Planning a trip to the OuterBanks in early Feb. any advice??

[BootyHunter]

Planning a weekend trip for metal detecting in early Feb. I am intriqued by the rich history of the area and the numerous shipwrecks. Hoping to find some old silver or gold. I have looked at the Seaweed and the Soda Pop pirates site, and know about the National Seashore below Oregon Inlet, but I was wandering if any of you that have hunted there could offer anything else that I should know or be aware of. Thanks in advance!!

 

[gobble-gobble]

Beaches where metal detecting is ALLOWED / NOT ALLOWED
http://www.outerbanksnc.net/detect.htm

 

[seeker41]

i have not hunted there but Ive been there three times and the surf is extremely rough!! be careful.

 

[tvr]

I've got about 4 weeks hunting there at various times of the year. Water can be very rough at times. A lot of sand moves with wind and waves and the beach changes a lot from day to day. There can be days of few targets and there can be days of more and very good targets. Black sand can be a problem. Some days I ran into heavy black sand that ran deep, but it tends to be in streaks, so there are areas that you can detect deep without a PI detector. Once on the beach and away from all the new building it is beautiful. Take a ride down through the national park land heading south and enjoy the sights; even though you can't detect in the national park it is worth the trip.

Here is one nice find from the OB:

 

[Steve from Ohio]

I've been there MD'ing a few times. Found some good stuff and lots of trash. The graveyard of the Atlantic they call the outer banks. For good reason.

Hunt at both low tides. Stay out of the water deeper than your knees especially when the waves are heavy. I have seen people swept out with the rip tides and even had a friend who drowned there. He was trying to rescue his new wife who was in trouble herself. He dove in after her and he disappeared. She was saved by others and he did not make it. Not sure why they were in the water. Every time I was there, the water was rough..cold..some of the roughest I've seen.

Last time I was there, the waves were extremely rough and a fairly large shark still alive washed up on the beach about 10 feet from me. Scared the daylights out of me at first because I was in the water up to my knees at the time. I like my legs intact so I got out of the water real quick.

Best time to hunt is in the winter I've been told.

 

[obxrad]

anything is possible...my friends and I that live here find some occasional pennies nickles and dimes, mostly thin foil from eroded aluminum cans

 

[obxrad]

anyway good luck, may even see you there ,,,, keep an eye open for sea glass while you hunting

 

[BootyHunter]

Thanks for the replies. OBXRAD, thank you for the good luck wishes, I know I am probably setting my goals too high but it never hurts to dream!! I really don't expect to find too much but maybe I'll get lucky. As a local I'm sure you have seen some amazing finds and probably made a few yourself. I love the beaches, any beaches and have never been to the OBX so the trip itself will be enjoyable regardless of the finds. As I said before, the History of the area just amazes me. The Coast Guard was started pretty much due to the OBX, all the ships lost in such a relatively small area is mindboggling. I don't expect you to give away any "honey hole" or anything, but in general, what area would offer the greatest chances of finding an "old" ie 1800's or older coin( I would be elated to find anything that old be it Copper, Silver or Gold)? I mean down toward Nags Head or Kill Devil Hills or more toward Corolla? If you only had a day or two to hunt which general area would you want to look? I know that it really depends on the condition of the beaches but I'm hoping Nor'Ida may have moved some stuff around that is just waiting to be found.