New to beach detecting

vabuckhunter

Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2011
266
330
Central Virginia
Detector(s) used
XP Deus
Hello, I am going to be in Nags Head this week and will be doing some metal detecting. I own an E Trac and an AT Pro and was wondering if anyone could give some advice as to which one to bring? I know the E Trac isnt water proof and from what I read the water is the best place to detect. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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wvdirtdigger

Hero Member
Mar 9, 2013
545
369
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I believe there are some places in that area that are off limits. Some one will chime in so you will know.
 

stvnford

Greenie
Feb 28, 2012
10
9
North East, NC
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello, I am going to be in Nags Head this week and will be doing some metal detecting. I own an E Trac and an AT Pro and was wondering if anyone could give some advice as to which one to bring? I know the E Trac isnt water proof and from what I read the water is the best place to detect. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Any detecting south of Nags Head is prohibited. ....considered a National Park. It ducks for those of us who live in the area but not worth the risk of the fines and loosing your metal detector an possibly your car if you drive to the location.

People regularly find coins up on the north side of the beaches. Lots of treasure in the water from the ship wrecks washing up
 

meMiner

Bronze Member
Jul 22, 2014
1,047
1,176
Port Perry, Ontario
Detector(s) used
Minelab 800,
Fisher CZ21, F75SE, Gold Bug 2.9 & Minelab GPX 5000
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I wish you all the best on your adventure. If detecting is allowed, why not bring both detectors? If only one and you can or intend to get into the water, the AT Pro.

FYI if this helps, I typically find more good stuff in the water than the dry. In fact, I find the best goodies at waist deep or deeper. Keep in mind the height of the water when people swim, as it may vary depending on time of day or season. My advise on a new spot is to pick an obviously busy section and try detecting it. If it is clean of bottle caps, pull tabs and coins, then it may have recently been hit by someone else. If that is the case, you have to either try for deeper targets or move to a place less obvious or beyond where they stopped (up or down the beach, deeper, shallower, etc). I know one person who prefers cleaned up beaches, as he feels it enables him to get the at the smaller gold such as lady's rings, earrings & chains with less junk or shallow coins in the way. My preference is to be on a place that has lots of junk and then clean out everything. To each their own.
 

GatorBoy

Gold Member
May 28, 2012
14,716
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I just want to say you're going to be all the way out in Nags Head what if you want to climb out of the water and do some relic hunting or you pass what looks like a great opportunity on the way there.... "look! they tore out the parking lot around that old Church!"
You never know what opportunities might come up if you find yourself with only one machine I would want one that's all terrain just saying.
By the way do you have waterproof headphones?
 

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Vikingblood

Full Member
Sep 25, 2013
212
58
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Nags head is terrible detecting on the dry sand. Go north of nags head where all the hotels are. It's all replinished sand in nags head. You could go for an hour in the dry sand and not hit a single target and that's using my v3i on its deepest settings. Go in the water if ya can. I have the ATpro as well and compared to my excalibur it's useless in the salt water. If I was going back anytime soon I would stay in the water and find out what beaches have not been replinished.

Good luck. Ya never know.
 

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