Should we buy deepest detector or not?

[George (MN)]

We hate to miss things that could be valuable, but what if we detect mostly manicured lawns such as schoolyards, private yards, & parks? If we can't make a hole neatly beyond 5" deep with our probe such as screwdriver, should we not buy detector that goes beyond 5" & save $1,000+?

We like to see impressive air tests if we do them, and congratulate ourselves on buying the best. But what if we get arrested for digging a foot deep hole? Should we not buy a detector that tempts us to dig that deep? What is the rational way to think about this?

Is we don't hunt private property, our deepest coins might come from beaches, sand playgrounds and volleyball pits. Is 7"-8" about the max depth required for these places? Best wishes, George (MN)

 

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[Newfiehunter]

The site wasn't bulldozed since the ball field was never touched since the 1920's. All the older coins were coming up at depths of between 3 and 5 inches. The 8 inch Walking Liberty Half dollar was in softer soil and the 2 inch Walker was in more harder, compact soil. Don't forget, half dollars are much heavier than pennies, silver dimes and quarters. That would affect depth..

 

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[Sandman]

Many coins in parks near trees don't really sink but are covered with leaf debris. What ever you want to call it, they are deeper and a concentric coil can reach deeper but then more overlapping in needed.

 

[Phantasman]

Actually, you are competing with other detectorists. You either have to get to a good site first, or, be able to find the deep stuff that average detectorists leave behind.

You seem to believe that good sites and quality machines are mutually exclusive. Why not research good sites and hunt them with a deep seeking machine? I have a great site where I've dug 39 silver coins. I know this site was previously hunted hard by a guy using a Garrett AT Pro. He told me that he never found a silver coin there. That's probably because they were all deep and/or masked by trash. It took a high end machine and good technique to find them.

Pretending that all metal detectors are equally capable might be a nice reassuring myth for guys who can't, or don't want to, spend the money required for a high end machine; however, it is not true. Site selection is the most important variable for finding silver coins; however, once the site is located, high end equipment makes a huge difference.

So, the example is that Etrac's are deeper than AT Pro's,

Wonder why people sell Etracs and/or buy AT Pros. Why ever sell an Etrac? Wonder why all people just don't own an Etrac. Why consider anything else?

You just competed with a AT Pro in comment. That's what I meant. I admitted my machine is 80% of higher machines. You just not only accept the 20%, but brag about it.

Not everyone can buy $1500 machines. Just look down on us 80%ers and stay out of our way.

 

[dirtscratcher]

So, the example is that Etrac's are deeper than AT Pro's,

Wonder why people sell Etracs and

Because they don't take the time to learn them. Simple really.

 

[Bayard]

Not everyone can buy $1500 machines. Just look down on us 80%ers and stay out of our way.

I've got 39 silver coins from the site in question, and the other guy has zero. Despite having first shot, he got 0% of the silver coins, not 80%.

Nobody is looking down on guys with lesser machines. We're trying to explain that you're handicapping yourselves. We're not going to stay out of your way. We're going to clean out sites and leave you with nothing.

 

[Phantasman]

Because they don't take the time to learn them. Simple really.

Really?

An Etrac weighs 3.5 lbs BEFORE you slide in the battery. My detector weighs 2.3 lbs with the 9V battery. Right off the bat I can see that I would not be able to swing the Etrac as long due to fatigue. I can swing mine 6 hrs before I get arm tired (I'm 65).

It's the reason the XP Deus is becoming so popular is starting to hurt MineLab. Depth and lightness.

Don't insult hunters for not having an Etrac because they just don't know how to use them.

Personally, the Ex Cal is one of the best machines made, and the Musketeer would have been my choice years ago. Without all the TID junk, all detectors get better depth and the ExCal probably more than Etracs, when your mono a mono.

 

[Phantasman]

I've got 39 silver coins from the site in question, and the other guy has zero. Despite having first shot, he got 0% of the silver coins, not 80%.

Nobody is looking down on guys with lesser machines. We're trying to explain that you're handicapping yourselves. We're not going to stay out of your way. We're going to clean out sites and leave you with nothing.

I can see why you only have 1 like.

 

[Bayard]

I can see why you only have 1 like.

I joined this forum today. You can have hurt feelings or better finds, your choice. You seem to interpret everything as a personal attack; so, I presume you've made your choice.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Really?

An Etrac weighs 3.5 lbs BEFORE you slide in the battery. My detector weighs 2.3 lbs with the 9V battery. Right off the bat I can see that I would not be able to swing the Etrac as long due to fatigue. I can swing mine 6 hrs before I get arm tired (I'm 65).

It's the reason the XP Deus is becoming so popular is starting to hurt MineLab. Depth and lightness.

Don't insult hunters for not having an Etrac because they just don't know how to use them.

Personally, the Ex Cal is one of the best machines made, and the Musketeer would have been my choice years ago. Without all the TID junk, all detectors get better depth and the ExCal probably more than Etracs, when your mono a mono.

I'm not insulting anyone. You ask why they are selling them. I gave my honest opinion.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Among the detectors I have owned the Minelabs I have used are etrac, sovereign gt, safari, excal and now CTX 3030. I have hunted all day with each one at times and I'm 67 so their weight is not an issue, if weight becomes an issue for anyone a simple harness will correct it..

Please read and remember our rules, mods do enforce them.....

 

[Phantasman]

We're going to clean out sites and leave you with nothing.

I don't take it personally. I just know the statement has no merit. I hear it from the F75 people as well. And it never happens. Just talk.

 

[Phantasman]

I can see why you only have 1 like.

I thought about this after I left the house for awhile. My apologies to to Bayard. This was uncalled for on a new member.

Sorry........vacating thread.

 

[atomicscott]

I couldn't agree less with tid being useless after 8 inches. Get a fbs and learn it and you'll see what I mean. All this talk of depth not being important is only true to a certain extent. Anyplace around here that is public you won't find shallow silver but you will find them deep if you have the right detector. I'll add that I tried a vaquero for a year and half and dug very few silver coins and with a fbs dig more on good days than the whole time with the beep and dig. I did dig a whole lot more deep rusty crap with the Tesoro though.
I watched video, what they didn't show is a 8 inch deep rusty washer the vaquero would say dig me and the rest would say iron.

You got it buddy! I go by my own real world experience with my machines, not some youtube video. Back to back tests with my Vaquero & my F2 proved how much I missed with the Vaquero. That disc is sooooo inaccurate, I cannot even count all the dimes & quarters targets, that were actually rusty nails, washers, etc. If you got a good lower back and enjoy being surprised, by all means buy a Vaquero & be ready to dig it all. I have found dimes that ID'ed accurately to 10" in good ground with my X-Terra, Omega & even my F2. But for some reason the deepest coin I dug with the Vaq was a quarter at 9". Same site same patch of ground over & over.

 

[Terry Soloman]

We hate to miss things that could be valuable, but what if we detect mostly manicured lawns such as schoolyards, private yards, & parks? If we can't make a hole neatly beyond 5" deep with our probe such as screwdriver, should we not buy detector that goes beyond 5" & save $1,000+?

We like to see impressive air tests if we do them, and congratulate ourselves on buying the best. But what if we get arrested for digging a foot deep hole? Should we not buy a detector that tempts us to dig that deep? What is the rational way to think about this?

Is we don't hunt private property, our deepest coins might come from beaches, sand playgrounds and volleyball pits. Is 7"-8" about the max depth required for these places? Best wishes, George (MN)

Hello George! Well, it took me a while to read through four-pages of "my aluminum bat is better than your wooden bat," but I must say it was entertaining.

You should buy the best metal detector you can afford, and still have enough money left to get a good pair of headphones, a Lesche hand digger, a Predator shovel, quality kneepads, a good pinpointer, and a good pair of work gloves. Detectors come in three basic price ranges: $170.00-$350.00 (Entry Level Single Frequency VLF); $450.00-850.00 (Intermediate Level Single Frequency VLF); $900.00-$10,000.00 (Advanced & Specialty Level Multi-Frequency VLF and Pulse Induction).

Entry level machines all do 7'-8" with no problem on a quarter. Intermediate level machines can get you 8"-10" on a quarter. Advanced and Specialty machines cover a wide spectrum of depths that average 11"-29" on a quarter (I once found a Matchbox car at 36"+ in the dry sand at Jones beach in New York, with a Minelab GPX 5000!).

Don't fall into the brand wars. I use Tesoro and Minelab machines because I have had the most success with them. Other detectorists like Fisher, Whites and Garrett, just as much or more. Find a machine you are comfortable with in your price range and leave the arguing about depth to us old fart experts!

 

[Phantasman]

You should buy the best metal detector you can afford

Well. Maybe. But the depth thing is still over rated. Yes, my Etrac is deeper than your . It's BS. Why would I want a CTX3030 over an AT Pro? Not for depth, as this video shows. I'll save the extra grand or so.



If I want deeper targets, I'll get a bigger coil.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Well. Maybe. But the depth thing is still over rated. Yes, my Etrac is deeper than your . It's BS. Why would I want a CTX3030 over an AT Pro? Not for depth, as this video shows. I'll save the extra grand or so.



If I want deeper targets, I'll get a bigger coil.

Bigger coil worse seperation. Terrible video. Notice he shows all the settings on the minelab except sensitivity. He says auto +3 but everyone know they are deeper in manual. I guess someone could argue but that's just the truth. I've owned alot of detectors and most seem to be real close in depth with a big edge to fbs detectors iding better the deeper the target. Alot will hit as deep with terrible id.

 

[SouthFLdigger]

This is a complex question to answer because so much depends on soil strata and its history. Here in my area the limestone rock is coarse and shallow and most targets do not sink deep. However areas with none/deep limestone which can often change by a few miles coins sink very deep due to the sandy nature of our soil. Many central FL detectorists have found relics from the 1700s 16" down��. Beaches for example always hold good deep targets especially if sanded in, other beaches have a shallow or exposed hardpan and you just need 8" of detector depth to find targets. If your soils are sandy and rain is frequent you'll need a deep unit, deep does not always mean very expensive, the addition of a large coil helps much. If your soil is clay or live in arid or semiarid regions then perhaps a very deep unit is not needed.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Sometimes people think if they aren't finding coins down deep that means they aren't there. That seems to be the case in my area. I've talked to a couple old timers that told me anyone says they are finding silver in such and such park is a liar. I guess if they can't find the they aren't there?

 

[SouthFLdigger]

Deeper isn't always better. Time spent retrieving that deeper coin could get you more shallow coins for time spent.

As for wine I like the ones in boxes.

I can agree with this quite a bit, this weekend i was out with my SH MK2 in the wet sand digging nickels and pennies down to 12" looking for gold. I spend 6 hours and each of those foot deep holes listening for whispers took quite some time with very little to show for it. Another detectorist i met was in the dry sand with his 8" coil on a TID machine (705) scanning the towel line and found a small ring a pendant and much more change than i did in less time! I think a machine with "good" depth 8-10" in most soils is ideal for most.

 

[wingmaster]

Like stated above by others just dig a nice plug and carry a hand towel to put the extra dirt on so you can get it all back in the hole, I dig 10"+ holes in parks all the time and if done neat you won't be able to tell anybody was there. The parks around here have been detected hard since the 70's so all the silver left is mostly all 10"+. HH