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TDI Beachhunter Spin


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I was really looking forward to hitting the beaches hard this weekend with the holiday crowds, great tides and new swell coming in but a couple of days ago the news reported that my local beaches were going to be re-closed just for the 4th of July weekend. I thought I would sneak in a hunt before the closure went into effect so I took the TDI BeachHunter and headed down to one of my favorite locations to detect a couple hours after high tide.

There was a decent slope going down to the water and in the light of the nearly full moon I could see several patches of black sand- both pretty good indicators that there were going to be some targets. Even though the tide was still fairly high I was able to work in the wet sand and shallow surf and I started to find an encouraging number of clad coins with a surprising amount of quarters in the mix. This was shaping up to be an excellent hunt.

That's when the local police SUV came by and told me that the beach was closed and that I needed to start making my way off the beach. Now, I have hunted this beach dozens of times at all hours of the night and day and the local lifeguards have always let me be when they saw me. The only other time I was asked to leave was also by local law enforcement. I was disappointed since I had just found a productive patch of sand but I said "Yes Sir" and went back to my car to change batteries and put on some different clothes. I thought the officer was actually giving me a little wiggle room when he said, "start making your way off the beach'" instead of "leave the beach" so I went back to hunting and never saw another patrol over the next 6 hours.

But I did see many more people including 3 or 4 other hunters. I detected some other nearby spots before heading back at low tide to hunt the site I started at. To my surprise and indignation there was a claimjumper detecting on my claim! I decided to give him plenty of space and started to work the fringes of the "paydirt" where I was still digging targets. However, to my surprise, the other hunter left shortly after I arrived and I think I know why.

I couldn't make out what detector he was using but judging from the number of good targets that I continued to find, some even in his scooped out holes, he was either a beginner or had a detector that couldn't handle the modest amount of black sand- maybe both. This area was not that big- perhaps 20' wide by 100' long but I found enough targets to keep me busy for the next couple of hours. I found a couple of rings and a couple of bracelets and I was certain that one of those bracelets was silver.

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I really like the TDI BeachHunter. It is the most recent addition to my "arsenal" and one that I have the fewest amount of hours on due to overall beach conditions this past year and the pandemic impact. It's been compared to the Fisher Impulse AQ Limited but from what I've seen I believe that the AQ is deeper. The BeachHunter is deep and is really sensitive to both small and gold targets but its pulse delay is 10us compared to 7.5us  on the AQ so I'd like to compare "all metal" performance of both detectors when I am able to land an AQ.

I drove all the way home wishing I had found gold but happy to have found a big silver bracelet. Unfortunately, when I took a closer look at it I saw what you can see on the the bottom right of the photo- the silver plating wearing through. Arghhhh! Well, at least, I found enough clad to pay for gas this time!

GL&HH!

 

 

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Nice hunt. It always gets the blood pumping when you start hitting targets like that. Only a matter of time before you hit something good. Unfortunately in today's world a lot of jewelry looks good but is junk. I'm finding that for the past two years the increase of junk vs real has tipped in favor of junk. If I get a new drop, it's rarely gold. Most of my gold comes from the 70's, 80's maybe even into the 90's. After that Stainless, Titanium,  and other metals took over. But there is no better feeling than to be out detecting.

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6 minutes ago, schoolofhardNox said:

Nice hunt. It always gets the blood pumping when you start hitting targets like that. Only a matter of time before you hit something good. Unfortunately in today's world a lot of jewelry looks good but is junk. I'm finding that for the past two years the increase of junk vs real has tipped in favor of junk. If I get a new drop, it's rarely gold. Most of my gold comes from the 70's, 80's maybe even into the 90's. After that Stainless, Titanium,  and other metals took over. But there is no better feeling than to be out detecting.

Thank you, I agree. I love to turn on the detector and hear a target on the the first couple of swings in the wet sand. The average distance between targets was about 10ft which isn't bad but how I long for those conditions where you get a signal or two with every step. Yes, great to get back on the beach after mostly hunting lakes this year. I, especially, enjoy hunting on the beach, under a bright full moon, wearing shorts and a t-shirt with plenty of targets to dig. 

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That’s a nice pile of targets......On coin and ring sized targets, the TDIBH is about 2” behind the AQ at maximum depths attainable. I really enjoy mine (TDIBH) but would prefer a smaller coil of about 10” or so for hunting in the water. On the beach itself then the 12” coil is fine. 
Tony

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3 minutes ago, Tony said:

That’s a nice pile of targets......On coin and ring sized targets, the TDIBH is about 2” behind the AQ at maximum depths attainable. I really enjoy mine but would prefer a smaller coil of about 10” or so for hunting in the water. On the beach itself then the 12” coil is fine. 
Tony

Thank you Tony, Good to see someone with both detectors who could verify this. 2" is significant since the Beachhunter is no slouch when it comes to depth.

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9 minutes ago, Compass said:

Thank you Tony, Good to see someone with both detectors who could verify this. 2" is significant since the Beachhunter is no slouch when it comes to depth.

Well I don’t own the AQ 🙁.....just going on Joe’s videos and targets used.

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5 minutes ago, Tony said:

Well I don’t own the AQ.....just going on Joe’s videos and targets used.

Oh, sorry- when you said you enjoyed yours I thought you meant the AQ but now I realize you were referring to your TDI (was up all night detecting)

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It certainly read that way...I updated the earlier post with “TDIBH”.....plus I’m waaaaay down here so no AQ’s for some time 😩

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