desirable sand scoop

[abrakdabra]

? ?I've detected on land and have 'got the knack'. But never on a beach. That's not true. Once with a 'toy' kind of detector and quickly left. Now I've got a Fisher 1260 and the beaches will be empty by next month. So I'm curious about 'sand scoops'. I look at Kellyco's selection and don't know which one to buy, the long handled one which is expensive or the short handled ones or just the 'pointed basket with a handle on top'. Their 'duck billed' model looks to me like the most effective one for getting into sand and scooping it up. What do you think that could help me order and have one mailed over in advance of the 'first beach detect', which I'm looking forward to a lot. That asked, could you explain to me why they are made of aluminum and not plastic? If they were made of some space age super durable plastic then all one would have to do would be to scoop and then wave the detector over the whole scoop, sand and all. I think this when I'm at a department store and there are plastic ladles and scoops for some other purpose than dectecting, but then there wouldn't be these fancy aluminum scoops if those would do, would there? Any advice on which Kellyco scoop to buy would be appreciated, thanks (I mention Kellyco because it's online catalogue is accessible to everyone in the know here in lieu of attempting to describe different scoop styles for the board to discriminate among 'based on my descriptions'...just saves alot of description. Besides, I'll order from them anyway since they ship internationally and I'm in Korea).

 

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[lab rat]

Asking which kind of scoop to buy is a lot like asking which kind of metal detector to buy-- its all a matter of preference. But here are some tips:

If you don't plan on digging a lot, and only in the dry sand, a plastic short-handled scoop is fine.

If you want to 'empty the beaches', get a longer handle-- bending over each time gets the back muscles stiff. If you want to hunt in the surf, you need a stainless steel scoop with the longest handle available-- so it has the weight and sturdiness to deal with the waves.

My scoop is a medium-handle stainless steel job, and I sticka strong magnet inside to make getting the nails and hairpins a lot easier-- otherwise they slip through the scoop and you kill hours chasing them.

Yeah, plastic is light-weight and easy to detect through, but if you look at all the broken plastic kids toys and shovels on the beach, and consider whether you want your scoop to last, you'll probably settle for something a little sturdier. My humble opinion: Get a nice one that will last, and don't waste your money!

Good luck, and happy hunting!

 

[abrakdabra]

Thanks, man. I've never been out to the beach but need a sandscoop to go. And need to order one by mail quick since autumn when the beaches empty has swung up quick. I have some other questions.
So a long handle is good to avoid the lower back getting tensed up. I noticed that happening when I was detecting on land, in the forest, etc, kneeled down and using a garden trowel. A continuous tension in the lower back. So to 'empty the beaches' would mean a lot of down on knees with that same tension, which I'd like to avoid. I figured getting a short handled scoop because I couldn't picture myself 'one arming' scoops of sand, but I guess two hands and a kick to load the scoop saves one arming it.
So a long handled scoop it is since I'll be digging the dry sand to start, just seems an easy way to start. Scoops come in various diameters across at the mouth. Five inches across at the smallest, to eight inches, etc. What diameter would you suggest for a long handled scoop digging dry sand? Thanks in advance.

 

[Gribnitz]

I am in the same boat. I went to a beach over the weekend for the first time using a spade and it was a horrible pain in the butt. I pulled my hair out trying to locate targets using my fingers shifting sand. They usually turned out to be pulltabs or tin foil that "hid" in the sand until I picked it clean with my fingers.

Lesson learned. I am buying a scoop, but my decision is easy since I can only hunt up to the water line.

 

[lab rat]

-Never- dig with your hands, if you can avoid it! There are rusty nails, maybe fishhooks; I've dug razor blades, open safety pins, and seen syringes. Today I found a cheapo badge with the pin sticking straight out. There is almost always some broken glass as well!

Something else to consider for your new scoop is weight-- if you have a big heavy scoop you'll be carrying it everywhere you go while you hunt; which in the case of a short hunt is not a problem. I go for balance-- one that weighs comparable to the detector I'm swinging.

Mouth size doesn't seem to be as much of an issue in my experience, though you want something wide enough to be efficient without being so wide as to weigh tons while you're trying to sift-- especially hard dry mud or wet sand. I think mine is 6" in diameter, which is wide enough to capture the target pretty easily, and I can dig pretty fast with it when I get into quicksand situations (though sometimes I wish I had a bigger scoop for that!). It is also light enough to carry all day-- I get tired from swinging faster than I do from scooping. If you only intend to use it in dry sand and your pinpointing isn't so accurate, an 8" scoop isn't bad. Likewise bigger holes make for faster sifting, but then you run the risk of having to chase the smaller targets back and forth as they fall through. Some guys put a second smaller-mesh screen in the bottom of their scoops to catch the tiny earrings, etc. Or you can carry a pinpointer.

And yes, I do use one arm most often for scooping. If the target is deep I'll assist with my foot, which brings up another point: if you do this a lot, you run the risk of denting or bending up your scoop, so you might consider reinforcement. Once you bend the metal, you can bend it back, but it loses its strength and will bend easier next time. After a few times it could break apart and you'll need a replacement. Usually dry sand isn't a problem. It will be the deep targets in stiff muddy sand that torque it up. And that kind of sand requires two hands to sift through it, or I wind up carrying the whole scoop over to the water and let the waves wash it out for me.

 

[abrakdabra]

Thanks for the information. I didn't know about glueing in a magnet. I don't know squat until I get out and do it and I'm looking forward to it immensely. If you wouldn't mind considering answering a few more questions that would be great. I find these scoops fairly expensive to say the least, compared to a garden trowel or a used shovel
Kellyco doesn't ship long handled scoops by air. Maybe they can send one by sea. In the meantime I'd like to get a short handled one shipped by air to get out to the beach. You've, Labrat, mentioned steel over aluminum to be able to dig wet sand. The short handled scoops, steel ones then, come in two 'shapes'. One is like a cup on a stick, with a 'duck bill' for digging. The other is more aggressive looking. Like a mesh cage with a handle directly on top, and a 'duck bill'. Kind of like a 'rat trap' with a handle welded on top, one end open with a 'duck bill' at the bottom. This 'unit' looks like a real, heavy duty dredge. It weighs 1.7lbs, steel, fifty bucks. I just figure if one's on their knees anyway who needs the cup with a short, straight handle on it. Why not just get the 'rat trap dredge unit'?
One more question, if you would, is about technique detecting in sand. On land, which I'm familiar with, there's the dropsheet and waving over that to find the beep. From what I can gather there is no dropsheet in beach detecting, period. Check the magnet glued in back and the mesh if it hasn't stuck. Check the spill again. Is that it?
Thanks very much for the information and your time composing your posts.

 

[southern gent]

I'm just a poor boy, so I always make my own. I tried the store bought scoops and could never make it a whole season with one. So off to the shop. The one I use for the water is 6" wide on the bottom and tapers to 9" at the top. The sides are 5" tall. I used a broom type handle made of oak. Works great. I put all of the hair ties I've found on the top of the shaft to make it float.
The sand gets a bit tricky here. They dredge to rebuild the beaches in many areas so we get a whole bunch of shells about 8" deep. No scoop that I found lasted over a month. So I made a few.
I ended up using a small shovel to dig and a home made sifter. It sounds like alot of trouble but I find it works best in the rip rap. When I hunt in Fla. the beaches are in top shape (most of the time) so the choice there is a hybrid. The scoop is a cheap grain scoop type with holes about 1/16 th inch smaller than a dime, and I just weld a long hande on, put some lead in the handle bottom to add weight. I said all that to say this, If you hunt you'll get tired. If you hunt like me you'll get real tired. So go at it and you will figure something out. Who knows you might come up with a digger we can't live without? Good luck and let us know how you do.

 

[lab rat]

For the magnet-- I use a high-power magnet-- no need to 'glue' it in... it just sticks to the steel.

Digging in sand is easy-- I just sift through the sand in the scoop until the target is all that's left. No need for a drop sheet. Filling holes on a beach is simple and easy-- no replacing sod!

As far as duck-bill and other styles go-- to each his own! Pick out the best one you can afford that will do the job you want, and go with it!

Good luck!

 

[warthog steve]

I USE A HEAVY-DUTY STAINLESS LONG-HANDLED SAND SCOOP I BOUGHT FROM KELLYCO-ONE MINUS WITH THIS SCOOP,IT DOES GET HEAVY TOTING IT AROUND ALL DAY!

 

[cpt_peewee]

I know it's kind of low-rent but for a long time I used a coffee can with 1/2 holes drilled in the bottom at pea gravel playgrounds and on sand bars. I never bothered to put a handle on. And when it got too bent up to go on I hadn't lost a thing.
HH
PW

 

[FLauthor]

Re: desirable sand scoop:$15.00 Sand scoop

HI:
? If you want a $15.00 long handled sand scoop then go to a Feed store and buy a grain scoop for about $4.00 then to Home Depot and buy a 1/4" & a 3/8" drill bit and some 1/4" x 1.5 inch stainless steel bolts and locknuts & a 2" 3/8" bolt and locknut.? Get a 8 foot section of EMT tube and have them bend it into a U of about equal? length.? Take it home and take off the handle off the grain scoop and bend the EMT on on end in a Z shape.? Replace the cross bar on the scoop with a heavier grade of Flat bar and bend the ends to fit the scoop and attach it with 1/4" bolts.? Drill 3/8" holes through EMT to attach to flat bar crossbar and a hole through the other end that attaches to back of scoop that goes through both pieces of EMT to make a tight fit.? It'll take a couple of hours to make and I've had them last up to 8 years until I saved enough to buy a stainless steel scoop that Kellyco was fazing out and got it at a discount.? Good luck.

Harry

 

[Raoul]

These are my 3 water scoops, the yellow one i bought, that breaks down into two pieces and is handy when i go aboard a boat to get to one of our islands, the other one is stainless steel and aluminium bucket my old man made that up for me,the whole bucket swivells and locks into place when digging absolutely great, the other is just a hand scoop for the beach.

 

[Charles,Oak Island]

They got a bunch of "sand scoops" on ebay you can look at for ideas for building.

 

[Darren in NC]

Harry,

Thanks for the tip on the homemade scoop. I think I see what you're talking about, but a picture would be great if you can post one

 

[rapper]

My first sand scoop was a fry basket from Goodwill.
It was lightweight and would not handle wet sand, but it beat the heck out of spending $35 I did not have, and worked like a champ.

I spent a buck and it saved me a lot of time.
Found some nice things with it too.


Listen for the sound of the singing searchcoil

 

[Gretchen]

Hi,
I have two of those fry basket sand scoops. Bought them also at a thrift store. In dry soil under the swing sets I dig with a garden trowel and shake. At the lakes I do the same but put the basket in the water which takes out the sand. I have used them as a small sifter in metal areas. Works great. Gretchen.

 

[Zeke]

Im going on my first beach hunt tomorrow and didnt have a scoop. I work for a place that makes aluminum beverage bodies and trailers and threw something together today that I hope will work....if it doesnt...oh well...I got all the material out of the scrap bin. I probally should have made the holes bigger, but I can always redrill them. I also made a trowel with a good sturdy handle. Im on a limited budget and cant afford a good one like the Lesche(sp?) The one I got at the hardware store isnt holding up too good in the red clay of NC.
Heres a few pics of them. I still need to get a bicycle handle bar grip to go on them.

 

[smhead]

Im going on my first beach hunt tomorrow and didnt have a scoop. I work for a place that makes aluminum beverage bodies and trailers and threw something together today that I hope will work....if it doesnt...oh well...I got all the material out of the scrap bin. I probally should have made the holes bigger, but I can always redrill them. I also made a trowel with a good sturdy handle. Im on a limited budget and cant afford a good one like the Lesche(sp?) The one I got at the hardware store isnt holding up too good in the red clay of NC.
Heres a few pics of them. I still need to get a bicycle handle bar grip to go on them.

Very nice scoop, looks perfect, but you may find the holes to be either too small or too few, especially for wet sand. Let us know how it goes. I pland to make my own scoop one of these days too, currently happy with the hand scoop I have but I need a long handled one too.

 

[Zeke]

The scoop worked pretty good but the holes do need to be bigger. I drilled a hole in the end of the handle and snapped a dog leash to it to drag it behind me with. That way I could tell where I had searched when doing patterns on the beach. The treadplate aluminum I made it out of is 1/8" thick and the piece on the back is 3/16". It held up good to stepping on the back to get down to the few coins I did find......1 clad quarter, 1 clad dime, and 8 pennys