Minelab metal detectors and beach hunting

If you are heading to a beach to treasure hunt it is important to have the right kind of metal detector, especially if you are going to search a saltwater beach.
Your metal detector must be able to handle the salt at a saltwater beach, otherwise expect a lot of chatter from your metal detector on the lower beach.
I always use Minelab metal detectors so I never have to worry about false signals, chatter or any other erratic behavior from my metal detector.
From the entry level Minelab metal detectors to the metal detectors designed for gold prospectors, all Minelab metal detectors are basically turn on and go with excellent performance on saltwater beaches.
The Minelab metal detector that is best for you should always be budget friendly and detect the things you intend to search for at the sites you intend to search.
Entry hobby level Minelabs like the Gofind 44 & Gofind 66 work just fine on the beach including on the wet sand, they perform better near saltwater than many metal detectors costing hundreds of dollars more.
These fold up fit in a back pack Minelabs are travel friendly and good for people who just want to have a little beach hunting fun on vacation.
The newly released Vanquish is a step up from the Gofind series, also with the performance of metal detectors costing much more, like any other Minelab it isn't effected by salt on the lower beach.
These entry level Minelabs are not waterproof, but the search coils are and you can submerge the lower shafts.
Next in line is the fully waterproof Minelab Equinox 800 and 600, the only real difference between the models being a gold mode.
The waterproof and lightweight Minelab equinox is probably the best selling metal detector on the market, with its multi IQ technology you get serious bang for your beach hunting buck with the Equinox.
There are several different size search coils available for the Minelab Equinox and you can use any type of headphones or the wireless module if you do not want to use headphones. 
If you want a deeper depth rated metal detector designed for scuba detecting, the legendary Minelab Excalibur is the perfect piece of treasure hunting equipment.
I have found everything from roman coins on English farmland and US civil war relics in the south, to modern jewelry at the beach using a Minelab Excalibur.
Headphones and search coils are hardwired on the Minelab Excalibur, but if you really wanted to you can have inline cable waterproof connectors added or the search coil changed.
The waterproof Equinox and CTX 3030 have replaced the need for me to use the Excalibur on inland sites in the rain, but to this day I still use an Excalibur for beach and deep water hunting.
If you are not going to be dive detecting the mack daddy of beach hunting metal detectors is the Minelab CTX 3030, the Minelab I use the most.
The Minelab CTX 3030 is not as budget friendly as the other metal detectors mentioned but its worth every penny if you can afford one.
There is a wide range of CTX 3030 search coils available for different beach or water hunting scenarios, you can also use any headphones.
If you like bells and whistles on your metal detector just in case you need them the CTX 3030 has plenty.
In my opinion the Minelab CTX 3030 is the full monty for beach hunters, highly customizable and hard to beat wether you like to dig all metals or use a little discrimination on trashy sites. 
There are also several Minelab metal detectors you can use at the beach that are designed for gold hunting.
The water proof SDC 2300, the Goldmonster,  GPX 5000, GPZ 7000 and discontinued Minelabs like the Xterra, Sovereign series, Explorer and Safari which can still do a fine job.
Whatever type of metal detecting you do, you'll find a Minelab metal detector is probably your best choice.
Ive tried many different brands of metal detectors at the beach, but in my opinion you can't beat a Minelab.

Heres one of my better water hunting finds from 2019, an 18 K gold Versace chain weighing a whopping 3 ounces and valued at a cool US $12.000.00   
This gold chain was part of a 5 ounce haul of gold jewelry recovered over two beach and shallow water hunts, the beach certainly had my money that weekend!
The Minelab Excalibur 1000 metal detector I used to find this chunk of gold is 16 years old and it just goes to show you can still git r done with the older Minelabs too.
The Minelab slogan is performance is everything, I agree!

     

                                     Available at www.garydrayton.com 

Spanish treasure

Don't get me wrong I really like finding expensive jewelry at tourist beaches, but my favorite thing to do is pound the Treasure coast of Florida searching for Spanish treasure.
For anyone not familiar with the Treasure Coast, the area got its name because of the Spanish treasure fleet that wrecked along the coast in a hurricane over three hundred years ago in 1715.
Many of the wreck locations just off shore are well known, but there are also several other older Spanish galleons that wrecked along the coast covering the beaches in gold, silver and precious jewels.
The best time to search for Spanish treasure is any day and any hour you fancy heading to the beach with a metal detector, although the majority of would be Spanish treasure hunters wait for favorable conditions.
Recent strong winds and high surf have been hitting the Treasure Coast, potentially putting Spanish treasure on the beach or flushing treasure out of eroding dunes.
The majority of would be treasure hunters I have met recently told me the same thing, its  sanded-in and not worth searching yet, being the pirate I am I agree whole heartedly!
Mr positivity is not going to be put off by a lack of cuts (erosion) at Treasure Coast beaches, I don't need anyones beach ratings to tell me if its worth going metal detecting on the Treasure Coast.
In my opinion there is always something to find somewhere if you grab your metal detector and step outside the beach hunting box 
You are not going to find anything if you are not out there searching for it or as I like to say if you don't go you'll never know.
Sanded-in beach conditions mean you simply have to work smarter not harder and of course get out there to give yourself a chance to recover your find of a lifetime.
Here are a few cool saves from a recent Treasure Coast beach hunt, a large late 1600s early 1700s gold band, a heavy silver pestle, rat tail spoon handle and the base of a Chinese K'ang hsi cup.

I also recovered several musket balls, and a couple of musket flint holders, Spanish treasure hunting using the Minelab CTX 3030 and my eyes! 
I cannot stress how important it is to just rely on your gut feeling and get out there, waiting around for second hand beach reports and day or two old photos of beaches on blogs and detecting sites just means you missed an opportunity.
You will not get any day or two old beach reports from me, just photos of treasure finds and sound advice from someone who walks the walk. 
When the wind is a blowing and the surf is crashing, beaches get arranged and what you searching for is often put within reach if you know your local beaches. 
Site and beach reading skills pay off big time when you search where other people can't be bothered to search.
I will end todays blog with a question to my fellow Spanish treasure beach hunters, are you looking for cuts on the beach or Spanish treasure?

                           

 Available on my website at www.garydrayton.com

The "Eyes" have it this weekend

Metal detectors are very much like cars, you can own a Ferrari or a Kia but they both do the same thing getting you from point A to point B.
"Influencers" will always tout the latest and greatest metal detectors as the reason why they found something good, but in reality you can find what you are searching for no matter what metal detector you use.
I look at a metal detector as a tool, a piece of equipment that is only as good as the sites I take it to and use it at.
I don't find what I am searching for because of the metal detector, I find what I am searching for because of site selection and site reading skills.
Don't get me wrong I always prefer to use metal detectors with a Minelab logo on them, but that is because I know they are the best at detecting small silver and gold at sites I use them at.
When I can detect and recover small pieces of silver and gold I know darn well I can detect and recover big pieces of silver and gold. 
Towards the end of 2019 I intend to post a few of those big gold and silver finds, the rewards of knowing how to select, read and plunder sites.
Im still very much all eyes when it comes to metal detecting, instead of walking around for hours on end hoping a new metal detector will change my fortunes. 
A new metal detector search coil has more chance of increasing your odds of recovering what you are searching for than a new metal detector most of the time, especially when you know why you are using a different size search coil.
Site selection and site reading skills are the keys to treasure hunting success no matter what you are search for or what metal detector you take to help you detect what you hope to recover.
As I type this blog I guarantee if I went to my local beaches I would see the same people searching the same place they search every weekend, but using different metal detectors lol 
No matter what the beach conditions, some people search the same place every time they go metal detecting because they or someone they know about found something there previously.
The new metal detector will not make a difference to a ground hog day treasure hunter, but a change of site or search area can and will make a difference.
My eyes tell me where and how to search an area, lessons learned from taking note of my surroundings and situational awareness. 
When I recover something good I am searching for I want to know why I recovered it, taking note of the area and area conditions, evaluating the condition of the object and assessing the potential for more of the same type of recoveries in the surrounding area.
This is important if you have to search the same general areas, you have to know why you found something in an area you have previously searched, why was the object detectable now but not before?
Nine times out of ten your success has more to do with site conditions or search technique, followed by your choice of search coil not metal detector.
I know exactly where I will be searching this weekend thanks to my twin optical scanners (Eyes) and an amazing invention, the camera! 
I simply checked out a few beach cams and saw things at one beach that tell me I have an above average chance of detecting what I am searching for.
The eyes have it if you know what you are searching for, I'll probably take my 15 year old Minelab Excalibur with me to help me detect what I know is likely waiting to be detected.
Choose a site for a reason, look for areas possibly holding what you hope to detect at that site and potentially go home with what you are searching for.
There is a lot of looking and learning from recoveries involved in metal detecting, rely on look instead of luck!

 available at www.garydrayton.com