how are you supposed to hunt along the shore?

Wow 55 hits and still no response

Open area: lots of trash, sand tends to be super hot = less people like to hang out there and uncomfortable to lay out in the mid day sun...less likely to find much jewelry.

Towel line: excellet for coins and the occassional ring that makes it's way into the sand by the guy/gal that took it off and placed it on their towel before they went in for a swim. Unfortunately they forgot about the ring while shaking the sand off their towel etc.

Now the true treasure is down there in the wet sand and extending out to about neck deep in the water but that's only if you've got a designated water machine. Ever wonder why your fingers get pruny being in the water for an extended time? Add a little suntan lotion and whala. Get a game of football catch going amongst the guys and presto. Have a kid hanging all over mom and there goes 3 months of dads salary

The base of the cut is where you want to focus your search and anytime you get a good deal of errosion where you start seeing exposed structure (hard pack, rock, coral, foundations of old piers etc.). These conditions may only last from a few days to a few hours before mother nature renourishes her booty.

Hope this helps.

If you hit that beach a lot, go there on a Sat or Sun early afternoon. Don't detect, just look around. That beach usually has a rolling terrain along the wet sand, there are cuts at times, but you either have to stumble on them, of have big water movement. Was windy as he** there yesterday, good movement, but nothing developed. Some areas there are hit hard, real hard.

For your machine, the towel line on that beach is a bit wider than some, meaning a bit further from the water. Watch where people congregate, every beach has its hot spots...

Cheers...
SSC

thank you for the replies. I was at Huntington Beach "NORTH" of the pier by Goldenwest Street. I wanted to go closer to the Huntington Beach Pier, but for some reason chose not to at that point in time. Anyways, I guess maybe it was because it was my first time and having too many people around made me a bit timid??? Who knows... I don't even know In either case, that will be next time... Regardless, I needed to know these questions so that next time I have a better idea on how to approach it. I basically just went down to the sand, stuck the coil to the ground, and started swinging not REALLY having any idea of where to "hunt" other than go towards the towel line and stay in that area. It was my first beach hunt and I was only doing what I remember reading on the forum. Totlots and parks are easy because the area is ONLY so big. HOWEVER, the beach can be VERY overwhelming especially if it is your first time doing it like me.

I didn't take this picture, but that is basically what the area looks like for the most part. That is the HB pier just north of it, for those that do NOT know. It was right after work at about 5:30pm or there abouts all the way to 8pm. Total hunt time was roughly 1hr 45min. Again, thank you for the replies.

HH \_ people

I basically just hunt the towel line. My Cibola don't like the wet sand so I stay away from it. After season I hunted the back, open part of beaches with minimal success.
Good luck.

Sorry for being so verbose but here goes...

JunkInTheTrunk said:

okay, I made my first attempt at hunting the beach/coast line, but didn't fair to well. I pulled a quarter, nickel, a few dimes, and a few pennies and the trash to go with it. My question(s) are:

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That's not too shabby for the first time

JunkInTheTrunk said:

I noticed the "cuts" on the beach (i.e. the little sand hills where it looks like the ocean is slowly "chewing away" at the coast line and it creates sort of a cliff). Anyways, is that what that is called AND do you hunt at the "base" of the cliff or at the "top" of the cliff"?

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I don't worry too much about the cuts, but when I do hit the cuts, I always hunt the base of the cut AND swing up the side of the "cliff face" as well. I have pulled some good clad counts that way.

JunkInTheTrunk said:

I noticed people were mainly at the top so that is where I mainly stayed was along the top along the edge of the cut. I remembered reading something about these cuts, but couldn't and/or lack the experience on where the best part is to hunt? I did NOT have a whole lot of time to experiment as the parking meter was hammering away and I wanted to make the best of my paid parking by getting in on what I do know AND CONSTANTLY checking my watch THAT sucked!!! Anyways, if someone can give me some pointers on how to hunt a beach would be appreciated? Finally, I know that you are supposed to hunt the "towel line" and did a little bit of that... that is mainly how I found my dimes and pennies AND LOTS of beer caps

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Don't waste a lot of time on the "cuts" My best finds have come from the "towel line". STOP CLOCK WATCHING!! Find a way to have as long as you want without any outside pressure, get the machine out and "get in the bubble".

JunkInTheTrunk said:

ONE LAST QUESTION:
If the beach is fairly big, meaning from where the asphalt road "ends" ALL THE WAY to the water/wet sand (i.e. a fairly wide beach), is it okay and/or is there usually "hidden" treasures on those parts of the beach or is it better to stick to the towel line? In other words, would I be wasting my time hunting the more "vacant" area? I don't know how better to explain this I did a quick picture to describe what I'm trying to convey here. My thought is that this part is NOT "hunted" as much and MIGHT have SOME lost items when the beach IS crowded??? Is my thought process correct or flawed Thanks for helping and reading this post.

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My very best gold ring find was on my way OFF the beach about 10 yards from the boardwalk. My primary rule is that when my toes hit the sand I start swinging my MD and I don't stop until I am on the boardwalk again. People are tired when they are leaving the beach, some are "under the influence", and some are just careless. As they are leaving and nearing the parking area they reach into their pockets to get the car keys and out comes goodies along with the keys!

JunkInTheTrunk said:

BTW... hunting with an ACE250, 8.5x11" DD coil, GPP, and handheld sand scoop. I also have the 6.5x9" Conc, 9x12" Conc, 5x8" DD, 4.5" sniper, etc... so if there is a coil that would do better than the other that would be some nice info as well. I typically hunt with the 6.5x9" when I do totlots. I know it's NOT considered a good machine for the wet salt sand... so I didn't attempt the wet sand, let alone, go at the waters edge or in the water.

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You can leave the pinpointer at home you don't need it at the beach. I use the 250 for dry and water's edge wet sand with the 8.5 x 11 DD coil. It has been a winning combination for me this past 15 months. The stock coil did OK but the DD is far better. ONE THING though, bottle caps will look like coins to the DD until you learn your machine's sounds. You can tell most of the time if it's a bottle cap, but I dig every signal anyway.

IN FLORIDA ON THE WHITE SAND BEACHES OF THE EMERALD COAST... (I emphasize that because your beaches may be different) the ACE 250 works just fine for me in the wet sand/water's edge surf line. Yes, you do have to disc out everything below nickels and may not find EVERY item down there, but you WILL find goodies with minimal falsing (again, your results MAY vary).

JunkInTheTrunk said:

Other than that, I did do a little better than I expected. Almost instantly, as soon as the coil touched the ground I found the quarter Later on I found a tiny shovel from Vieja's Casino and thought it was a gold pend at first... MAN my heart was starting to race and then I was like... W.T.? I had that HIGH blood pressure for NOTHING... for THIS F'$#(%#@*&(&$*@!@# THING!!! I still kept it though

HH \_

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Well, see there, by your own admission you did better than expected! So you had a GREAT day on the beach AND you got some goodies to boot! Metal detecting is 95% attitude, if you go out to find treasure every time you will end up disappointed and mad. But if you go out with the goal of having an enjoyable walk on the beach with your MD to "see what's down in the sand" and have no intention of getting rich, you'll have a great time.

I recently found a new MD'ing passion... water detecting with my new (used) Surf PI detector. I have been out in rough conditions that other PI hunters have warned me to stay away from. But I am SO HOOKED on water/PI hunting that I jump on every chance I get to do it. I haven't gotten rich doing it yet but I am into the learning phase of it. I have to learn the machine, learn how to use the scoop to get to those really deep targets in the water, learn where in the water to look, ie. how far out, and when to look (low tide).

So, don't go out looking to get rich, go for the fun of the hunt and be happy with what you get. Good luck and Happy Hunting!

This is a good book to read if you beach hunt.

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Beneath-...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339075893&sr=1-1

I hunt dry sand and water line when @ Padre Island. I walk the tent and camp line going one direction towel/chair line coming back. I venture toward the water in the heavy use areas. Key is it changes daily so the non-use areas one day could have been packed the day before due to tide. There are very few cuts on texas coast. This ring was found in the dry sand area where a large group had set up several canopies for the day and was returned to the owner.

Porsche914 said:

I hunt dry sand and water line when @ Padre Island. I walk the tent and camp line going one direction towel/chair line coming back. I venture toward the water in the heavy use areas. Key is it changes daily so the non-use areas one day could have been packed the day before due to tide. There are very few cuts on texas coast. This ring was found in the dry sand area where a large group had set up several canopies for the day and was returned to the owner.

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Nice job Porsche 914. I'm sure she was surprised/stoked to get it back.
I owned a 914 back in the day...fun little car.

You want to search it all. Just grid it and go to town

High traffic areas like the towel area "can" be the best spot on the beach but its also the most hunted area. Places higher up the beach where you can see paths walked by people entering and exiting the beach are really good and are hunted by other detectorists less frequently. The waters edge is also good , especially where people have been digging. A lot depends on the beach and how many people visit it. Its been a while since I hunted a beach , but I used to do it in sections. Use visual landmarks and hunt from such and such to such and such , starting at the waters edge or even in the water , then work your way in that section all the way up to the beginning of the sand where people come in , then move to another section. That way you get an entire cross section of the beach at a time. Thats just the way I like to do it , there really is no wrong way , but in a shorter amount of time I am hitting all possible areas of the beach and cleaning it out.

Aw he\\ with it. Check your PM later this evening. You are trying, will help you out. The area you are referring to N of the pier if you are just dry sand hunting for recent drops is fair. For old things, its another story, but need a different machine. A chunk of that beach went off a couple weeks ago. Only two people hunted it, someone I know and me. I did not post any finds from that melee. We pounded it with 6 different machines, that window closed in a day and a half.

Cheers...
SSC

Beach cleaning

Another suggestion is to find the method and schedule for beach cleaning. I recently went to a beach where the top layer of sand was screened, so there was'nt much to find. In those cases hunt below the high water mark or close to a grass or paved line if one exists.

Adam Kam said:

Another suggestion is to find the method and schedule for beach cleaning. I recently went to a beach where the top layer of sand was screened, so there was'nt much to find. In those cases hunt below the high water mark or close to a grass or paved line if one exists.

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They groom it, but don't screen it. I know one of the tractor drivers. The city beach is different than the state. Connected, but two different entities. The city has to push their well groomed beach, the state does a bit. Even the wash off showers are nicer... 50 yards down the state showers look like they were stolen from a prison...

SingingSandcrab said:

They groom it, but don't screen it. I know one of the tractor drivers. The city beach is different than the state. Connected, but two different entities. The city has to push their well groomed beach, the state does a bit. Even the wash off showers are nicer... 50 yards down the state showers look like they were stolen from a prison...

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In some locations, it is not just groomed. I was just discussing this with my brother, who has supervised my town's beaches for the last decade. The beaches are 'raked' every morning at 6am. They fill dumpsters with everything and it gets hauled off.

Beachin said:

In some locations, it is not just groomed. I was just discussing this with my brother, who has supervised my town's beaches for the last decade. The beaches are 'raked' every morning at 6am. They fill dumpsters with everything and it gets hauled off.

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Oh to be a dumpster diver there, plastic bucket and spade...bet someone somewhere has it screened and sorted, theres no way someone is goping to let those little morsels go through their hands like ....well...sand

WOW!!! Thanks to EVERYONE for the input!!! Last night I was thinking that no one wanted to help me I'm definitely NOT trying to "steal" someones "spot" by no means at all. Anyways, thanks for the advice/input. I rarely ask for help because I know MANY of you have worked hard for the knowledge that you now have... so I don't want to come off as "lazy". I don't know if any of you realize it or not, but I like to pass on what I've learned on the forum to the newer members and especially those who have NO idea whatsoever about the hobby. That's the type of person that I am... Well, I won't be able to do anything until next week anyways. Thank you all for the input. HH \_ everyone

p.s.
this is the change that I found: $0.80 and some small shovel for what reason it exists I do NOT know??? I threw away the junk... LOTS OF JUNK!!! There was certain foil that kept ringing right around the 25cent range??? When I dig the totlots, it's pretty obvious and NOT only that, if the ID says foil then it is usually foil. The ones I was digging at the beach, again, was ringing in like it was a solid 25cent piece. Apparently I still have a LOT of learning to do Anyways, I had an enjoyable time when it came down to it so it didn't matter all that much to me. A chick was talking to me about what I had found and I was just telling her WHAT I did find and we were laughing a little... her boyfriend didn't like the conversation too much from what I was getting by his looks. I was saying to myself... DUDE, get a F'N life and get a metal detector then I wouldn't be "steal'n" your girl from you and I wasn't EVEN trying She was pretty cute BTW The babes ARE attracted to us MD'rs HH \_

2nd beach hunting experience...

Sooo, this was my 2nd beach hunting experience today, well technically my 3rd but the first one I don't count because I was teaching a co-worker LITERALLY how the metal detector works... ANYWAYS, I SUCK!!! at beach hunting, but I believe in time that I SHOULD, operative word being "should", be able to get the hang of it in time. I was taught today of the things to look out for, how people walk (i.e. where they tend to crowd around in groups), parking, etc etc etc. All of it being information that I have already taken into consideration from reading other posts but a more "in depth picture" was "developed" for me as I was being taught. You simply have to "read" people and how they act when together at events and/or after events. Anyways, I still have ALOT OF LEARNING TO DO. Tonights finds consisted of 1x quarter, 3x pennies, 1 and/or 2 dimes (i.e. can't tell with the one), 2x tent stakes that rang up as quarters for some weird reason (i.e. the bell tone that is given off on the ACE series... who knows, maybe how it was laying in the ground), 4 or 5 bottle caps, foil, and a partridge in a pear tree The ACE does VERY WELL in dry sand, but it tends to vary when it comes to the wet sand. MAYBE location??? At least that is what my experience has been thus far and it IS only my 2nd time beach hunting. I want to EVENTUALLY get a PI, but for now will stick with the dry sand and just keep practicing in reading my machine. At least for now, I know that I can hold my own at the parks and totlots, but a beach is slightly different. To ME, it's like, "okay this is where I live..." showing the person an outhouse. Then I say, "Now this is where my wife lives..." showing them a 500 room mansion with a fleet of BMW's and Benz's out front The point being, just a whole different type of world and mindset when it comes down to it. HH \_ and, well, don't get discouraged... I did tonight, but during my drive back home... I went through in my mind of the things that I've learned tonight and will try different things next time around... THANKS to my teacher... HH \_ bud

My best find was in the Open Area, between the wooden sort of shack where they keep other beach stuff and the chairs still all pilled up (guess they don't rack there)...6" deep...a necklace made in Italy, 18k white gold with an enhancer in same gold and 18 or so tiny true diamonds...mint condition, modern design BTW, so it went as a B'day gift for my daughter in her 20s who loved it. Lots of coins surrounding those wooden constructions...people purchase this or that and change falls...no racking so close to those constructions neither.

JunkInTheTrunk said:

Sooo, this was my 2nd beach hunting experience today, well technically my 3rd but the first one I don't count because I was teaching a co-worker LITERALLY how the metal detector works... ANYWAYS, I SUCK!!! at beach hunting, but I believe in time that I SHOULD, operative word being "should", be able to get the hang of it in time. I was taught today of the things to look out for, how people walk (i.e. where they tend to crowd around in groups), parking, etc etc etc. All of it being information that I have already taken into consideration from reading other posts but a more "in depth picture" was "developed" for me as I was being taught. You simply have to "read" people and how they act when together at events and/or after events. Anyways, I still have ALOT OF LEARNING TO DO. Tonights finds consisted of 1x quarter, 3x pennies, 1 and/or 2 dimes (i.e. can't tell with the one), 2x tent stakes that rang up as quarters for some weird reason (i.e. the bell tone that is given off on the ACE series... who knows, maybe how it was laying in the ground), 4 or 5 bottle caps, foil, and a partridge in a pear tree The ACE does VERY WELL in dry sand, but it tends to vary when it comes to the wet sand. MAYBE location??? At least that is what my experience has been thus far and it IS only my 2nd time beach hunting. I want to EVENTUALLY get a PI, but for now will stick with the dry sand and just keep practicing in reading my machine. At least for now, I know that I can hold my own at the parks and totlots, but a beach is slightly different. To ME, it's like, "okay this is where I live..." showing the person an outhouse. Then I say, "Now this is where my wife lives..." showing them a 500 room mansion with a fleet of BMW's and Benz's out front The point being, just a whole different type of world and mindset when it comes down to it. HH \_ and, well, don't get discouraged... I did tonight, but during my drive back home... I went through in my mind of the things that I've learned tonight and will try different things next time around... THANKS to my teacher... HH \_ bud

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No worries... As for that stretch, is very little black sand. Get as much as you can out of what you are swinging for now. The beach (towel line/dry sand) is a different arena. It was odd for me explaining dry sand, the first thing I looked at when we hit the beach itself was the angled area with the waves hitting it both N and S.

But look at it this way, WE did get gold, for actually hunting only about an hour, not too shabby. Have not seen much come out of So. Cal. lately It is 14K 1.8 grams. Tiny little thing to find with a Dual Field. Interesting...

You are welcome...
SSC

Oh yea, my friend we talked to before leaving went for a quick spin. 10k charm...

I spent right around 6 hours on the beach the other day and came away with 87 cents and a pocket full of rusty stuff.

It happens to everyone where they either get skunked after an all day affair or are there for less than a minute and have found a $7,000 ring.

If you are finding things that are manmade, then man has been there. It is strictly a matter of getting your coil to pass exactly over something that has been dropped.

I would rather find nothing and look at bikini's all day than dig in the dirt and be bitten by bugs.