Beach woes...

PhotoTJ

Jr. Member
Apr 12, 2005
69
4
The Pacific Coast, Southern California
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 250, GTI 2500, Sea Hunter II. I like Garrett!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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Rawhide

Silver Member
Nov 17, 2010
3,590
2,185
SouthWestern USA
Detector(s) used
Nox 800, Etrac, F75, AT Pro. Last two for sale.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a lot of beach and no water here in the SW desert. What you may try to do is get a good target, then try different settings and see what you get. Or you could just bury a nickle or dime and see what your machine is telling you. I have always wanted to tackle a beach, but Im land locked. Good luck.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,462
54,906
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Garrett GTI 2500 is not a saltwater detector. It is single freq detector. It will work in the beach sand above high tide line. You can use it in wet sand but you need to turn sensitivity way down to make it stable, note , turning sensitivity down will lose depth....
 

Randyg12

Sr. Member
Aug 6, 2014
459
466
Northridge, Ca
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, CTX 3030, and E-Trac
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you're in the wet sand I'd also go with the Sea Hunter :thumbsup: Back when I first started I ended up selling my GTI 2500 and bought a Sovereign.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,223
14,546
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Anyone using a Garrett GTI 2500 at the beach? I'm trying to learn it, seems pretty hit and miss, and I don't have a partner, so I'm struggling a bit. (I also have an Ace 250, and a Sea HunterII, so I am not averse to another machine if the 2500 is not the best beach option.)
Your Sea Hunter is the best one in your arsenal and should work good if your beach isn't too junky. If you want discrimination, get a Minelab BBS or FBS detector.
 

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PhotoTJ

PhotoTJ

Jr. Member
Apr 12, 2005
69
4
The Pacific Coast, Southern California
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 250, GTI 2500, Sea Hunter II. I like Garrett!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ok then, I'm sure this horse is beaten to death, but what is the best bang for buck beach detector? I like Garrett's, but I'm not married to them. I live in Cali, but may get to Florida in the future. So primarily California beaches.
 

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G-bone

Sr. Member
Dec 9, 2014
495
942
Ventura Ca
Detector(s) used
Gold Bug Pro w/ NEL coil.
Minelab Xterra 705,
Bazooka Snipers (24" and 30").
Royal Folding Sluice with Gold hog mats.
Thompson 12V Puffer Drywasher.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ok then, I'm sure this horse is beaten to death, but what is the best bang for buck beach detector? I like Garrett's, but I'm not married to them. I live in Cali, but may get to Florida in the future. So primarily California beaches.

I am using my GB pro for the dry sand and it gets by on the wet sand as well with a little tweaking.
But I think I want to get myself a "beach specific" unit as well.

So I too am waiting for a reply to this......
 

jeepGold

Hero Member
Sep 7, 2014
585
579
Vegas
Detector(s) used
CTX3030, Nox800
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
beaches are over rated. Stick to the parks.
But in all honesty, right now,.... that's not much of a stretch. Today, with a very nice beach machine I got about 8.00 in change with about 4 hrs of work.... That's with a 15 WOT.. I can use my AT Gold at a park with the tiny 5x8 coil and get more for valuable targets with less work and if I hit a sports field there's potential for gold. The beach is hard work.. I won't sugar coat it.. There is the bikini factor though.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,462
54,906
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Personally I will take beach over land any time.. When I get hot I just have to go deeper in the water to cool off.... Found 9 gold rings with diamonds at beach to date and none on land...
 

firemac

Bronze Member
Apr 14, 2012
1,756
414
Irving Texas and the beach
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro Garrett pro pointer Minelab Etrac & excal ll
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Personally I will take beach over land any time.. When I get hot I just have to go deeper in the water to cool off.... Found 9 gold rings with diamonds at beach to date and none on land...

have to agree with Treasure Hunter, more depositors at the beach!
 

TwoYewts

Sr. Member
Oct 29, 2013
446
736
NorthEast
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800, Fisher CZ-21, Makro Racer Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I would have to agree with Beach over Land as well. Easier to down 8" or so in sand than it is in the dirt. Although the potential to find more clad may be at the local park after some sport tournament, I would think that the potential to dig jewelry would be higher at the beach.

Oh and as to your other question...Sea Hunter should be your beach machine.

Good luck either way!
-TwoYewts
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,223
14,546
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ok then, I'm sure this horse is beaten to death, but what is the best bang for buck beach detector? I like Garrett's, but I'm not married to them. I live in Cali, but may get to Florida in the future. So primarily California beaches.
Dry, wet, or water? The Sovereign GT, Explorer, or E-trac for everything but the water. Water without discrimination, use the Sea Hunter you already have. For discrimination in the water and also in the wet and dry sand, get a used Excalibur. The CZ21 is another good choice for the water.
 

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