DOES GRIDDING A BEACH OR ZIG ZAGING PRODUCE MORE FINDS ?

[streetglide]

I have tried gridding beach areas but it gets boring after a while. I rather zig zag around ? What do others prefer to do ? Thanks Joe

 

[Randyg12]

I like to grid spots that have heavy usage and have produced for me in the past. It does get boring sometimes when you're not finding a lot of good targets, but in my opinion if you don't grid you could be missing out on some good targets. I've done my share of zigzagging in the past but it seems like I have better results when I grid.

I think the key things for beach detecting are gridding, using the largest coil you have, move slowly, keeping the coil on the sand, dig every thing that doesn't grunt iron, and the most important thing is to be patient.

 

[jeepGold]

I'll tell you how I do it..

Being in So Cal, it's sanded in right now so my strategy will probably be different than other regions .

I tend to get to the beach around 3am. Because So Cal beach water is a bit cold, only kids/teens are in the water so I do the towel lines (until later in the summer) to the top of the dry paying extra attn to entry points, staging areas, rental areas, and shower/bathroom locations. Volley ball courts are ok, but over rated. I put my shovel down about 4 ft lower than the build up of sand at the high tide mark & walk a straight line to the top of the dry, dragging my shovel.As I do I occasionally plot my coil in the sand to mark the end of my swing. When at the top I turn around, see my mark, line up and walk back. I walk slow and swing slow and low. Once I work about 50 lines I change it up. I then walk parallel at the top of the high tide line and grid the wet sand to the waters edge. This is good practice to help keep your ground balance stable. Even with my excalibur running from water, to wet, to dry and back and forth can put a toll on it.
I'd rather only work a 1 block section of beach all day than have doubt that by trying to cover real estate I'd be passing stuff up. Knowing that I completely (or at least mostly) wiped out a section, I know that I wont need to go there for awhile and if I do I don't have to worry about faints and whispers because I already went 2 ft down while griding.
My grids today at a local beach. Only found about 5.00 in change and a few silver trinkets before it got way to hot and people started to over run the beach. click the pick to make it bigger.

 

[MiamiFox]

 

[cudamark]

I'll tell you how I do it..

Being in So Cal, it's sanded in right now so my strategy will probably be different than other regions .

I tend to get to the beach around 3am. Because So Cal beach water is a bit cold, only kids/teens are in the water so I do the towel lines (until later in the summer) to the top of the dry paying extra attn to entry points, staging areas, rental areas, and shower/bathroom locations. Volley ball courts are ok, but over rated. I put my shovel down about 4 ft lower than the build up of sand at the high tide mark & walk a straight line to the top of the dry, dragging my shovel.As I do I occasionally plot my coil in the sand to mark the end of my swing. When at the top I turn around, see my mark, line up and walk back. I walk slow and swing slow and low. Once I work about 50 lines I change it up. I then walk parallel at the top of the high tide line and grid the wet sand to the waters edge. This is good practice to help keep your ground balance stable. Even with my excalibur running from water, to wet, to dry and back and forth can put a toll on it.
I'd rather only work a 1 block section of beach all day than have doubt that by trying to cover real estate I'd be passing stuff up. Knowing that I completely (or at least mostly) wiped out a section, I know that I wont need to go there for awhile and if I do I don't have to worry about faints and whispers because I already went 2 ft down while griding.
My grids today at a local beach. Only found about 5.00 in change and a few silver trinkets before it got way to hot and people started to over run the beach. click the pick to make it bigger.
View attachment 1181890

Looks a little like PB....

 

[cudamark]

This is how I do it. If it's a beach I know well, I'll know what has changed since my last visit and will explore the areas that have changed. If it's a beach I seldom hunt, I zig zag from water to seawall/rocks to see if there is a pattern of where the targets are. I then grid the high density areas. I try to cover the area 100% but without overlapping any more than necessary. If the targets are few and far between, I don't even do that. I want "virgin" sand under my coil at all times on a "lean" beach to get me more coverage. Most of our beaches are impossible to cover in one tide change anyway, so, I don't want to cover the same crappy ground twice.

 

[jeepGold]

Looks a little like PB....

SHHHH!!!!

 

[jeepGold]

I'm giving away WAY to many techniques... I'm hushing up now.

 

[lost items recovery]

Looks a little like PB....

No way! Look at the size of the area being..... Ah..I want to say gridded!?!
That's a patient person. I wouldn't last a 1/8 of that!
What dedication!

 

[lookindown]

I like cruising up and down the beach looking at the scenery...if I find gold its a bonus to an already good day...people do it for different reasons...when my day is done I can always say "that was fun".

 

[ColonelDan]

I like cruising up and down the beach looking at the scenery...if I find gold its a bonus to an already good day...people do it for different reasons...when my day is done I can always say "that was fun".

I'm curious...Doesn't "looking at the scenery" somewhat belie your alias?

 

[TooManyHobbies]

I'm curious...Doesn't "looking at the scenery" somewhat belie your alias? ��

Not if the scenery is laying on beach towels.

 

[ColonelDan]

Not if the scenery is laying on beach towels.

Good Point!

 

[rainyday101]

In freshwater small swim holes and beaches, I grid. I drag the scoop for reference lines and cover them quickly.

In large areas I meander aimlessly like a drunk trying to sober up. I try to find a hot area and grid that small area, then back to meandering. I like to be knee deep in the water to as deep as I can get. This is usually the sweet area for me and thank god I don't have to worry about sharks or riptides. You ocean hunters definitely earn your keep and have my respect.

 

[Crispin]

I am really jealous of you guys. I have a 90 minute drive from the beach and I only go when I have time away from work and family. This means that the tides rarely work in my favor and I don't have time to grid. I have do the best with what is in front of me. I mostly avoid dry sand. The best advice I can give somebody is if there is a lot of trash...move on. Sure there is probably something there but poor ratio count. If I find something encrusted I do a spiral around the find. I zig zag the water looking for hard pack and then stay near finds. To most people it would appear I was aimlessly wandering, but somewhere in the depths of my head there is an insane logic to the madness.

 

[cudamark]

SHHHH!!!!

You think this beach is a secret? I think every beach hunter in SoCal has hit this beach.......in my case, hundreds of times. I think I'll wait a while for it to replenish before doing it again though!

 

[jeepGold]

No but I'm a secret. I like ninja mode

 

[lookindown]

I'm curious...Doesn't "looking at the scenery" somewhat belie your alias?

You got me there.

 

[lookindown]

Not if the scenery is laying on beach towels.

Hey, that's right.

 

[CASPER-2]

I will grid an old beach that is known for deep old gold & silver - if Im hitting a newer beach or spot that Im just going to find fresh drops at - than zigzag or parallel to shore line working before low and following it out - back and forth
to my max is the way I flow
last hunt -I was intending to go for fresh drops and was working parallel chest deep in one direction - then made my turn and worked back just before low
and hit a Buffalo - I then started to grid and worked about a 20 by 20 yards square where it seemed like some sand was taken out in that one spot

 

[SocalJim]

I'd have to fall into the zigzag category as my primary search pattern. The problem I have with gridding is most of us all know where the crowds are in the water or out and are most likely to favor those spots. So you can be following two or three hunters within 24 hours (especially when Jeeps starting at 3AM and some starting in the early evening) .
If I hit a patch of hard packed sand or an old target I'll grid from that spot for ten feet or so on either side until it stops producing and it's back to the zigzag. Just like the hunters who say you can only know you've covered everything by gridding I say you might just be in the wrong spot on any given day and if your not moving you'll never know what you might have missed if you don't move. I agree that every swing is just as likely to be productive no matter where or how you work so just make it enjoyable.