Patience and removing any burrs are important here!)

Electrical zip-ties hold the floaty tightly to the pan and I use a brass snap to secure the tow line to a loop on a lanyard attached to the back of my wader belt.

The mesh bag w/drawstring is for those odd large items that won't fit in my pouch and is hanging at the rear of the sifter deep enough to not interfere with my coil, but not dragging on the bottom.

Size-able waves or heavy current will make it very difficult to use a sifter, but where I hunt they are rarely a problem.

Hope this helps,

CJ

Thanks a lot for those photos, I believe I can fix that up.

 

[ARAWORN]

Hi Cupajo, I also live on LI. I recently boughta Dual Field and the book you referenced. I have been using it for about 20 hours now, it seems there is a steep learning curve. I also am having a difficult time with the Pulse delay, in Clive's book he mentions it can be used as a form of "discrimination". I am confused however, does this method cause the signal if it is gold, to drop out? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Cupajo]

Ara I don't live in LI, but in Ct. on the shore of LI Sound!!

The various control settings recommended in Clive's book are designed to address conditions in a variety of beach settings.

Locally, where i hunt most of the time, I have been able to usually leave my settings untouched for most hunts. (Although I do have to tweak the threshold setting once in a while after bumping the knob somehow.)

Size of the signal (golf ball, grapefruit, pie plate, garbage can size), power of the response (strong, not as strong, "gee did I actually hear a response??" requiring slow passing of the coil over the possible target several times to sort out the responses), broken signal (maybe two targets close together, sometimes a hairpin, maybe a broken gold ring!!) are all considerations I react to with each target signal response.

I know of no way to discriminate targets using my DF other than these. (Sorry.)

Hundreds of hours of hunting with my DF has me responding to signals based on what my experience tells me may be down there.

Coin spills can be a fun challenge and finding a couple of gold targets within close proximity is a rare and delightful occurrence I have had the pleasure of experiencing.

GL&HH Friend,

CJ

 

[rarysgaard]

Great advise Cupajo! Went out a second time with my new DF & found nothing but junk, but in most cases was able to recover the targets on the 1st scoop. Got lots of bobbie pins. I suspect with time & patience I will be rewarded. Very sensitive to small targets.I second the motion on Clive's book. It is invaluable must read for DF users. Take care!

 

[WaterWalker]

I guess you have really learned the DF, sorry the Infinium did not work out as well for you.
I was given an ATX for Christmas and I'm still learning, but I have found it to find smaller, older, deeper targets than the Infinium.
I could very well be the shaft design which is making me slow down. Of course the increased control over the detector has helped immensely.
I ordered one of Clive's books - Shallow Water Metal Detecting Lessons from the Pros - as its synopsis read as it was more general PI as apposed to specific to the DF. I can't wait to read it, I hope it is never too late to teach an old WaterWalker a new trick or two.
Please don't tell me that these recent finds were from the one beach we have detected at together. I would hate to think I missed targets such as those. Sun is out and temps are up...time to hit this afternoons tides.

May the ring of gold be in your ears and its glitter in you scoop!