It is December and this time of year metal detecting on the east coast of the united stated can be fairly slow. If you live in any of the northern states you do not have the huge flow of people to the beach. Much like the tides the summer season has come and gone. South Florida is still busy and the hunting there is good all year around. Many people come from up north and spend their winter in sunny south Florida and when they do they wear gold and silver jewelry.
So if you live in the northern states and you like to metal detect at the beach do not retire your metal detecting gear for the year. There are still some huge opportunities to find buried treasures but you will have to wait patiently for mother nature to work her magic.
You see all summer long the wind has been from one direction. The waves have also been from the same direction, it is just part of the season. When this happens it pushes tons of sand onto the beach. It might not seem like it but it does. So in summer most of the treasures that you find are what metal detectorists refer to as fresh drops. They make up the bulk of the summer finds.
People do not realize how easy it is for the ocean to remove their precious jewelry. Most of the times everyone is playing and having fun. Just about everyone becomes a kid again when they are at the beach and kids just do not think about loosing things, they are too busy playing and having fun. The same goes for adults.
What every treasure hunter needs this time of year is a North Easter. These are storms that are created by cold fronts that move into the coastal areas. When they do the wind direction changes to the north northeast and the waves follow. The storm brings powerful winds that remove a good but if not all of the summer sand deposit. When this happens you had better make sure your detector is fully charged because there be gold on that there beach and if you do not act quick the sand will soon cover it back up.
Every where you look these days you see ads on how important having a proper diet and exercising are. It is true everyone could use some exercise but finding a fun way to exercise can be difficult. I found what I believe to be a very fun way, It is so fun in fact that you might not even know that your getting exercise.
Metal detecting is a great way to do this. You might be thinking to yourself how is that possible? Your just standing there moving the coil from side to side. That is not excersise. But there is more to it than that.
Take me for instance when I go out combing the beach, I go for three to four hours. Now that whole time I am walking. It might be a slow walk or it could be a fast walk depending on the beach conditions but none the less I am on my feet for several hours at a time. That alone is more than most people do in a day.
Secondly, my beach detector is not exactly as light as a feather. While it does not weigh a ton it can get tiring swinging it for three to four hours straight. I also carry a backpack. In my backpack I have my wallet, cell phone, camera, two bottles of water and some other miscellaneous things but my point is extra weight that I carry around with me and I have not even gotten to recovering your items. That is where you will get the most work.
For beach hunting I use a long handled stainless steel scoop to help me recover lost treasures. It slices through that sand like a hot knife through butter. It weighs in at around seven pounds on it’s own. With the scoop full of wet sand you can easily add another ten pounds to the total and that does not even factor in the suction of the wet sand itself. On average I might dig anywhere from fifteen to one hundred holes in one outing with this scoop. That alone is one heck of a work-out. Now if you squat down every time you have found something that is fifteen to one hundred squat thrusts that you have just done with the extra weight of the back pack and metal detector. So if you think that metal detecting is not a form of exercise, My legs and arms would beg to differ.
Metal detecting is quite an interesting hobby. There are so many different things to find and so many different places to hunt. It is truly a hobby that pays for itself but do not expect to get rich quick you will have to put some time and effort into it. There are things to learn that can help increase your treasure finding greatly.
First, picking out your new metal detector. This is extremely important and remember you get what you pay for. Do not worry about spending a lot of money on a metal detector because if you put the time in with it, it will soon pay for itself and then some. There are many different detectors and each one has it’s own unique abilities. They are usually geared towards where you plan on hunting which brings me to my next point.
Where do you plan on metal detecting? You can metal detect just about anywhere. Just make sure that it is not against the law. It is illegal to use a metal detector in any state or federal park.
The best spots to detect are playgrounds, old homesites and my absolute favorite the beach. I have hunted them all and I still get drawn back to the beach everytime. If you are going to be beach hunting, you might want to get a machine made especially for the beach. They can handle all of the minerals found in the ground.
The next thing you need to think about are recovery tools. Once you find something you are going to have to dig it up. Do no sell yourself short in this department. Your recovery tools are just as important as your detector. Get the best you can afford. You will thank me later for that one.
So you might be wondering how this hobby can pay for itself. Well it pays in the treasures that you can find. What will you find? That all depends on how often you hunt.
My metal detector has paid for itself several times over and I have found old coins, war relics, modern coins, silver jewelry, gold jewelry, platinum jewelry and even a few diamond rings. So keep you coil to the soil and your mind on the find and your hobby will start to pay you!
