I wont promote!

[steve from ohio]

I won't promote!

I've been down in Florida for the last month. I like to detect for fun and profit. I have noticed a few things.

There are too many people now on the beaches with metal detectors. Too many in the water. Too many with dreams of finding a nice big gold ring or chain. Even their kids are hunting. Just too many. I no longer will tell people to give it a try. Never again. Not my job.

Was at South Beach in Miami. Got there early, or at least I thought. As it turned out, there were at least two dozen people detecting at the beach already at 5 am. Four people in the water and were in the water most of the night! It seems that everyone and their mother have a metal detector now. Just too many. And be honest. I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who gets a little bit peeved when you get to a beach to find it over run with people with metal detectors. I have noticed a bit of anger from the newer MD people as I say HI! They don't want any more people with metal detectors taking away their finds.

Several of the Gulf Beaches are loaded at sunrise with guys and women in the water hunting away. Some have been in the water for several hours hunting at night.
They are everywhere. Siesta beach had at least a dozen people hunting the sand on Monday morning. Hitting the volleyball courts and the towel line. I was going to hunt the water but there were 4 guys already in the water. It was still not even sun up. At 9 am. the parking lot was full at Siesta beach and the famous Siesta cruise, people driving around the parking lot looking for a parking space was in effect. The full parking lot but very few people in the water and almost no one on the beach wearing gold.

I have noticed that there are tons of pawn shops and "We buy Gold" businesses in Florida. They are everywhere! They advertise on TV. So what has happened since the price of gold and silver has shot up, people have sold off their bling. They are not wearing it in the water any more! So findings are mighty slim, at least from what I've seen.

I hunt most of the beaches on the Gulf Coast, Tampa area. Desoto, Siesta, Holmes, Venice, Clearwater, Lido...you name them, I was there. Hunting for hours and hours finding nothing this year. The years before, lots of rings and blings. This year, almost nothing. 4 Weeks of hunting the main and not so main beaches and just a little bit of clad and a few bobbles here and there. No gold at all.

Spent 4 days at the Treasure Coast. Hunted for at least 6 hours each day. The conditions at the Treasure coast is poor with lots and lots of sand. A few good storms and things might open up. I have hunted the TC in the past and have always found something...even if it was modern stuff. This year is different. I always go to the Mclarty treasure museum and talk to the guys there as they are MD'ers. They have pretty much given up hunting the Treasure Coast as the conditions are so poor. Not much modern stuff is being dropped as the beaches were empty even when the temps were in the mid to upper 80's. One of the days I had not one decent signal. It was detecting hell. Lots of can slaw and nothing else. It was a desert.

Getting back to the Gulf Coast, Before I hunt, I watch. I have noticed that there are very few people in the water. The water temps last weekend were in the mid 70's with air temps in the mid 80's. In the past, that combo meant lots of people in the water wearing lots of gold and silver. This year is way different. Not sure why. Maybe the oil spill and the use of Corexit? Not sure but it is very noticeable that there are not a lot of people in the water. And those in the water are not wearing gold. Probably sold off their gold to pay for the gasoline.

When I hunt, I often get lots of questions. Seeing how I am a water hunter, I get lots of the usual....Oh you can use that in the water? or How deep can you go with that? I often get the ....Oh, I've always wanted to do that comment. I no longer tell them to give it a try. Nope. Not any more. It's not my job to put more people on the beach to compete with me. It's not about competition. It's about finding things. And I won't be foolish to tell people to give it a try.

I tell them to truth. I tell them that up to about last year, it was a lot of fun. But now there is very little to find and that the economy has taken its toll on detecting. Modern gold is becoming a thing of the past as it has been pawned or sold outright because of the high prices. I tell them that now, you can find tons of pop can pull tabs and very little else. I tell them that they will have to spend at least a grand on a good detector with very little chance of a payback. I tell them that it takes dedication and lots of free time with a very small payback.

Yeah, you can say that detecting is more than finding gold rings or making the big find. It is about getting out and having a bit of fun. But it just isn't the same when you know that you just aren't going to be able to find what in the past was at least a hope. Now, with all the people on the beach and in the water, it just is not as fun as it used to be. Too many people trying to find what is just not there anymore.

Next year I'm going to forget about Florida and hunt the outer banks. At least I won't have to depend on modern people losing things that are not even going to be there as they have sold it off already. Or maybe get back to land hunting.

 

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[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

I've been down in Florida for the last month. I like to detect for fun and profit. I have noticed a few things.

There are too many people now on the beaches with metal detectors. Too many in the water. Too many with dreams of finding a nice big gold ring or chain. Even their kids are hunting. Just too many. I no longer will tell people to give it a try. Never again. Not my job.

Was at South Beach in Miami. Got there early, or at least I thought. As it turned out, there were at least two dozen people detecting at the beach already at 5 am. Four people in the water and were in the water most of the night! It seems that everyone and their mother have a metal detector now. Just too many. And be honest. I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who gets a little bit peeved when you get to a beach to find it over run with people with metal detectors. I have noticed a bit of anger from the newer MD people as I say HI! They don't want any more people with metal detectors taking away their finds.

Several of the Gulf Beaches are loaded at sunrise with guys and women in the water hunting away. Some have been in the water for several hours hunting at night.
They are everywhere. Siesta beach had at least a dozen people hunting the sand on Monday morning. Hitting the volleyball courts and the towel line. I was going to hunt the water but there were 4 guys already in the water. It was still not even sun up. At 9 am. the parking lot was full at Siesta beach and the famous Siesta cruise, people driving around the parking lot looking for a parking space was in effect. The full parking lot but very few people in the water and almost no one on the beach wearing gold.

I have noticed that there are tons of pawn shops and "We buy Gold" businesses in Florida. They are everywhere! They advertise on TV. So what has happened since the price of gold and silver has shot up, people have sold off their bling. They are not wearing it in the water any more! So findings are mighty slim, at least from what I've seen.

I hunt most of the beaches on the Gulf Coast, Tampa area. Desoto, Siesta, Holmes, Venice, Clearwater, Lido...you name them, I was there. Hunting for hours and hours finding nothing this year. The years before, lots of rings and blings. This year, almost nothing. 4 Weeks of hunting the main and not so main beaches and just a little bit of clad and a few bobbles here and there. No gold at all.

Spent 4 days at the Treasure Coast. Hunted for at least 6 hours each day. The conditions at the Treasure coast is poor with lots and lots of sand. A few good storms and things might open up. I have hunted the TC in the past and have always found something...even if it was modern stuff. This year is different. I always go to the Mclarty treasure museum and talk to the guys there as they are MD'ers. They have pretty much given up hunting the Treasure Coast as the conditions are so poor. Not much modern stuff is being dropped as the beaches were empty even when the temps were in the mid to upper 80's. One of the days I had not one decent signal. It was detecting hell. Lots of can slaw and nothing else. It was a desert.

Getting back to the Gulf Coast, Before I hunt, I watch. I have noticed that there are very few people in the water. The water temps last weekend were in the mid 70's with air temps in the mid 80's. In the past, that combo meant lots of people in the water wearing lots of gold and silver. This year is way different. Not sure why. Maybe the oil spill and the use of Corexit? Not sure but it is very noticeable that there are not a lot of people in the water. And those in the water are not wearing gold. Probably sold off their gold to pay for the gasoline.

When I hunt, I often get lots of questions. Seeing how I am a water hunter, I get lots of the usual....Oh you can use that in the water? or How deep can you go with that? I often get the ....Oh, I've always wanted to do that comment. I no longer tell them to give it a try. Nope. Not any more. It's not my job to put more people on the beach to compete with me. It's not about competition. It's about finding things. And I won't be foolish to tell people to give it a try.

I tell them to truth. I tell them that up to about last year, it was a lot of fun. But now there is very little to find and that the economy has taken its toll on detecting. Modern gold is becoming a thing of the past as it has been pawned or sold outright because of the high prices. I tell them that now, you can find tons of pop can pull tabs and very little else. I tell them that they will have to spend at least a grand on a good detector with very little chance of a payback. I tell them that it takes dedication and lots of free time with a very small payback.

Yeah, you can say that detecting is more than finding gold rings or making the big find. It is about getting out and having a bit of fun. But it just isn't the same when you know that you just aren't going to be able to find what in the past was at least a hope. Now, with all the people on the beach and in the water, it just is not as fun as it used to be. Too many people trying to find what is just not there anymore.

Next year I'm going to forget about Florida and hunt the outer banks. At least I won't have to depend on modern people losing things that are not even going to be there as they have sold it off already. Or maybe get back to land hunting.

I know what you mean..... In some places the fun is gone for some of these newer people with detectors are not very pleasant........ Some down right hatefull.............

 

[cntrydncr1]

Re: I won't promote!

People are envious of those who live in Florida but I tell them it is not always fun to hunt cause you often find nothing.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: I won't promote!

fiscal times are tough --so many folks are trying to make a fast buck any way they can * including taking up the "hobby" of metal detecting --folks that used to just sit around and fish are now trying to turn former "fun" sit and fish time into metal detecting -money earning time *

when their hopes and dreams of "fast n easy" money do not pay off as planned --they get surly and nasty quick like --they think of everything they see as "their" hunting area --not as public land free for all to hunt.

 

[Daedalus]

Re: I won't promote!

This will go away and there will be a glut of detectors on the market in 6 months or so. They have seen the post and heard the podcast of the pros getting money off the beach ! By doing nothing more than detecting .
When most see that it is not easy and it does take work many will give up and leave.

And to make it worse the Gulf coast has become a place not to go. National Radio shows are talking about the Oil and the chemical that was put into the gulf to break it up. They even had a Doctor on telling of what people where suffering by breathing this stuff. Now I do not know if this is true or not. The point is that with the economy the way it is and the Oil spill and what it did there is hardly the same amount of people coming down like they used to .

I even read that on spring break the beaches where not nearly as full as in the past .
So in till this turns around there is not going to be the finds on the beaches that all where getting over the years.
And in till the jobs pick back up , people who have no job and nothing to lose are going to try anything they can to survive and that is MD'ing as one of the thing to do.

 

[Dirty Money]

Re: I won't promote!

Time to sell the detector on e-Bay (they were bring real good money), and go to work for Wal-Mart, where every one is happy.

 

[HoosierPirates]

Re: I won't promote!

I've been down in Florida for the last month. I like to detect for fun and profit. I have noticed a few things.

There are too many people now on the beaches with metal detectors. Too many in the water. Too many with dreams of finding a nice big gold ring or chain. Even their kids are hunting. Just too many. I no longer will tell people to give it a try. Never again. Not my job.

Was at South Beach in Miami. Got there early, or at least I thought. As it turned out, there were at least two dozen people detecting at the beach already at 5 am. Four people in the water and were in the water most of the night! It seems that everyone and their mother have a metal detector now. Just too many. And be honest. I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who gets a little bit peeved when you get to a beach to find it over run with people with metal detectors. I have noticed a bit of anger from the newer MD people as I say HI! They don't want any more people with metal detectors taking away their finds.

Several of the Gulf Beaches are loaded at sunrise with guys and women in the water hunting away. Some have been in the water for several hours hunting at night.
They are everywhere. Siesta beach had at least a dozen people hunting the sand on Monday morning. Hitting the volleyball courts and the towel line. I was going to hunt the water but there were 4 guys already in the water. It was still not even sun up. At 9 am. the parking lot was full at Siesta beach and the famous Siesta cruise, people driving around the parking lot looking for a parking space was in effect. The full parking lot but very few people in the water and almost no one on the beach wearing gold.

I have noticed that there are tons of pawn shops and "We buy Gold" businesses in Florida. They are everywhere! They advertise on TV. So what has happened since the price of gold and silver has shot up, people have sold off their bling. They are not wearing it in the water any more! So findings are mighty slim, at least from what I've seen.

I hunt most of the beaches on the Gulf Coast, Tampa area. Desoto, Siesta, Holmes, Venice, Clearwater, Lido...you name them, I was there. Hunting for hours and hours finding nothing this year. The years before, lots of rings and blings. This year, almost nothing. 4 Weeks of hunting the main and not so main beaches and just a little bit of clad and a few bobbles here and there. No gold at all.

Spent 4 days at the Treasure Coast. Hunted for at least 6 hours each day. The conditions at the Treasure coast is poor with lots and lots of sand. A few good storms and things might open up. I have hunted the TC in the past and have always found something...even if it was modern stuff. This year is different. I always go to the Mclarty treasure museum and talk to the guys there as they are MD'ers. They have pretty much given up hunting the Treasure Coast as the conditions are so poor. Not much modern stuff is being dropped as the beaches were empty even when the temps were in the mid to upper 80's. One of the days I had not one decent signal. It was detecting hell. Lots of can slaw and nothing else. It was a desert.

Getting back to the Gulf Coast, Before I hunt, I watch. I have noticed that there are very few people in the water. The water temps last weekend were in the mid 70's with air temps in the mid 80's. In the past, that combo meant lots of people in the water wearing lots of gold and silver. This year is way different. Not sure why. Maybe the oil spill and the use of Corexit? Not sure but it is very noticeable that there are not a lot of people in the water. And those in the water are not wearing gold. Probably sold off their gold to pay for the gasoline.

When I hunt, I often get lots of questions. Seeing how I am a water hunter, I get lots of the usual....Oh you can use that in the water? or How deep can you go with that? I often get the ....Oh, I've always wanted to do that comment. I no longer tell them to give it a try. Nope. Not any more. It's not my job to put more people on the beach to compete with me. It's not about competition. It's about finding things. And I won't be foolish to tell people to give it a try.

I tell them to truth. I tell them that up to about last year, it was a lot of fun. But now there is very little to find and that the economy has taken its toll on detecting. Modern gold is becoming a thing of the past as it has been pawned or sold outright because of the high prices. I tell them that now, you can find tons of pop can pull tabs and very little else. I tell them that they will have to spend at least a grand on a good detector with very little chance of a payback. I tell them that it takes dedication and lots of free time with a very small payback.

Yeah, you can say that detecting is more than finding gold rings or making the big find. It is about getting out and having a bit of fun. But it just isn't the same when you know that you just aren't going to be able to find what in the past was at least a hope. Now, with all the people on the beach and in the water, it just is not as fun as it used to be. Too many people trying to find what is just not there anymore.

Next year I'm going to forget about Florida and hunt the outer banks. At least I won't have to depend on modern people losing things that are not even going to be there as they have sold it off already. Or maybe get back to land hunting.

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

 

[Sandman]

Re: I won't promote!

Years ago it was easy to find many rings in a day because there was nobody to get there before you. It is like getting to your fishing spot to find a few boats anchored in your secret spot. With a lot of people out of work and having time to combine fun with finding Money and gold it is no wonder that they are into the hobby too. Everyone sees Pros on YouTube showing how to find stuff in the sand and so they are off to get it before us. This used to worry me because I was finding less, but now I am doing it for the fun and I think I have the skill to find more than the dude swinging his detector like a grass whip and not over lapping the sweeps. It is something we learn to live with. I still try to help newbies when I can and just wish they didn't follow me so close or push my coil away from a beep.

 

[steve from ohio]

Re: I won't promote!

As a new member of this forum (and metal detecting) this is exactly what I am beginning to feel... Getting advice is like pulling teeth in this hobby. One of the reasons I haven't asked for alot is because I see the responses... or lack of... in thread after thread. I just read, ask simple questions, share an idea or two... Sa La Vee

It was never like this before but since I have been detecting since 1984, I have noticed that people today are more desperate. Bad economic conditions make for strange behavior in some people.

In my almost 20 years of detecting the beaches of Florida in the winter, this was the first year I was skunked from finding any gold at all when detecting every day and almost all the beaches around Tampa/Sarasota/St. Pete. It is very frustrating to get up early to get to the beach to find out that the beach has been hit really hard already.
Monday mornings at the beaches is a zoo with so many detectors out hunting in the sand and the water. No matter how early you get there, there are people with detectors hitting the beach.

It's not that I won't talk to people. It's just that there are so many of them and they all want to find what you are looking for too. I won't give them any useful information any more because I have had the very same people who I was talking to just minutes before all of a sudden appear right next to me with their brand new detector getting so close as to bump my coil. I really hate that.

Yep, eventually a whole lot of people will realize that metal detecting can be really hard work and will flood the market with used detectors. It takes a different breed to spend hours and hours of time looking for stuff that people lost. And the pawn shop problem is not going to go away. That is why I am going to have to re think the Florida beach scene. The Outer Banks is looking better all the time.

 

[Shambler]

Re: I won't promote!

If I were you, I'd just quit detecting beaches.

 

[steve from ohio]

Re: I won't promote!

If I were you, I'd just quit detecting beaches.

I have come to that conclusion and am going to spend my winter at the OBX. I will miss the bikini's though!

 

[Keppy]

Re: I won't promote!

People are envious of those who live in Florida but I tell them it is not always fun to hunt cause you often find nothing.

I am one that is not envious of people liveing in Florida................. I lived there and moved back up north........... I will not go to Florida even for vacation............

 

[bigtim1973]

Re: I won't promote!

I would not give it up at all, I would just find alternate locations to detect. There is other stuff out there besides the most popular beaches and such. Surely there is some beaches not so popular as the treasaure coast you can detect at. There has to be some awesome places on the east coast that are not as frequented. Why not look on land more and search out old areas in the rural part of your state and such. As far as giving advice goes then they come right beside you and get in the way of your detecting that is a big no no and I do not mind letting anyone know to bug off and find their own area. Just my 2 cents worth, Tim

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Re: I won't promote!

IMPO unless the beach is really small, then they are not getting covered by hunters.....Beaches are wide, most hunters are not like me with the WOT coils, they are using the stock 8" or 10" coils. They are missing a lot of ground, there is a lot of beach that doesn't get a coil over it even with a dozen hunters... Go out and cut the grass on an acre lot with your eyes closed and see how much grass you miss when your done....It is the same, unless someone is gridding the beach they are missing large areas expecially in the water where it is a gentle slope with wide areas before it gets deep.........

I believe the problem, at least on the East coast is more with the heavy sand, we are sanded in real bad on the East coast, very few people in the water (water still cold here) which equals few lost jewelry items in the water, and times are hard, so some gold is being sold.


I do agree on one thing, too many people hunting now......Need a new Florida State Detector Law, Everyone who wasn't born in Florida is not allowed to hunt the beaches with out buying a license, cost is $1000 a year......... guess where I was born..

 

[Cool Hand Fluke]

Re: I won't promote!

I am seeing the very same phenomenon here in California right now. I was passing through Pismo Beach and decided to detect those long sandy stretches near the pier and almost got skunked. I put in 4 hours of hard effort and ended up with a grand total of .51 cents. Also hunted the dozen or so sand volleyball courts and found absolutely nothing! In years passed I used to fill up my pouch with several dollars in clad and usually at least one ring. The economy and gas prices might be keeping people home?

 

[deepskyal]

Re: I won't promote!

I only beach hunted once, maybe back in 1990 or so. Didn't find much and no gold but I had no beach experience and an old TR that was having fits from the salt.

I was envious of the finds though that others were bringing in....gold rings, necklaces, etc...and some very valuable. I had the same thought as hundreds of others that a few good, expensive finds and I could make a living at it. I mean, 1 good $15,000.00 ring....every couple of months...woohoo!

A dream it is though and nothing more.

I'm a land hunter and we have the same problem in a different way. People out buying detectors and digging gopher holes causing places to enact laws against detecting...cherry picking the recent dropped clad, etc. I don't think parks and such have a renewable source of expensive items like beaches do but the older silver is getting trickier and tricker to find.

The hobby has changed, plain and simple. Back in the 80's silver came by the fist fulls at any park, now you have to be creative in where you hunt. But having experience, I can still hit a park and pluck a silver when I have the time and determination.

It is a hobby to me and I don't look at others as trespassing on my sacred ground. Like someone else said, those inexperienced are not going to find much.
I watched a guy on a group hunt one time follow 3 people up the slope of a hill and pluck a 5 dollar gold piece all 3 of the others missed.

Detecting is a challenge for me. I like to prove the theory that a place is never truely hunted out. That's my joy when someone says a place has been hunted to death by them and their buddies and I go there and pluck several silver coins.

All things considered, the oil spill, the economy and the number of people you are competing with, you may just have to get creative where you hunt that all those others are missing.

Watch for the ones wildly swinging their machines, or speed sweeping, walking exaggerated lines, etc. Then follow them.

From your post I can see you are keenly observant...just watch and bide your time...then swoop in.

Al

 

[Smudge]

Re: I won't promote!

I understand you hesitation.

I just take some solace in the fact that most of these are "fly-by-nighters" who are gone once they figure out there's real work involved.

 

[dogpound]

Re: I won't promote!

i guess thats why i tell people that ask me "what i'm finding" i tell them "nothing but trash" which isn't a lie half the time just be glad there isn't a metal detecting reality show yet, then you'd see a huge increase of newbies runnin amuck

 

[Carl in Louisiana]

Re: I won't promote!

I still love going to the beaches now and then. The fact that has already been stated they do not always cover the beaches very well. One day was such an occasion for me. I hunted hard and was only finding a few pennies and an occasional nickel. One of the rental workers told me that a lady had lost a Movada watch a few days earlier down at the last row of seats next to the water. Well I hunted it and only found pulltabs, foil and no coins...hunted hard. Well decided to hunt up closer to the steps going up to the parking lots and got an odd jumping signal from the MXT...sent the sand scoop down and up it came hanging onto the lip of the scoop still running and not damaged at all. It retailed for $669.00 the guys at the rental booth could not believe it and all attempts to find the owner meet a dead end...so the wife has it now. Worth the forty five minute drive one way oh yea.....

 

[diggummup]

Re: I won't promote!

Welcome to my world Steve. I long for the day when I will be moving out of this state and heading for the woods. The clock is ticking.... only a couple more years.