Tips on scuba and metal detecting

[Aerospace guy]

Oops, iPads are so touchy..start over!Using scuba in So Cal, how far out is optimum for metal detecting at beach and what is a good used underwater detector?

 

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[Sandman]

Scuba isn't necessary at to hunt a beach as most swimmers don't go out to where they can't stand up. So wading is the way to go for the most finds for the time. A good underwater detector is either the CZ-21 or Excal as they have discrimination.

 

[cudamark]

That's kinda what you need to find out when you scuba.....where the trough is. You'll probably have to work a zig zag pattern in and out to find where that is. It's going to change with surf, tide, and current conditions. Oh, and X2 on the excalibur.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Tesoro Sand Shark. Rated to 200-feet, LIFETIME Warranty. Good Luck! Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

Oops, iPads are so touchy..start over!Using scuba in So Cal, how far out is optimum for metal detecting at beach and what is a good used underwater detector?

Scuba for casual fumble fingers losses, is not going to be what you might be envisioning it is. Eg.: images of scenes of clips from Mel Fisher's guys effortlessing bagging coin after coin in virgin grounds Those "clips" are unique, because of course that was a motherload that went down in a single area, tons of coins in a single zone. And even then-so, lots of effort to even get to the zone in the first place blasting away sand with heavy equipment, blah blah.

For regular beach-comber swimmer type losses (where there's no rhyme or reason on placement), you're going to find that the amount of effort to get to the occasional beeps you'll find underwater, in So. CA, that your time may be better spent just working the inner-tidal zone. Eg.: just wait for a super minus tide, and do it on dry land! doh (and/or even wade in a bit, etc...). Because you as a scuba person knows that a single hour of underwater time is time-consuming to prep, clean up, expensive, etc... And the minute you get a signal underwater, you're fighting the currents to stay on the spot to dig/retrieve. And the moment you start to dig, clouds of silt potentially obscure your vision.

And lest you think that the off-shore sands (out beyond the lowest of low tides) are simply riddled with targets, because obviously they're untouched by md'rs, think again: the undersea sand formations are every bit as susceptible to movement, as is the inter-tidal zone. In other words, dunes "come and go" underwater, daily, just as they do in the inner-tidal zone. Sand placement on salt water beaches (barring perhaps lagoons, & bays separated from from the open-facing ocean, etc...) is always changing. So whatever sand formations you see today, can be totally different tomorrow. That can mean vast areas of sterile sand NO MATTER THAT NO ONE'S EVER MD'D there. Or conversely, it can be a bonanza, if you're in an area of erosion (but so too, can the same be said, of sand above the water too, at any day, depending on swells, tides, winds, etc....).

I tried it here in central CA, and this was my impression. Spending a few hours for a deep can, a foil-drink pack, 7 or 8 clad, a junk earing, etc... is no fun. I could have done much better above water, simply because it's faster to move around, recover targets, etc... The can, for example, was freshly lost (still shiny), yet a foot deep. And takes 10 minutes to fight to stay on top of (resisting current movements, using the anti-bouyant tricks of scube), fighting silt clouds, determined to "find this deep signal at all costs". And presto, a deep can, which immediately tells me this sand covered it in a single night, at those depths. So I swim off looking for lower troughs, then fight coral with my knife for 10 minutes, to dis-lodge, PRESTO, a memorial penny.

Not meaning to discourage you, but I think that a fresh-water lake swimming hole (like under dive/swim platforms) is going to be a better use of scuba, since those bottom sands are un-changing for decades. I may be wrong, and you'll find an undersea "pocket", but it certainly wasn't my experience.

 

[Aerospace guy]

Thanks for the tips. Just joined local treasure hunters society and went with them to local lake that has thousands of swimmers.I called ahead to see if I could bring scuba gear and it was a "sorry no". I knew the swimmers boundaries were over head depth and thought I would have a huge advantage..oh well! Got to try a Infinium (wading) and found lots..cool.

 

[Aerospace guy]

Thanks for time saving info..think you absolutely correct. Just posted about recent lake experience...now I need to find a lake(s) that I can use scuba on and I think I'll have a definite advantage.

 

[Sandman]

Tom of CA is right on about the scuba experience. I took up scuba before I did MD'ing.