This year’s Great Southern Beach Shootout had the biggest turnout ever with 197 registered detectorists. Numerous Metal Detecting clubs from all over the world were represented at this event. From a participant’s point of view, it was flawless. Everything went on schedule and it was just good old fashioned fun! Belle and Dayton Peyton along with Lonna and Ray Leist kept activities flowing so smoothly that everyone had a great time. This year, 11,000 U.S. dollar coins were buried in the hunt field and dozens of Metal Detectors were awarded as prizes, along with the $5,000.00 Grand Prize. The volume of large prizes and awards is always so alluring that there were smiles on everyone’s face.

The hotel and amenities were spectacular. The Plaza Resort & Spa is an absolutely beautiful and luxurious hotel, complete with an Olympic sized swimming pool and an exhilarating ocean front view. This year’s events were held in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom to accommodate the larger crowd. The Grand Ballroom was filled wall-to-wall with vendors, displays and exhibits. As part of the event, Ray Leist presented a workshop on competitive hunt techniques and I, Thomas Dankowski, gave a seminar on Inland Coin and Beach Hunting techniques.

     

The designated hunting field was ample and un-crowded, which resulted in an enjoyable hunt. There were plenty of refreshments at the hunt and the time interval between the hunts was just right, not too long and yet not rushed.

The weather was beautiful and cooperative with the activities. Daytona Beach is always a nice place to be during the month of April. You couldn’t pick a better place to have a beach hunt. The local restaurants and atmosphere of this area are hard to beat. A balcony view of the Atlantic Ocean is always a breathtaking and relaxing sight.

As always, a highly enjoyable event. This is definitely a great way to spend a family vacation, for both detectorists and their non-detectorist family members. Obviously, plenty of metal detecting activities for the detectorist and the attractions of the Daytona Beach area for those family members not yet enlightened to the hobby. Many detectorists look forward to this annual event and this year they were definitely NOT disappointed!