Trokair
Full Member
I've been metal detecting the OBX beaches for a few years now and typically returned with some pocket change and one or two cool finds. This week however blew all of that out of the water. I switched out my White's V3i for a newly acquired Minelab Excalibur II and the difference is amazing. Even side by side on dry sand the Excal picked up way more signals than the V3i in Salt Mode. The V3i is all about tweaking though so I will continue to try to dial it in but the Excal really shines on the beach.
One thing I do want to say is that I get frustrated when reading about other people's beach finds in that there is a lack of information on WHERE on the beach they specifically found their awesome stuff and what settings they were using so with that in mind below is a complete list of my finds (picture attached) and specifically where on the beach I found the top 4 finds (close up attached), and what I was using.
My entire week was using the Minelab Excalibur II. I hunted day 1 and 2 in Pinpoint mode and dug everything. Both rings came from day 1. I found the first ring (sterling) in the middle of the "towel line" or where people are actually sitting on the beach. The "mermaid ring" came from the line right where the waves were lapping at low tide, so the least wet but still wet area. I hunted the rest of the time in Disc mode with a disc of 1.5 on the knob. The "G" necklace came from the dry sand near a walk on to the beach. The "hearts" pendant came from the sand right above the water line at almost high tide. There was a slight carved out "wall" that people were sitting on, maybe six inches high and the pendant was maybe six inches from that wall back in the dryer sand. Most of the coins came from the high tide line, again wet sand but not under water. I hunted this area in both Pinpoint and Disc.
Disclaimer: I know that beach hunting in the summer is not preferable but vacations are. Sadly I had to leave in the middle of the tropical storm that came through, otherwise this list may look better. For general information late fall through late winter are the "preferred" times to hunt as the beach is being washed out to sea by storms and the ocean. Summer months pile more sand on top making finds harder although there are more beach goers so newly dropped finds are pretty abundant as are trash. I filled up 3 gallon ziplock bags full of trash in my 5 days of detecting along with finding what is below. Also pay attention to the phases of the moon. Full moon = higher and lower tides which reportedly help hunting as well. I had neither of that but still came away pretty darn good. I concentrated on the high tide water line and the "towel line" where the majority of foot traffic and chairs where.
Finds:
$3.50 in quarters w/ a bicentennial
15 pennies
8 nickles
5 dimes
1 piece of fake pirate treasure (much to my dismay as it does not have "copy" on it)
1 key
1 dog's tag
1 toy tractor
1 Bic lighter (still works)
1 "Chug Card" (for shotgunning beers, retails $15 on their website)
1 Tent stake, probably the nicest I've ever picked up
3 sinkers (4 oz., 2 oz., 0.5 oz)
1 Sterling "G" necklace with chain
1 3 hearts pendant, sterling with yellow and rose gold plating, possible diamonds but probably not
1 Sterling ring, non-precious stone
1 Mermaid ring, silver plated at one time
One thing I do want to say is that I get frustrated when reading about other people's beach finds in that there is a lack of information on WHERE on the beach they specifically found their awesome stuff and what settings they were using so with that in mind below is a complete list of my finds (picture attached) and specifically where on the beach I found the top 4 finds (close up attached), and what I was using.
My entire week was using the Minelab Excalibur II. I hunted day 1 and 2 in Pinpoint mode and dug everything. Both rings came from day 1. I found the first ring (sterling) in the middle of the "towel line" or where people are actually sitting on the beach. The "mermaid ring" came from the line right where the waves were lapping at low tide, so the least wet but still wet area. I hunted the rest of the time in Disc mode with a disc of 1.5 on the knob. The "G" necklace came from the dry sand near a walk on to the beach. The "hearts" pendant came from the sand right above the water line at almost high tide. There was a slight carved out "wall" that people were sitting on, maybe six inches high and the pendant was maybe six inches from that wall back in the dryer sand. Most of the coins came from the high tide line, again wet sand but not under water. I hunted this area in both Pinpoint and Disc.
Disclaimer: I know that beach hunting in the summer is not preferable but vacations are. Sadly I had to leave in the middle of the tropical storm that came through, otherwise this list may look better. For general information late fall through late winter are the "preferred" times to hunt as the beach is being washed out to sea by storms and the ocean. Summer months pile more sand on top making finds harder although there are more beach goers so newly dropped finds are pretty abundant as are trash. I filled up 3 gallon ziplock bags full of trash in my 5 days of detecting along with finding what is below. Also pay attention to the phases of the moon. Full moon = higher and lower tides which reportedly help hunting as well. I had neither of that but still came away pretty darn good. I concentrated on the high tide water line and the "towel line" where the majority of foot traffic and chairs where.
Finds:
$3.50 in quarters w/ a bicentennial
15 pennies
8 nickles
5 dimes
1 piece of fake pirate treasure (much to my dismay as it does not have "copy" on it)
1 key
1 dog's tag
1 toy tractor
1 Bic lighter (still works)
1 "Chug Card" (for shotgunning beers, retails $15 on their website)
1 Tent stake, probably the nicest I've ever picked up
3 sinkers (4 oz., 2 oz., 0.5 oz)
1 Sterling "G" necklace with chain
1 3 hearts pendant, sterling with yellow and rose gold plating, possible diamonds but probably not
1 Sterling ring, non-precious stone
1 Mermaid ring, silver plated at one time
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