SoCal Beach Detecting

[Buran]

I live n SoCal and am thinking of taking up MDing. Our beaches are very busy when it’s warm and I figure I would detect around the fire pits and towel line and maybe ankle deep water. Our sand is the gold kind and I have no idea what it’s makeup is. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research and figure VLF rather than PI would better suit what I plan on doing. I don’t think the whole MD needs to be waterproof, but certainly the coil. The models I’m considering are:

Tesoro Tiger Shark
Fisher 1280x
Garret AT Pro
White’s Beach Hunter

Any advice would be helpful and thanks in advance.

[Slimpickuns]

How about a Sovereign GT?

[Buran]

I feel it's a bit too pricey for my first MD.

[Gamblur]

I am a SoCal hunter myself, keep in mind the wet sand can be quite mineralized, depending on the beach. I am not sure about which VLF brands can handle the mineralized sand the best. I cant speak first hand but the AT pro seems popular, I have run into a few guys that swing that around here. I am not sure about the tiger shark, I remember a forum member saying they dont work well around so cal beaches? Someone else could confirm.

Good luck

[Buran]

Originally Posted by Gamblur

I am a SoCal hunter myself, keep in mind the wet sand can be quite mineralized, depending on the beach. I am not sure about which VLF brands can handle the mineralized sand the best. I cant speak first hand but the AT pro seems popular, I have run into a few guys that swing that around here. I am not sure about the tiger shark, I remember a forum member saying they dont work well around so cal beaches? Someone else could confirm.

Good luck

Thanks for your reply Gamblur. So the sand here is quite mineralized? Good to know. What MD are you successful with. BTW, I’m in HB.

[Crumble]

We have some pretty bad ground in Southern California, even the Sov GT/Excals have trouble at some of the really badly mineralized beaches. I doubt the AT Pro or any of the single frequency machines you listed would work very well in the wet sand. Whites BH ID 300 is multifrequency, which would probably fair better, but I have heard that it cant handle the ground around here either.

If cost is an issue, stick to dry sand for now, until you can afford one of the top notch water machines. In dry sand, any of the machines you listed would work.

[Jamflicker]

My AT Pro works great in the dry sand but it is horrible in the wet sand at Southern California beaches.

[Rudy]

Originally Posted by Crumble

We have some pretty bad ground in Southern California, even the Sov GT/Excals have trouble at some of the really badly mineralized beaches. I doubt the AT Pro or any of the single frequency machines you listed would work very well in the wet sand. Whites BH ID 300 is multifrequency, which would probably fair better, but I have heard that it cant handle the ground around here either.

If cost is an issue, stick to dry sand for now, until you can afford one of the top notch water machines. In dry sand, any of the machines you listed would work.

Nope, the BH ID won't do well here in Cali beaches. Even Jimmy Sierra is the first to admit it. Long story short, White's cost reduced the design they obtained from Minelab during final development and removed the adjustable pre-amp gain. Consequently, the machine just runs too hot for most of our beaches here and it goes bonkers.

[Raphis]

After reading all the above replies, it looks like 3 of the 4 detectors on Buran's list are not recommended. That leaves the 1280X. How about any of the Fisher CZ units? Too expensive? I think your decision to not select a pulse machine is a good one, especially if you plan on hunting around fire pits or beaches that have them. Those beaches are typically loaded with iron bits everywhere (wet and dry sand).

[Gamblur]

Right on Buran, I work in HB. Plenty of beaches to hunt, thats for sure.

I personally use an excal. Most hunters I come across that hunt the water/wet sand use a sovereign, excal, or dual field (dual field is the most popular by far). I really want to give the dual field a try but I am very happy with my excal, considering it as a back up when I have the funds.

As mentioned by others, if you are curious about beach hunting, buy a machine that meets your budget and stick to the dry sand then once you get a feel for it and enjoy it buy a machine that handles the wet. Thats what I did. I started with a bounty hunter, used that for about 6 months, then bought the excal...what a difference.

[Buran]

Originally Posted by Gamblur

Right on Buran, I work in HB. Plenty of beaches to hunt, thats for sure.

I personally use an excal. Most hunters I come across that hunt the water/wet sand use a sovereign, excal, or dual field (dual field is the most popular by far). I really want to give the dual field a try but I am very happy with my excal, considering it as a back up when I have the funds.

As mentioned by others, if you are curious about beach hunting, buy a machine that meets your budget and stick to the dry sand then once you get a feel for it and enjoy it buy a machine that handles the wet. Thats what I did. I started with a bounty hunter, used that for about 6 months, then bought the excal...what a difference.

Gamblur, by writing dual-field, I take it you mean PI. I understand they are very good at detecting in salt water, but I think I probably want to be able to discriminate against metals like iron and aluminum. But then that’s what I’m here for; looking at real-world experience.

One of the features I’ve noticed in the higher end MD’s is multiple frequencies; most having 2 or 3 and one with 25. I’m thinking multiple frequencies is better/adjustable with regards to the soil/sand being detected.

I think a grand+ is a bit much for a detecting newby, but I also get the argument not purchasing a cheap/less capable MD risking frustrating/disappointment and leaving the hobby.

[Compass]

Sorry but I would not recommend the 1280-x for our beaches. It might be okay for dry sand but not great for the wet sand or in the salt water. Any black sand and you can forget about using it altogether. I use an Excal or the DF but would recommend the Pro PI as well. I don't think that HB is too trashy for a PI. HH!

[Cfmct]

Originally Posted by Buran

I live n SoCal and am thinking of taking up MDing. Our beaches are very busy when it’s warm and I figure I would detect around the fire pits and towel line and maybe ankle deep water. Our sand is the gold kind and I have no idea what it’s makeup is. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research and figure VLF rather than PI would better suit what I plan on doing. I don’t think the whole MD needs to be waterproof, but certainly the coil. The models I’m considering are:

Tesoro Tiger Shark
Fisher 1280x
Garret AT Pro
White’s Beach Hunter

Any advice would be helpful and thanks in advance.

Forget the Tiger Shark its not happy in the saltwater...

A single frequency machine is not a great choice hunting the wet sand or water... I read turn down the sensitivty doing that means you are going give up depth.. If it was me I would go with the GT... its deep and its stable in the wet areas or the Excalibur...


Buran... if you discriminate out aluminum you can forget about finding gold...

[Lucasberg]

I got the AT Pro about a month ago and for me it didn't do well in the wet sand. I got a refurbished Sov GT and took it for it's maiden run down in Newport around 40th St and got $1.53 in clad and probably 50 other junk targets like nails,bobby pins,foil, and pull tabs.

So far the GT seems to false about 90% less in dry or wet sand.
The GT runs a lot better in the wet sand/water but I have yet to find any targets in wet sand or water with either.

All of our beaches seem to have an angle into the water,not flat for yards into the water where you can just walk out there. I not sure how much water time I'll actually do around OC.

I think the AT Pro is great but the GT is a little better.

PS if you want an AT Pro I will have one for sale after this weekend.

[Megagold]

Hi Buran! We have an AT Pro. Cost around $600. It's a nice starter machine to do the dry and wet up to 8-10' deep. It's a turn on and go machine. In the wet sand I run the sens at 3 and the discrimination at 30 on the pro mode zero setting. It works great in the wet sand. I use my MXT for the dry sand. Good luck on finding your new machine!

[Buran]

Useful comments everyone, thanks. Looking in the classifieds, I see a Minelab Explorer SE with Pro coil for $700. Looking on the Minelab site I see it’s a high-end MD and I guess it’s geeky. I’m not sure it will suit me well as a first MD and I am leery of purchasing a used machine.

[Gamblur]

If you are going to only hunt the dry sand to begin with I personally don't think you need all that fancy of a machine. I think any metal detector can handle dry sand. My bounty hunter did fine. Remember you aren't going to be able to discriminate most of the junk anyway if you want to find the good stuff (I say that because it takes experience to disc properly, for instance I dont, if the signal is crisp/clear I dig it no matter what the tone). An example are the small gold rings I have found in the dry sand, all sounded like foil because they were super thin. Most likely passed over by other detectorists because of that very reason.

Also, the dry sand is going to be regularly picked over, so fresh drops are going to be the main thing your finding and they arent going to be very deep. The key is being at the right place at the right time.

[IntoIt]

Pretty much any VLF will be challenged by So Cal beaches. Something I used in the dry was a Fisher 1235X and it was pretty smooth for the most part,
I have found the fisher 1235 and 1265-66 to be fairly stable, I also used the CZ 5 model there but the 1235X seemed just as good.
Those fire pit area`s will have allot of nails and slag but I have seen some excellent finds around them.

[Rudy]

The Detector Pro Wader has worked pretty well for me here in Cali.

[Buran]

I’ve been doing more research here and on other forums and unfortunately the sand here in SoCal is highly magnetized and extremely difficult to deal with; especially a newby like me. So I have resigned myself to only detect in dry sand. I’ve read some of Eric Foster’s articles, which deal with PI, but have a lot to say about minerals and yes, SoCal sand sucks.

So now I guess I’m back to square one. I need to research multiple frequencies MD’s; just hoping I can get one in my price range.