Clean and check your metal detecting equipment

I am a full time detectorist so I use my down time making sure I do not have any more unexpected down time due to metal detecting equipment failure. 
I use several different pieces of metal detecting equipment in some pretty harsh environments, from swamps and oceans to deserts and mountains so I take great care to clean and maintain the tools of the trade.
Traveling to metal detect actually helps me to keep on top of cleaning and maintenance, taking metal detectors apart to pack gives me a chance to clean and inspect search coils, shafts, cables and control boxes for damage.
I also clean and inspect the tools I take to help me recover targets, from travel scoops and relic spades to hand digging tools, because in my opinion cleaned equipment simply lasts longer. 
Salt, sand, shell and grit all do a number on your metal detecting equipment if you do not clean it off, causing metal detector shafts to lock up and hide any equipment problem from being seen before its too late to repair.
Cracks or splits on the bottom of search coils or in search coil cables can be easily repaired if they are caught in time, saving you from a costly search coil replacement but not before spoiling a good treasure hunting opportunity.
Like many other things in life, problems always occur when you least want them or expect them.
If you own a waterproof metal detector you have no reason not to give your metal detector a good rinse off after every time you use it, most non waterproof metal detectors now have waterproof search coils. 
I remove my search coil cover and thoroughly rinse the search coil and coil cover every time I finish metal detecting at a beach or in a swamp for the day, always inspecting the bottom of my search coil and the search coil cable connection.
In the heat of a hunt you do not realize how many times the bottom of your search coil cable gets snagged or brushes against things that could potentially cause damage to your search coil cable, you cannot fix what you cannot see until it is too late. 
You would be surprised what two simple metal detector parts made of nylon you rely on the most and if they break you are probably done for the metal detecting day.
Im talking about metal detector arm cuff straps and search coil bolts, always travel with a spare of both if possible just in case they break. 
Try swinging a metal detector without an arm cuff strap, just as difficult try finding something to hold your search coil in place when your search coil bolt breaks. 
A frayed or split arm cuff strap is telling you its time to replace it, a gunked up uncleaned search coil to shaft connection point is one tightening turn away from a broken search coil bolt.  
If you have telescoping type metal detector shafts its even more important to keep them clean and just because you cannot see your search coil cable / control box connection it does not mean you do not have to keep that connection clean.
Preventative maintenance is always the best way of insuring you are out searching instead of spending money and waiting for repaired metal detecting equipment to show up from the service center. 
I also make a point of keeping traveling to detect equipment just that, traveling to metal detect equipment.
Travel metal detector shafts or travel sand scoops are very prone to locking up if you use them all the time between trips and you do not bother to take them apart to clean them.
Pin-pointer speaker slots are notoriously bad for clogging up with mud, you'll have fun picking away at dried mud if you dont keep an eye on them. 
The same applies to metal detector control box speaker openings, keep em clean.
To prevent damage after cleaning and inspecting your metal detector, never leave it to dry in the hot sun or leave it in a hot vehicle, store it in a cool place like you would any other piece of electronic equipment.
Apply a thin coat of lube to pin-pointer cap seals, usb cap seals or metal detector battery door seals, to prevent caps from locking up and cracked seals, make sure you wipe any extra lube off the surrounding area when you are finished.
Every piece of metal detecting equipment you own probably has a weak link, once you know what potential problems you have to watch for you can avoid problems down the road.
Make the most of your metal detecting down time by cleaning and inspecting your money makers, look after your metal detecting equipment and it will look after you.

Jewelry hunting

I hope you notice the title of todays blog does not say jewelry, coin and  junk hunting, just jewelry hunting.
Jewelry hunting is like any other form of metal detecting, you are searching for specific targets in areas containing many other undesirable objects.
Trash targets in areas holding jewelry include bottle caps, can slaw, small corroding pieces of iron, but the main trash target is the dreaded clad coin because of the high numbers found in areas known to hold the jewelry. 
An experienced jewelry hunter should know a clad quarter, dime or cent sounds nothing like a piece of platinum, gold or silver jewelry, so why do the majority of beach hunters still dig clad coins knowing they are probably coins.
The answer has to do with the word "Probably" they dig because that good signal response could probably be a piece of jewelry.
When you gain experience you can play the percentages knowing probable coin signals are highly likely what your experience is telling you they are, giving you a good reason to reject digging them so you can get to any jewelry in the area faster. 
Is it 100% safe no, but you cannot dig everything at a tourist type beach because you are afraid of missing one gold or silver ring.
At heavily hunted beaches you can use the clad coins, bottle caps, fish hooks and other clearly not jewelry signals to your advantage knowing full well other beach hunters are going  to dig them.
Every piece of junk other detectorists stop to investigate and waste their timing digging, puts you one signal closer to recovering what a jewelry hunter is at that site for.
If you live in an area known for older jewelry or coins there will be times when you cannot risk rejecting coins because they could be silver also corroding bottle caps because they could potentially be encrusted pieces of jewelry.
During times of beach erosion or super low tides, old coins and jewelry may be within reach because of sand erosion or be within reach trapped in place along rocky shorelines.
Nickels and lead fishing weights should always be dug because they closely mimic desirable target responses, also lead and gold often settle in the same area. 
Todays metal detectors favor jewelry hunters, many give good second and often third opinions on targets detected while searching for jewelry.
If you use a metal detector with a VDI screen, you may have target conductive and ferrous readouts, target cursor placements or target audio responses to help you avoid digging junk.
If you don't use a metal detector with a screen, you can rely on target testing, target audio responses and eventually experience to limit the amount of undesirable targets you dig while searching for jewelry.
Either way there is no need to dig every metal object at the beach just because you are afraid you will miss one piece of jewelry. 
Which brings me to the point of todays jewelry hunting blog, to find the treasure in the trash you have to know the difference between trash and treasure.

     Available at www.garydrayton.com 

Cant go beach hunting?

Hardcore beach hunters don't just turn the switch off when it is not possible to actually go out beach hunting, you just find something to help your chances of recovering something good the next time you can get out.

Now beaches are closed in Florida I have turned my attention to inspecting my metal detecting equipment and researching more sites to search when the beaches are back open for business.
Many sites I intend to research and search were spotted on the way to search other sites over the previous few months.

You may be surprised how many potentially good sites you pass on the drive to an intended search site as long as you recognize their potential.

For example, driving along a beach road and stopping at a pedestrian cross walk could mean you have stopped at a private beach access crossing, especially if a hotel or condo is located across from the beach.

A recently cleared lot for a construction project is another pull over to investigate situation.

One of my favorite sites to see close to the beach is a dilapidated run down hotel or motel that has been that way for a long time, I bet it wasn't always that way?

Ive had some of my best old gold rings and old silver coin days in front of run down motels and hotels, while other beach hunters flock to the sexier parts of town with posh hotels. 

Any beachside community with older buildings close to the beach has plenty of old jewelry and coins waiting to be mined.

It is not just untapped beach sites waiting for the person willing to spend the research and metal detecting time, many sites just inland from the beach are gold mines if you know what to look for.

Children's (Tot lots) play areas and parks are all areas parents wearing jewelry with coins in pockets play with children who also wear jewelry and lose coins from pockets.

Some people may just see an old run down house driving to the beach, I put myself back in the day, seeing a clothes line in the yard, steps people sit on outside the front door and a back yard with families playing. 
If you can locate the owners and secure permission, you often have a chance of finding a little history.

Get in the habit of reading street signs on the way to go beach hunting, galleon way, wreck lane, old wharf road, landing lane, ever wonder how those places got their names?

If you can't go beach hunting you have time to take a closer look at what you may be driving past and potentially leaving behind for other detectorists willing to step outside the box.

I have recovered thousands of pieces of jewelry and coins beach hunting, most of it at the beach but plenty of bobby dazzlers on the way to or returning from the beach.

Here is a photo of todays beach hunting finds now the beaches in my area are closed, motivation to research the sites I took notice of on my travels and scribbled in my day book for further investigation. 

You never know unless you go

Word to the wise my fellow beach hunters, you never know what you can or cannot find unless you go.

There are no magic times to go metal detecting, but you can experience magical moments because you decided to give it a try instead of staying at home because you didn't think you would find anything.

One of the reasons my blog is not posted every day is because I spend so much of my time searching different sites and trying different things to help me recover coins, jewelry or artifacts on a regular basis.

I simply don't have time to copy and paste treasure articles every day or base my blog on the misguided premise of waiting days, weeks or months for better beach conditions and beach erosion.

Don't get me wrong I love metal detector owners who stay home waiting for favorable beach reports or the "I hit my regular beach 2 hours before low tide" posters, bless em!

One trait many successful treasure hunters share is they always seem to be in the right place at the right time.

I believe the best way to put yourself in the right place at the right time is to put yourself in position to be successful starting with heading out the door with your metal detector and giving it a try. 

Sometimes there really is no rhyme or reason why you recover a Bobby Dazzler of a find, other than being thankful you were in the right place at the right time to recover that Bobby Dazzler. 

We can study how to read a beach, read people using the beach, tide and surf actions, metal detecting equipment comparisons and even the local beach history, but you never know what you will find unless you go right?

I have been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time several times already this year, thanks to grabbing my metal detecting equipment and hitting the road.

I could have waiting for better beach conditions or assumed favorable beach conditions had passed, but to be honest I really can't remember what the conditions or reports were calling for when I found my Bobby Dazzlers.

All I do remember is I knew I would not know for sure so I had to go!

Any by the way, the hard in hardcore beach hunting is the hard work you have to put in while others take the easier route waiting for things to happen. 

        available at www.garydrayton.com 

Are you seeing the forest?

I am always on the look out for new search areas, beaches, waterways, cliffs and urban areas close to the coast which are ignored by the vast majority of so called beach hunters. 
From time to time I check out the beach & water hunting sections of metal detecting forums, blogs  and Facebook metal detecting groups to remind me why I do what I do. 
I am guaranteed to read beach hunters explaining how they hit the beach two hours before low tide or water hunters saying after rough surf I was finally able to get in the water. 
In my opinion, the same old ways produce the same old results and a heck of a lot of wasted time in-between not doing anything waiting for favorable beach or water hunting conditions.
From driving to a beach, parking and walking on to a beach I am always searching, looking for any opportunity to find something using my twin optical scanners or metal detector.
They say treasure is where you find it, very true as long as you don't drive or walk past it.
There are so many potentially good areas to search on the way or close to the beach if you bother to stop and search them.
I have become so accustomed to stopping and searching areas just off the beach that I carry inland specific detecting equipment and recovery tools in my vehicle just in case I see an opportunity. 
Sometimes I don't make it on to the beach, even though I left the house to go beach or water hunting, if I see an opportunity on the way or close to the parking lot Im all over it like white on rice.
I couldn't imagine waiting for a magical two hours before low tide starting time or not going to the beach to search because I only hunt in the water and the waves are too high.
Driving or walking past perfectly good metal detecting opportunities close to the beach is something else I can't imagine ever happening.
One sandy "Tot lot" better known as a beachside children's play area coughed up five pieces of gold jewelry in less than an hour on a recent beach hunt, in true Scooby doo fashion I would have gotten away with more if it was't for those pesky kids showing up. 
Ive also had my fair share of amazing coins, jewelry and artifacts from areas cleared for beachside construction projects.
More examples of coming away with gold while other beach and water hunters have the same groundhog type metal detecting days.
You'd be surprised just how much history people do not even know exists in areas when you get lucky just off the beach proper, another advantage to not showing all your cards (Posting finds) is nobody knows about the area except for you.
Just another way you can find coins, jewelry and artifacts on a regular basis when other beach or water hunters just see the trees.
Are you seeing the forest for the trees or passing golden opportunities like everyone else. 
For more coastal coin, jewelry and artifact hunting tips check out my beach treasure hunting specific books at www.garydrayton.com

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest

If you are seeking metal detecting guidance it helps if that person is known for Bobby Dazzler finds instead of YouTube followers and fluffy pasted treasure in the news stories. 
To walk the walk you have to know why you are searching an area and how to detect what you are searching for, period!
You also have to deal with changing conditions and competition for finds, no matter where you intend to search now the hobby of metal detecting is so popular. 
I have written several books that show beach & water hunters how to be successful at even the most heavily hunted of beaches.
You can be damn sure I have no wait for the next weather front to come thru or keep going to the same beach and plugging away you'll eventually get lucky advice, just the opposite!
Fortune favors the person willing to step outside the box and try something different, even if that means putting your metal detector down to use your eyes or a sifter to recover what you are searching for.
Ive made a living off knowing what other people using metal detectors at the beach are likely to do. 
Nine times out of ten it is not what I am doing, the tenth example is probably the treasure success stories Facebook groups and other bloggers fawn over. 
If you are tired of reading about people being in the right place at the right time or looking at old photos of prime beach hunting opportunities you missed its time to change your fortunes.
On my www.garydrayton website you will find guides designed to help you avoid the common mistakes beach and shallow water hunters make, from out dated search methods to following people who couldn't find water if they fell out a boat. 
Metal detecting equipment isn't cheap so why spend hundreds of dollars on a metal detector  and not spend $19.99 to know how to make that equipment pay for itself very quickly at the beach.
I rest my beach treasure hunting case your honor.

Travel scoops

No matter if you are a beach or inland treasure hunter it pays to have the right target recovery tools, especially when you get a chance to travel and metal detect. 
Nothing puts a damper on a metal detecting vacation more than having to struggle to recover targets, the more time you spend trying to recover a target the more vacation metal detecting time you waste.
An investment in travel related recovery tools is something you should think about doing if you want to make the most of traveling to metal detect opportunities.
For beach hunters a travel scoop is an excellent option and my favorite travel scoop is in this photo, a Reillys two piece aluminum scoop with a stainless steel lip. 

A stainless steel tip is attached to the front of the scoop basket to prevent the aluminum from buckling or tearing when digging along rocky shorelines.
An aluminum scoop is lighter and easier to transport than a heavier stainless steel scoop or stainless scoop basket and wood shaft, a carbon fiber two piece travel shaft is another option but an expensive option.
My favorite travel scoop checks all the boxes, it is lightweight, easy to transport, easy to set up and it can be used in sandy or rocky areas, it also probably costs less than the average two piece carbon fiber shaft designed for stainless steel scoop baskets.
In my line of work I travel frequently to metal detect and I take my own digging tools with me, in either a suitcase or a holdall type bag as checked baggage.
This photo is my modified rifle bag I take when traveling to detect inland giving me plenty of room for my long relic spade and smaller hand digging tools. I also have plenty of storage on the other side of the bag for my finds pouch, pin-pointer, spare batteries and search coils. 

A canvas spade cover prevents damage to my travel bag from the relic spade, the PVC pipe holds and protects long lower metal detecting rods that will not fit in a normal size suitcase. 
In my opinion, the cost of an extra checked equipment specific bag far outweighs the cost of not being able to recover a potential find of a lifetime at a site I have travelled by air or sea to search.
Before or after I return home I always clean my travel scoop and other target recovery tools ready for my next traveling adventure, this is very important when you own a travel scoop or any two piece shaft designed for traveling and metal detecting.
Sand and saltwater will cause a two piece metal or carbon fiber shaft to fuse and stick together, making them impossible to pull apart.
In my opinion, if you invest in a piece of metal detecting equipment designed for traveling keep it clean and dissembled until you are ready to use it.
There is nothing worse than getting ready to travel to detect and finding out last minute that you cannot get your long handled scoop or metal detector shaft apart.