Any beach hunting tips and tricks?

[Xilfie]

Hello! This past Sunday I finally got the change to go to Miami Beach for my first ever beach/actual hunt. I started hunting in dry sand for about 3 hours (which FLEW by) and was getting lots of targets. Since I don't know all the sounds yet I would dig them up, slowing learning them (Bottle caps are easy to tell now!). When I noticed that 3 hours had passed I walked back to my car to put more time in the meter. Headed back out and decided to try my luck hunting in surf. At first I tried going about waist deep and immediately noticed that it was really hard to swing, really hard, and using my sand scoop to try and recover the target was an even greater task with all the waves throwing me off balance when trying to sink it in. I only ever got 2 targets while waist deep, a really heavy fishing weight and the bottom piece of a can (Dangerous!). After a while I decided to try my luck closer to the shore about knee deep or less and I at least started to get a lot more targets but was still having a little bit of difficult recovering it, mainly it would take me a long time to get it. So the purpose of this thread is to ask: Do you have any advice for a newbie in these situations? What location should I be looking for when hunting in the surf/dry sand? I have an Excalibur II and I'm using the RTG PRO ALUMINUM 6" WATER SCOOP.

Thank you in advance!

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Hello! This past Sunday I finally got the change to go to Miami Beach for my first ever beach/actual hunt. I started hunting in dry sand for about 3 hours (which FLEW by) and was getting lots of targets. Since I don't know all the sounds yet I would dig them up, slowing learning them (Bottle caps are easy to tell now!). When I noticed that 3 hours had passed I walked back to my car to put more time in the meter. Headed back out and decided to try my luck hunting in surf. At first I tried going about waist deep and immediately noticed that it was really hard to swing, really hard, and using my sand scoop to try and recover the target was an even greater task with all the waves throwing me off balance when trying to sink it in. I only ever got 2 targets while waist deep, a really heavy fishing weight and the bottom piece of a can (Dangerous!). After a while I decided to try my luck closer to the shore about knee deep or less and I at least started to get a lot more targets but was still having a little bit of difficult recovering it, mainly it would take me a long time to get it. So the purpose of this thread is to ask: Do you have any advice for a newbie in these situations? What location should I be looking for when hunting in the surf/dry sand? I have an Excalibur II and I'm using the RTG PRO 5" scoop.

Thank you in advance!

Observe the beach, look to see where people gather the most. Most beaches have "zones" where people spend time.

When I hunt Miami I'm in the water, that is where most of the nice finds are at, I will hunt the wet sand since it was under water on the last tide, but in the waster us where I spend most of my time.

Be sure your not fighting the current when swinging your coil, there us an ebb and flow to the water, swing with it, not against it. As I am swinging coil I may take several steps towards shore, then several steps toward the ocean to stay with the ebb and flow,_ it all depends on sea conditions.


Your scoop is too small, you need to get a good waster scoop there is a big difference. A sand scoop is made for dry sand, water scoop is made for digging in the water and wet sand, the scoop is wider and deeper and allows you to dig deeper and faster than a sand scoop allowing you to recover targets quicker before the next wave hits you knocking you off your target. For water hunting next to the detector a good water scoop is your most valuable tool.. They are not cheep, the good ones run $175-$225 but they are worth every penny you pay. You can also always get your money back if you decide to sell them. You can sell a $200 used scoop for a $150 plus shipping all day long, even after years if use....


I have 3 scoops, smallest is 8 inches wide largest is 10" wide..

A few Stealth scoops are on sale right now as the original 8" is being discontinued. http://www.stealthscoop.com/bargainstore.html. (Price is without the handle)

RTG also makes one called Beach Brute II, it is 10" wide, it us made exclusively for Kellyco and is one of the scoops I own, only mod I did to it was add a stainless steel lip to keep rocks drop damaging the original lip.





[

Hello! This past Sunday I finally got the change to go to Miami Beach for my first ever beach/actual hunt. I started hunting in dry sand for about 3 hours (which FLEW by) and was getting lots of targets. Since I don't know all the sounds yet I would dig them up, slowing learning them (Bottle caps are easy to tell now!). When I noticed that 3 hours had passed I walked back to my car to put more time in the meter. Headed back out and decided to try my luck hunting in surf. At first I tried going about waist deep and immediately noticed that it was really hard to swing, really hard, and using my sand scoop to try and recover the target was an even greater task with all the waves throwing me off balance when trying to sink it in. I only ever got 2 targets while waist deep, a really heavy fishing weight and the bottom piece of a can (Dangerous!). After a while I decided to try my luck closer to the shore about knee deep or less and I at least started to get a lot more targets but was still having a little bit of difficult recovering it, mainly it would take me a long time to get it. So the purpose of this thread is to ask: Do you have any advice for a newbie in these situations? What location should I be looking for when hunting in the surf/dry sand? I have an Excalibur II and I'm using the RTG PRO 5" scoop.

Thank you in advance!

 

[CASPER-2]

sent you a PM

 

[MiamiFox]

TH is right try to work with the flow and get a larger scoop and Casper has written a lot of great info.

Hunting in the surf on a ruff day is not easy. Once I find a target I'll put the scoop right behind the coil and dig in, some people put there foot behind the coil then the scoop. I wear a fanny pack for the clad and crap and a water proof box for the good finds and a water proof E-Case for my phone.

 

[Sandman]

Treasure Hunter is right about your scoop being to small. Also check out this site. The Golden Olde

 

[Xilfie]

Actually I don't think that is my scoop, just looks like it so wasn't sure. I personally drove to Reilly's and asked which they believe would be the best and the nice lady recommended me the one they usually sell to Excalibur users for water. If this scoop isn't really working out for me in the future I'll upgrade. Thank you all for your responses. Oh and MiamiFox, I'm Zefie in Youtube, we've chatted a few times

I will read over what you sent me Casper and Sandman, thank you. I don't know if it's covered in the material but how "deep" do you guys usually hunt? As Treasure Hunter mentioned you find the "zones" where most people go and you get in the water (Assuming regular tide) where in the actual water is a good spot ? Close to the shoreline or a little deeper?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

If she recommend a 5" scoop she was wrong.....

Water has zones too.... My last gold ring was little over knee deep, who knows when it was lost, it could have been chest deep at high tide. I hunt in long rows parallel to shore many times working my way deeper and deeper, when in front of hotels I work rows from sea to shore, usually sweep about 10 feet at a time depending on current as I go with the flow, I don't fight it and I'm hunting with 15" coils.

Look at the water, where at the majority of the people at?..That is the first zone I check and work from there. I also hunt when it is crowded so I weave in and out of the people, I'm not concerned about them or their opinion of what I'm doing...

My last hunt was 9 hrs long, I hunt a min of at least 4-5 hours starting at least 3 hours before low tide..... I do hunt high tides but I prefer hunting low tides, remember low tide is just a dividing point, it only lasts a few seconds before tide starts coming back in.. It doesn't take long to seethe tide coming in...

Some people will say "don't hunt when crowded, its rude", I completely did agree, we have as much right to be there as swimmers or anyone else do. I want to be there right after the jewelry is lost, before some other hunters get it and before the surf and tides have their easy with it..

 

[Sandman]

If she recommend a 5" scoop she was wrong.....

Water has zones too.... My last gold ring was little over knee deep, who knows when it was lost, it could have been chest deep at high tide. I hunt in long rows parallel to shore many times working my way deeper and deeper, when in front of hotels I work rows from sea to shore, usually sweep about 10 feet at a time depending on current as I go with the flow, I don't fight it and I'm hunting with 15" coils.

Look at the water, where at the majority of the people at?..That is the first zone I check and work from there. I also hunt when it is crowded so I weave in and out of the people, I'm not concerned about them or their opinion of what I'm doing...

My last hunt was 9 hrs long, I hunt a min of at least 4-5 hours starting at least 3 hours before low tide..... I do hunt high tides but I prefer hunting low tides, remember low tide is just a dividing point, it only lasts a few seconds before tide starts coming back in.. It doesn't take long to seethe tide coming in...

With the tide and waves you need to recover the target quickly before the sand washes back in the hole.

 

[Xilfie]

If she recommend a 5" scoop she was wrong.....

Water has zones too.... My last gold ring was little over knee deep, who knows when it was lost, it could have been chest deep at high tide. I hunt in long rows parallel to shore many times working my way deeper and deeper, when in front of hotels I work rows from sea to shore, usually sweep about 10 feet at a time depending on current as I go with the flow, I don't fight it and I'm hunting with 15" coils.

Look at the water, where at the majority of the people at?..That is the first zone I check and work from there. I also hunt when it is crowded so I weave in and out of the people, I'm not concerned about them or their opinion of what I'm doing...

I'm positive now that it's not 5', I'll measure it when I get home. I still need to practice wider swings, I think I was swinging too close to my body. I did notice that you get a lot of looks (Nothing bad just curious) and some cameras, at least in my first and only case so far. I will try that, thank you. I had the mentality that since I Was getting more targets closer to the shoreline by knee or less that there was a higher chance to get something good than deeper in where I rarely got any hits. Thanks

 

[OBN]

I would grab a mask and do as Chuck does, opens up a different aspect of detecting in S Florida...he goes no further the 5 feet deep..and No scoop needed, maybe a Pingpong paddle at most to fan the sand.

 

[Sandman]

Another tip...Wear POLARIZED sunglasses as it allows you to see into the water without the surface glare.

 

[langsy]

go to youtube type in surfdigger he has lots of tips using the excal at the beach he will answer any questions to

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

Observe the beach, look to see where people gather the most. Most beaches have "zones" where people spend time.... [

I like to buy postal cards from crowded beach during summer time or google around the area and look at the images. On beach, shallow or Scuba it gives the areas were the blings blings are lost ;-)

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Fanning is good, but only in areas with lots of gold targets, Miami has that potential., Daytona wouldn't be so good....

 

[Xilfie]

I'm using the RTG PRO ALUMINUM 6" WATER SCOOP, not sure how much of a difference it makes :P

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Another tip...Wear POLARIZED sunglasses as it allows you to see into the water without the surface glare.

Glasses allows you to check out the eye candy too..

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

I would grab a mask and do as Chuck does, opens up a different aspect of detecting in S Florida...he goes no further the 5 feet deep..and No scoop needed, maybe a Pingpong paddle at most to fan the sand.

Excellent OBN! Chuck looks like Frankenstein LoL .... but it seems to work fine for him!

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

The RTG 6" is a good scoop, but you have to be good at pinpointing to be successful with it. The better scoops have more holes for less resistance and a larger (8"-10") bite. The larger bite allows you to get the target in less tries.

As you move into the water, targets are fewer and farther apart. Dry sand has the most targets, but the most trash. Concentrate on thigh deep or shallower until you get the hang of pinpointing and getting the target in your scoop. Most of us put our foot beside or behind the coil when we get a signal, then lower the scoop to the target area alongside the foot. The deeper you go, the harder it is to maintain your balance.

Keep practicing, you will get better!

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I'm using the RTG PRO ALUMINUM 6" WATER SCOOP, not sure how much of a difference it makes :P

6" scoop is still small for in the water...

 

[ARC]

Treasure Hunter... I really like that Beach Brute II, 10" wide scoop...
Great design... but I would add a few more holes...
The kick plate rocks... looks durable.