What detector for beaches

want2skydive

Jr. Member
Jan 12, 2009
86
27
San Antonio, Texas
Detector(s) used
Garret AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I read the AT pro can be used in water. Although I'm not sure about salt water or how the sand would read. Where are you in Texas?
 

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Carpdogman

Jr. Member
Aug 4, 2015
32
35
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Im posting this for a friend that is here in New Mexico detecting now. He is in Silsbee Texas and wants to detect around Houston and Galveston area. He is using an AT Gold here but wants to by a Beach detector for the surf and sand.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,421
30,104
White Plains, New York
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1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
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Carpdogman

Jr. Member
Aug 4, 2015
32
35
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the informative video Terry. He thinnks an Infiniom LS would be right for him. Your thoughts Please.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,421
30,104
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
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Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thanks for the informative video Terry. He thinnks an Infiniom LS would be right for him. Your thoughts Please.

Sure! If you want to spend #1,060.00.
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,714
40,795
Maryland
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10
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1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I used a Tesoro Cibola and Tesoro Vaquera. The boxes cannot go underwater, but out here, you get out in the water with those rip currents. you might not come back. They work in wet or dry sand, and this year have found a lot of gold.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,221
14,542
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the informative video Terry. He thinnks an Infiniom LS would be right for him. Your thoughts Please.[/QUOT
For a PI machine, that's the one I would pick. It has many features that make it better than the others in my opinion. You can more easily swap headphones and coils, the stock coil is bigger and a DD type, It has a crude but fairly effective discrimination method, It will collapse down smaller for easier packing, automatic ground tracking, multiple audio tones, a rechargeable battery system, etc. The Sand Shark is a very good machine for the price, but, be prepared to dig lots of iron junk.
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
1,504
1,427
Saint Augustine, FL
Detector(s) used
CZ-21, Minelab Equinox, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
For salt water and wet sand:

Worst option, Single Freq VLF machine (basically any $100-$300 machine with discrimination, such as Ace 250, Ace 350, etc). It will false like mad and is just barely workable, almost no depth. Not recommended.

Cheapest practical option, no discrimination but goes deep: PI Machine (Sandshark, or other) $550 new These work well but be prepared to dig everything.

Mid range option, advanced discrimination but max depth for small items (rings) in wet sand and in water about 9" or less: Garrett AT Pro / Gold $600+ new. Better for dry sand than wet but will do both.

Best option, basic discrimination but good depth: Multifrequency machine, like CZ-21, Excal 1000, (others?) $1300+ new. Better for wet sand than dry, but will do both.

Used machines are ok, but (aside from the AT Pro/Gold) I would not recommend buying the water machine used, because a leak could be very costly ($600 or so!).

For dry sand, you could use almost any detector, it's the wet sand that will drive a cheap machine nuts.
 

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Escape

Bronze Member
Apr 4, 2009
1,643
1,881
Whites DFX. With dual frequency will perform solid in wet salt sand. About 3 to 5 hundred depending on age and extras offered.
 

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SouthFLdigger

Sr. Member
Mar 16, 2014
470
344
Pembroke Pines, Fl
Detector(s) used
Beach:Fisher CZ-20, Beach Hunter ID 9.5" Whites DFX, Minelab Safari and Excalibur 2.
Park and Turf: Teknetics Gamma 6000,Teknetics Delta 4000,Nokta Fors Core
Loaners:ACE-250 9x12 and 7x9.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Whites DFX. With dual frequency will perform solid in wet salt sand. About 3 to 5 hundred depending on age and extras offered.

Correct will go down 10" on a coin in my wet sand at 76 sens preamp 3 !
 

Bill - De

Jr. Member
Dec 22, 2009
92
33
Delaware
Detector(s) used
Sovereign GT, Cibola
CZ-20, Sea Hunter II, Simplex,
Minelab Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Cant' go wrong with a CZ-20 or 21, and you can hunt in several modes, depending on how clean the beach is. Hunt in Autotune; switch to Disc to check a target, or hunt in 3 tone, and dig only med & hi tones. If you feel the urge to go into the surf, (I always do), no worry about getting the detector box wet. i hip-mount mine, so the fiberglass rod and coil is all the weight I am swinging. Can do that all day, and I am 70.
 

dewcon4414

Bronze Member
Mar 22, 2006
2,138
1,237
Gulf Coast, Fl
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
MDT, Nox, Blue Xcals and CTX
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Left out the flexibility of the pricy CTX.... but if used on dirt and beach its worth the money. Any... any water machine for salt water id suggest you budget for repairs. Ive bought used and found even with a repair they cost less....and once repaied they are as good as new.... with waranty on work.
 

jeepGold

Hero Member
Sep 7, 2014
585
579
Vegas
Detector(s) used
CTX3030, Nox800
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Get a used excal 1000 and get a larger coil and remote pinpoint. You'll be digging 24" in the wet chasing faints, whispers, and threshold breaks. I know, because I do. 10" in the wet is average now a days. I often get just as much (almost) satisfaction chasing and finding non-valuables that are DEEP as I do finding a ring. Now if your Texas beach is blasted with aluminum you might want to either reconsider or learn what it sounds like and learn it WELL. Try Craigslist or AllofCraigs.com for whatever detector you chose to get as you can often find really good deals.
 

OBN

Gold Member
Dec 30, 2008
6,529
7,010
Maryland Waters
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
"Excalibur"..
"AQ" Impulse
Primary Interest:
Other
One thing about hunting the beach, You get out of it what you put into it .. I only know of one Hunter who hunts the Gulf area in Texas and does well.. Gulf Hunter....Him and His wife use Excalibur's. He has a 1000 and she a 800
 

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