I need advice.

[BigBeefy]

Hello
I am looking to buy a metal detector. I have narrowed my choices to three.
I will do some salt beach hunting. Would like to go into water, but not diving.
I will also do fresh water beaches and rivers/lakes.
I will also do land hunting when I can.
It's not a deal breaker if I don't get a waterproof machine but I definitely need a machine that can do both salt water and wet sand as well as dry TN dirt.

I live in East Tennessee and we have a wide range of soils from thick clay to highly mineralized soil.

My choices are
Excalibur 1000 II
Sovereign GT
Whites MXT Pro

Which would you recommend?
Also what is the lead time for the three above machines?

Thank You,

Peter Bartolomeo

Sent from my iPhone4

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

If its mineralized you will need a Multi frequency or a PI machine to get deep. Sov GT if you dont plan to get wet. I can usually ship same day depending on time of order.

Feel free to give me a call. Love to help you. Bart

 

[LowTideJoe]

The White MXT Pro is an excellent machine, but in the water, I found it to false. I just traded my MXT in for a Minelab Excalibur II. If that MXT gets submerged under water, you will be very sorry. The MXT or MXT Pro is excellent on land. I have heard the Sovereign GT is excellent on land as well. The Excal II can be heavy so you will also want to get a hip mount as well. Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck and good hunting!

 

[The Descriminator]

The Excalibur is really a specialized machine. I hear it's great for beach hunting. I'm also looking to get a beach/water machine but it seems to me that I'll need two machines to do all I need to do. The new MinLab CTX 3030 looks like a nice unit but very pricey(submersable to 10 feet). I hear the Garret AT Pro is a good all around for dry and fresh water. It's submersable up to 10 feet as well which is perfect for shallow fresh rivers and does well on dry land so I'm told. I'm a Whites person myself but I don't have much faith in them for under water or even salt applications so my research tells me I need two detectors. I'm still researching that one. Otherwise maybe the Garret AT Pro is a good choice. Hope that gives you something to think about. Good Luck!!!

 

[Terry Soloman]

If its mineralized you will need a Multi frequency or a PI machine to get deep. Sov GT if you dont plan to get wet. I can usually ship same day depending on time of order.

Feel free to give me a call. Love to help you. Bart

I'm with Bart on this one. The Sov GT is the machine you want. Weight, sensitivity, discrimination, up to 14" in depth in wet saltwater sand. A Great all-around hunter. Good Luck!

 

[cudamark]

If you're going INTO the water, Excalibur without a doubt is the best of the three you listed. You WILL drop the machine in the water...period. You do that with the Sov or MXT and they're history. The only real drawbacks to the Excalibur are: weight....get the hip mount as mentioned, no depth or ID meter if you're used to one, and the tone ID isn't as good as the others but still ok once you get used to it. Depth and stability is wonderfull however. The Minelab CTX3030 might be the best all around detector out there but all the votes aren't in yet. Good reports so far but lets see how they hold up for while before we pass judgement.

 

[norbyx]

From what I can see you already have two good land metal detectors. So dedicate to have a water machine. Excalibur II would be my choice from the ones you listed. Now if you plan on selling your main land machines and have just ONE detector than maybe the 3030 is the way to go...
Good luck.