First time beach hunt (Fisher F5)

[timb12957]

Hello all! I am going to Myrtle Beach SC next weekend. This will be my first attempt at detecting at a beach. I have a Fisher F5. Any tips or pointers would be most welcomed. Maybe you know the best settings, or some other tips that a newbie would benefit from. Please keep it simple, notice I said FIRST TIME! lol

Thanks

 

[mudpuppy]

Cool! Practice a bit on site before you start in so you are not guessing if your settings are right...bury a tab, or a nickel at a reasonable depth, 6" lets say, and set your rig up so you can hear it crisp with at least a few inches of air under your coil...then you will know you are good on big gold targets down to 8-10"...any silver rings or clad coins will be no problem to hear...but you want gold, so...

You want to hear small foil, like a gum wrapper size...If you bury a gold ring to do a 'test' make sure you tie a piece of string/ribbon to it first!...Observe your hunting ground, get a comfortable wide sweep pattern going with the coil flying flat and steady right over the surface of the sand, dig everything, try to cover some ground effectively..neither too slow or too fast...the targets you run over will tell you if you are in a potential 'hotspot" then work that area good...

Use your eyes to 'see' likely good locations that might have been overlooked by others..up in the dune grass or off to the side of the main beach...higher up on the sand...the trash items there will tell you as will the shape of the beach there....

The rings you want to hear are the little 2-3gr 10/14k's that sound in foil...they are the size most commonly lost...again, dig everything! Go really early in the am, take a small bottle of water, wear some loose fitting comfortable shorts, go barefoot, for theres no better gear to cover the sand comfortably than barefeet...Good Luck, and please report back!
Mud

 

[Hightone]

That's ironic. I'm going to Myrtle Beach at the end of next week for 3-4 days. The F5 balances to salt. So if you want to get damp sand, just pump the coil over the damp sand and balance. Don't expect the best depth, though. I don't take my coil into the water, so can't help you there (other than to say be careful if you do).

I hunt the dry sand. Safer and doesn't need the GB to work hard. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of taking the F2 and leaving the F5 at home.

Make sure you have a good sand scoop. I also don't take my PP with me.