Beach hunting ergonomics

All the metal detecting gear I use for beach and water hunting was chosen with ergonomics in mind.
I use lightweight metal detecting equipment whenever possible, but if I have to use heavier gear I make sure it is well balanced.
There is nothing worse than not being able to search during prime beach hunting times because you have a bad back or tennis elbow caused by using heavy or awkward metal detecting equipment.
I often see people using heavy or awkward metal detecting equipment at my favorite Spanish treasure hunting beaches, places you have to put serious hours in to get lucky at.
Lugging a heavy unbalanced metal detector around without a metal detecting harness will effect your search coil sweeping motion, leading to poor ground coverage and of course an aching back, shoulders or arms.
Earlier in the week I saw a guy struggling using a heavy metal detector with a search coil mounted at the rear of the search coil, the front of the search coil was tilted up as he struggled to hold and sweep the heavy metal detector.
If you must use a heavy metal detector make sure you use a metal detecting harness to help you maintain the search coil in a level position thru out the sweeping motion.
A straight shaft can also help distribute weight and balance a metal detector, assuming your metal detector can be mounted on a straight shaft.
I also see a lot of scoops with small handles, why bend down to scoop every time when it is better to use a long handled scoop saving time and energy during the target recovery process at the beach.
Sometimes your choice of search coil can be a problem, why use a large and often heavier search coil if it is throwing the balance of your metal detector off.
Using a large heavy search coil for an extended time at the beach will lead to aches and pains and eventually time off recuperating backs, shoulders or elbows.
Using and maintaining a good metal detecting technique is essential for a beach hunter trying to cover a lot of ground so ergonomics are important.
Lightweight or well balanced heavier metal detecting equipment help you cover ground effortlessly  and help prevent bad backs and other aches and pains that can keep you away from the beach.
The heaviest metal detectors and search coils are often advertised as the deepest metal detectors or search coils, but what good is target depth if you negate any advantage using poor metal detecting technique caused by struggling to use the heavier gear.

The edge of detection range

I often talk about how the majority of my best beach and water hunting finds were recovered within the first six inches of sand, but I do detect and recover many cracking finds on the edge of detection range.
The edge of detection range varies with the type of metal detector and the size search coil being used, also the matrix the detected target has been detected in.
A slow methodical approach to beach hunting will help you to detect targets on the edge of your metal detector depth range, giving you a chance to actually hear an often "Iffy" target response at depth.
The slower you sweep your search coil the better a deep target on the edge of detection range will respond.
Keeping your search coil close to the sand will insure you have a chance of detecting "Deepies" in the first place. 
If you swing a 10 inch search coil four inches above the sand you will only detect targets six inches below the sand, every inch you swing your coil above the sand is one inch less you are able to detect metals below the deck.
Walking and sweeping slow and low along the beach is the only way to experience the thrill of pulling up valuable targets from the edge of detection range. 
If you search tourist beaches the big mamma jammer gold rings you are searching for are probably going to be recovered from deeper layers of sand. 
At shipwreck beaches old coins and artifacts are often way down in older layers of sand, shell or rocks.
These two old Spanish buckles from the 1700s were recovered two full moons apart using a pulse induction metal detector at a Treasure Coast beach, the signal responses from both artifacts were a break in my metal detector threshold. 
Check out the hand file marks on the one buckle and the pin still attached to the other, I love me some Spanish buckles!

A slight drop or break in a metal detector back ground noise can easily be a deep target, a slight tick of a signal from one direction can also be a deep target.
Whatever the deep target you are not going to hear it unless you are traveling across the beach slowly and sweeping your search coil low and slow.
Targets on the edge of detection range they are often difficult for a discriminating VLF metal detector to identify, the better the VLF metal detector the better the discrimination features.
Unfortunately most VLF metal detectors will classify a target on the edge of detection as junk, giving wonky FE/CO number readouts, bouncy target cursors or other incorrect VDI target IDs on popular VLF metal detectors. 
There are many things to learn about beach hunting, understanding how targets on the edge of detection range respond and what they could possibly be comes with experience.
The first step towards being able to detect high value "Deepies" is always getting to know your metal detector really well, using good search techniques and being able to identify easy to detect targets.
Once using your favorite metal detector and identifying targets within detection range becomes second nature, you'll be better prepared to understand the nuances of targets on the edge of detection range.

Average is good enough at the beach

I always have the word average on my mind when I step onto a beach with a metal detector, especially at heavily hunted beaches I know are hit hard and often.
Recently I searched a local tourist that had five guys searching it with metal detectors, two pairs and a single guy.
I regularly see people searching with hunting buddies, or fifty percenters as I like to call them as that is what you end up finding if you take someone with you metal detecting.
Pirate Gary prefers going home with 100% of whatever is it is Im searching for at the sites I choose.
Most people would be discouraged after paying for parking, walking down to the beach and seeing people already searching the beach, but I always play the percentages when searching for lost jewelry.
I figure the average person into metal detecting will go to the same place every time they hit a local beach, the average person losing jewelry will not have a clue where they lost it and the average piece of jewelry will be recovered 3-6 inches deep from the sand.
Like rain man Raymond in a Las Vegas casino my mind is going over all the averages and figuring out how to put myself in the best place to recover what Im searching for.
Any so called competition already searching the site helps decide where you are now going to search, surprisingly putting you in a place you perhaps wouldn't have chosen to search first but often putting you in position to find something good.
If that was the competitions first choice of search area it is often many other peoples first choice to search using metal detectors.
Once detecting I go for the easy stuff, jewelry I know from experience I don't have to dig half way to china to recover.
My average beach hunt is 2-4 hours so I cut out wasting time digging junk, concentrating on recovering targets that are two way repeatable signals.
The average chance of recovering one good find after digging 100 iffy signals is not very good, does it happen sure but I am at the beach to make the most of my average beach hunting time.
I have more chance of getting to something good digging two way repeatable targets.
The average size search coil I prefer to use on my metal detector insure I have an average chance of recovering a wide variety of sized targets at average depths.
See how this word "Average" keeps popping up? but I assure you there is nothing average about the finds you can recover playing the averages at the beach using a metal detector.
The law of averages is an often overlooked factor to a beach hunter, but in my opinion its a factor that works when dealing with the dynamics of beach hunting.
Tides, beach conditions, weather, people (depositors) and competition, all make the beach bank an interesting place to find something anywhere at any time.
Average days during average conditions in average areas are when you find above average finds when you think outside the beach hunting box.