opinions would be greatly appreciated

niffler

Hero Member
Mar 19, 2008
907
1,367
Coos Bay, Oregon
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 900, DFX, Tesoro Tiger Shark, Killer B Hornets, Stealth 720i scoop
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Not really one better than the others, but the DFX has the most features that you can adjust if you want to experiment for better options where you are located. I have one and if you get one, make sure you get the 4X6 DD coil. :thumbsup:
 

OP
OP
B

Beans11

Jr. Member
Jan 10, 2011
50
0
Kansas
Detector(s) used
Ace 250, Explorer se pro
Thanks for the feedback. Ive had a cheaper detector the last few years and want to upgrade. I figured when I find time and a good place to hunt I want to make the most of it. I noticed some of the whites had 12 inch coils and I think one of them was even cheaper than one of the more expensive ones that had a 9 or 9 1/2 in. coil. does that obviously mean the cheaper detector with the bigger coil will go deeper?
 

Rockin Chairs Gold

Sr. Member
Dec 18, 2010
292
8
Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-Trac, Pro Coil, SunRay X 5.5, S.E.F. 6x8, Excalibur II
I am not presently using Whites detectors but have used many different Whites detectors over the years. In some hunting situations the 12" loop could be a big asset to gain depth, especially in not to heavily trash laden areas.

For most areas today with the ever present trash being about every where. For coin hunting and what ever detector you decide on, if your machine will adapt to a DD coil I would recommend you add a much smaller coil like a 5" 6", up to a 8" DD coil to your arsenal. I have seen some impressive depth for these small coils. They handle mineralization better and target separation is the best I've ever seen. Great for picking goodies out of trash. :coffee2: Rick
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
I have been using my XLT for ten years. It has the original concentric coil.
Here's the thing on coils. The original 9.5" concentric coil of the XLT is ideal for coin shooting. 12" is to big for coin shooting, trash will hide good targets. 5" is to small, it won't go deep enough. Given two coils the same size, the concentric will go deeper than the DD, and the concentric will pinpoint much better.
If you can pick up a good used XLT your good to go. Am I biased,yes, I like the one that works best for the price. At present I have 3 different brands of detectors.
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I would recommend either the MXT, or M6 if you'd never use the prospecting mode on the MXT. Either machine is fairly easy to learn and they both have a good selection of coils which makes them quite versatile. I respectfully disagree with the previous poster that the 9.5 coil is ideal for coin shooting. I've often hunted trashy parks where the detector sounds like a machine gun due to all the trash under the coil. Granted, the smaller coils don't get quite as much depth, but they nose goodies out of the trash much better. A good compromise for the MXT or M6 is the 6X10 DD which has good coverage, separates in trash quite well and has decent depth. Both machines are simple to use with knobs and switches, very quick to turn on and go. You don't have to learn a bunch of menu choices and tweaks. I'm not knocking that for those that like it, just pointing out the difference. My two bits.
Luvsdux
 

OP
OP
B

Beans11

Jr. Member
Jan 10, 2011
50
0
Kansas
Detector(s) used
Ace 250, Explorer se pro
Thanks for the responses everyone I really appreciate them. sorry for all the questions but does is it mainly the detector that makes a difference or the coil bc alot of the whites look almost the same and some have the same size coil. I know some have a few more functions than the other. would i be just as good off with one of the cheaper prizms for coin shooting? How deep do you think an 8" coil could get and actually pinpoint it good to where you could dig it compared to a 9.5" coils depth?
 

Rockin Chairs Gold

Sr. Member
Dec 18, 2010
292
8
Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-Trac, Pro Coil, SunRay X 5.5, S.E.F. 6x8, Excalibur II
Most metal detectors today , Whites, Garrett, Fisher, Minelab, Tesoro will give you pretty good depth in their mid to upper priced detectors. Most will come with 8" 9.5", 10", and even 11" loops. Some have better target separation then others, many have audio target I.D. and can sound like a machine gun going off if you get enough targets under the loop or in some cases depending on your discrimination settings can completely blank out over all those targets,and it will drive you crazy trying to separate all those targets to decide which one to dig.

I used to own a Fisher CZ-6 that had a 8" concentric loop and had great target separation and depth which made it pretty good to use in fairly trashy conditions, but even it had it's limits if the trash become heavy enough.

Unfortunately the parks, schools,and public properties we hunt today are pretty well littered with trash, and though occasionally you will pick a good coin out of areas that arn't to trashy most of whats left to get good targets out of are in those trashy areas.

My present machine came with a 11" coil and it has pretty good target separation and see through abilities , but even so I found it necessary to purchase a smaller coils to work through that heavy trash. and I have been very pleased with what it can do. Yes I loss a little depth but my finds are far more then making up for that. So no matter which brand you buy give some consideration to a smaller loop to work that trash. You won't be sorry. :coffee2: Rick
 

deepskyal

Bronze Member
Aug 17, 2007
1,926
61
Natrona Heights, Pa.
Detector(s) used
White's Coinmaster 6000 Di Series 3, Minelab Eq 600
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
My 6000Di Pro kicks butt on coins. You could probably pick one up on ebay for a couple hundred or less if your lucky. Durable, a tad heavy but workable and I dug a barber at 10" once. Just once but I dug it none-the-less.
Analog meter, not a lot of fancy bells and whistles, manual ground balance, but disc works great on it and you just motor along with it.
And you can get different size coils for them. I have a 5" and a 12" plus the 8".
Yea, I own that, a 6000 series 3 and a Vision and the Pro is still by far my favorite....at least til I get more time and practice with the Vision.

Al
 

Ray S ECenFL

Silver Member
Feb 17, 2007
2,536
20
East Central Florida WP
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT / M6
I use both the XLT and M6. Both units are good for coins. The XLT is older and has the ability of being programmed for various types of searching. The XLT stock programs are fine for coins. Turn on and go.

The M6 has some nice features also. I would suggst you do a little research on whatever unit you are interested in. You can see what other users of these units think on the Whties section of the forum.

HH

Ray S ECenFl
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top