2 Beach Hunts With GPX And AQ

[schoolofhardNox]

Had a chance to get 2 beach hunts in with the GPX and AQ and was pleasantly surprised that the conditions at this beach had changed for the better. It was going to be a 50/50 split between both machines, so that I could get the benefits of both machines technologies. Started out great with the AQ,  but unfortunately the headphones started making a loud clicking noise. I figured out the thin wire had finally given out. Then it completely stopped working. The conditions were perfect for trying out the AQ in Tone mode, since there was almost no trash, or small iron left in this spot. So high tones and grunts meant nickels/gold/ huge iron or silver/clad. The AQ scored a lot of nickels, paper thin worn coins and 8 silver dimes before it died. So the hunt continued with the GPX. That patch was on fire giving me the most silver in a single hunt ever, along with the greatest 2 day total as well. The area covered was about 20 x 30 feet, as I had 3 other detectorists around me on either side. This area was sand with packed cobbles beneath it, so I paid the price after digging in that for 2 days. The ring is 14K and was the only gold found, surprisingly. Now, I love my AQ, but honestly not being a durable machine kind of makes it take a back seat to my other machines. I have been gentle with this machine, but I did a lot of holes. Those two days I estimate digging almost 250 holes and I beach hunt generally once a week. I would love to get a new set of headphones (not stock), but if I remember the connector is hard to get??? If anyone has info on that, please let me know where I can get one. I would have Tony make me a set in a heartbeat. It's not often that the beach gives you those kind of conditions, so I was happy to be there at the right time. I can't wait to get back and see if the conditions are still good.

[Jim in ma]

Nice Haul!!

All them targets....  All that 50 year old silver and only 1 gold and very little jewelry.. 

Seems there should be more then that. But you still did Great on the silver. 

And hats off to you for being at the right place and right time!!

Jim

[Compass]

Wow that's a lot of silver and the gold band is pretty sweet- congrats!!! Gotta love it when the beach conditions are just right and great that you had another detector at the ready.

[schoolofhardNox]

24 minutes ago, Jim in ma said:

Nice Haul!!

All them targets....  All that 50 year old silver and only 1 gold and very little jewelry.. 

Seems there should be more then that. But you still did Great on the silver. 

And hats off to you for being at the right place and right time!!

Jim

Thanks Jim. The other detectorists got there the day before I did and the day of too. I bet they got all the easy, shallow gold. I live too far to keep an eye on that beach, and they are retired and live close by. But they tire out after 2-3 hours, so I still have a chance 😄 I bet a lot of lighter jewelry was washed right out to sea. No pull tabs, bottle caps etc... but amazingly some hairpins survived there. I'm hoping it does not get sanded in before Friday. The GPX makes easy work of detecting in that condition.

 

[schoolofhardNox]

6 minutes ago, Compass said:

Wow that's a lot of silver and the gold band is pretty sweet- congrats!!! Gotta love it when the beach conditions are just right.

Thanks, That gold band fits nicely on one of my other fingers 😄 I may just put it next to my wedding ring. If the wife asks about it I'll just tell her it's from my other wife 😂 I bet then I can go detecting everyday. I'll  just have to find a place to sleep. Beaches are funny... I was just there the week before and struggled all day just to find one silver earring. But I should have known things were changing, since the copper pennies started to show themselves quite a bit that day.

[Jim in ma]

Doesn't that piece of yellow make the ride home sooo  much more enjoyable and shorter !!!

[mn90403]

That is quite a beach to be able to support so many guys.  As I say sometimes the targets are like the crabs on Deadliest Catch.  They move along the bottom together and you have to set your trap (detect) when they are there.

The silver on a beach is amazing.  I can find a ton of clad on certain days an NONE of it is silver.

Mitchel

[schoolofhardNox]

10 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

That is quite a beach to be able to support so many guys.  As I say sometimes the targets are like the crabs on Deadliest Catch.  They move along the bottom together and you have to set your trap (detect) when they are there.

The silver on a beach is amazing.  I can find a ton of clad on certain days an NONE of it is silver.

Mitchel

Here in New England, some beaches were very popular in the 20's, and up. We also had a lot of very deep silver, mostly out of  range of early detectors. Now days, it's a different story, as pulse machines & multi frequency machines have given many more people the ability to get some of the deeper targets. But even with those targets, the operator still needs to understand how to get to those depths.  This beach is hard on anything short of a pulse machine, with multi layered black sand, lots of rocks and a clay layer that helps mask those deep targets. The other machines that were around that day were 2 EQ's and a ExCal. I think in very experienced peoples hands they would have done better. Also the digging is really hard and not a place you can use a scoop. It's a small pointed spade shovel that works best.  In Cal I'm thinking you have a lot more deep sand to deal with. There are no 3 foot cuts on this beach. You can get to clay at around 15"  But surely you have turn of the century beaches that should have deep silver, but it may be out of range of any machine. But I'm betting it's there somewhere. With this last hunt, I have found nearly 300 silver from that beach in just 3 areas. I just can't get to that silver layer in other parts of the beach. The bad part is, that I never want to try another beach up the road that is a bit older, because I'm afraid of missing something on this beach 🙄

[mn90403]

When you know a beach well you know it and you don't want to waste even an hour or two on getting another one to produce but this is exactly what you have to do sometimes.

[bklein]

Did you try several coils on the GPX at the beach?  Curious which you liked best - mono or DD.

I got a BeachHog from Rick and its really nice on my GP Extreme.  Great coverage and as deep as you care to dig.  Great to pinpoint the target too.