okay guys....

[metalman709]

i'm thinking about getting the at pro come spring.... i'm looking for actual fact information....how is this machine on depth? now when i say that i don't mean the stories....(you know the ones, i got a dime at 15") ...i mean average.... i'm wanting to start finding older, deeper coins and don't want to dig a 12" hole for a zincoln....so i'm looking for average day, weather, kind of stuff...not a a day after a good rain kind of tale....any information would be appreciated....

[Dwight S]

I've gotten a Barber dime at 1", a copper Lincoln at 6" and I've gotten a brass 50-70 shell casing (military, circa 1865-1870) at 10" that sounded loud enough that there was no queston there was something good down there...

[Sandman]

Modern coins can lay on the surface or be buried a foot down. Many reasons why coins sink or get covered up with leaf litter. The AT Pro is lots better now that some of the bugs are out of it. It is not a good do it all detector as there are better ones that are deeper but these don't have screens that can lie to us. One of these is the Sov GT and the Tejon. Both of these have found coins at over a foot but lots of places these coins might not be that deep. Silver being very conductive can be found real easy with most detectors that are entry level. You just have to get your coil over it.

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Modern coins can lay on the surface or be buried a foot down. Many reasons why coins sink or get covered up with leaf litter. The AT Pro is lots better now that some of the bugs are out of it. It is not a good do it all detector as there are better ones that are deeper but these don't have screens that can lie to us. One of these is the Sov GT and the Tejon. Both of these have found coins at over a foot but lots of places these coins might not be that deep. Silver being very conductive can be found real easy with most detectors that are entry level. You just have to get your coil over it.

Nice post Sandman!

The AT Pro is a very good coin machine. VERY hard to beat in that price range. Feel free to contact me with questions or for a great deal! Thanks, Bart

[John-Edmonton]

This is an air test. Depth readings will vary where YOU live and are depended on such variables as conductivity of target, size of target, target size, coil type, coil size, mineralization in soil, masking. There are many more variables also.

[Neil in West Jersey]

IMO there is no such thing as average depth for a metal detector. That is dependent on what you encounter. Depth can only be measured in capabilities, in other words, "how deep can it go?"

[MetalDetectingOregon]

I've used the AT Pro for 1 year now and average about $40 in clad a month. Silver, not so good. Last Feb (2011), I reported to Garrett that I hardly get coins deeper than 6-7", I have gotten a few at 8", but the signal was all guess and sounded like iron. I made a depth test video for Garrett and wanted the unit back. They sent me a new one. Same results on depth. They wanted it back too. They sent me another. I've 3 different AT Pro's to test and they all give me the same results, 6-7" max.

You can watch the video on my youtube page. It's very simple, I throw a half $ in a hole @ 8" and the detector doesn't see it. I also buried it for 3 months and still not finding it.

But others will tell you they get 8-12". Maybe they do in their soil, who knows. I measure my deeper digs and I know what I'm getting here in Oregon.

I've done side-by-side test with an E-Trac and recently, my friends E-Trac hit a 7" penny, but I couldn't. That's pretty bad. But all-in-all, the AT Pro is a good unit for general hunting. If you watch the video, I can't find the silver half with the AT Pro, so I've purchased a used E-Trac from the classifieds here on Treasurenet and it should arrive very soon.

The cost between a AT Pro and E-Trac is 3:1. I paid $600 (Kellyco w/free garbage) + $125 Garrett Pro Pointer. I also sent in 2 AT Pro's, which cost me a total of $50. Total spent = $775. I purchased the E-Trac with Sun Ray Probe for $950.

I will be doing many comparisons, but just from what my friends can hear and I can't, the E-Trac is a much deeper detector, but it cost more. If I could go back in time, I would have not bought the AT Pro. It's nice to hunt in the rain and get in the water and not worry. But I honestly didn't do much water hunting. Not like I thought I was.

I'm only responding from what I know here in Oregon.

[goodmore]

For many many years the topic of detectors has always been depth, depth and depth.

Is the AT Pro a depth demon? No

Compared to higher end models and probably a hand full of others the AT Pro will not hit those deeper targets.

But the AT Pro does a few things very well.

It is just wonderful a separating out masked targets. With the AT Gold stock coil it could rank as one of the best. In my opinion there are just as many masked good targets as deep ones.

It has an iron discrimination range that allows you to be choosey when relic hunting. Some of the models already mentioned can not do this. The Sovereign being one.

It can be used in FRESH water with great success. Salt water is trickier. But in fresh water this detector is just great.

It is a mudder. Hunt the mud. Hunt the mud with muddy messy hands. Bring it home and rinse it off. Simple as that.

For the price you get a lot of detector. Can the AT Pro do it all? None can!

[Sailorman]

Been using mine for four months. I also just started swinging an E-Trac. The Pro is a good all around detector in MY soil conditions. What it will do in yours only a trial will tell. I've recovered wheat pennies at 8-9 ". Clad at 6 to 8" is common for me. A small lead sinker the size of a 22 bullet at a measured 11" and that one still had a strong audio signal. It sorts through trash with the 5x8 coil like a dream if you slow down and listen to what it's telling you. On MY saltwater beach I've hit targets at 12" and it runs smooth once you learn how to set it up for that environment. Even in shifting sand in the surf line.

Is it an E-Trac? No, but then it costs much less. I like what it does so much that I use both machines for different jobs. No one machine excells at all jobs in all soils. It sure works good for me though!

[Monty]

I buried a Kennedy half in my coin garden at 8" and have not been able to find it with any of my detectors! My friend who has a high dollar Minelab came over and said he was going to show me how to find deep coins. He didn't find it either! I dug up my coin garden to relocate it and found everything but that darn half! I am beginning to think perhaps it is just that particular coin that isn't putting out a very strong signal rather than the detectors. Even in an air test an Ike half will usually put out a much stronger signal than the Kennedy. Why? I don't have a clue. Monty

I forgot to add: I have an ATPro that I haven't had a chance to try yet due to some health problems. But I seriously considered a Tesoro for about the same money. I really have no strong preference, but I am just more familiar with the Garrett product. One of my best hunting buddies who is now deceased was a Tesoro user and he constantly had better finds than I did with my ACE 250 just as an example. Monty

[metalman709]

thanks guys... this is the stuff i want to hear....i havent decided yet between the tejon or the at pro..... i really like the fact that the at pro can be used in the water and if tesoro made a machine that had vdi and you could swim with it so deep i would already own one!!! but i am after more depth as well....

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

AT Pro is very hard to beat!

[extractor]

MetalDetectingOre
That is the best most accurate over view I have read on the ATP to date. IMO the E-trac is way better.
If I To could go back in time, I would have not bought the AT Pro. Mine Has been Back to Garrett 2 times. It's nice to hunt in the rain and get in the water but with the leaks I keep reading about on the AT Pro, it is a worry. I would like to do more water hunting so I am going to get a Fisher CZ21.