Tiger Shark vs. Sand Shark -- Opinion Needed

mark40h

Newbie
Mar 13, 2008
1
0
New to the hobby. Have been using Prism IV on the beaches of TX. Have no trouble finding the usual tab tops and clad. Am wanting to hunt a little into the water. Would also like to use the detector on dry land when I get back to Illinois. Would the Tiger Shark or the Sand Shark work for my needs? I will not be in water over knee deep. Hunt mostly dry sand. Thanks for your input.
 

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stevemc

Bronze Member
Feb 12, 2005
2,121
277
Sarasota, FL
Detector(s) used
Whites Surfmaster PI Pro and Whites Surfmaster PI, Minelab Excal NY blue sword. 2 White's Dual field pi, Garrett sea hunter pi II (but don't use it for obvious reasons) 5' x 3 1/2' coil underwater Pi
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
Arent they both PI machines made by Tesoro? If so, they should work good for finding stuff.
 

guzz1

Bronze Member
Nov 7, 2007
1,509
32
Sarasota
Detector(s) used
Vanquish 540 . Carrot
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I just bought a sandshark for the water I'LL let you, I'm going out tomorrow ,, Guzz1
 

JoeinMemphis

Full Member
Apr 21, 2007
142
1
Oakland Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE Pro / Minelab Excalibur II
If you are going to be in FRESH water, get the Tiger Shark, if you are going to be in SALT, get the Sand Shark. I have the Tiger, it works GREAT in fresh water, but I had NO luck with it in salt... you could hold a coin 3" from the coil underwater, and it would never see it.
Joe
 

ScubaFinder

Bronze Member
Jul 11, 2006
2,220
528
Tampa, FL
Detector(s) used
AquaPulse AQ1B - AquaPulse DX-200 Magnetometer
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
I've used a Sandshark on saltwater beaches a good bit with my favorite hunting buddy, and it's a great machine. She uses it in fresh water as well and has great luck with it. Can't go wrong with a nice machine at a great price with a lifetime warranty.
 

Highwater

Full Member
Nov 3, 2007
145
0
Shasta County, CA.
Detector(s) used
White's: XLT, MXT, Tesoro: Sand Shark, Tiger Shark. Fisher: 1266X. Minelab: Musketeer.
Mark,
The Sandshark would be the best choice for a salt water beach if you want to hunt wet sand and go knee deep in the water. However, it is a pi unit and there is no discrimination, so you dig it all. This includes bobby pins, rusty bolts and sparkler wires a foot deep or more.
The Tigershark is a vlf and doesn't handle going into saltwater very well but would still work as a dry land detector, although you are going to have extra weight compared to a regular land detector. It is a great fresh water detector.
The sandshark and tigershark both hip mount very nicely but are too heavy with the control box mounted on the rod. If you get either of these units then let me know and I will link you to a post on hip mounts.
If you want to hunt salt water then go with the Sandshark and use your prism for land hunting. The sandshark would drive you crazy dirt digging.
The sandshark is made to find gold and that is what beach hunting is all about. Is is a great machine. Don't be too worried about having to dig it all. If you are working in sand it is very fast to recover a target and keep moving. There is a lot to know about working the beach in order to be successful. Buy a few water hunting books so you can get up to speed and not waste your time trying to learn it on your own. There are some tried and proven methods to give you a leg up on making good finds. You don't just take your detector out on the beach and start hunting in a random mannor unless you are just out for a walk on the beach and don't care if you find anything or not. If you want to be able to find good stuff you need to learn all you can about how to go about it. The beach can really pay off at times, but there are other times when the tide or conditions won't pay at all.
Hope this helps... Good luck...... highwater
 

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