Beach hunt

[Bassmaster]

I'm bringing my Fisher F2 to the beach next week and I have some questions about beach hunting. Is a sand scoop really all that good? Also, where am I going to find the most jewelry? I have seen a lot of people waste deep finding rings and such. Is that the only place on the beach where jewelry will accumulate? Or will the rings be where all the people tan and sit? Will I need to adjust the settings of my MD while using it in the water?

P.S.- Please add any general tips for beach hunting because I have never gone before!

 

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[Hot zone]

Logs are like park benches!

 

[norbyx]

I think the subject has been explained many times. Anyhow fist thing to ask is that if we are talking salt beach or not.
Most of the following questions depend on the answer of the question above.
Sand scoop is a must in my opinion. You could also use a shovel and it would work but it is just not the same.

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[cactusrat]

Scoops just makes target recovery faster.

Finding the jewelry is the hard part. Dry sand will hold some jewelry, but it’s easier for the person loosing the jewelry to find it in dry sand.

If jewelry comes off when the person is out in the water, it is almost never found by the person. That’s why most hunters hunt in the water. It’s called target rich environment.

Okay, this is your first trip to the beach. My 2 cents worth is to work the dry sand. Work your way towards the water and see how your md works in the wet sand. There is plenty of area to keep you busy without going out into the water. The pull tabs and bottle caps will keep you digging the whole time your at the beach.

GL & HH

 

[Frankn]

All beaches are different, but here are some general "rules". There are two types of losses at the beach, Dropped items and items that slipped off when wet. Dropped items will be found where they set on the beach, or at the entrance ways where they got out their car keys {coins in this area}. Most washed off items will be found at low tide between the water and the high tide mark. At lakes that will be at the water line.
As far as detector settings, read the manual. There are many variations. I use a Whites Surmaster PI at the beach. I just turn it on and go.
AS far as the sand scoop, it is a necessity. Long handle is best with large holes that will not pass a dime.

 

[Hot zone]

If I sit down in my jeans nothing is lost. At the beach ya gotta wear those funky shorts your old lady got you and sitting in the sand or a small log, everything empties right out cuz the pockets are shallow and not separated into a pouch like the trusty jeans. Check the dry for newly lost items!

 

[Sandman]

You will be lucky if your F2 doesn't go crazy when you hit the wet saltwater sand because it is a mineral. Stick to the dry sand. For the wet sand or in the water your better off with a $$$ detector like the CZ21 or Excal II as these are multi frequency machines which handle the salt and black sand better.

You don't need a beach scoop, but a guy using one will retrieve tons more targets in the same amount of time and not be tired. Hunt in all metal or very low disc so detector still sounds off on pull tabs.

Learn how to beach hunt from the master. The Golden Olde

 

[dholland02]

I made my own beach scoop since I only hit beachs once or twice a year
Just get a coffee container and a drill

 

[TerryC]

If you're taking the F2 to a salt beach, you will be limited to the high-dry sand. If making your own scoop as dholland02 has (nice!), the holes will need to be 5/8ths to pass the largest amount of sand but not a dime. Take care. TTC

 

[Bassmaster]

Scoops are just so dang expensive! It should be a sin to price such a simple thing at such high prices. I will probably just make one like dholland02 and attach a pole to it. As far as my MD going crazy in the salt water, why would it do that? Would turning down the sensitivity help at all?

 

[norbyx]

Scoops are just so dang expensive! It should be a sin to price such a simple thing at such high prices. I will probably just make one like dholland02 and attach a pole to it. As far as my MD going crazy in the salt water, why would it do that? Would turning down the sensitivity help at all?

You will soon learn that scoops are expensive for a reason. I first bought a $15 plastic scoop hoping that it would work for me, and it did but it wasn't able to dig deep holes in hard sand. So I didn't use it. I ended up using a regular shovel and it worked but it was time consuming. I decided I needed a good scoop, and ended up spending $150 for a SS one. Is it worth the cost? Yes if you plan to detect at the beach.
Now on why the salt water makes the detector go crazy it is easy, because salt water is highly conductive (as metal) so the detector can't actually work well in an area that has so much conductivity. For salt water the ideal metal detector is a PI machine, second a multi frequency one and third a VLF with the lowest possible frequency (2.5 Khz or lower).

 

[Sandman]

Scoops are just so dang expensive! It should be a sin to price such a simple thing at such high prices. I will probably just make one like dholland02 and attach a pole to it. As far as my MD going crazy in the salt water, why would it do that? Would turning down the sensitivity help at all?

Sure good scoops are expensive. Stainless steel scoops last for years and are a bargin when you realize how much time they save you digging a hole in the water or beach sand. I have used many different types and have settled on the Sunspot Stealth as the best for what I use it for. It sifts fast so you don't have to shake it in the water when it is heavyest.

Turning down the sensitiveity in the salt water would work some but that also seriously limits depth. Salt being a mineral affects MD's and the salt is concentrated right near the shore. Then on top of that there is what is known as Black Sand that sticks to magnets. The best MD's for salt beaches are Excal's or CZ-20/21's in the water and Sov GT's for the dry sand.

 

[Bassmaster]

I will probably only beach hunt once or twice a year so I dont plan on buying a $150 scoop. I wish I could just borrow one! Though making one out of PVC will do the job for how little I will use it.

 

[Cool Hand Fluke]

When you go beach hunting you need a place just like this. Just go in the middle of the day when all these people are swimming, if they get in the way while you try and swing your coil through the water just tell them to take a hike!

 

[Hot zone]

When you go beach hunting you need a place just like this. Just go in the middle of the day when all these people are swimming, if they get in the way while you try and swing your coil through the water just tell them to take a hike!

Or just yell, SHARK!