Safari coil question

Bama Billy

Sr. Member
Apr 2, 2018
261
503
Central Alabama
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi all, Iā€™m a total newbie but have had some great luck so far. I constantly hear that you have to ā€œlearn the soundsā€ of the safari so I spend as much time with my machine that I can. Here in Alabama I seem to dig a LOT of trash, which I guess isnā€™t exclusive to Alabama. Anyway, Iā€™ve been reading up on coils and see a lot of folks using the 8x6 butterfly coil and it helps to seperate trash. Should I just stick with the stock coil or would the 8x6 be a good modification for my safari?
 

Loco-Digger

Gold Member
Jun 16, 2014
11,827
17,744
Northern O-H-I-O
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
F75 LTD, 1280X Aquanaut, & a Patriot (back-up/loaner)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you only have one main machine and like to hunt in different areas, some trashier than others, then I suggest you have multiple coils. Large coils are great for target sparse areas whereas smaller coils give better separation and are a must for target rich or trashy sites.
 

OP
OP
Bama Billy

Bama Billy

Sr. Member
Apr 2, 2018
261
503
Central Alabama
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you only have one main machine and like to hunt in different areas, some trashier than others, then I suggest you have multiple coils. Large coils are great for target sparse areas whereas smaller coils give better separation and are a must for target rich or trashy sites.

Thanks for the reply. The safari is my only machine currently and Iā€™ve only been swinging it for 4 months or so. Almost all the areas I search have lots of trash. Iā€™m surrounded by creeks and rivers that overflow so pull tabs and cans are everywhere.
 

Loco-Digger

Gold Member
Jun 16, 2014
11,827
17,744
Northern O-H-I-O
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
F75 LTD, 1280X Aquanaut, & a Patriot (back-up/loaner)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I actually have 4 coils for my main machine, the trashier the site, the smaller the coil I use. My coils vary from 12" x 15" butterfly coil down to my 5" DD.
 

Ogre1190

Bronze Member
Mar 31, 2015
2,063
2,408
Northern Illinois
Detector(s) used
MineLab E-Trac, MineLab Safari, MineLab Explorer XS,
White's 5000 D, White's 6DB, White's 5000 D GEB
Sunray X-1 for the ML's, Garrett PP for the White's and a Backhoe
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I have 5 for my MXT and 5 for my Minelabs. It's worth the investment imho. šŸ˜
 

sheep.dog

Jr. Member
May 30, 2017
96
490
Vermont
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari
XP Deus
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I too learned on a safari. I think everyone digs a lot of trash when they are new no matter what machine or what coil you have. A smaller coil can help to seperate targets in trashy areas, but you will still dig trash. Remember to swing low and slow, the safari is slower than other machines.
Multiple coils for a machine are great but there is no magic bullet, you are going to dig trash especially when your new. I'd focus on getting a lot of hours in and really focusing on the tones and VDI #s. There are some good youtube tutorial videos too.
Just my 2 cents
 

sprailroad

Silver Member
Jan 19, 2017
2,644
4,130
Grants Pass, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garrett A3B United States Gold Hunter, GTA 1000, AT Pro, Discovery Treasure Baron "Gold Trax", Minelab X-Terra 70, Safari, & EQ 800, & Nokta Marko Legend. EQ 900.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I too learned on a safari. I think everyone digs a lot of trash when they are new no matter what machine or what coil you have. A smaller coil can help to seperate targets in trashy areas, but you will still dig trash. Remember to swing low and slow, the safari is slower than other machines.
Multiple coils for a machine are great but there is no magic bullet, you are going to dig trash especially when your new. I'd focus on getting a lot of hours in and really focusing on the tones and VDI #s. There are some good youtube tutorial videos too.
Just my 2 cents

Agree with all of the above. I do have the 8x6 SEF butterfly coil, it's pretty much all I use, when wanting to change coils, I did buy an extra lower shaft that the stock coil is mounted on, changing coils that way is soooo quick and easy. As sheep dog mentioned, the Safari IS a slower machine, the VDI numbers are very slow in catching up to the tones, the recovery speed is rather slow between targets, in a trashy park, you really do need the smaller coil. The tones are the key, takes some getting use to, but like I have found for example, hunting in "Relic" mode, of which I always use, the #14 in a "High" pitch is 99% of the time bottle caps, whereas #14 in a more "Mid" tone is worth your closer attention, (pull tabs, nickels, lead, some gold rings) Good machine, not nearly as fast as others, but solid. Yep, get the smaller coil if you can.
 

dig deeper now

Sr. Member
Jul 10, 2013
341
381
fulltiming rv'er anywhere in the 48 states
Detector(s) used
Safari MINELAB, minelab pin pointer,lesche left sided teeth ,Lowe's short shovel,12'' sand scoop 5x9 in. 2900 battery
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Trash I get is usually low tones, Anything lower than 19 I have found is junk in my area. Even 39 turned out to be a wine bottle cap, down 3 inches. keep a small book and write down all junk numbers after awhile you will know which it is by the number you wrote down, did work for me when I started.
 

OP
OP
Bama Billy

Bama Billy

Sr. Member
Apr 2, 2018
261
503
Central Alabama
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Sheepdog and Sparilroad, get advice and I can you both had one. Iā€™m slowly learning that the number displays can be very misleading and Iā€™m focusing on my tones. I learned the other day that a pull tab and a nickel both read 15, so I layed them down and tried to hear the difference. Iā€™ve dug a ton of trash but at least I wonā€™t have to dig it twice right? Iā€™ve got the 8x6 on the way!
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,425
Massachusetts
šŸ„‡ Banner finds
1
šŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Using an Minelab Explorer (II and SE) series detector in trashy areas, I use the following [will fit the Safari]:

Little trash: Stock SE coil
Medium trash: Sun Ray X-8 coil
Heavy trash: Sun Ray X-5 coil

I periodically use a large Coiltek for some "clean" farm field areas, but these are few and far between.
 

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