Coil Question

Sapper724

Sr. Member
May 28, 2013
425
184
Northwestern WI
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT PRO (Current)
Minelab Etrac (Current)
Garrett Pro Pointer
Sampson 31" Digger

Fisher F2 (RIP)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
That's a sniper coil, used to get into super trashy areas, next to fences, tough to reach areas, and anywhere your bigger coils can't go. I used to have an F2, awesome little machines with a perfect weight. Remember though, smaller coils don't go as deep. I usually went with the 8, but you might need the 4 in some situations. I always wanted the 11 inch DD, but I had to send my F2 back before I bought one. You should like it. Good luck!
 

Cycluran

Full Member
Aug 14, 2013
213
99
Pittsburgh
Detector(s) used
Forked Stick
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Think of it like this. The larger coil, in a trashy area, can hover over many different metal objects at one time. Your machine may be "tricked" into thinking that the quarter lying near a piece of iron, is just a piece of iron. With the smaller coil, there's less of a chance of hovering over multiple targets, and your machine can bounce a signal off of each, individually.
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
You'll be surprised how often a small coil is useful. Much more so than an extra large one IMHO>
luvdux
 

TNGUNS

Bronze Member
Jun 23, 2012
2,368
1,208
Evensville, Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Whites 5900, Fisher 1266x, Tesoro Eldorado, Tesoro Silver Sabre, Whites Eagle Spectrum, Teknetics G2, Teknetics T2, Vibra-Probe 580
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I received my new F2 and it came with a extra 4" coil. In what type of situation would I use this coil instead of the 8" coil? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks DRS.

Many years ago one of my hunting buddies convinced me to try a sniper coil. He was also a dealer. I had previously "hunted out" what I still feel was the best yard I have ever hunted. My first large cents, indian heads galore, seateds and so on. The likelihood of getting a real keeper was so high that I made my last few trips and came back with NOTHING. I mean I felt like I had hunted it completely out. Also tried with a new detector and was able to pull a few more. Went back to the heaviest concentration areas with the little coil as soon as I got it and it was like old coins had grown back. Found around 20 keepers my first day. In the more open areas it was of little help. In the trash it rocked. Remember one thing on the little coils as well; it is true they get less depth but it is not proportionate. A 4 inch coil is not going to cut the depth in half over an 8 inch. In my opinion you loose about 20%. The test id did was years ago and some of the more knowledgeable folks on here may give you percentages that are more accurate than mine. Good luck.:laughing7:
 

OP
OP
D

drsmithtft

Tenderfoot
Sep 4, 2013
7
0
Ennis, Tx
Detector(s) used
Fisher F2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I will try the sniper coil out at the local lake swimming area. the water is way down.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
All the answers you've gotten here are good descriptions of the plus sides of smaller coils. Just be aware that their downside is, of course, less depth. That's the trade-off :)

Conversely, yes, the larger the coil, the deeper it goes. However there comes a point of "diminishing returns" on this: At a certain point of increasingly larger coil sizes, you no longer get coin-sized objects any deeper. You only get larger objects deeper. That "point of diminishing returns" on most detectors is about 8 to 10". Hence that is the stock coil sizes of most detectors, since that optimum for coin-sized objects (which is most often the target sizes we md'rs are angling for).
 

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