In Florida With the 3030

Bigdob

Full Member
Aug 1, 2016
145
185
IL
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Finally made it away from the Midwest and will be in Florida for a couple more weeks.
Going to be in Destin soon and never been beach detecting and will be trying out the stock beach mode and maybe looking at some programs in Clive's book also for gold
I've got all three coils and I'm thinking the 17 or 11.
Any quick pointers for an old relic hunter?
BT
 

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Bigdob

Full Member
Aug 1, 2016
145
185
IL
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well, I've been out several times and while there is not a lot of trash, I have several clad coins :-(
Going out in the morning . I get out there just before sunrise and have the beach almost to myself.
Tomorrow I've got the chair and umbrella line scoped out in front of rentals next to the park I'm at.
The 17 is a beast to swing all the time especially when there aren't many targets to dig. I go awhile and then switch to the anther arm so I can go 3 hrs and that's all I need as the beach starts getting crowded then and I pack it up.
I use one of the plastic scoops , so dig a scoop and run it over the coil till it hits and then sift it out, works well.
I'm running the modified standard beach mode, deep and fast on, ferious coin, saltwater on and combined, auto +3 most of the time and noise cancel when ever it starts chattering.
I think these settings should hit Gold if I swing over it.
Just looking for one nice piece , fingers crossed ��
I've got another week plus so it will happen
Also , I have no plans to put anything but the coil in salt water, I've got it setup as advised but won't dunk it. Just a nice fresh water rinse when done;-)
BT
 

Last edited:

sonnar28

Jr. Member
Dec 2, 2011
89
86
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Well, I've been out several times and while there is not a lot of trash, I have several clad coins :-(
Going out in the morning . I get out there just before sunrise and have the beach almost to myself.
Tomorrow I've got the chair and umbrella line scoped out in front of rentals next to the park I'm at.
The 17 is a beast to swing all the time especially when there aren't many targets to dig. I go awhile and then switch to the anther arm so I can go 3 hrs and that's all I need as the beach starts getting crowded then and I pack it up.
I use one of the plastic scoops , so dig a scoop and run it over the coil till it hits and then sift it out, works well.
I'm running the modified standard beach mode, deep and fast on, ferious coin, saltwater on and combined, auto +3 most of the time and noise cancel when ever it starts chattering.
I think these settings should hit Gold if I swing over it.
Just looking for one nice piece , fingers crossed ��
I've got another week plus so it will happen
Also , I have no plans to put anything but the coil in salt water, I've got it setup as advised but won't dunk it. Just a nice fresh water rinse when done;-)
BT

I think you have an excellent plan - if you get your coil over a piece of gold, you will definitely know it.

Good luck

Charles
 

LawrencetheMDer

Hero Member
Feb 22, 2014
982
2,392
Ohio and Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab Manticore, Minelab CTX3030 w 11" and 17" DD coils,
Minelab Excalibur II w 10" coil, Equinox 800 (4) w 11" and 15" coils,
Troy Shadow x2 w 7" coil, Pointers; Garrett Carrot, Pro Find 35,
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I would go with Manual Sensitivity at max you can tolerate instead of Auto +3. I published on this site last month 2 graphs showing how deep the 3030 can detect a dime and a quarter on Auto +3 vs various Manual settings. In short, if you run in Manual 25 vs Auto +3, you will gain about 4" more in depth. The big "IF" here is whether you can tolerate the noise and chatter, etc. at Manual 25 at that particular location. If you can do it go for it, swing your coil slowly and pick-up those deep targets. I have gone to some of the most popular and most metal detected beaches in the World (as long as there on the west coast of Florida) and have found hundreds of deep quarters and dimes in the 12-15" range w the 17 " coil. Finding those targets deeper than 9-10" or so, where 95% of detectors stop in highly mineralised sand, is one of the real pluses of the 17" coil on the CTX3030. Also dig those one-way only signal targets. The thing I love the most about the 17" coil is that you really cover a lot of area in a short period of time. The biggest drawback is that there is never enough time to hunt.
 

dewcon4414

Bronze Member
Mar 22, 2006
2,138
1,237
Gulf Coast, Fl
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
MDT, Nox, Blue Xcals and CTX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Honestly in the water is where you are looking for depth on those gold targets. Dry sanding im using coverage for recent drops..... RARELY will you find a gold ring in the dry sand deeper than 8"..... especially with all those detectors. Not that it isnt there........ just that it takes time than may be better spent covering more beach. Thats why you are using the pattern....... reducing targets and maximizing your time. The narrower the pattern the more specific the target (mostly gold rings)...... which means you may get but a chirp from a near good target.
 

birdman

Gold Member
Jan 28, 2005
7,458
2,393
Choctaw Beach Florida
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 and ORX, tesoro Cibola with garret,whites and minelab pinpointers
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I live across the bay from Destin the water is still a little cold but the weather has been nice.
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
1,504
1,427
Saint Augustine, FL
Detector(s) used
CZ-21, Minelab Equinox, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Well, I've been out several times and while there is not a lot of trash, I have several clad coins :-(
Going out in the morning . I get out there just before sunrise and have the beach almost to myself.
Tomorrow I've got the chair and umbrella line scoped out in front of rentals next to the park I'm at.
The 17 is a beast to swing all the time especially when there aren't many targets to dig. I go awhile and then switch to the anther arm so I can go 3 hrs and that's all I need as the beach starts getting crowded then and I pack it up.
I use one of the plastic scoops , so dig a scoop and run it over the coil till it hits and then sift it out, works well.
I'm running the modified standard beach mode, deep and fast on, ferious coin, saltwater on and combined, auto +3 most of the time and noise cancel when ever it starts chattering.
I think these settings should hit Gold if I swing over it.
Just looking for one nice piece , fingers crossed ��
I've got another week plus so it will happen
Also , I have no plans to put anything but the coil in salt water, I've got it setup as advised but won't dunk it. Just a nice fresh water rinse when done;-)
BT

Tough to find gold in the dry sand but it happens now and then. Only found gold in dry sand once. Usually wet sand on the bank (after a big storm) or in the water, waist deep at average tide.

We are expecting some weather, keep an eye out for beach erosion and work it! Good luck!
 

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