Is a sniper coil worth it. or just get a 5x8

RobRieman

Silver Member
Nov 12, 2012
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Cincinnati Ohio
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Snipers are good in very limited ultra trashy spots or near iron pipes like tot lots but are so small you will not cover much ground. If you have a known good spot with reason to believe there are good targets there it may be worth it but the 5x8 is a much better all around coil that separates very good. You can also cover good ground with it. I leave mine on all the time now.
 

Irishgoldhound

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Jul 15, 2013
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Sniper is for junk sites and places with limited area and obstacles to swing a bigger coil. The 5/8 will work just as good or better.
 

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fireguy

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2013
302
74
Dayton ohio
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Garrett ace 250
I guess it would help to say where I'll be using it. The yard up close to my 100+ year old home that's riddled with nails, pull tabs, and random iron.. Second place, high traffic area such as next to park shelters and beach peirs. (I have a 13x14 for everything past those initial ~20 ft)
 

Irishgoldhound

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I put the 5/8 coil on my At pro and that's all I hunt with now. The small DD coil is awesome for trashy sights and target separation still covers plenty of ground and almost as deep as the stock coil. You'll be able to pick those goodies between all those nails better with the small DD. it's like a sniper coil itself that goes deep.
 

Rookster

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Nov 24, 2013
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I've got the sniper on my Fisher limited and love it. I've gone back over ground that I had hunted with the 11"DD and found more stuff. And I like stuff. But I've got the ATP and it came with the large coil. I plan on buying the 5X8 this spring for it. The reviews are to good not to. Good luck.
 

tiderider

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Oct 10, 2013
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The sniper is defiantly worth getting , besides using it in trashy areas, I do using it relic hunting in thick brush and woods that my DD hangs up on everything, GL
 

John-Edmonton

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Mar 21, 2005
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The sniper is a concentric coil and will give better ID, respond to even tinier conductors and will get closer to sidewalks, playground equipment and fences. The 5 x 8 coil is a DD coil, will get better depth, id most bottlecaps as good targets and the jury is out about better target separation. I use the 5 x 8 on my AT Gold as my favorite coil for hunting in the woods, as it fits nicely into tight spots, gets nice depth using the true all metal mode, and with the iron audio turned on, allows me to leave the iron in the ground and dig all other targets.
 

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fireguy

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2013
302
74
Dayton ohio
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Garrett ace 250
So on the pepple that have the sniper coil do you really see that much loss In depth. Im not looking to dig 8" deep targets buy also not be limited to scraping the surface.
 

pkb

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Feb 10, 2013
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Sniper coil is good to have along with the 5x8, the 5x8 is good to have with along with 8x10. I have all three. Haven't used the sniper in awhile but it works great in trashy areas. Key with any coil and detector. GO SLOW and LISTEN to what your detector is telling you. Just my opinion.
 

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fireguy

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2013
302
74
Dayton ohio
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Garrett ace 250
Finally someone that owns both. Haha. So do you see better separation with the sniper over the 5x8 or is it so minimal you would get the 5x8. I'm looking to get only one. To use in parks and around really old homes riddled with nails in the ground
 

Kodiak43351

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May 6, 2013
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I was in Your shoes not long ago and went with the 5x8 for those trashy fields and home sites. It does separate better than stock and it gets great depth for it's size. I pulled a small cuff button out with it a couple weeks ago at 6 inches and no the target didn't fall back in hole. I pulled it out with my fingers after digging down with the Samson and it was still in ground. The pinpointer found it. I don't hunt parks only old places so the sniper didn't seem like a good fit for me. Good luck with your choice.
 

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fireguy

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2013
302
74
Dayton ohio
Detector(s) used
Garrett ace 250
Yeah I mainly hunt really old home sites but they have tons of nails, bottle caps, and trash. That's what I'm most interested in so I'm trying to decide what gives the best separation. If the sniper is that much better I will get it. If they are about the same I'll get the 5x8 since it will give better coverage (separation is my main concern)
 

pkb

Hero Member
Feb 10, 2013
587
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Separation is good. There were times when pin pointing in high trash areas all you needed was just a little twitch.
 

DiggerinVA

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Sep 16, 2013
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Every coil is going to be different on every machine. The 5x8 is awesome on the ATPro, but a lot of the reason is the pro mode where u can hear the iron grunts. If it is too trashy for the ATP with the 5x8...its too trashy to hunt! I assume u are asking about a coil for the ace 250 since that is what u are using. So i recommend that u find someone who has used the ace with smaller coils since the ATP works alot different....
 

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fireguy

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2013
302
74
Dayton ohio
Detector(s) used
Garrett ace 250
I'm looking for advise from either as it will probably be my next machine. But as of right now I'm just looking for a little toy for my 250
 

DiggerinVA

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Sep 16, 2013
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In that case; buy the sniper coil for the ace and definately get the 5x8 for the ATP!
 

dustytrails123

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Apr 14, 2012
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I own the sniper coil and i had a nels big 15x18 ...the nels only added about an inch of depth and had terrible target separation...it did cover a lot of ground but missed way too many targets...the sniper coil is like a hockey puck and covers little to nothing for ground...it has good separation but hardly has any depth...it also changed my trash hits pull tabs became dead ringers for nickels and iron nails screamed silver /quarter/dime ....i found after wasting money on these coils that i should have stuck with the stock 5x8 its what stays on my machine without question ...if your hunting with the ace250 it came with a concentric coil and its already a trash hound id just try to upgrade to abetter machine rather then waste money on coils that wont make a machine any better ....try to swing for a the at pro or better and stay away from the ace line
 

DiggerinVA

Bronze Member
Sep 16, 2013
1,666
1,654
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Detector(s) used
GPX5000, AT Gold, AT Pro, Whites TDI, Bandido 2 umax, Tejon, Vaquero, Deus 2, ORX and Legend
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All Treasure Hunting
I own the sniper coil and i had a nels big 15x18 ...the nels only added about an inch of depth and had terrible target separation...it did cover a lot of ground but missed way too many targets...the sniper coil is like a hockey puck and covers little to nothing for ground...it has good separation but hardly has any depth...it also changed my trash hits pull tabs became dead ringers for nickels and iron nails screamed silver /quarter/dime ....i found after wasting money on these coils that i should have stuck with the stock 5x8 its what stays on my machine without question ...if your hunting with the ace250 it came with a concentric coil and its already a trash hound id just try to upgrade to abetter machine rather then waste money on coils that wont make a machine any better ....try to swing for a the at pro or better and stay away from the ace line

I just read Nasa Tom's review on the big 15 inch coil for the fisher f75/f70 and his review was very similar to yours of the nel coil for the garrett. Very littles depth gain, and in mineralized ground...no gain!
 

dustytrails123

Bronze Member
Apr 14, 2012
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412
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer Se Pro,Garrett At/Pro,Garrett Ace 350,Tesoro Cibola,Tesoro Outlaw,Bounty Hunter SharpShooter 2
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I just read Nasa Tom's review on the big 15 inch coil for the fisher f75/f70 and his review was very similar to yours of the nel coil for the garrett. Very littles depth gain, and in mineralized ground...no gain!
Theres alot of hype with nel coils but im afraid thats all it is ...they sure look good on youtube with a guy waving a nels over a 2 foot hole and sounding off on a gold coin but once you drop the 2 bills on the coil and get it on and start swinging you will notice little to nothing for depth gains ...an inch gain on a 18 inch coil is terrible they claim a 50 % added depth so take a stock ace350 lets just call it 6 inches on a quarter air testing well 50 % would be 9 inches but it wont do it...and better target separation is there other claim...not sure how they think a 18 inch coil is going to separate better then a smaller coil but they slap that on there advertisement also false...and they forget to mention the coil weighs almost as much as the machine to swing it ...i really got mine for beach hunting thought i could get deeper and cover more ground but that coil is terrible in wet sand couldn't even use it ....i feel sorry for whoever got mine off ebay
 

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