So, yesterday was my first time out with my new detector. First time with any detector for that matter... and I loved it! However being new and overly excited I made about the stupidest mistake possible for metal detecting. While walking down the beach I kept getting random beeps and numbers all over the place. My new ace 400 seemed to be working great, but none of these signals was repeatable. Took me almost half an hour to realize, I was wearing steel toed boots!! So every other step was setting off my detector... smart huh?! Won't make that mistake again. I did notice tho that once I got the hang of things the only place on the beach I was getting any hits at all was right on the edge of where the waves were crashing. Is this normally the best place to hunt or find things on a beach? Freshwater mind you, lake superior.... pain to dig there, especially this time of year. Also, anyone have any ideas for a cheap sand scoop? I'm kinda on a limited budget and my diggers I have just don't work on the beach. Thanks for any advice, and sorry it's such a long post. Figured I'd share my supreme intelligence with everyone...