Attack Plan

the best and thickest action at beach hunting will be: Searching for erosion conditions, when mother nature is eroding the wet inter-tidal sand. Ie.: Tides + swells + onshore winds. When you see cuts or scallop shapes forming in the sand, the sometimes mother nature is grouping all the targets in convenient nice zones. Sometimes so thick, that you can spend an hour in a space no bigger than your living room. Digging non-stop back-to-back targets.

Trouble is: Those condition are rare. Doh!

If the wet sand is soft-to-the-step (spongy) that's a sign that sand has been coming "in". But if the sand is hard-to-the-step (so that you could ride a bicycle on it), that's a sign that sand has been going "out". Also if the waves are glassy blue, that's a sign of no erosion. But if the waves are chocolate brown dirty, that's a sign that sand had been going out in the recent tide-cycle, which bodes better for the wet-sand zone.

Tom_in_CA said:

the best and thickest action at beach hunting will be: Searching for erosion conditions, when mother nature is eroding the wet inter-tidal sand. Ie.: Tides + swells + onshore winds. When you see cuts or scallop shapes forming in the sand, the sometimes mother nature is grouping all the targets in convenient nice zones. Sometimes so thick, that you can spend an hour in a space no bigger than your living room. Digging non-stop back-to-back targets.

Trouble is: Those condition are rare. Doh!

If the wet sand is soft-to-the-step (spongy) that's a sign that sand has been coming "in". But if the sand is hard-to-the-step (so that you could ride a bicycle on it), that's a sign that sand has been going "out". Also if the waves are glassy blue, that's a sign of no erosion. But if the waves are chocolate brown dirty, that's a sign that sand had been going out in the recent tide-cycle, which bodes better for the wet-sand zone.

Click to expand...

Thank you! I hope I get one of those living room sized target zones, Haha.

Does soft or hard sand dictate better odds? Soft means new sand from tides, but that means jewelry could have come in fron the deep, so this is good right?

Hard sand means sand has gone out, which could also be good because deeply buried targets will be in a more detectable depth.. at least I think so?

Tom_in_CA said:

the best and thickest action at beach hunting will be: Searching for erosion conditions, when mother nature is eroding the wet inter-tidal sand. Ie.: Tides + swells + onshore winds. When you see cuts or scallop shapes forming in the sand, the sometimes mother nature is grouping all the targets in convenient nice zones. Sometimes so thick, that you can spend an hour in a space no bigger than your living room. Digging non-stop back-to-back targets.



Trouble is: Those condition are rare. Doh!



If the wet sand is soft-to-the-step (spongy) that's a sign that sand has been coming "in". But if the sand is hard-to-the-step (so that you could ride a bicycle on it), that's a sign that sand has been going "out". Also if the waves are glassy blue, that's a sign of no erosion. But if the waves are chocolate brown dirty, that's a sign that sand had been going out in the recent tide-cycle, which bodes better for the wet-sand zone.

Click to expand...

Great advice, thanks.


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Longshot said:

Thank you! I hope I get one of those living room sized target zones, Haha.

Does soft or hard sand dictate better odds? Soft means new sand from tides, but that means jewelry could have come in fron the deep, so this is good right?

Hard sand means sand has gone out, which could also be good because deeply buried targets will be in a more detectable depth.. at least I think so?

Click to expand...

Don't count on targets "coming in" with the sand. I know targets *do* move around with the inter-tidal sand. But I'm not convinced that the soft-incoming sand has targets (other than light-weight aluminum). Maybe the targets move back in with storms that "throw sand up". Not the gentle spring/summer lull, where the beach is built back up "1 sand grain at a time".

For whatever reason, I have never found incoming sand to be good. It's always when the sand is outgoing. Because mother nature turns the beach into a giant riffle board/sluice-box. And all the metal targets will be grouped into patterns somewhere between the high-water mark and the water's edge.

Once you start finding any targets, circle around it to determine if it's part of a pattern, versus individual lone target.

I have never done much good on sand that is soft-to-the-step. And if you start finding deep light-weight aluminum, that's another signal that sends me packing to look for greener grounds . Because when mother nature has done it right, there will be zero aluminum. All such light stuff has been washed out with the sand. Leaving the heavier targets. In fact, I've even seen it so good that there wasn't even any zinc (since that's a very light coin). Every coin was copper, clad, silver, and lead sinkers, etc.... No zinc. THAT WAS FUN We were getting SO Many coins (as fast as you could dig, by barely taking a step in any direction) that we actually started passing all high conductors (yup, kiss silver coins goodbye). So that we could up our odds at gold rings.