Who Hunts Old School At the Beach?

[Bill (S. CA)]

Of all of the detectors I have hunted the beaches of Southern California with for the past 44 years, I probably did the best with my now ancient Explorer II though my Sovereign XS was a very close 2nd, especially when I swung it with a WOT coil .  I still have both and every once in a while I think about hunting with them.  But I don't because they weigh a ton compared to today's units.  I don't know how I did 5+ hour hunts with them years ago.

However, I'm just curious if anybody hunts with an older detector at the beach.  In the wet sand, not just on the dry.  I see maybe one old PI a year, a White's that an old guy swings and swears it beats anything out there even today (uh, yeah).  Other than him, all I see on the West Coast are Minelabs and XP's.  

Bill

[schoolofhardNox]

If I was on the west coast, you would see me swinging a GPX 5000. That's about as old as I go now. Did the E Trac and CTX but never take them out since the Equinox and Manticore came out. Some old school machines seem timeless and remain well after they were released, but others just get out matched with new technology. Here on the east coast the XPs and Minelabs  don't leave much for the older VLF's to find. I wish I still had my old Bounty Hunter Rebel (BFO), so I could wander the beach and watch all the other detectorists point to me wondering what that thing I'm swinging is 😄

[Slimpickuns]

I mainly use my Fisher AQ on the wet sand beaches these days, but I still have my Sovereign GT as back up, or when I need more discrimination than my Fisher AQ can offer in "Tone Mode". I killed it a few years back at a certain spot in OC with my Sov. GT.  Knowing how to read the beaches and when to hit them is what counts as apposed to trying to keep up with latest detector tech, Just my opinion..

Dirt hunting is another story though....I don't dirt hunt, I like finding gold so I stick to the beaches.

[Joe Beechnut OBN]

Still using the Excalibur blues, have 4 of them and one green. I've fairly much decided I will be using them until my lights go out. And I do have my Explorer II with the Sunray probe which I have not used in years since I only hunt in the water now. When I hunted OC MD and the dry I had the WOT and Detech 18 inch, my buddy use to call it the steering wheel coil. And you are correct, those babies weight a ton. If I were hunting the dry now,  I would own,... more than likely a Nox.

 

Got a hunt coming up next Tuesday where the beach has been closed to detecting all summer, (after labor Day hunt), be interesting to see if there are any still holding onto history. Last time I was out where others were hunting, everyone had D2's, Noxs and one Manticore. I rarely do well at these but it is nice to see faces I've not seen in a year. 

[strick]

Rarely get to hunt salt water wide open beaches but when I do. My whites tdi pro comes along for the ride..use a green excal with 8 inch coil in some of my deep trashy fresh water swimming holes..switch between old and new tech just for fun and to see how they compare..the old seems as good as the new sometimes lol. 

strick

[stupot]

Yes, I too use old detectors. Specifically a compass scanner and the UK equivalent of the tesoro ss umax.  Do it for fun and to keep me on my toes. I use them mainly on heavy iron shorelines.

Put the odd article on DP Tesoro section. It does take you back to those times we enjoyed so much. Still do!

[Skull diver]

I started with an old, used and almost destroyed green Excalibur, which I modified with an 8" then still available.
That was the beginning of the fever.
Then came the Ctx, which for 13 years hit more than twice as many targets.
I introduced a Tdi BH with which I took some satisfaction but water won out over the control box....
With a D2 I spent just under 9 fruitful months, but it took me a year to set it up properly and then sell it.
Today a Manticore takes me back to the good days when after 3 pieces in a row, you would start to feel like a super hero.
No instrument has left the shed and I alternate them when I feel the desire.
I still have a brand new Excalibur 10" from two years ago and have only gone in the water with it three times.I keep it as an icon on the wall.
More than any other technology, God and the waters continue to amaze me more than anything else

[stupot]

Your last sentence says it all!!

[Bob S.]

On 8/31/2024 at 7:38 PM, Bill (S. CA) said:

Of all of the detectors I have hunted the beaches of Southern California with for the past 44 years, I probably did the best with my now ancient Explorer II though my Sovereign XS was a very close 2nd, especially when I swung it with a WOT coil .  I still have both and every once in a while I think about hunting with them.  But I don't because they weigh a ton compared to today's units.  I don't know how I did 5+ hour hunts with them years ago.

However, I'm just curious if anybody hunts with an older detector at the beach.  In the wet sand, not just on the dry.  I see maybe one old PI a year, a White's that an old guy swings and swears it beats anything out there even today (uh, yeah).  Other than him, all I see on the West Coast are Minelabs and XP's.  

Bill

Hi Bill... Not a beach hunter all that much, but I did own a Sovereign XS and have a water related story for you. One Spring day hunting near an old foundation, I got the 8" CoinSearch coil quite muddy. There's always a stream nearby as the source of drinking water. Well, I wanted to clean off the mud because it was starting to change the weight. In it went! Shortly thereafter I couldn't hunt for the rest of the day! Nobody told me the old coils weren't waterproof, not even Minelab!! Like I said, I'm not primarily a beach hunter and I've yet to try mine there, but I have heard the Garrett Apex does quite well in wet and dry sand in "MF Salt" mode.