Get ready Cali folks!

[redcobra8u]

Tuesday - Thursday looks to be like the perfect setup for some serious beach erosion. Some very serious surf could be following these series of storms coming in.



Make sure the detector is charged and be safe out there.

 

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[bill from lachine]

redcobra,

You folks may have a beach bonanza on your hands if things play out the right way.

Make sure you post up your finds....should be some oldies for your efforts.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[cudamark]

I hope you're correct! If the new storms are as good as the last few we've had, I'm going to need a bigger display box!

 

[bill from lachine]

cudamark,

I know a few years back Chicago Ron and his buddy dug loads of gold and silver at the beaches around Chicago after some major beach cuts happened.

There's videos on youtube.....they'll have you drooling....lol.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[jeepGold]

I actually took two days off for this...

 

[Billinoregon]

Good luck, gentlefolk!

 

[cudamark]

cudamark,

I know a few years back Chicago Ron and his buddy dug loads of gold and silver at the beaches around Chicago after some major beach cuts happened.

There's videos on youtube.....they'll have you drooling....lol.

Regards + HH

Bill

Depending on your definition of what "loads" is.....I've been doing the same here the last month or so. Over 50 wheaties, over 40 silver coins, and 20 something rings.....4 being gold. Not bad for just the start of the winter storms. This photo is just my finds for the month of December and not counting most of the over 180 fishing weights I also found!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

thanx for posting redcobra8u. The last swells that came to CA, in mid to late Dec, were all NW direction. This one is about straight on west. Or even SW once you factor the winds. That will bode well for you guys in So. CA, where all your beaches face SW. The day of the impact seems to be Thursday. And the tides that day are respectably high. So by Thurs. afternoon, and the rest of the weekend, you guys should have some action !

We had some spots light up with coins (inc. silver) up here in Monterey bay beaches during the NW swells of Dec. But all in all, meager counts you had to work/look for, and not a lot of gold rings. We're hoping that this one does the trick

 

[Fletch88]

I wish I could fly out

 

[SBMatt]

Question from a rookie detectorist. Since I only have an Ace 350 would I have any chance in the shallow surf (1-2 feet)? I know I have to turn down my sensitivity to 2 or 3 to avoid the falses, but should I even bother? I did just pick up a T-rex scoop, so was thinking I might give it a try with this storm.

 

[cudamark]

Question from a rookie detectorist. Since I only have an Ace 350 would I have any chance in the shallow surf (1-2 feet)? I know I have to turn down my sensitivity to 2 or 3 to avoid the falses, but should I even bother? I did just pick up a T-rex scoop, so was thinking I might give it a try with this storm.

Unlikely you'll have much success in wet sand or water with a 350.....at least they don't around here. I've hunted Goleta and don't remember it being much different than our beaches here.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Question from a rookie detectorist. Since I only have an Ace 350 would I have any chance in the shallow surf (1-2 feet)? I know I have to turn down my sensitivity to 2 or 3 to avoid the falses, but should I even bother? I did just pick up a T-rex scoop, so was thinking I might give it a try with this storm.

What mark says is true if you're hunting in sand that's got a gun-powdery grey (or streaks) colored look. That's mineralized sand. Those spots tend to be at the base of mountains, and near creek/culvert water-outflows, and at the foot of cuts. But you can maybe walk away from those zones and find tamer sand (that hopefully has as many targets as the mineralized zones had).

But even in non-mineralized wet salt sand, you will still only get 1/2 to 1/3 the depth of guys using machines line Sov, Excal, explorer, Cz's, etc... The 250 and 350 simply aren't known to be good wet salt machines. But yes, they will work, so long as you steer off any black-ish grey sand.

If I were you, I'd hit craigslist in your area. Since we are still young in the winter, and being as how you're so close to Santa Barbara's touristy swimming beaches, I bet you could pay off a good used machine in a single day or two if/when conditions are right.

 

[SBMatt]

I took a look at craigslist and the only thing I see is a Whites PI Dual Field used for $675. Doesn't seem like that great of a deal and i'm not so sure about PI. Especially with all the junk Iron on our beaches. Plus it's down in LA.

What depth in the sand do you get most of your hits? I don't really want to be digging too deep anyway. Thank you for the info on the grey sand, that's the kind of thing I wouldn't know without someone mentioning it or experiencing it for myself over time.

 

[redcobra8u]

I took a look at craigslist and the only thing I see is a Whites PI Dual Field used for $675. Doesn't seem like that great of a deal and i'm not so sure about PI. Especially with all the junk Iron on our beaches. Plus it's down in LA.

What depth in the sand do you get most of your hits? I don't really want to be digging too deep anyway. Thank you for the info on the grey sand, that's the kind of thing I wouldn't know without someone mentioning it or experiencing it for myself over time.

Sbmatt, depth can vary even with a huge erosion event. Last month a dug a huge diamond ring almost 24in down. I didn't have it appraised because my wife keeps everything but I'm pretty sure it paid for my excal and AT Pro plus my scoop, my sunscreen, etc.

It will be hard with the ACE to clean up but if there conditions are right, you might get lucky if you stay up high in the cuts. If conditions are as good as it looks like they will be, I'd hit the beach with anything I could.

Good luck.

 

[SBMatt]

Yeah I really hate to go back and dump a ton of money on another detector when i've only been at this a few weeks. I think i'll head out this week/weekend and try my luck. Maybe i'll get lucky and get something cool. If I get anything out there and gain some confidence that I could find even more with a better detector maybe i'll place a call to kellyco and see what kind of deal I can get. I know they have an Excal listed for $1250 used. Maybe when I get my Tax refund!

 

[Billinoregon]

Cudamark, loving that cap bomb on the lower right corner!

 

[redcobra8u]

Yeah I really hate to go back and dump a ton of money on another detector when i've only been at this a few weeks. I think i'll head out this week/weekend and try my luck. Maybe i'll get lucky and get something cool. If I get anything out there and gain some confidence that I could find even more with a better detector maybe i'll place a call to kellyco and see what kind of deal I can get. I know they have an Excal listed for $1250 used. Maybe when I get my Tax refund!

SBmatt, it's worth it. Trust me it's out there. I found both these about 2 weeks ago. I first bought the AT Pro which I love and found my share of rings in the dry but the excal is the game changer. The last December erosion I found 11 keepers (gold and plat) in 7 hours over 2 days.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I took a look at craigslist and the only thing I see is a Whites PI Dual Field used for $675. Doesn't seem like that great of a deal and i'm not so sure about PI. Especially with all the junk Iron on our beaches. Plus it's down in LA.

What depth in the sand do you get most of your hits? I don't really want to be digging too deep anyway. Thank you for the info on the grey sand, that's the kind of thing I wouldn't know without someone mentioning it or experiencing it for myself over time.

Yes that's a little steep on the asking price for that. They've gone for much cheaper on the used market. Plus I agree that having a pulse can be a pain , when targets are prolific. Ie.: you may end up wishing you had something that could pass nails. Yes they are awesome in jet black conditions though, so it's a mixed bag. I have seen very few post-erosion conditions in CA where a standard machine like the various minelabs, CZs, 6000 di pro, etc... couldn't hack. Sure you gotta turn down your sens, (or go to auto-sens. mode). And sure you're depth in true-black gets reduced to a mere inch or two. But on the other hand, for erosion type hunting, speed becomes the name of the game, and if you start having a one-to-one nail-to-keep ratio, you have just cut your keeper ratio in half !

I suppose if your beaches were truly nasty black, border to border, after erosion, then yes a pulse is in order. Some So. CA hunters do very well with theirs, since they're hunting beaches that perhaps have a lower nail ratio. And they've learned some audio tricks to pass some (as long as the nails aren't bent). But still, if targets are everywhere, and nails abound, you will see those guys leave for greener grounds sometimes, if too many nails. I have seen some conditions where I did wish I had a pulse. But moving a little out of those zones solved the problem, and I never lacked for signals to choose from, even with a discriminator.

Not sure how Goleta/ Santa Barbara fits with this. I did a check on all CL's in your area, and you're right: no other machines to choose from. Just a bunch of radio shack/bounty hunters, some other garretts like yours, and a few pulse machines. Are you willing to travel to buy one ? Get one in time for Thursday

 

[bill from lachine]

cudamark,

Your results were good but Chicago Ron's were a bit over the top....here's a link if you care to watch.

Depending on your definition of what "loads" is.....I've been doing the same here the last month or so. Over 50 wheaties, over 40 silver coins, and 20 something rings.....4 being gold. Not bad for just the start of the winter storms. This photo is just my finds for the month of December and not counting most of the over 180 fishing weights I also found!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Ok, I've got a dilema. I just bought my first detector ever, a Nokta fors gold plus. I've just barely used it twice but I have an appointment in San Francisco this Saturday. I would love to get out to the beach for a bit but I have no idea. Where would I go? I don't even know the laws of beach hunting in CA and I'm sure my detector isn't ideal or how to adjust it for beach hunting. Anybody point me in the right direction?