Joe Beechnut OBN

Something pleasant to look at on these chilly days of January. 42 Gold rings ..3 misc Golds..268 grams total.. 188 Silvers..mostly coins, Class rings pushed the weight this year and I did find one small gold chain but only because it had a pendent on it....Excalibur found most of the treasures but the AQ came on strong the last month. Missed hunting 6 months ....Blessed to be alive !! ........Hoping to see the water more in 2022. Come on Spring.. Good Luck to everyone and Be safe.. Couple golds missing / family.

6" x 10 1/2", that sounds like a good size. All SS that baby has some weight.

Thank you...The good of being retired, I can choice the very best days with the best odds on finding gold. Calm water I can hear the faint signals so much better.

Biggest scoop I could get. Stealth 720i, 14 inches deep and 7 inches tall...That 14 inches long really hammers deep. I have hundreds of video's of digging gold but most I cut out all of the digging and get to the final scoops. Here is one I did not..got all of the scooping to show the depth..I would say this first gold ring was in the 16+ inch range. Second Video I measured the depth of the gold ring ..1.6 grams at about 15 inches.

I hunt salt/fresh water..Brackish .. Chesapeake Bay. I would say 80% of the gold I do dig is deep..in the 14 to 16 inch range. The other 20% can be in between deeper or shallow..rare to find gold near the surface unless a storm has sturded it up but it does happen. And this is the older beaches, early 1900's to the late 60's. Fresh drop beaches, I'll cherry pick surface targets.....there are so many hunters out and gold is the target. There are old areas at the fresh drop beaches but it like your on a mission..either to dig fresh drops or look for the low spots, nasty smelling areas of sand.. and listen for the faints. The type of hunt has a lot to do with the season..summer fresh drops..winter old gold and silver.. All depends on the history of the spot, the bottoms condition and is it trashy. All sand, old beach I would say 3 inches is needed. If it is a young lake with little history and shallow sand.. lots of hunters keeping it cleaned out.. anything is fine.. But me I like having that extra depth all the time.. I have not hunted many lakes. And this event was in my rookie years. (2009) Hit this lake, had a swim area with platform. Spent two days there with a friend who invited me. First day I got several coins, targets were not very deep. Talked to one of the workers there and was told someone was hunting the spot every year after labor day. Second day I did score a small gold signet ring over in the kids area. Ring did not fit the time period. Before leaving we got talking to some the the regulars that had been there for years. We were told the place had been dredged about 10 years ago) due to state laws saying the dive area needed to be so deep. We were told the stuff dredged was spread up the trail and silver coins were found for several years.. No one said anything about gold being found.. We never went back...

Over the past 14 years I've been hunting I've dug maybe 7 Gold chains with the excalibur. Almost everyone had a pendent OR a gold ring...........The excalibur and the AQ are not gold chain finders. Getting the deus ll I don't see much a change in what I find since It's rare to see any of the locals dig gold chains, And most use Noxes.

It's tuff finding gold on land. Silver is always welcome.

Beautiful!!

Testing I've learned a lot. The AQ can pick up a 1 gram gold ring directly under the big golf ball size chunk of Iron shown in the picture below, then up to about 8-9 inches under all pictured. After that it fades to the point it would be something you would not stop for..Interesting gold wedding bands from 2 grams to 4 seem to show the best results,,,at 5 grams, then 6 grams does not hit as hard...but depth does improve... And this is air testing.. I do have video but unfortunately I can not share for it shows the machine... I do have video I can share of a crab pot wire, 1 to 2 inch piece above the hole that I dropped a 6 gram gold ring in.. conditions can be so different at every spot it's just a matter of hitting all at the right time, surroundings and settings..(this video is the Limited model) I've got 35 gold with the AQ's so far. 4 ..if I remember correct were found in the mute mode, and after playing around with the AQ, I think tones maybe the best mode if using the disc side. Testing looks very impressive with the AQ but once you get it out in the wild, you really have to be in the right spot for all to work as it tested, which is rare and It is the reason I say.... buy it as a PI...

I'll keep everyone informed. I'm a member on that one.. my post..

After the controlled testing I would like to see them spend a day out with each other on the open beach, comparing targets in the wild.. a untouched trashy beach......... That's where the Deus ll and the Nox will show the strengths of the two and the weakness of the AQ.. .

Just my opinion, the AQ will stomp the D2 and specially the Nox, It will "test perfect" but get it in the wild.. it's another story, best to use it as a PI. And don't get me wrong. The right person, with the right spot can do well using the disc side of the AQ. I love my AQ's but there are places I will not take the AQ and would much rather have the excalibur, or the D2.. And interesting there is no recovery speed on the AQ.. it can see gold thru pieces of iron the size of a golf ball, and surrounded by nails, clad and silver..instantly. Specially smaller gold like .5 grams up. It will be interesting to see the results. But in the wild is where the real test is..

Like to see that compare...but one spot no one can match is that 5 year warranty.

Looks like Amazon would be your best for starters. But I would recommend going with one that cost more, I can remember making a few when I first started.. they were barbaric and I hate to say, a waste of my time. Then I bought a few sub-standards..lasted one summer.. Me .. I would recommend a Stav's from ukraine..contact him, give him a sad story..He may give you a better deal.. I've seen him run discounts of 10% before.. https://stavrscoop.com/en/15-sand-scoop-evroexcavator-2-v22.html

I should be able to fit the Deus ll into that time frame of 5 years of, Do I like it or not. The fact XP made the Deus's transferible tells me they are very confident in this new machine and willing to go the extra years also. I'm saddened that FT never made the "AQ's warranty transferable. Some may not remember but the old CZ20s had a lifetime warranty, non transfer

That was a Great vacation! I'm just south of you, even though I do hunt in the winter it will be nice to see those warmer days again....... Also OC Md hunting during the summer can be expensive. Years ago you could really do great there but now the place is very costly to stay and the treasures are not what they use to be. So I think you made the right choice going to MB.

That's a old excalibur. They changed to the black coil cable in 1999 if I remember correct. So I am guessing that is a 1998 model. If your hunting "IN" the ocean I'm not sure if I would recommend the Nox, the ocean can be deadly. The Deus ll maybe have the same issues with being beat up... but it has an amazing 5 year warranty and looks hardier? Time will tell on that..... Now if your hunting bay side in VB the Nox or D2 will serve you well.

Thank You, That was a major concern. And I like that the warranty can be transferred. 5 years is a long time..Wow! In fact almost the icing on the cake.

Looks like it has a rear zipper so it could be a semi-drysuit. One thing for sure too cold for me dressed like that.. If I get cold at all I leave. And since my accident last year I'm less enthused about going out in the cold..

Now I know who has been digging all the gold at sandy point..😲....it did not know you hunted the bay? Took me a second pass to see the Bay bridge, then that nasty sandy point sand. Let me know if you get the Deus ll, I would love to see it in action..maybe even find a few targets for you to check.. When was your pictures taken? That place froze up in 2015 and it was like the golden gates opened up. I got like 30 gold from the North beach, only a few from the south beach. The pictures above ..me in my drysuit was from 2015..

Below....

I use a Bare Nex Gen Rear zipper with Si Tech drygloves, honestly It took me several years and tries to get to where I am now. I've got fairly skilled at repairing also and that has made a big difference, I can do just about all, replace boot's, zippers and seals. If you need information I can send it to your email. I think the neoprene waders are a good idea, just be careful. Your going to need some good wool gloves and clammer gloves. Also I might recommend a good neoprene hood.

I was out today in the water, maybe 2.5 hours..Airtemp was 28, no wind chill and water was 40.3. Warm most of the hunt with water just below my chest, did notice one of my little finger getting chilled. Have full thermo's under a drysuit and glove setup, with 5mm hood. I like the fresh air and the challenge. Younger I could do the 35 degree water but I'm not sure now that I'm going to be 70 soon, hard to believe. One thing for sure, I love having Hot food waiting for me when I get home.

It does not give a location to where in the USA.. Is the repair center in Mass a Limited or Full repair center? If Limited, the Deus ll could possibly have to go back to France? If it is a Major repair... Now if it is a full repair location, another Plus.

Thank You, Over the years I did share several modifications which were copied..........but I never shared the ones I did to the PCB/Board's, I did do a few of these for others but never anyone that lived in Maryland.