Beach hunting competition

If you are a competent methodical beach hunter, you may be surprised to know just how little competition you really have. 
The majority of beach hunters on the beaches that I like to search, always look like they are on their way to somewhere. 
Zig zagging along the lower beach and racing towards some mysterious hot spot just in the distance, they must spend more time walking to spots than actually metal detecting. 
I hear many people complaining about the sanded in conditions and how the competition for finds has increased.
I believe an increase in beach hunters just means a few more of the easier shallow surface finds are skimmed off the beach.  
I would be worried if there is an increase in beach hunters NOT zig zagging and speed walking over the sand lol!  
They would probably be covering the ground correctly and finding deeper targets, taking a bite out of my jewelry numbers. 
On East Coast US beaches, winter time is often the best beach hunting season and after high surf many popular beaches are crowded with beach hunters. 
That does not mean your chances of finding anything good diminish, on the contrary your chances may increase if you do not get caught up in the frenzy.
Stick to slowly and methodically searching prime treasure hunting real estate on beaches with large numbers of people searching them.
Avoid getting carried away by trying to cover several areas, as many speedy beach hunters do.
Your knowledge of the local beaches will help you decide where you are going to have the best chance of success. 
Trying to recover the shallow, medium and deep targets in one prime area is better than trying to recover all the shallow targets in many different areas, especially when you know where the good stuff is.
I have found some of my favorite pieces of gold jewelry on beaches with large numbers of people metal detecting. 
Practice , patience and knowledge of the local hot spots is often money in the bank, no matter how many people are searching the beach.