Detecting during a work week

[Crunchyhippo]

How many of you find the time to detect specifically after work, even if it's only for an hour or two? I was thinking of doing this, but only after the sun went down, since it's the only time I could find parking at the beach. I'd also have to hunt in the wet or dry sand; I'm obviously not going in the water after dark. And once I got back, I'd have to go straight to bed, since I have to get up so early. I'm weighing whether it's worth the trouble or not.

 

[no2pencil]

All the time. I've even skipped out of work early by about half an hour. Had everything ready by the door. Hidden treasure don't care what day of the week it is. & that trash isn't going to pick itself up.

 

[TORRERO]

How many of you find the time to detect specifically after work, even if it's only for an hour or two? I was thinking of doing this, but only after the sun went down, since it's the only time I could find parking at the beach. I'd also have to hunt in the wet or dry sand; I'm obviously not going in the water after dark. And once I got back, I'd have to go straight to bed, since I have to get up so early. I'm weighing whether it's worth the trouble or not.

Good walking exercise… I’m retired but if I lived near the beach I would go in the evening it’s a lot cooler and a lot fewer people

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Good walking exercise… I’m retired but if I lived near the beach I would go in the evening it’s a lot cooler and a lot fewer people

It's a 22-minute drive to the beach for me. If I went during the daylight hours in the warmer months, like now, I'd need someone in my family to drop me off, then come back and get me, since parking is impossible in the daytime. So that's not such an attractive option. Only at night can parking be readily found, which would only give me about 1 1/2 hrs. to hunt before it's bedtime (I have to get up super-early).

 

[no2pencil]

I'd need someone in my family to drop me off, then come back and get me, since parking is impossible in the daytime.

This sounds like an ideal option to me. Especially that this time of the year the days are longer.

 

[Nathan W]

I hunt on my lunch break at work almost everyday. I got several decent sites super close and convenient. Around 45min -1 hr usually sometimes in winter I get hr and half

 

[TORRERO]

It's a 22-minute drive to the beach for me. If I went during the daylight hours in the warmer months, like now, I'd need someone in my family to drop me off, then come back and get me, since parking is impossible in the daytime. So that's not such an attractive option. Only at night can parking be readily found, which would only give me about 1 1/2 hrs. to hunt before it's bedtime (I have to get up super-early).

I’m a disabled veteran with a tag, generally I don’t have a problem… suggest trying to find a public parking space that always seems to have some openings… also after 6 a lot of people should be packing up to leave the beach

 

[Crunchyhippo]

also after 6 a lot of people should be packing up to leave the beach

You'd think, wouldn't you? But not where I live (metro Clearwater). It's as busy at 8:00 pm as it is at noon. No parking yet to be had. The sun doesn't go down until 9 pm.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I went out last night after work, got to the beach around 7:45, managed to find a parking place at the public parking lot (hooray!) for five bucks. The good news was, no one else out detecting except me; the bad news was that it was still really crowded. I had an hour and fifteen minutes to detect before the sun went down. I started out in the water, only had two signals after about 30 minutes - a rusty nail and piece of crab trap. The waves started out almost nonexistent, then they started growing to the point that I was unable to stand. So, I went to the wet sand; after 45 min. I only found two pennies. I moved to the dry sand, found some trash, but unlike the water and the surf, at least I was getting hits. So, my 17th trip to the beach, zero gold or silver found yet. It's funny how the detectorists with Youtube channels always manage to find multiple gold rings, bracelets, chains, etc, in the area where I am when I find zilch.

I plan on going out again tonight after work and after dark, detecting a stretch of beach not so heavily frequented and see if things are better. I can't go in the water, but at least I won't have to detect around people.

 

[TORRERO]

I went out last night after work, got to the beach around 7:45, managed to find a parking place at the public parking lot (hooray!) for five bucks. The good news was, no one else out detecting except me; the bad news was that it was still really crowded. I had an hour and fifteen minutes to detect before the sun went down. I started out in the water, only had two signals after about 30 minutes - a rusty nail and piece of crab trap. The waves started out almost nonexistent, then they started growing to the point that I was unable to stand. So, I went to the wet sand; after 45 min. I only found two pennies. I moved to the dry sand, found some trash, but unlike the water and the surf, at least I was getting hits. So, my 17th trip to the beach, zero gold or silver found yet. It's funny how the detectorists with Youtube channels always manage to find multiple gold rings, bracelets, chains, etc, in the area where I am when I find zilch.

I gave you a suggestion if you want to find Gold and Silver... it's NOT on the beach... ha ha ha
Matter of fact, if you want to find pretty much anything these days, its not going to be on the beach...
Try ballfields in a school yard... you will find a LOT more money and a much BETTER chance at Gold and Silver..

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I gave you a suggestion if you want to find Gold and Silver... it's NOT on the beach... ha ha ha
Matter of fact, if you want to find pretty much anything these days, its not going to be on the beach...
Try ballfields in a school yard... you will find a LOT more money and a much BETTER chance at Gold and Silver..

I'm going to an old church out-of-state early next month for a reunion, and it's way out in the middle of nowhere. It's also 122 years old, which is a lot of time for people to lose stuff. Needless to say, I'm taking my detector.

 

[TORRERO]

I'm going to an old church out-of-state early next month for a reunion, and it's way out in the middle of nowhere. It's also 122 years old, which is a lot of time for people to lose stuff. Needless to say, I'm taking my detector.

I saw that, follow my advice and hopefully you will have some prizes to show for it..
But also remember what I said, Metal Detectors have been around for 50+ years, and there is ALMOST no place that is open to the public that has not been searched..
Some of my BEST coins came from Churchyards although I haven't hunted them in almost 10 years..
I don't know where your church is, but I used to have County maps of NC and SC with all the Churches listed.. and I / We would ride the backroads looking at these churches and hunting them on days when no one was around.. Some of my BEST and EARLIEST coins have come from Churches..
Indian Heads and Barbers and even some Early Seated Liberty coins, even 1 Bust half dime from a Churchyard in NC.. (I can't for the life of me remember where it was)
Good Luck.. will be waiting to hear what you find..

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I used to have County maps of NC and SC with all the Churches listed.. and I / We would ride the backroads looking at these churches and hunting them on days when no one was around.. Some of my BEST and EARLIEST coins have come from Churches.

Sneaky.

 

[TORRERO]

Sneaky.

Just so you know, the company that made those maps ONLY made them for NC, SC, and FL I believe so they did not cover other states.
I bought them specifically because they listed churches, I don't know how many Churches I hunted but has to be 50-60 or more..
Most maps of that period do not list churches and this company went out of business 25 years ago probably.. about 10 years ago I tried to find a copy of these maps because google just isn't the same... and on Amazon someone wanted like $200 for one of them... which I refused to pay..

All of this was before the advent of GPS, so we just looked at the maps and followed the county roads to where we were going and stopped at opportunities along the way..
This was in the 80s and 90s

 

[OBN]

When I did work I would rarely go detecting, only on my vacations. What I did do was research which I enjoyed. Once i retired I moved to the beach, OC Md for a few years just to see if I liked it. Summers were great, winters boring. So I moved back to Annapolis, Md and with the research I had done (while working) I was able to do much better than the ocean and the beaches were right near me in the Chesapeake Bay. One thing about hunting in the water, the sands are always moving. I'm hunting spots that were hunted and dredged for many years. You would figure after 40 plus years of hunters the places would be cleaned out.... But I have been greatly Blessed (retired now) and still finding gold and silver.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

One thing about hunting in the water, the sands are always moving. I'm hunting spots that were hunted and dredged for many years. You would figure after 40 plus years of hunters the places would be cleaned out.... But I have been greatly Blessed (retired now) and still finding gold and silver.

I assume you mean that you're water detecting and still finding things where it's regularly hunted? Or do you find your stuff out of the water now?

 

[OBN]

I assume you mean that you're water detecting and still finding things where it's regularly hunted? Or do you find your stuff out of the water now?

Yes, I'm hunting beaches that were closed in the 1960s, the land is now private but you can hunt in the water (only). Yes, finding all in the water, most out a good distance from the shore line. And this is the Chesapeake Bay, at one time the coast was peppered with small beaches up and down the west side of the bay. These places were hammered for years by many, some still hunt these spots but the secret is to find a hot area which can take several hunts, once you find it you stay on it until the door closes.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Like I mentioned in another thread, I discovered to my pleasant surprise yesterday that when I get home from work (3:30 pm), I can leave for the beach at 4:00 and get there by 4:25. I learned that apparently enough people are still at work that the parking lots aren't completely full. I hadn't been detecting except on the weekends because I thought that the only time I could find parking was either sunup or sundown. Now, I can detect seven days a week if I want!

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I'm excited - today seems to be a favorable nexus of sorts for me. I prefer going in the water to detect, so after doing some checking, I saw that when I get off work, it'll be low tide, the wave height will be low (I won't get tossed around like a rag doll), and it'll only be 4:30 when I arrive at the parking area, meaning that there should be some spaces still available (people are still at work). True, I only get to detect for about two hours before other responsibilities take over, but I don't want to pass this nexus up. Wish me luck. It'll be my 23rd trip to the beach, and I'm still looking to find my first silver or gold anything.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I'm excited - today seems to be a favorable nexus of sorts for me. I prefer going in the water to detect, so after doing some checking, I saw that when I get off work, it'll be low tide, the wave height will be low (I won't get tossed around like a rag doll), and it'll only be 4:30 when I arrive at the parking area, meaning that there should be some spaces still available (people are still at work). True, I only get to detect for about two hours before other responsibilities take over, but I don't want to pass this nexus up. Wish me luck. It'll be my 23rd trip to the beach, and I'm still looking to find my first silver or gold anything.

Noooo! Everything was perfect when I got to the beach. Easy parking, lots of daylight left, the sea was calm, it was low tide, no other detectorists out.... I got in the water, and within about ten minutes I had my first hit. What a difference from the beach down the road, when I'd hunt all morning and not get a single signal. I got a pair of sunglasses from the hit. Then about five minutes later, I got another signal. But before I could dig it up - a storm front moved in, started blowing the waves to high levels, and the rain followed. Everyone left the beach for safety reasons, me included. I think I was crying on the way out.