Supplies

[Cash1977]

What are the necessities that I need to have for my first hunts? I am still waiting for my detector, but I want to be prepared.
I will most likely hit a beach here in South Florida.
Thanks in advance.

[EBCIII]

If you are doing beach hunting a good sand scoop can help. I would also have a good digger (Lesche) in case I did some land fishing. You gonna want a pouch. I use 2 one carries my diggers, gloves, drop cloth. The other is for my finds and trash. Two seperate pockets in that one. A pinpointer is also nice to have, not necessary but nice.

Heck it kinda adds up after a while. Start slow work up, Beale.

[Buster]

I would get a good sand scoop like Beale said...A good hand one or a scoop on a short pole..I my self carry a bag to hold my drink and to put trash and finds into...I call it my man purse..."E" just laughs when I say that, but that's pretty much what it is..I also have headphones that I use because I am hard of hearing..This helps me with all the outside noise...and I can hear the faint signals better..You can take sunscreen, a baseball cap with a bill on it and maybe some extra batteries with you. Also don't forget to take your jewery off or you might be looking for your own stuff...Always know where your car keys are at too....Happy Hunting and I hope this helps out a little...You might want to also check some back posts on beach hunting from this site..There is a lot of info there too...Good Luck and I hope you find some good stuff...Buster...

[prizm-pal]

Originally Posted by Buster

I would get a good sand scoop like Beale said...A good hand one or a scoop on a short pole..I my self carry a bag to hold my drink and to put trash and finds into...I call it my man purse..."E" just laughs when I say that, but that's pretty much what it is..I also have headphones that I use because I am hard of hearing..This helps me with all the outside noise...and I can hear the faint signals better..You can take sunscreen, a baseball cap with a bill on it and maybe some extra batteries with you. Also don't forget to take your jewery off or you might be looking for your own stuff...Always know where your car keys are at too....Happy Hunting and I hope this helps out a little...You might want to also check some back posts on beach hunting from this site..There is a lot of info there too...Good Luck and I hope you find some good stuff...Buster...

Cash....Buster said it all right there ...and get to know you're machine...well good luck HH!

[MinelabMan]

Nothing I can add here, except I hope your detector arrives and Good Luck!

[Hank McMauser]

for my equipment,I use a zenport 425 soil knife I just put it in the side pocket of my carpenter pants,I have a "tray" I made by cutting the bottom 1-1/2" out of a 5 gallon bucket.I use it to dissect my plugs in if a coin is not found right off the bat.or if I need to dig the hole deeper,I pull dirt out of the hole and run it past the coil placing it into the tray til the treasure is found.When I'm done I return all the loose dirt ,and replace the plug. Very minimal investment. My finds pouch is my right pants pocket garbage goes in the tray till I get near a garbage can. This all works for digging in grassy areas in parks where there is a layer of sod. I have no sand/beach experience,but don't think youd need much other than a basket for loose sand and a digger for dirt or packed sand. The rest is all extras,if your very far from the car,the water,sunscreen,snacks,etc would be a good idea.as would a hat if your in sunny Fla.
This is my $0.02 YMMV
Hank

['E']

Yeah Buster & his man purse , i carry as little as possible, my md, long-handled sand scoop, if I'm there during the day when it's hot I have a water bottle in a pouch that's attached to a strap that I can carry like a purse, you can find these at Walmart in the camping section, that's it, I wear cargo shorts that have several pockets to separate the finds & pull tabs & such, the more you carry the more tired you're gonna be, especially when it gets hot out, which will be next week

[Steve in PR]

If you are dry sand hunting in Florida, then a water bottle will help keep you out longer if you are not near any refreshment stands.

If you are hunting in the water, have a bottle of vinegar in your car in case of jellyfish stings. Their stingers need to be scraped out with a credit card or similar. The vinegar helps neutralize the toxin.

I use a hat similar to a Foreign Legion hat. West Marine carries some nice ones with extra long visors. The flap in the back save my neck from sunburn.

I also wear a pair of plastic sandals that are stiff enough to hold up to being used to push my scoop into the sand.

I have a 2 pocket canvas pouch, one for finds, one for trash.

I carry a waterproof vibraprobe to help id if something in the scoop is metal but doesn't look like it.

A cheap, waterproof watch and sunglasses and a jug to wash my feet off before I get into the car.