first shallow water trip with my tigershark... bummer

[re-tek]

tried to snorkel with detector on beach. water was swirled up bad and visibility was poor. fish where attracted to my coil which scared the crap out of me a couple of times. one minute you see nothing, next minute theres a fishy in your face!

found bottle caps, aluminum can remains, an apple sauce foil top, and thats about it. did get a couple a good signals that i just couldnt dig up. i didnt have a scoop so had to fan sand and feel around. i see a scoop is deffinitely needed. hate to spend $180 for what amounts to a bent shovel. there's got to be a cheaper way to make one of these scoops.

 

[geckokid]

A water scoop is well worth it.

 

[sailrunner]

As the old saying goes....you gotta spend money, to make money

 

[willie d]

Buying the scoop was the easy part. I bought that months before I decided on a detector. There's no sense detecting a target if you can't dig it up. HH Bill

 

[wailinmacs]

when i snorkel i use a hand scoop . 25.$$ bucks. works great

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

A good scoop is as vaulable as a good detector. You can go through several cheap ones till you learn this on your own, or you can take some friendly advice and invest in a good one from the start.

I'm speaking from experience, a good scope will last a lifetime, and it speeds the recovery of targets, allowing you more time to hunt more targets.

 

[Sandman]

Treasure_Hunter speaks from experience. There are cheaper ways to make these great scoops, and the guy that will make them will charge what ever he thinks he can get for them. I like the Sunspot the best, but others prefer other types too.

 

[JOE(USA)]

re-tek,

Ya, I hate to spend money too, I'd rather find it. That being said, you've got to have the right gear especially if your going to water hunt. You can make a good water scoop but it's a heck of a lot of work. I've made a couple. The one you see over to the left in my picture is very old but is still doing the job. I did not make that one. Buy the best,they really take a beating! Joe

 

[diggummup]

You should hook up with surfrat96. He hunts south beach alot. As for a scoop you might want to pay a visit to Reilly's Treasured Gold in Pompano off of McNab rd. Here is their adrress and number and website-Reilly's Treasured Gold, Inc.
2003 West McNab Rd. #10
Pompano Beach, Fl. 33069
Phone 1-954-971-6102
FAX 1-954-971-0575
http://www.rtgscoops.com/
They have some decent scoops at decent prices. I bought a long handled one that was considered "seconds" because a couple welds looked sloppy. I paid about $40 bucks for it.It's still holding up three years later and i've used it as a shovel so to speak on dry land. You know how the sandy dirt is down here. More sand than dirt. Anyway good luck and did you ever make it to that bottle dump you were talking about in Little Havana?

 

[kaptainkosmic]

if you buy 1 each of these you can whip up a scoop just like you like....

cnc turret press, used $100,000
used brake press $ 45,000
new tig welder $ 2,000
material $ 37.50

total $147,037.50

$180.00 all of the sudden doesn't seem to bad!

actually you can get a good scoop for considerably less than that.

hh. steve

 

[re-tek]

did you ever make it to that bottle dump you were talking about in Little Havana?

still looking for a "hunting/watch each others back" buddy. i did find a cool cork top medicine bottle at another place this weekend here in miami. i was using the tigershark on land and eyeballed it under a tree. i realize a bottle from the 1910's-20's are dime a dozen in other parts of the country but really rare finds in miami.

 

[re-tek]

Re: if you buy 1 each of these you can whip up a scoop just like you like....

cnc turret press, used $100,000
used brake press $ 45,000
new tig welder $ 2,000
material $ 37.50

total $147,037.50

$180.00 all of the sudden doesn't seem to bad!

actually you can get a good scoop for considerably less than that.

hh. steve

hey lexus spends billions on their plants and i dont own one of their cars!

if i knew how to weld stainless i'd be alright. i can work metal with an anvil and large hammer oldschool style!

 

[kaptainkosmic]

i applaud your can do attitude! and i'd be willing to bet if/when you make a scoop it will be very strong and may even be nice to look at, but it will probably take quite a bit of time & i doubt that any 2 would look alike, part of the charm of old school, i quite often employ just such tactics for one of's.
for the guy who doesn't have your attitude or skill the task would be difficult to say the least.

i can guarantee that every scoop maker out there is using similiar equipment, maybe a laser or hd plasma. but the end results have to be the same, a quality tool at a price that the public deems exceptable that will stand up to some extreme use/abuse, and look nice. oh yeah you've got to make money at it also! that means you have to build quite a few a day. i've seen scoops on ebay for $90.00 that look like they would do a very good job. but it sure would be a pain in the butt selling them 1 at a time!!! i don't know if there are any full time scoop makers out there but i doubt it. small market/profit margin. i think the only way you'll see price's much below where they are now is if someone in china starts stamping them out. and to tell the truth i don't think the market even comes close to that kind of investment

anyway i just wanted everyone to see some of the cost's just to put it all in perspective. for a comparision i'd like to know what the material cost to build a $1000.00 detector are, on second thought i just want it to do what they say it will do, and i'll decide if i want to buy it.
i'll close by saying i'm damn proud to stamp "Made In America" on products that leave my shop!

HH steve

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I can make my own concrete, pour it and finish it, I use to finish concrete for a living, but h3ll that is a lot of work. I can make my own spaghetti sauce, tomato paste and salsa, but again that is a lot of work. I would rather pay someone else to do it and spend my spare time doing the things I enjoy doing like hunting the beach for lost jewelry. Life is too short.

A good scoop is simply an investment just like your detector, you can go cheap or you can go quality, if your serious about hunting at the beach, especially in the surf you need a good scoop, well at least up here in our area you do, maybe its different in Miami. Talk to SurfRat see what they are using in that area.

I do know if you buy a good scoop new, you can get close to 75% of your money back if and when you go to sell it. I paid $100 for my used beach brute, and it is worth every dime I paid for it. I have recovered rings chest to chin deep with it, and with out the scoop the rings would still be in the water waiting for someone else to recover them.

 

[MilitaryCollector]

Hi:
Don't mean to hijack thread, but just bought Used Whites XLT at Flea Market and came with this MASSIVE, Stainless Steel water scoop with Aluminum handle. (handle runs down into scoop and is welded all along inside. This is very heavy and well made and like new. I don't need it and the XLT could use a new LCD display as has some lines
running throught it. SO I will sell this scoop for $50.00 if anyone wants it. LOCATED SOUTH CENTRAL, NH. prefer local. BUT if I decided to ship I'd have to tack on another 5.00 for packing materials, plus shipping. (better pics available if was going to ship)
Thanks

 

[re-tek]

tried fanning. the wave action just left me in a big blur of sand! it was a rough day though so i'll have to try again on a better day.