The Ugly Truth About The Beach Machine Debates

[bigscoop]

A sandy beach, it is a mile long and two-hundred yards wide. Hidden in the sands of this beach are six gold rings, all of them only an inch in diameter and buried between four and ten inches deep. On this same beach there's also a dozen experienced hunters sporting a broad assortment of quality beach machines, some new and some old. Guess what, at the end of the day, the guys who get their coil over those buried gold rings are going to find gold.



Year after year the same people seem to always be finding the most gold, many of them using different machines then in previous years, some of them even finding more gold in previous years. This should tell you something of HUGE value. In my opinion there's way too much touting of machines and not near enough discussion about what separates these individuals from the rest of the pack, i.e., “what are they doing differently that delivers them so much success.” Obviously, given the wide variety of machines they have used over the years, it's not the machine. Sure, you need possession of a quality beach machine that's been designed for the task, but this is simply a bag of clubs to be slung over the shoulder of the golfer. Some will excel at the game, others won't. The important question is; "Why?"

 

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[bigscoop]

I will chime in here... This is just a few of the things I consider before hunting.
I do my homework on the area or areas to be searched... Location, tide, wind and direction, erosion, exposed rocks...
Is there history to the place you want to hunt?
Were there any Concession Stands, Bathing Houses, or Carnivals in that area ever?...
Just because it looks good when you get there, doesn't always turn out that way...
Learn to read the beach...LOOK at the lower areas, troughs, cuts, slopes, grey sand, scalloped areas, areas that hold rocks or shells...

We are as good as your machine can be... What I am saying is, knowledge is KING... the more you use it, the better your going to get... Listen to what it is saying... Let's face it, we are there to dig... so dig it all till you find that some things are just not sounding good... Switch to discriminate mode, and if the sound nulls, move on... I do not go by the numbers so much, who cares what they come it at? the deeper they are, the more different the numbers are going to be... I hunt more by sound than any other factor... then comes depth...
One of my most important rules are KEEPING my COIL to the SOIL ..."PERIOD"... the closer to the ground the better... Depth is everything... I hope this helps someone find at least one goodie... Good luck and Happy Hunting

Excellent post, and one that is loaded with great tips and advice. Along the same lines; one of the areas I like to hunt when conditions are right is absolutely loaded with iron, no way can I hunt this section of beach with a large coil, the 8" becoming nearly a requirement. I've spent hours trying to research this area but nothing out of the ordinary has ever been discovered, yet this area of beach consistently produces a mix of older finds dating back into the 1840's, one piece is dated in the 1760's. At present it's just a section of beach lined with the usual beach houses, prior to this construction it was just dunes and open beach. Just offshore there is a series of shallow sandbars, during certain periods of rough seas this section of beach will be covered with large shells and pieces of coral - during the summer, however, it's even difficult to produce a few nulls. About five miles north of this location is another section of beach that has routinely produced items from the 1800's and early 1900's, the same general conditions and circumstances also present at this location. At both locations, during the winter months a can hardly scoop a bucket of sand that isn't packed with shell, pieces of coral, and balls of clay, in the summer months it is an absolute chore to even find a shell or their fragments.

 

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[gamiller]

If I may lapse into serious just for a moment. An excellent thread. Maybe even something like this could be a sticky note.There is advice in this thread that if followed will save you from a lot of wasted time and angst.

 

[oldseabee]

I am kind of new to this MD world and so some of the language is kind of new to me! I have been reading this thread about beech detecting and repeatedly I see this wording " quality beech machine"! What constitutes a quality beech machine?

 

[bigscoop]

I am kind of new to this MD world and so some of the language is kind of new to me! I have been reading this thread about beech detecting and repeatedly I see this wording " quality beech machine"! What constitutes a quality beech machine?

Basically it means a brand name machine, something that has stood up to the test of time from companies that have a known history, and something that is designed for the salt. There are a lot of good saltwater/beach machines out there to choose from covering a wide variety of price ranges and features. This thread isn't about singling out machines, more about how to get the very most out of the machine chosen. That's where the real success in this hobby comes from.

 

[doc-d]

Great advice......thank you all......now I have asked my wife if she wants to go the beach 3 times already.....
Hope to head out later today and explore soem beaches of Salinas area (Ecuador).
Have not seen any MD here although I am sure some exist.......

 

[oldseabee]

Thanks for the reply Big Scoop! My wife just gave me a new Sharper Image w/ a waterproof coil! She is much more the beech nut than I and she figured it would give me something to do when we make our trips down to South Texas. Most of my MD fun has been on playgrounds, old home sites etc. I`m looking forward to getting the new one put to work!