how do you dig in clay???????

[mnruxpin]

Hi All, Havin a heck of time in the clay, takes like 10 minutes to dig some targets and wears my a$$ out. I have a nice scoop, the big aluminum that most beach diggers use, have 2 of them actually, what modifications can i make to dig in clay? would some large nails or teeth on the end help break it up thx

 

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[DewGuru]

Keep in mind gold usually lays on top of clay due to it's density. Targets should be shallow, theoretically.

 

[mnruxpin]

yea maybe, need to work on my pinpointing maybe, its pretty deep water, usually way over waist deep. I use excal 2, maybe im just missin em some are like 10 scoops to find target, they seem deep though....so hard to dig in chest deep water, the clay is like cement. i really think i just need the right tool for the job

 

[lorraine]

mnruxpin.....does your scoop have a sharp, pointed tip on it, or is it rounded?

I know what you mean about that clay...it is a back buster!

Lorraine

 

[cdv1]

Yep, Lorraine is on to it..... three problems here, the clay, the water depth and the type of scoop. Stainless is thinner and cuts through the clay better than a flat edged aluminum, deeper water takes your weight off of the scoop when digging so possibly adding a weight belt to dig deeper... and then trying to sift through the clay with the scoop, it will wear you out so a floating sifter works better here if you don't have waves to contend with. It is easier to shake a sifter that floats then holding all the weight of the scoop and clay.

I used to hunt a freshwater lake in Pa. that would get drained down in fall. It had an inch or so of sand over the clay bottom and the targets would get pushed down in the clay. I went through a learning process there and quickly switched to the ss scoop with a point over the aluminum one with a flat edge and also built a sifter. I didn't have to worry about water depth due to the drain down but when I've experienced those conditions down here in Florida, having a weight belt on helps considerably.

Cliff

 

[mnruxpin]

yea its the rounded aluminum, not the sharp tip stainless. Im gonna try to sharpen it a little, the edges are really beat down. I have a weight belt with 30 lbs on it, will try that too.

 

[bigscoop]

When I lived in Indiana clay was the standard, as was gravel, muck, and rock. To help counter this we used galvanized steel scoops with serrated lips, this allowing us to basically twist and cut/root our way into the clay/gravel/muck/rock. And a floating basket is a real asset when dealing with clay/rock/gravel/muck. Galvanized metal is fairly cheap and a good fabrication shop can easily make the bucket and handle assembly for you, save yourself some money and simply drill the holes and cut the serrations yourself.
Something like this...(a quick top view of bucket) All of our scoops also had Miller style handles.

 

[krbtrans]

My scoop is custom made stainless steel. Its about 25lbs and i abuse the heck out of it. My left arm looks like popeye from carrying it around. The scoop alone wears me out. Lol

Sent from my LG-P769 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ron lord]

If you have a RTG scoop, they make a stainless steel tip for them. And they are easy to put on.

 

[OBN]

I hunt the bay and deal with the same conditions, I use SS only in these conditions, so you will need a SS tip for yours. One place the clay is so tuff it's like a brick. It's won't even break down in the sifter. One thing, if it is a old beach targets will be any depth. I would try and take little bitty scoops of the clay, if you try and go deep on the scoop sometimes the clay plug will flip over and the target will be in the plug. With this you may lose the target, I have chased them down and stomp them flat to find the targets. I like BigScoops idea, different. One thing to remember, the Excalibur can only hit so deep.

 

[stavr]

choose the model M-10 or M-9 sand scoop - STAVRscoop Stainless Steel SAND SCOOP, for Beach and Water Metal Detecting Hunting