Compass

Thanks VL, I was using the Excalibur (no TID #). It started acting up but I was able to finish the hunt using the discriminate mode. Thanks Jerry, I plan to hunt both in the coming days but you are right about the heat. However, when I hunt in the water I stay pretty cool. Thanks Denny, I don't doubt that less gold is being lost these days but I believe that there is still plenty out there waiting to be found.

Holy cow Jerry what an amazing find! - I had no idea those things cost so much. You could sell that and buy several nice gold rings. Congrats!!! 😮

Thanks Mitchell, A couple of reasons I left was because I had been there in the water for 12 hours and my back and detector were starting to act up. The back is ready to go again and I think the detector is as well - we'll see. I agree that wave energy is the key and would sure like to see some of it next week with the promising tides.

Thanks Cal_Cobra, Everything I know about this hobby tells me that you are certainly right!

Between this new spot and the improving beach conditions I expect to see some more gold in the next week or two. The hot Labor Day weekend forecast should get a lot of depositors into the water too!

Thank you midalake, I agree that there is gold there and would like to prove it on the next hunt. Get well!

Thanks locator, Already making plans for the next visit.

I did another fresh water hunt and even though gold was a no-show, 6 rings, 2 silver neck chains along with coins and LOTS of trash make me think that the gold is there. In looking at the smaller silver chain I'm reminded of the knife scene from "Crocodile Dundee". At 4 grams, the thin silver chain is nice but at 30+ grams for the other one, now THAT'S A CHAIN! 🙂

Omen to that Brother! 😉 I, actually, didn't know about the Manticore (creature or detector) so I looked them both up. The detector piqued my interest. Unlike many, I have not warmed up to the EQ 800 for beach use (in/near the water). However, this machine is supposed to be 50% more powerful? That claim got my attention as I like my Nox but always felt that it was weaker than my other detectors in the wet sand.

Couple of big beauties there Mitchell - congrats!

Great way to get back on the gold train Mitchell - congrats! A gold coin ring is awesome and on my bucket list. Looks like local conditions are improving.

Thanks Jerry, I started off digging everything that wasn't nulling out but after I got tired I started focusing on the high and mid tones. Too many of the really low "boing-boing" tones were foil and bottle caps. The 14K band was a solid mid-tone.

Awesome return Cuniagau! Kudos for doing the right thing even though it may have felt a little bittersweet!

Thanks again RVP, Money seems to find it's way into all sorts of strange places! Thanks midalake, I love the cash too but the 14K ring is like finding 7-$20's, 7-$10's and 7-$5's! Thanks CPT, The day just got a bit better as the chain tested positive for 10K. Must be one of those hollow link chains I just heard about. A third less gold than a solid link chain but still gold.

Thanks RVP, It's been so long since I have found paper money in the water that I almost didn't recognize it. This lake is very popular for pirates so it's first come - first served!

Thanks Strick, Yes, first chunky band in a long time!

Thank you Mitchell.

Thanks VL, Yes, it was a hunt full of surprises.

When the beach doesn't look too promising I am fortunate to have a few lakes to hunt. This particular lake that I hunted gets pounded by pirates but after a busy weekend I was hopeful for a few fresh drops. I can't remember when I last used the Excal for a fresh water hunt but I decided to give it a go. I found the 14K white gold band and $20/$10/$5 dollar bills early in the hunt in about 4ft of water which sure made the rest of the hunt more relaxing. I have found paper money in this lake before but not in a while so finding $35 was a real treat. Next time I'll have to bring a mask and snorkel to swim through the "money garden" before the boats and wind mess with the visibility. The "gold" chain was an eyeball find and is stamped "10k". It looks really good but seems too light at 4 grams. Even though I found a decent number of coins, many of them are tarnished or corroded. Obviously, many had been there a while so I think a lot of the guys that hunt there just go for the quick and shallow fresh targets. GL & HH!

I think that a lot of us focus on finding the jewelry and just toss the clad in a bucket. When we get around to cleaning the coins it is often surprising how much we have accumulated. I think I currently have over 100 pounds of coins that need cleaning.

I just took a friend out detecting and set him up with my Nox 800 while I used my Excal. He's been detecting less than a half-dozen times and has used some of my other machines but this was his first time using the Nox. The settings were similar to those mentioned above. We went early to work the wet sand at low tide. We focused on an area of the beach where I had scouted out earlier in the week and felt it had potential. There were a lot of trash targets but we were finding a few tarnished coins here and there so we tried to hunt the area as thoroughly as possible. I wound with about 30 coins, 2 rings and a silver cross with chain. My friend wound up with about 7 coins, 1 ring (his first ever) and one 10K gold cross (first gold ever!). Even though I dug 4-5 times as many targets as he did he was the one who came up with the gold. You just never know.

I also had a couple of opportunities to purchase a Limited and decided not to - mostly because of the problems that many users were reporting. If that small sample size that OBN has seen (4 out of 12 really happy customers) represents all of those who purchased one, 25% customer satisfaction is pretty scary and that percentage could even be lower. Even if the detector was free of problems I still see its uses somewhat "Limited" to specific situations . I also have a TDI Beachhunter to use in those situations and it has been a reliable "workhorse".

I'm sure that others will chime in here on your settings but here are my 2 cents. Sometimes you can be doing everything right and still not find gold. I have had hunts where I have dug several hundred targets and not found gold or even silver. I am not a fan of the "beach" modes and that is why I prefer to use my Excal or pulse machines around salt water. I don't usually dig TID's predominately below "0". If by "plumbs" you mean lead fishing weights then I would say that that is generally a good sign that you have the machine tuned right but do a lot of adults swim at that beach or is it mainly used by people fishing? Beach orientation, sand movement and timing are also important.

Congrats Skate! Looks like some of us are finally getting back on the gold train. 🙂

I have found many surfing St Christophers over the years but this one was just the old-fashioned kind. I beach-hunted with a guy once who found a tent stake with a gold chain wrapped around it. Maybe there is some science around these types of finds.