Heading for the beach, new guy needs some advice

[waseeker]

Hi Everyone.

I'm new to serious TH/MD. While I have had good success in the local parks, etc., my only two excursions to the Oregon Coast were less than satisfactory.

I am heading to the Gulf coast on Thursday and would appreciate any advice ya'll would be willing to share about beach hunting.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[seas1to2]

don't know what machine your using, but listen for the faint tones, small thin gold doesn';t scream out,this time of the year up your way I would guess not many people in the water but alot of people do like to walk the edge of the surf so a good search from the surf up to the dry sand will be a good start, an then look to where most people seem to hang out, if way up on the dry sand then thats were you head, follow the people

 

[waseeker]

thanks seas

you're right, even in the summer on the oregon coast there aren't a lot of people in the water. It stays fairly cool with lots of heavy waves.
I'm hoping for more sucess next week on the gulf coast.

Sounds like the basic premise is like parks and athletic fields
1. go where the people are (or enter & leave the water)

 

[waseeker]

Forgot to mention. I'm a land hunter the majority of the time so I'll have my XLT with me. I don't do enough beach hunting to justify a machine just for that. Might do some mid-knee wading, but thats about as deep into the water as I'll go.

 

[Dixie Digger]

what part of the Gulf you going to? i was at Panama City Beach in Fl last week...dont waste your time there as all the beaches from Tampa to Destin are NEW 5 foot sand brought in by barge and pumped to create new beachs where the old ones were eroded away by the Hurricains ! we didnt find much at all in 3 hard days of hunting!

 

[waseeker]

Thanks for the info on the Panhandle.

I'll be much furtherwest on Padre Island

 

[Sandman]

If your XLT starts talking to you in the wet sand, try turning down the sens. Water machines are not only water proof, but made for the extreme conditions beach hunting puts on them, plus they have a salt mode or iron mask that doesn't need to be ground balanced all the time.

To learn more on beach hunting, visit: thegoldenolde.com/

HH,
Sandman

 

[sherpa t]

Starting below the upper cable connection I wrap mine with kitchen cling wrap, and over lap the face plate edge. Then I put a seperate sheet over the face plate so that I could lift it up if I want to adjust the ground balance. If it's windy sand / salt spray protection is well worth this little bit of effort.

 

[waseeker]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm excited to get to some warm weather and MD time. although I did dig my first silver coin in a local park today

 

[diggummup]

Looks like you've got some pretty good advice.Since your coming from Oregon,the water will be warm to you,wading shouldn't be a problem on the Gulf coast.The wave action isn't bad over there compared to the Atlantic side this time of year.I would add that you check out the website that Sandman mentioned,thegoldenolde,it's a great site for beach detecting for sure.Good luck and i'm looking forward to your photos and finds when you get back. H.H.-diggummup

 

[waseeker]

Thanks again everyone. I've tried to get to the web site sandman mentioned. All I get is the icons for the various sub-pages and when I run the mouse over them they turn to an X. This type of thing has happened more often since I went to IE 7.0. Have a support message to MS to see how to fix it. Durn computers are just getting too complicated for my feeble mind

 

[drver]

Dump IE and check out Fire Fox, allot less issues.

 

[waseeker]

where do I find Fire Fox? I've been on the phone and hold with MS for the past two hours and they still haven't solved the problem.

 

[drver]

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

I’ve been using Fire fox for a few years now and really like it.

 

[Sandman]

I understand the feeble mind part, I am losing grey cells faster each day. I have IE 7.05730.11, but I understand the X's as some of pictures sent to me are with them.

The real evil ones are AT&T/SBC for DSL.

 

[waseeker]

While still on hold with the MS folks, I found downloaded and installed the Fire Fox browser and got right to thegoldenolde site without the issues I had been having with explorer. So I just hung up the phone, and went on my way. I'm sure if my issue is important enough to MS they will call me back .

Thanks again everyone for your help. Will have a camera but not much internet access so hopefully I have some finds to share when I get back.

 

[dahut]

Back to your question:

... so I'll have my XLT with me. I don't do enough beach hunting to justify a machine just for that. Might do some mid-knee wading, but thats about as deep into the water as I'll go.
Yowser...watch out! That is where everyone gets tripped up. I wonder how many fried detectors have come as a result of those infamous last words, "Ill be careful"
The shore is a treacherous place for the uninitiated.

As for where to hunt. What is wanted is a list of sure fire hot spots. Alas, there is no such thing. Each beach is different. However, while I do not profess to be an accomplished beach hunter, here's some ideas for any strange beach you wander onto = = =

You are going in the winter. While summer tourists bring trash and treasure, winter seas redistribute it. Most of the the easy stuff in the dry sand is probably already picked up by the "beach sweepers", so, the place to look for a concentration of winter goodies is at the waters edge. In "The Lane," as that area between low and high water marks is called.

Low tide is your time here and especially where the retreating waters have pulled sand out. Look for cuts, swashes and other anomalies in the sand that are the result of tidal action that lowers the surface of the sand.

But make sure they are in front of where people have been. You got that part right -wandering around anywhere but where lots of people have been is a waste of time. Beaches are big - your coil isnt.

How will you know where that is? ASK! Beach side stores, restaurants, bait shops and pubs where locals hang out are your first targets. Leave your XLT in the car and go have a few cold ones and a burger at the closest beach-side pub. They'll be glad for the off season business and will likely be full of hot tips.

You can also try this:

Find the nearest pier. Take a walk on it and look down "the surf lane" from above. Cuts, rips swashes all stand out pretty clearly from this vantage. In fact scope the whole beach from there. Again, leave the detector in the car on these "recon missions."

In the dry sand, another place to search is within 100 yards of structures. These are things along the shore near beach entrances. People dont like to go too far with arm loads of beach stuff, so they will congregate around close things like piers, large waterfront hotels, jetties, lifeguard stations, etc. Also, the funnel areas leading to and from these.

Large public parking lots have beach access funnels, too.

One other area that has turned up goodies and is often overlooked is the area around beach side showers, particularly the railings, if they exist.

These should keep you busy on any beach.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

A lot of good info from dahut.

Another place you want to be sure to check is around the pilings or any obstructions that are in water during high tide, things get caught behind them and are buried, especially coins.

 

[Sandman]

One thing not mentioned while beach hunting is when you recover something, slip the goodie away to study later. You never know who is watching you planning to take it away. What they don't know can't hurt you.....

Also, if wading with that XLT. never raise the coil up higher than the control box as water in the shaft will flow into the guts and fry the land unit. It can happen back in the trunk of the car too.

Dehut is wise to the ways of detecting.

HH,
Sandman

 

[dahut]

Another place you want to be sure to check is around the pilings or any obstructions that are in water during high tide, things get caught behind them and are buried, especially coins.
Now here is a detail not to be missed. The same thing happens behind rocks in streams and is why more than a few flakes of gold have been found in such backflows.
In case it helps to understand, its the same reason that it's a prime place for river/stream fish to be found. The water eddies around the rock or obstruction and literally swirls back into a standstill on the downstream side. Fish are as lazy as the next creature and would rather loaf in a quiet eddy than fight the water all the time. So, they wait in these back eddies, where anything carried by the water flow, from gold to insect larvae is swirled in behind the rock and deposited, easy pickings for the waiting fish.
You always hear that you should think big, right? Not in detecting! Thinking small, as in the small places, the small details, the small dot of your detectors field-cone at depth...these are the things that are important. This is where thinking small pays off big.

One thing not mentioned while beach hunting is when you recover something, slip the goodie away to study later. You never know who is watching you, planning to take it away. What they don't know can't hurt you.....
This is good advice anythime, of course, but even more so at the beach. You stand alone at the shore, unprotected, from more than just the wind. This is especially so at the winter beach, where you stand out by your mere presence. Everybody knows what you are doing with a detector at the beach and they can see you from far off. Here's a few tips to help thwart the malcontents of the world.

Keep your pouches' junk pocket full of trash. The grungier, the better. If, and more likely, When, someone approaches you and asks the inevitable question, "Find anything?" Give them this answer:

"Plenty!" you say, then reach deep into your trash pocket and pull out a handful of the stuff, waving it proudly in their face, pulltabs and iron blobs falling from your fingers. Grin from ear to ear like an idiot and say, "SEE!"

Most people already think youre a loonie waving your detector around, and this will help to cement that impression in their mind. Wear some black socks w/ cheap sneakers, a pair of goofy Bermuda shorts, a T-Shirt that says "Chick Magnet," and a frazzled straw hat, while you're at it. ----------------- Ok, Im kidding about that stuff!

Wearing a large divers knife, a big 'un, say 8", at your waist wouldnt be a bad idea. Knives are common marine tools and come in handy for all sorts of things like cutting seaweed, exploratory poking at objects (I was taught by an accompished diver friend to NEVER use your fingers), digging mini holes and, yes, discouraging sociopaths.

Nowadays, let a cell phone be easily seen, too, worn high on your chest.

Someone also mentioned to keep your detector covered. Excellent idea and I sugget you do it in scroungy bubble wrap and duct tape or masking tape. Seal it good, but make it look as ratty as you can. The other thing people are curious about is your equipment; thieves for the wrong reasons. If anyone asks about it, just say,
"What, this old thing? I got it for 50$ at a pawn shop. Im not even sure it's working right..." and show them your trash again.
Shiny black cases and bold letters like "XLT" emblazoned on the side nearly scream hi-tech ... which equates to $$$ in the moldy mind of your average crackhead. If they cant make your detector for more than a piece of crap, at least unidentifiable, then chances are better that they'll move on.

Also, if wading with that XLT, never raise the coil up higher than the control box as water in the shaft will flow into the guts and fry the land unit. It can happen back in the trunk of the car too.
Man, this is awesome information right here! Every land hunter does this, sometimes to stretch his arm, sometimes to unravel a twig or knock off a bit dirt from the coil. It is a learned, practiced movement and, worse, is unconscious - and could be murder on that $$ XLT if done without thinking.

Dehut is wise to the ways of detecting.
Hey, bro, Im in good company - the BEST, in my book. But, thanks.