King-Of-Bling

Thanks Joe. My way out is my PI. Avoiding the dry and and going deeper and slower in the wet. Like where you're at , everyone here swings the Nox. And amongst many , they have a race to see who gets it 1st. You wouldn't believe how some literally are running down a beach. And extremely fast swing speed. I might have to video one of them. 5 hours is at least workable. 8 is the way to go. My old TDI BH would get maybe 6 hours , not great by any means. The DF , would get around 22 give or take. That's what I'm talking about ! But I don't see anything like that happening in the AQ until a different battery is developed that doesn't weigh 7lbs.

Great ring hunt as usual Joe. But I expect nothing less. Have you documented how many man hours or weeks you have into all your modifications into making this thing how it should be ? Your time and effort should not be free to these manufacture guys...

Last tuesday morning I counted 10 hunters at about 9am in HB as I was leaving to hit another beach. I do hit it at night if conditions are good. But now , I'm meeting and talking to guys who , all they really do is night hunt. Don't even bother during the day. And they seem to hunt in 2s or 4s. A pack of destruction ! The old days very rarely would guys hunt at night. I really started taking notice about 12 years ago. 😩

Yes , white gold. Nice. Most all of mine are 18k white. Rarely are they yellow for some reason. And never 14k , some are higher like the 16k. All the odd looking blobs go into my pouch and I look at them later. Particularly if they are small and heavy. Have been surprised a few times. I think some guys find them and throw them back in the hole not knowing what they are. Assuming melted aluminum.

Those are a little rough on my hands as I slide my hands kinda fast for retrieve , but they do work. I even tried safety grip tread tape. Like that used on a skateboard. What a mistake. Tore through my gloves in a week. Down right dangerous !

It would be great if the AQ is totally dialed in next year sometime. If not , it's not a big deal to me. Here in So.Cal though , I can say 1 thing. The LAST thing I want to see is a Minelab PI machine on my beaches. Last Saturday , 14 guys out swinging the Nox. I don't need them converting over. The majority don't know how to properly use a Nox , and I'd like to keep it that way !

I was wondering when someone would post this on ANY forum ! Here you go.... I'm a heavy hitting hunter and tend to abuse my scoops. Don't get any of these without the SS tip or they will wear out fast , unless you are a dry sand hunter. My 1st one lasted less than 6 months and the welds split along the back lip and where the shaft met the bucket. There is some flex because of the width and size , it's big ! This is in heavy larger rocks and concrete like sand. They let me keep this one and sent me a new one , more reinforced. All I paid was $35 in shipping. Meanwhile , I had my broken 1 heavily reinforced by a local welder. Cost me $40. So now I have 2 of these scoops. They are light , big and heavy duty. I also have John's Titanium scoop which is the ultimate water tool in the world ! But , this is about 3x what you pay for the RTG. Now , if I know I'm hunting in a larger rocky area I bring the titanium. But 85% of my hunting is on the slope (softer sand) or hardpack wet sand/water. And I use this RTG scoop at 1/3 the price , so keep that in mind. But the two I now own are beefed up a bit over factory. Again , I beat the hell out of my scoops. The folks at RTG have NEVER failed in taking care of me. Don't be afraid to ask them to customize. They are great ! Just realize how often and hard you are on your scoop when making a decision.

What do you mean no ears ? Isn't the white part where the bottom shaft mount to the coil called ears ? Or in this case a mouth ! Could either be smiling at you or frowning , all depending......

What I'm getting at is : you bring 30 guys out to detect at 1 of your spots over time. Only 1 can really do decent. I'm just wanting to know why is all. For me , detecting is fairly easy. Probably because I've done it awile. Finding gold these days on the other hand , is not. And I would much rather play guitar like EVH. Not Knopfler !

1 in 30 are not good numbers Joe. Why do you think this is ? I know luck plays a part , but I gotta think the guys that join you are fairly experienced. Could it be the equipment ? Do they use 1 of your modded detectors , bring their own ? I would think you hunt fairly close together , so location shouldn't matter. I've experienced the same when I bring guys with me many times. It's weird. I think it's just a "feeling" you get being intune with everything. In the zone I guess. But maybe you are like Steve Austin , the bionic man , with supersonic hearing with those headphones you got !

I have discussed scoops extensively on another forum , so I will only talk about the grip part on your aluminum shaft...I've tried everything out there , you name it. The best , easiest and cheapest is duct tape. Many colors to customize with. I use camouflage. You want a good grip but not so abrasive that your hands can't easily slide down it. Duct tape will do this and eliminate the black mark's on your hands and clothes. Only downside for me , after about 4-6 months it starts to fray and wear out. I then scrape it off and replace. This is after extreme heavy use. The spray ons are either too abrasive or won't last as long. Hope this helps.

Great post on the idiosyncrasies of the pulse machines you use and the dynamics. Much is still to be learned , but this is a step in the right direction. Many people disagree or can't fathom that you can actually discriminate with a PI machine. It's beyond them. On a very heavy , trash infested beach , it is challenging but can be done. Back in the day , it was mainly VLFs , then pulses , now MFs. In the way of a double-edged sword , I'm glad there AREN'T more people using them.... I am one of those that also enjoy your books with some great information that has helped me see things in a slightly different perspective in my quest for treasure.

What about this ? Shave your calf and mask off. Then just spray your feet and legs with flex seal and be done with it.

Of course there's 1 other final solution and you won't be burning through expensive boots. Stop filling your holes !

Are you sure that's not swamp moss on that ring ? Amazing ring sizer with the spring. I have never seen one of those. Is that gold also ? The few rings I find out here have some kind of tape or dental floss. This is telling , because obviously the ring is too big for the wearer. I wish more people would buy oversized rings so they can "grow" into them. Or should I say "grow out" of them !

Forget the ring. More impressive is the somewhat intact 65 year old band-aid. You will now be known as a KOB II. (King Of Bandaids). Or you can be the 1st Bandaid Daddy !

There is NO excuse for 0 communication. This is the ultimate jerk-around. I can deal with the BS excuses ...but cmon...to just be left hanging. You got ghosted ! To me , it's no different going on a 2 hour hunt , swinging away for a few miles and getting barley any targets. I'd rather get some junk knowing something is there.....

Shaken..not really. Just a little sick feeling in the stomach for a few minutes , then continued detecting. I snapped a pic of the initial scene right after they pulled her from the water and covered her with a sheet. I get shaken when I actually see something very bad happen. The only way for me to describe it is that time almost stops. Like someone being hit by a car , etc. It all moves in slow motion for me. It's very strange and idk if anyone else experiences this.

Nice job. I have done this as well. Though you were early , I'm amazed no one else bothers. I see walkers , joggers often go right by large broken glass and just glance at it doing nothing. To me , they are almost as bad as the ones who are breaking the stuff. I hunt SM often. About a month ago , I came upon a naked , bloated , dead body at the jetty just south of there. Never know what you are going to find in the early morning hours.

Those are some pretty good scuffs and gouges on your boots. What exactly are you doing to get those ? Is there a particular reason why you wear calf boots ? Had a buddy that wore them because he was afraid to get sand , dirt on his feet. My laughing and the heat soon cleared that hurdle.

Truck liner bed spray. Let it cure for a day. Cheap and easy. But no fix will last a real long time without reapplying. Especially in salt sand. Time to go with some kind of dive boot.

More EPIC finds OBN ! I have a couple of those old silver pendants as well. You must dig some fairly deep holes to use as some markers for your previous hunts. Here in the bays , they fill in pretty fast. No one can fault anyone for selling SOME gold at record highs. I know some of you get attached to the old gold and want to save it from the smelters. But the fact is , it's a very small subset of buyers within a jewelry market. It can take a long time to find the right buyer. Most are collectors , not ones who regularly wear such items. I recently sold a few ounces of older rings I had laying around. Older as in the 30s-50s. They went for scrap. Currently I'm getting 90% of melt , in cash , from a local cash4gold place. Sure , you can get a little more from midwest , ara , or whoever. I sell it up , I sell it down. But rarely do you have the opportunity to sell at a record high. You can't take it with you is how I look at it. Enjoy some of the fruits of your labor. GL on whatever you decide to do.

Very interesting topic and I don't know if I'm off base here but will compare a MF against a PI on a beach. Granted , a PI is a completely different animal. What I do know is a MF can have great discrimination but in heavy black sand it can overload. Basically rendering it useless ! It won't work. Depth is also an issue. Under these same conditions , my PI can struggle as well. I may have to raise the coil 6" off the sand and go very slow. But it works ! Of course discrimination is an issue compared to a MF. A MF machine does not "reign supreme" on all beaches. In fact , it may not operate at all. What many don't realize is that we have different styles of hunting , which can change based on conditions. And that should be in direct correlation to what detector you choose for the job.

Hi Bill , and welcome. I used to live around the corner from Buccaneer park and parents used to live in Carlsbad. I'm a little north of you now , but I hunt Diego often as I know most of the beaches well. Some great detecting beaches but you also need to have your head on a swivel if you hunt at night. Particularly north county.

I'm hoping the low winter tides will have some hardpack, sand removal. Kinda mushy out there now. But we know there's something out there...somewhere