Best metal detector for beach

panos

Tenderfoot
Sep 30, 2013
5
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello from Greece and sorry for any mistakes as english is not my first language :)
I'm looking for a metal detector for use 80% at salty beach (dry and wet sand), and 20% to search inside some abandoned houses and other areas.
I don't need the detector to be waterproof as I am not planning to use it inside the sea, but i suppose it won't harm anyone if it is. My budget is 3000$ so I suppose there are plenty of choices.
Thank you for the help
 

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R.Danneskjold

Full Member
Jun 23, 2013
221
138
Vancouver Island
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000
AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I'll wait for experts to give the details but you will hear good things about the Minelab Etrac, CTX 3030, excal etc. I'm getting an excal soon. If your in the salt you will likely want a Pulse Induction machine or a Minelab. I have a Tesero Sandshark as a PI and love it!
 

MexGT

Full Member
Sep 23, 2013
180
83
México
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX-3030 & Stealth 920i
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Since you're not getting into the water just wet/dry sand, my vote goes to Minelab CTX3030.

HH !
 

Beach Papa

Hero Member
Apr 25, 2012
584
271
East Coast
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tiger Shark VLF
Whites Dual Field PI
CTX 3030
Aquasound (custom made)
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Since you're not getting into the water just wet/dry sand, my vote goes to Minelab CTX3030.

HH !

I agree.... HH, Beach Papa
 

OP
OP
P

panos

Tenderfoot
Sep 30, 2013
5
3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I don't know what to believe about the 3030. Some people seem to love it, others consider it overpriced and with limited depth abilities. By the way I don't mind buying either vlf or pi, I'm open to suggestions. And im not afraid to dig too.
 

G.I.B.

Gold Member
Feb 23, 2007
7,187
8,537
North Central Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030 / GTI 2500 / Infinium LS / Tesoro Sand Shark / 1 Garrett Pro-pointer / 1 Carrot / Vibra Probe 580 (out on loan) / Lesche M85 / Mark1 MOD1 EyeBall
Primary Interest:
Other
You should spend some time in the BRANDS section/thread.

Lot's of opinions and comparisons there.

Each person will state why the detector they have is the best, so judge according to your needs and skill level.

By the way, I'm a Garrett and Tesoro fan. They are the best.
 

Brooklynhunter

Full Member
Jul 16, 2013
106
20
I have both whites and mine lab detectors. My excal is my go to detector for the beach. I love it and would not trade it for anyother detector . Period! Dry or damp hunting or in the surf its the only detector I use at the beach. That siad. I would not buy a ctx 3030 if you are looking for a beach detector. Although the ctx is rated to 10 feet. There seem to be issues with the seal . In fact all the guys I know who brag about the ctx's abilities never go nearthe water with it and each time we hit the parks, 6 out of ten time they show up with their whites MXT detectors. Makes me say Hmmmmmm. I hioe this helps. HH and best of luck
 

MexGT

Full Member
Sep 23, 2013
180
83
México
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX-3030 & Stealth 920i
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I have both whites and mine lab detectors. My excal is my go to detector for the beach. I love it and would not trade it for anyother detector . Period! Dry or damp hunting or in the surf its the only detector I use at the beach. That siad. I would not buy a ctx 3030 if you are looking for a beach detector. Although the ctx is rated to 10 feet. There seem to be issues with the seal . In fact all the guys I know who brag about the ctx's abilities never go nearthe water with it and each time we hit the parks, 6 out of ten time they show up with their whites MXT detectors. Makes me say Hmmmmmm. I hioe this helps. HH and best of luck

The thing is, the OP will not get into the water.

I have an X2 10" and my beach is very trashed with iron, my Xcal2 will null the heck out it'd just sound like a symphony of any possible sound the X2 can make in some places, I'm considering selling it and move to a 3030. The ability of the X2 to disc items with iron in the coil area is very limited.

And as naming issues with the CTX-3030 we need to talk about issues with the X2 too.... the stock shaft is useless for what the OP looks for, knobs will detach sooner or later, you can't switch coils or headphones.

HH !
 

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Brooklynhunter

Full Member
Jul 16, 2013
106
20
I agree. The mine lab detectors are made in Asia and the quality reflects that. I like them but they r made like crap. I brok my cam lock an the excal shaft and 2 knobs my first week. I hunt with the excal2 in coney island Brooklyn . It dont come any trashy than that and I have no problem recovering targets. If there is gold . Silver. Or clad its in my scoop. And if you think the excal is heavy wait until you swing the ctx. Whatever you decide best of luck.
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
No need to apologize for your English which is great.....Lots of our citizens don't know how to speak our own language. For the salt beach sand, wet and dry a Excal or CZ-21 or even a Beach Hunter ID would work as they use more than ONE frequency and will have no trouble with saltwater wet sand. A pulse like the Tiger Shark would be good also but not for doing any homes or where there is lots of trash as they have no discrimination and you would wear yourself out digging deep holes for a hairpin. Though the Minelab's have some quality troubles, they can respond to a gold ring under a iron nail. Stay away from the CTX 3030 as they are heavy and not worth the extra $$$$. In my opinion. The Pix is of my CZ-20, and older version of the CZ-21
157.jpg
Good Luck,
Sandman
 

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Fletch88

Silver Member
Mar 7, 2013
4,841
2,367
Valdosta, GA
Detector(s) used
Garrett ATPro- 8.5x11, 5x8, CORS Fotune 5.5x9.5
Tesoro Silver microMax- 8 donut, 8x11 RSD, 3x18 Cleansweep
Minelab Excalibur ll- 10" Tornado
Minelab CTX 3030
Minelab Xterra 305
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The CTX 3030 for land and shallow water for the price range you're talking about its hard to beat for 1 detector to do both types of hunting. There have been quite a few leak issue reported though. Or you could opt for a waterproof detector (Excaliber or CZ) and a land detector (Etrac, F75, V3i, etc) for the budget you've mentioned.
 

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Mr.Excavator

Full Member
Jun 24, 2013
199
192
NorthEast, Florida coast
Detector(s) used
CTX3030 (4)Excal 1000, (2)Garrett Sea Hunter mark II,
(2) E-trac's
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I personally have the Garrett SeaHunter II (PI) with the 10x14" coil. It will NOT miss any metal down 2-3 feet. It is a GREAT machine. I also have the Excaliber with a SEF 12x15" coil and find that I use it more due to the fact that I can mask out iron. Where I live that is a very useful program to have.

Under water I preffer to use the SeaHunter since there is less trash targets and it seems to be more stable.
The beaches, sand and wetsand I preffer the Excal I can be more selective. I just bought another one for the wife today.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,460
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If your not going into the water your going to be missing 75% or more of the gold targets...... Just saying....................
 

DrJoePrime

Bronze Member
Sep 9, 2007
1,535
948
Long Beach, California
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, White's Surfmaster Dual Field, Tesoro Sand Shark, Garrett ATX
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I think you are really needing two detectors. The White's Dual Field for wet and dry sand. And a 2nd detector..a VLF for the dirt hunting.
 

TallTom

Full Member
Mar 3, 2012
177
57
So. Calif.
Detector(s) used
Nokta Impact, Makro Racer, Tesoro Vaquero, Tesoro Sand Shark.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
No need to apologize for your English which is great.....Lots of our citizens don't know how to speak our own language. For the salt beach sand, wet and dry a Excal or CZ-21 or even a Beach Hunter ID would work as they use more than ONE frequency and will have no trouble with saltwater wet sand. A pulse like the Tiger Shark would be good also but not for doing any homes or where there is lots of trash as they have no discrimination and you would wear yourself out digging deep holes for a hairpin. Though the Minelab's have some quality troubles, they can respond to a gold ring under a iron nail. Stay away from the CTX 3030 as they are heavy and not worth the extra $$$$. In my opinion. The Pix is of my CZ-20, and older version of the CZ-21
View attachment 873435
Good Luck,
Sandman

Good advice, Sandman, as usual. However, I think you had a typo.
When you said "Tiger Shark" I think you meant "Sand Shark", which is
the PI machine from Tesoro.

--Tom
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Egad Tom, you are right about the mix up in names. What's a guy to do when I walk to the fridge and forget what I wanted.???
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,460
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Egad Tom, you are right about the mix up in names. What's a guy to do when I walk to the fridge and forget what I wanted.???

I will go upstairs to get something, forgot what I was up there for and have to go back downstairs to remember.:banghead:

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 

Acquisitor

Sr. Member
Jan 6, 2011
302
126
Greece has by far the most draconian anti detecting laws in Europe. Huge fines, prison etc. Be careful, get a permit first.
 

Brooklynhunter

Full Member
Jul 16, 2013
106
20
Perhaps the good people of greece need to cgange how tgeir government works. Try running a business there. Its no easier than getting a metal detecting license. You would think given current state of affairs there, they would have better things to worry about. Sadly it seems we are heading in their direction.
 

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