Beach Newbie

[Griffmi]

Good Afternoon All-
I'm a long time visitor to this site but a first time poster. I've found you guys to be the friendliest from the various forums I've visited and figure I would start here. (I'm not just sucking up either!!)

I owned a Compass metal detector back in the early to mid 80's and had a lot of fun retrieving clad from the local parks up North. I now live in Florida (Cocoa Beach area) and was surprised to find Santa had left me a Minelabs Excalibur 1000 under the Christmas tree this year.

I've read the instruction manual 100 times and spent hours looking on the web, but still have a few questions and was hoping I could get some assistance from you.

I was wondering what the best method for beach hunting is? (my preference would be shipwreck treasure, jewelry and coins) Should I hunt the wet sand at low tide, should I go into the water, should I stay in the sand where the people place their towels? Should I leave the Sensitivity set to Auto? When hunting the water line should I be in Pin Point (non-discriminate) or Discriminate mode?

I know the treasure and gold are likely many hours away and that there is no substitute for getting out and learning the unit - I was just hoping for a few pointers to put me in the right location while I attempt to figure it out. If there's a good website or book someone could refer me to that would be great as well. I've definitely got the fever and can't wait to get out there and sift some sand.

Warmest Regards-
Griff

 

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[papa]

Grif, I can't help you there,pettry much land locked here,I'm sure someone can be of help to you. Welcome aboard.

 

[CWnut]

Go to the Minelab website. I believe they have a support forum or a Q/A forum...welcome to the gang

 

[treasurejack]

Grif, I've hunted the New Smyrna & Daytona area a lot, have a sister who lives down that way. Anyway, here's what I know about hunting the area:
While you might make some nice finds at any time the best time to be on the beach is after rough ocean conditions as this tends to move a lot of sand and "other items" into shore from the outer bars. Also, the area you live in is lined with sandbars all up and down the coast. Those "deeper areas between bars" can act as collection areas so at low tide these are always worth exploring, especially after rough ocean conditions.
Remember, you only have a 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inch coil and there's so much beach the task can seem overwhelming, but if you move slow and "hunt the area in sections" you should make some nice finds sooner or later.
Also, do your research, learn which way the tides move across those sandbars. A little research can also provide you tips on possible shipwreck locations along those sand bars.
Santa just brought you great beach machine!

 

[shootist]

Hello there,I dont live near the beach and have only hunted it a couple of times but I do know a few things. First off you will just love the Minelab Ive got an explorer 2 and I hear tell the excal is about the best in breed for the water. The next and more important thing you need to consider in Florida is all the crappy laws involved in hunting the beach. The way I hear it,you can only hunt from the low tide line up to the dunes. I guess the water is all staked out by people who lease from the gov. I do know that people make a lot of wonderful finds down there so Im sure you will find plenty. Now I may be wrong about the laws so you will want to check into for yourself. If you look out on the main page there is a 'beach and water hunting' section that you can go read up in as well as posting there with all your water hunting questions. There are a lot of great water hunters over there and you should find the answers to most all of your questions and welcome to the forum :}...Shoot

 

[Eu_citzen]

I was wondering what the best method for beach hunting is? (my preference would be shipwreck treasure, jewelry and coins)
Should I hunt the wet sand at low tide, should I go into the water, should I stay in the sand where the people place their towels?
Should I leave the Sensitivity set to Auto?
When hunting the water line should I be in Pin Point (non-discriminate) or Discriminate mode?

1) I am not sure, have only looked at the local river..
2)Yes at low tide= more ground to hunt and can result in more finds, look whre it would normally be at your waist..
'The water makes it easy to loose stuff.(if it varries somuch at your area)
3) Go where it's a high chance of loosing stuff. (i.e. water, children playing etc)
4) No disc thatway you won't loose any (valuable) targets! But it can drive you nuts if lot's of trash is present..

Welcome. 8)

 

[Griffmi]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Low tide will be at 9:34am this coming Sunday, so I plan to be there waiting for it. I'll post some pics if I'm able to locate anything besides pulltabs.
Thanks Again and Happy Hunting!
Griff

 

[spez401]

griff

your best bet is to check out the beach and shallow water forum here on treasurenet. there was a site called www.thegoldenolde.com, but i don't think it is running anymore. was probably the best single reference point for beach tips and techniques compiled in one spot.

Anyway... hit the beach forum. there are TONS of tips and info there. and welcome to the site
steve

 

[Eu_citzen]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Low tide will be at 9:34am this coming Sunday, so I plan to be there waiting for it. I'll post some pics if I'm able to locate anything besides pulltabs.
Thanks Again and Happy Hunting!
Griff

yeah do so. Good luck!

 

[qkslvr]

www.thegoldenolde.com is still running and a great resource. I recently started beach detecting also, and find the beach and shallow water forum a great way to learn the techniques.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Griff, I am a newbie, only been hunting the beaches here in Florida (Live in Orlando) since August and I also have the Excal. I have have only hunted from Cocoa to Daytona beach so far.

Try to get to the beach 2 to 3 hours before the low tide to start the hunt. If the surf allows it look for troughs or holes in the beach where items can get caught or stuck. I will hunt sometimes chest deep water. You can hunt the dry sand for fresh drops, but I spend most of my time hunting from the high tide line down to waist deep surf.

I set my sensitivity to between the 11 and 1 oclock position depending on the sand conditions and the chatter from the surf. I set the descrimination to 2-3, volume I have set to close to 3/4, threshold set to where I can just barely hear it.

If you hunt in pin-point you are going to get signals from every piece of scrap metal there, hunt in disc mode till you get a signal then use non-discriminate mode if you want to see where you are going to dig.

You have already received some really good info from the others, the goldenolde is fantastic. You will also get answer faster if you post the questions on the Beach and Surf thread.

Welcome to the forum and good hunting.

 

[treasurejack]

Good advice TH, would you also agree that it's best to use the largest scoop you can handle when hunting in the surf? I'm a small guy but when I'm in the surf I always get out the big dog because I try to limit the number of times I might actually move a find while I'm trying to recover it. I've also found that while the larger scoop takes more labor to work it actually reduces the number of scoops because it captures more sand and gets deeper on the first attempt. I think this is something a lot of new detectorist don't think about when they enter the surf the first time. A larger scoop can reduce the over all labor throughout the day. Would you agree?

 

[spez401]

hey guys... could you check the link to thegoldenolde.com... I tried it and it said it was unavailable. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't just my comp.

As for the scoop... I've used all different kinds, and depending on whether you're working dry sand, or the surf may dictate what you use. Personally, when I am in the water, I use the sunspot stealth scoop. It is one of the biggest things you can find. When you're in the water the KEY is to get the item, and get it quick, with minimal digging. The longer you are in the water digging a hole, the longer the surf has to fill in your hole. In the water, bigger IS better.

I brought a travel scoop to the Dominican Rebublic last July. I did ok in the surf, but man did i miss my sunspot. The scoop i travelled with was a SS 5" diameter. It worked ok, but i know that a few of the targets i recovered that took me 3 or 4 scoops, I would have gotten first try with a bigger one

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I use the beach brute scoop when working the surf or the beach. It is 12.0 deep x 8.5 wide x 6.0 inches high, total handle and the basket length is about 57 inches, mine weighs about 5.5 pounds as I had an extra handle welded on the front and the rear to make it easier to pull up and empty out.

Mine takes a wide and deep bite which I like, like you say it reduces the number of scoops to get the target up. I would use a wider one if I had it.

 

[Griffmi]

WOW - the information just keeps coming - Thank You All!

Spez - I tried the website you recommended, but it doesn't appear to be working. I'm embarrassed to say, I never scrolled past the General Discussion forum before. I was amazed to find out how many different forums were contained on this site. Now my wife stays mad at me because I bring the laptop to bed every night and keep her up saying look at this, look at this.
Coincidently, UPS had a delivery for me from Minelabs on Monday. It was the hip mount kit for my unit. I had no idea it was something that was included in the package, so I definitely think I will use it this weekend to save my strength for digging.
Now - if I can only get time to pass a little faster so Sunday morning will be here.
Be Safe All-
Griff

 

[seas1to2]

you do have to be carefull where you enter the water, some places are off limints an you can be arrested for being in the water with a metal detector an or lose your machine.I am not 100% sure but I think most places below Melborune are off limits an canaveral national seashore.I just read a story about a guy that almost lost his detector for being at canaveral, so if your not sure good Idea to ask.