Treasure Hunting on Australian Beaches

Metal detecting on a beach can help you find plenty of coins, rings and precious items. Here are our tips for Treasure Hunting on Australian Beaches. 

There are a few things you can do to differentiate yourself from the other hobbyists and come out on top with some good finds.

Beach detecting tips:

1.Try Searching Off the Beaten Path

You’re sure to find treasures where large crowds of people are. You’re also sure to be competing with many metal detectors.

Why not trying searching in areas that are visited a bit less frequently but still might hold some treasure? Go where the locals go.

Fisherman, joggers, dog walkers and surfers are usually around these parts of the beach. Metal detecting finds can be found here and you won’t find much competition from other metal detectorists.

2. Pick the Time of Year. Day of Time. Equally Important

Searching for treasure is always best during the summer. There are more crowds on the beach giving you more chances to uncover a lost item.

Most detectorists will usually venture out on a Saturday morning. You should visit the beach when you know metal detectorists will not be out.

Go on a Friday night. You will have the whole night to look for stuff that may have been left throughout the week. Before anyone else finds it the next morning.

Sunday night is also a fantastic time to make a trip, especially after a busy weekend. There will be less people metal detecting on the beach this day.

3. Try Gridding the Beach

Novices who pick up metal detecting usually do random searching. You’ll want to search the beach with a system called gridding the beach.

With random searching, people will try to cover the entire beach by walking in all directions with no plan. They are just hoping to get lucky.

What expert metal detectorists do is grid the beach. Basically, this method will allow you to increase your findings by working a small area on the beach in a grid-like manner.

The secret about this system is that as you work your pattern, you leave marks in the sand. This way you can tell if you searched an area or not.

Depending on your preference, your grid plan can be circular. You start searching in the middle of the beach and begin metal detecting in a circular pattern moving outwards.

If you don’t like walking around in circles, you can try a straight pattern. With this method you begin at the high beach line heading toward the low tide line. Once you get there you step a foot over, turn around and walk back up to the high bank line where you started.

You can also try the sideways straight pattern. This is where you detect sideways at the high bank line. After you go about 12 feet or so you turn and step a foot over.

4. Try Saltwater Hunting

Novices often stick to the sand on the beach. Those with more experience in metal detecting like to try their hand at saltwater hunting.

If you have a waterproof metal detector you can take detecting to the low tide areas. This way of detecting is a bit more difficult since it’s harder to identify the targets.

You may find more trash because the water brings in things like pull tabs and bottle caps. If you find yourself discovering lots of trash, you need to move further into the water where items of actual value might be buried.

Sometimes you only get faint signals. You should still try your hand at digging up at these spots that others might have missed. The tide is always moving things around.

If you don’t find something one day, then wait another day to try this method. Many people give up right away. With persistence, you just might get some buried treasure that others passed up.

5. Take Your Time

Some detectorists become discouraged by all the trash they end up finding from so many people and they end up leaving earlier than planned.

You should stick it out and not count anything as trash until you have the time to thoroughly look at the items you picked up.

Rushing may also cause you to not use your detector correctly. You need to make sure it’s close enough to the ground. Some people fear scratching their detector and hold the coil too high which means they could be losing a lot of ground that might hold a hidden item.

Metal detecting on beaches can bring in many rewards for your hard work. You just need to make sure you take your time and uncover everything you hit a valid signal on.

What accessories do I need to hunt at the beach?

Beach hunting requires a different set of accessories to dry land. Here are the most important items to bring with you:

• Waterproof Headphones. If you’re planning to go into the ocean, waterproof headphones are essential. The headphones also need to block external sound, so you can hear faint signals over wind, waves and other beach users.
• Sand Scoop. The right scoop depends on your preferences and hunting location, but I always recommend spending a bit more on a quality tool. Keep in mind that a dry sand scoop has a different shape to those designed for wet sand. Choosing a scoop with longer handles can also reduce back strain, but are less comfortable to carry.
• Shoulder or Hip Harness. A shoulder or hip harness can reduce the strain on your arm – especially if you’re using a heavy detector and coil. If you’re planning to hunt all day at the beach, I consider this an essential item. Check our review here. 
• Finds Pouch. A zippered pouch for carrying recovered targets is essential. Make sure it’s secure – especially if you’re hunting in water. Check our review here. 
• Pinpointer. Once your detector has found a target, a pinpointer can save time by narrowing the search area. Pinpointers are less important at the beach, as sand is easier to dig than soil. Check our review here.

Looking for a Weather Resistant Detector in Australia? Try one of these entry level models from our Underwater Detectors Review.

National Geographic Pro	Bounty Hunter Quicksilver	Fisher 22

Waterproof Pinpointers

Nokta Makro Pinpointer	Minelab Pro-Find 15	Nokta Makro Pulse Dive