Handheld or built-in pinpointer....which is generally more accurate?

[Ricardo_NY1]

For those of you who have had or use metal detectors with pin pointing ability and also have or have used a handheld pinpointer, which option generally works out better? Do metal detectors with a pinpoint feature like a BH 3300 pinpoint as accurately as a quality handheld pinpointer? I have my eye on a detector that has pinpointing, and am wondering wether I will still end up having to buy a pinpointer.

 

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[hollowpointred]

they are two different animals. the pinpoint feature on your detector will tell you where to dig, but a handheld pinpointer will find the target if it is in the side of the hole or in the pile of dirt you excavated. i use both together. you can use the detectors pinpoint feature by itself, but once you use it in tandem with a handheld you will wonder how you got by without one. well worth the extra $60 in my opinion.

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

Rookie's question here.........how exactly does a pinpointer/probe work? Can they say begin to detect the location of a coin from the surface or do they have to be inserted into the soil in the area one thinks the coin may be in? Do they have the same penetration as a full size metal detector?. I've never used a pinpointer, never seen one used. I'm just wondering if holding the tip of the PP just above the surface will begin to signal a target's position, or if it actually has to be inserted into the soil so it can get close to the target and then it starts to signal. I'd love to hear a description/example of a typical recovery assisted by the use of a pinpointer.

 

[hollowpointred]

it depends. the sunray probes that are mounted directly to the detector can detect to about 3 inches and function exactly like a small search coil when switched on. the small handheld models have a range of more like 1 1/2 to 2 inches and work much better by scanning the hole you dug.