I used to do a whole lot of night hunting on my local beaches(So. Maine). The main reason I started night hunting was because of the fact that the wintertime was by far the best time to be there. I got started using a headlamp, but soon found out that it was more of a pain than it was worth. After spending many an hour using your detector, you should be able to locate and recover items in total darkness. Some may try to use there eyes more than they should, and this can often make it harder to recover targets. Let your detector do what it is good at. Of course, in this day and age, I think that I would take a pinpointer with me on night hunts. After all, it is a detector, and a more specialized one at that.
When I get a reading, I take a shovel full of dirt and pick it up, then scan the hole. If I get no signal, I shake the dirt off the shovel, spreading it out as I go. Locate the object with your unit or pinpointer(If you haven't spotted it already). You might have better luck using a screened scoop if you are in soft sand.
Pay more attention to what is around you if you hunt at night. I once had a obviously rabid dog come at me once, and I quickly got some distance between us, It took about a 1/4 mile of walking to finally shake him. During this episode, I walked past what I had originally thought was a big section of log. I yelled to my buddy to watch out for the dog, when all of a sudden, the "log" began to move. Turns out it was a couple in a sleeping bag. I quickly explained about the dog, and that they had better just cover back up and stay still. They did!
I would most likely not hunt alone nowadays!
Hope this helps a little!.......Good luck!...........HNH
