AT Pro in Salt Water and Wet Sand

[Lores]

Anyone have experience with the At Pro in salt water and wet sand? Hoping to up grade soon and $600 or less with a display is a must for me. Just keep reading conflicting reports on the ATP in salt environment. I live at the beach and plan to do about 25% in water, 25% beach and 50% other (schools, parks, ect.).

Thanks for your input.

 

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[redcobra8u]

Does not work well in wet salt sand. That is why I bought the Excal.

 

[Fletch88]

I used mine on the gulf side of FL one time before I sold it and didn't have any problem. It ground balanced down at around 15-18 which my be why I never dug any targets in the wet sand or water. In dry sand it's a great machine for sure. Some say they get 8" all the time in wet sand, but I didn't use it enough in salt environment to know. The Excal and CZ are the 2 main saltwater VLF's for a reason. The CTX will do everything your wanting to do but cost 3X the $$$ used.

 

[Lores]

Need something at the $600 or less.... Thanks for responses though.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Need something at the $600 or less.... Thanks for responses though.

The ATP is one of, if not the best, machines for that money. However, it does have its drawbacks, wet sand being one of them. Check out the machines at one or more of the detector companies here, or jump over to Metal Detector Super Store - Kellyco Metal Detectors and they do list machines designated for sand/wet sand. Good luck!..ddf

 

[BVI Hunter]

I bought the ATP for the beach - hated it!!

Bought the sea hunter 2 and love it.
This wont be for everyone though - as its a PI I dig everything as my beaches are 99% trash free I don't need to worry.

I know you are limited to $600 but better to get a machine you can use (and enjoy using) rather than sticking solidly to the budget?

I am sure there are machines great on the beach with good discrim and stability so listen to those in the know or at very least, check out CASPER'S finds!!!

 

[Fletch88]

Are you going to keep your Ace250 for land hunting? You can get a 8" Sand Shark for $577 for wet sand and surf, but I'm pretty sure your area is full of iron so be prepared to dig a lot. A sovereign GT is a very good wet sand machine also, and in your price range.

 

[MTJosh]

Since you already have a land machine (ace 250) I would spend the money on a water/beach unit. I had a 250 and got a PI (whites DFPI). Found enough in 6 months to then buy a AT pro to upgrade for land and dry sand. Try your 250 at the beach. If it falses alot so will the AT pro. Depends on mineralization and how low you set sensitivity. I even used my 250 at the beach and found items in the dry and wet but not great. I am sure the AT will do similar. You will find some but you may need to ground balance often depending on wet and very wet to dryer sand conditions. The 250 is great park land unit and unless you really need to upgrade for land hunting at the moment I would stick with spending money on a beach unit. I am very glad I got a specific beach machine and land machine.

 

[lookindown]

Mine works fine on the Florida West coast. It runs stable and is only two inches shallower than my CZ21. I used it one whole summer and made some nice finds. If you get one let me know and I will give you the settings I run. I run different settings than most people say to use. I have told several people the settings I use and they got back to me and said they worked for them. On some beaches in some states it doesn't work well. Ive heard people from your area say that it worked fine. Its a great land detector for parks, sports fields, etc.

 

[devilpookie]

In SoCal, the ATP was extremely unstable on the wet sand. Was not fun to use. Everywhere else, they are good machines. In your price range, you could pick up a used CZ6A which is "weather proof" and works very well. Just a though. Good luck.

 

[GatorBoy]

I use mine very successfully on Floridas East Coast.
Some machines are a little deeper but frankly when targets are that deep I just go somewhere where the beach conditions are better and go back to the deep place when some sand has moved.
I never understood why somebody wanted a deep machine when they're Beach hunting

 

[GatorBoy]

I don't want to post all over your thread but here are a few things I have found in wet salt water sand with my AT Pro

 

[TheCaribbeanDigger]

Really it all depends on what beach u detect. I have used mine on 5 different beaches. On 3 beaches the unit works great, very stable and quiet. The other 2 have some black sands on them and yes they give the occasional chatter. But you can tell when it's chatter and when its hitting on a real target. Honestly the deepest clad dime was found at basically 8" deep! It was so deep that I thought it was giving a false signal. The ATP was saying the coin was at 6", so since I didn't see it I almost gave up on digging it. But if you plan on hunting only on salt beaches, yes, there are way better detectors for it. Of course, the guys have already mentioned some on previous comments. Good luck and HH!!

 

[penzfan]

Ran into an AT Pro user today at the beach. He couldn't go near the saltwater without the thing screaming at him. My SS runs flawlessly in the salt and cost me less than $600 new. Just saying. Found this little gem today in the pouring rain.

 

[GatorBoy]

Before I unsubscribe from this because I can see how this is going to end up I think... the original poster ask for information regarding the AT Pro not for advertisements for other peoples machines... Unless I read it incorrectly.
As far as that other person he could have had absolutely no idea how to use the thing either we don't know that like was stated above it's going to depend on the sand and soil conditions on that particular beach.. Whether or not it has rained and washed away some residual salt from the sand can also make a difference.
I watch people all the time with a very good machines using them absolutely incorrectly I love it when I see somebody swinging there coil a foot and a half above the sand and wonder why they don't find anything.. Or here's another good one some people actually think they don't find gold on a particular day because they didn't have the right machine as if there's a blanket of gold everywhere all the time

 

[lookindown]

Ran into an AT Pro user today at the beach. He couldn't go near the saltwater without the thing screaming at him. My SS runs flawlessly in the salt and cost me less than $600 new. Just saying. Found this little gem today in the pouring rain. View attachment 995278

He wants a machine he can use in parks half the time...Sand Shark isn't going to be good in parks...he wants an all around machine and the AT pro is as close as it comes to a "Do it all detector"...the CTX 3030 would do the job but at 4x the cost...if he finds that he really likes water hunting, he can always get a dedicated water machine later...his finds with the AT will pay for it.

 

[Lores]

Folks, I appreciate all the responses. I guess it tends to be a difficult choice based on general machines doing a generally good job or specific machines that do one thing very well. Well the good news is I am not ready to buy and have more time to research. Thanks again.

 

[CASPER-2]

I use mine very successfully on Floridas East Coast.
Some machines are a little deeper but frankly when targets are that deep I just go somewhere where the beach conditions are better and go back to the deep place when some sand has moved.
I never understood why somebody wanted a deep machine when they're Beach hunting

YOU NEED A DEEP MACHINE UP HERE IN THE NORTH EAST - I GET GOLD DOWN AROUND 2 FEET - USING PI AND CZ21 IN ALL METAL
IF YOUR GOING FOR FRESH DROPS - USE WHATEVER - BUT YOUR ONLY GOING TO GET THOSE FINDS FROM JUNE TO SEPT
AFTER THAT - YOU WANT TO KEEP AT IT - YOU NEED TO GO FOR THE OLD GOLD AND GO DEEP
OR HOPE FOR A HUGE STORM - SEE LEPRECAUHN AND WHYDAH

 

[CASPER-2]

Folks, I appreciate all the responses. I guess it tends to be a difficult choice based on general machines doing a generally good job or specific machines that do one thing very well. Well the good news is I am not ready to buy and have more time to research. Thanks again.

GO DOWN TO YOUR BEACHES AND ASK YOUR LOCAL PROS - LIKE MAX AMOUNGST OTHERS - WHAT THEY USE AND HAVE USED

 

[Escape]

Need something at the $600 or less.... Thanks for responses though.

Look at Whites DFX. Works in salt water. Unit is not water proof so stick to wet sand. Can go from wet sand to dry seamlessly. Can get a good used one for about 550.00, or so.