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Hi... I'm curious about choosing a scoop for beach hunting.
My research shows many configurations. I'm curious what kind of scoop people are using and why?
Long Handled shaft or Short Handled shaft or no shaft?
Straight shaft or angled?
I'm seeing that most of the holes are 5\8" is that standard or are there options?
I see that some say dry sand only, but others don't specify, is there something I should be looking for to find a scoop that will work in both wet and dry sand?
Thanks for the info!
~C~
Here's some pros and cons I've discovered in my >30 yrs. of beach hunting:
The short handled scoops allow for the most "torque" . Like to get deep in wet hard-packed sand quick. HOWEVER, as with any "stoop labor", it's tiring to bend over all day long
The long-handled scoops solve that problem, but
now the problem is, you'll have less torque (unless you have a way to use your foot as a "push" to the basket, etc...). And it gets un-wieldy, IMHO, to operate a long-handled scoop with a single hand. Ie.: you'll find yourself sometimes using two hands, and taking your other hand off your detector, or having to contort your wrist to keep the long-handle pole the way you want it, etc..
So here's what I did, and I love it: Took a long handled scoop, and customized it with a pistol grip, and arm-cup. Sore of like the old "hip mounts" used to be. You'll never bend over again, and it's all one-hand operation. Takes a few more "swipes" in hard-packed sand than short-handled scoops, but I love not have to bend over more than slightly.
a) The correct height to make these is so that when you hold it loosely at your side with hand on the grip, it should be *just* an inch or two off the ground. This is so that you don't need to subconsciously bend your elbow all day long carrying it, to keep it from dragging. You only need to drop your arm at your side.
b) the distance between the grip to the cup needs to be just right. If the distance is too short, you'll have all the pressure on the middle-bone of your arm when you go to do downstrokes (ouch!). But if the distance is too long, and you'll have an inability to bend your arm. I also put a cross-wire (or you can use a velcro strap, etc...) to keep my arm in, yet loose enough to pull my are in an out with ease.
c) the angle of the basket should be such that you don't find yourself contorting to wierd angle to get the right angle-of-slice. You can see the angle I have here, is what works for my height, arms, etc...
d) The back-brace usually comes with long-handled scoops when you buy them. But if it's a chincy scoop without that back-brace, beware, they're prone to bend. Another note: stainless steel is better if you're going to be using it in wet salt. Otherwise, regular metal will get rusty and weak after a year or more of constant use. Stainless is expensive though, but every-bit worth it, IMHO. To get the pistol grip put on, I had a welder friend, who had the type equipment to work in stainless, add that on. We just cut off the last 4" or so of the end of the rod, and used that for the grip itself. As for the arm-cuff, that's just random scrap I had around, that I bent into a cup shape, drilled some holes, then drilled some holes in the rod, and small bolts (with smooth top heads so that they don't scratch and irritate your arm)
Thinking I can get some kind of belt loop to hang it on until I hit a target to dig. I would be interested in any opinions on it to know if there are any other things that I haven't considered. Thanks for your help.
