Beach detecting seemed like a waste

Yeah beach hunting is definitely different from land/relic hunting. I do Tybee beach on a reg and relic hunt I Savannah whenever I can find good permission. I agree a lot more folks swinging the beaches today compared to 10 years ago. All looking for fresh drops and many in the dry sand because that's all their equipment can handle. Tybee has gotten harder to find stuff. I changed up my way of doing it. I now look for deeper targets since others are swinging too fast to hear those. I almost always come away with something silver or gold. For me it's honestly not about finding great stuff all the time but what I might find. Even dug relics off Tybee after the last hurricane. I feel there is always stuff to find on a beach. Just takes some patience. My last Tybee beach relic was a three cent piece. In same general spot another guy dug a old brass skeleton key. I'll be out this weekend hopefully Florence causes some beach erosion.

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I went detecting at Daytona beach on the fourth of July right by the pier to crabby Joe's. I spent a few hours detecting and all I got was one penny and a bottle cap. I couldn't believe among thousands of people there was no more change or trash in the spots I detected. I did see other people detecting out there. Which makes me think beaches are hit too hard despite the constant flow of traffic from people.

I kept having to take change out my pocket just to test my detector thinking it's not working right. I mean I'm walking by hundreds of people at a time and no change.

I feel less motivated to try beaches now. I don't live that close and I've had better luck on the side of random roads.

Yes the same at my beach the last few years. I think the influx of new MDers had taken its' toll. I always now see other MDers there bright and early where I never did before. We can have an absolutely packed weekend at our beach but then much of the time get barely a squeak despite a new beach plaza with food and drink. I find more clad at totlots nowdays.
 
You can't judge any beach by one hunt as conditions change so much.

I have beaches that gave up nothing for many hunts in a row then bam, silver and gold galore.

I have a beach that produced like crazy for a while then we had a series of storms in February of 2016 that burried the beach and it's produced nothing ever since. Some day that sand will move again.

Moral of the story is you have to know a beach very well through countless hours of working it.
 
Beaches are just like everything else. Location, Location, Location. I have hit a beach and targets were extremely scarce. After a couple of hours and a zinc penny or two I moved to another beach and Hit an eroded area that produced coin after coin until it was so dark I had trouble finding my way off the beach. That same eroded area surrendered three pieces of gold over the next few visits.
 
I kept having to take change out my pocket just to test my detector thinking it's not working right. I mean I'm walking by hundreds of people at a time and no change.

I feel less motivated to try beaches now. I don't live that close and I've had better luck on the side of random roads.

Been there got that T-shirt many many times over..... my beaches are pounded all day everyday..... gotta say this year has been real hard to find the gold.... tons of sand and storms messing things up...…

If you can't find a cut/scallop or go deep because of the surf then work what you can and hope for the best...…………

GL & HH
 
Dang all you guys finding gold. I never found any. I was talking about regular clad change.


It was actually annoying with so many people.. One kid kept following me, someone was mocking me making fake beeping noise, almost threw him in the ocean.

Does anyone know if Hurricane Florence made any beach erosion in FL?
 
for me its not what I find but what I might find. I hunted Daytona the week after July 4th, found some junk jewelry, about $3.00 in change, a couple pair of cheap sunglasses, a fidget spinner, 3 toy cars and a pair of goggles. Next time I'll kill it.
 
I went detecting at Daytona beach on the fourth of July right by the pier to crabby Joe's. I spent a few hours detecting and all I got was one penny and a bottle cap. I couldn't believe among thousands of people there was no more change or trash in the spots I detected. I did see other people detecting out there. Which makes me think beaches are hit too hard despite the constant flow of traffic from people.

I kept having to take change out my pocket just to test my detector thinking it's not working right. I mean I'm walking by hundreds of people at a time and no change.

I feel less motivated to try beaches now. I don't live that close and I've had better luck on the side of random roads.

Ok, here is my take on this. Just because you see many guys on the beach they are not really cleaning up. Remember most Florida beaches are vacation destinations full of metal detectorists from Canada, the North US and the south. And guess what they don't usually have any beach hunting skills and you don't learn them in a few days or week.

the guys that are cleaning up your beaches are the local guys who hit the beaches often and know which hotels to hunt in front of and have mastered their beach reading skills and beach hunting skills. A beach can be building or sanded in one day and eroding the next day. Your beach may be sanded in and a beach one mile away can be eroding with lots of good ring drops. You want to hunt eroding beaches. Look for cuts and firm footprints in the wet beach. A sanded in beach has cloudy water and soft sand that leaves footprints in the wet beach.

I personally know some of these pros who hunt the beaches every day since I wrote a booklet on metal detecting the FL beaches. No I am not plugging the booklet and won't name it. that is not the point of this post. I know guys who are making $5,000 - $10,000 or more a month hunting the beaches in Florida.

Go to the big hotel north of the Daytona pier/boardwalk where the real money is. The drive-on strip at daytona south of the pier is good for sunglasses, fishing weights, clad and cheap jewelry for the most part. If you live near a FL beach (with 1 hour) then develop your beach reading skills and find out where the rich people stay. These are the ritzy hotels and condos that rent out for huge daily prices. These professional beach detectorists do not make yourtube videos or post their finds on forums for the obvious reason that they are finding high dollar rings with diamonds and don't want anyone falsely claiming their finds. They are in it for the $$ and are good at what they do. This is your competition, not the vacation beach hunter.

Good luck
 
Stuff is out there on those Florida beaches. I do Georgia and South Carolina beaches. And do ok. Look for the erosion and rip tide spots

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Ha.... i had a young man showing off to his girl friend once doing the beep thing to me. Wasnt 10 min. later his GF was asking me to find HIS rings that were on a chain that broke. If it hadnt been for her...... he would have had to beep beep and find them his self. Attitude..... goes a long way toward success.
 
Honestly, I get the beep beep thing all the time. I try to not let it bother me. The way I see it is those people think we are crazy looking so hard for coins and trash. You and only you know what cool stuff you wind up with for all your work, plus they could just think they are being cute, you dont know what they actually think. I don't expect you will go telling them of the sweet rolex you just found either and I wouldn't blame you!
 
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Half of my hunting is done on the beaches of NW Florida. For a while I was frustrated about the lack of finds, but then I changed up my tactics. I withdrew from where the majority of the people sit and began hunting three specific beach areas: the large wood storage boxes hotels and condo rentals use for umbrellas and beach toys, usually located back near dunes away from the water; the area where hotels and condos line up dozens to hundreds of chairs; and the main entry/exit points to the beach from parking lots, walkways, and restaurants.

I don't understand what happens around the wood storage boxes, but they've always produced very well for me. As for the chair areas, well, that's were items are tossed to the ground, bags are gone through to grab phones, and then kids dig through the bags for soda or ice cream money and things get dropped into the sand. Lastly, the entry/exits points are my best producers. How many times have you seen kids race to the water from the walkway entry point, forcing parents to quickly force wallets, phones and keys into beach bags? That creates more drops than anything. Then think of how often you see people leaving after a long beach day. Exhausted kids covered in sand, usually tired and sulking, often being carried by exhausted, burned, cranky, intoxicated parents who want nothing more than to reach the car. The further away they get from the water, the sooner they start reaching for bags and purses to retrieve keys, wallets and phones...and things get dropped.

Long ago I gave up the notion that I could spend the day in the sun, near the surf and all the people and find all kinds of treasure. It came down to strategic observations of the same people who weren't dropping things on the beach, but who were fumbling through their items while trudging through sand, towing along kids, wagons overflowing with items, and beach bags, baby bags, and coolers.

I've learned this hobby on my own without a mentor or partner. What I did learn was either on my own out in the field, or by reading this forum. My point is I don't mind sharing trade-craft secrets. I hope this helps. Let me know your results - especially those of you who come here for winter time beach vacations. Dirty Nails
 
Dang all you guys finding gold. I never found any. I was talking about regular clad change.

Does anyone know if Hurricane Florence made any beach erosion in FL?

No Erosion. I wasn't too far from you...(this weekend)... spent time in the water, wet and dry sand. Teamed up with a buddy to grid search a few areas and after a day of it, walked away with one ring and less than a dollar in clad. While we were there, we saw (4) other hunters. As we left the beach around midnight, we saw two more guys walking on to the beach with detectors.

Like others said, it is hit hard by folks day and night. 30 years ago was another story...detectors were less capable & less popular
 
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I revisited theis hobby since April and have hunted my arm off. I have only found two gold in that time. About $60 melt and I have been hunting dry, wet and in between. There have been times that I doubted my sanity or ability. I started off with a bum PI that wouldn't see gold 5 in out and screemed with every passing wave, I have been cut off by other hunters, kept swinging when four other people surrounded me in a 100 yrd swim area ect. But I've met some really great people also. Will I throw in the towel? Heck no I'll keep at it because one never knows, I also know theres goodies out there I just have to study the ocean, and get on the hot spot before someone else. Plus I could find a peice of history, wich is just as cool. Op just don't get discouraged starting is rough but it will get better.
 
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