Is it worth it?

[crazy4coins]

Hi everyone!
I own a Fisher F2 and have a couple years worth of experience with land/dry sand hunting. Now I'm starting to think about the benefits of getting a saltwater machine (Tesoro Sand Shark) that I could use on the beaches this summer. However, to keep myself from shelling out $575 on a piece of wall art, I have a couple questions.

1. If I can go to the beach 1-2 times per week for ~6 hours a time during the summer months (8 weeks), is it worth investing in a dedicated saltwater detector?

2. I'm aware that the Sand Shark (and other pi's) cannot discriminate. Will I drive myself insane with digging junk and save up for an Excalibur? Is it really worth more than 2x the $$$?

Thanks,
Crazy4coins

 

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[DewGuru]

I've used and owned both. I still swear by my Sand Shark and my posts speak for themselves.
A recent post here by Ron Lord showed his $12k ring found, and it was with a Sand Shark.
Feel free to peruse my Shark Fan page in my signature line to see many, many others.

Whatever machine you go with, get out and swing it, it you don't, you'll not find it.

 

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[ARC]

In order to hit the good stuff...
You have to dig the bad...
There is no way around it...
You can "minimize" this to some degree...
But the more you minimize this... the more you can miss.

IF you are on a "site" with history... dig it all... why would you want to discrim iron here ?
IF you are on a beach... you may want to discrim SOME... but not much.

What IS important... is the detectors ability to detect and IMO its depth.

The machine you choose should be based on its abilities to detect in the area you want...
Beach with heavy min... then a machine that handles this without interference from this...
Old woods rundown farm house... any.

You are not going to "See" what you are digging until you have dug it.

My suggestion is buy a machine that suits your "needs".

 

[OBN]

Hi everyone!
I own a Fisher F2 and have a couple years worth of experience with land/dry sand hunting. Now I'm starting to think about the benefits of getting a saltwater machine (Tesoro Sand Shark) that I could use on the beaches this summer. However, to keep myself from shelling out $575 on a piece of wall art, I have a couple questions.

1. If I can go to the beach 1-2 times per week for ~6 hours a time during the summer months (8 weeks), is it worth investing in a dedicated saltwater detector?

2. I'm aware that the Sand Shark (and other pi's) cannot discriminate. Will I drive myself insane with digging junk and save up for an Excalibur? Is it really worth more than 2x the $$$?

Thanks,
Crazy4coins

1. One nice find can pay for a water detector, 12 hours a week you should have no problem paying for it with fresh drops.

2. Location will play a big part on the PI, they can make you or break you. I would suggest a CZ 2o, used they can go for 450 to 700.oo and do as well as any machine out there. The Excalibur worth the 2x money? For me yes...

 

[dewcon4414]

Id always advise a new person to go with the VLF first.... you just cover more beach and in the most part you are looking for recent drops. I believe you will pay for the equipment faster. Run your machine in AM........ that will give you an idea whats on the beach. Consider ... in the water about 2/3 less stuff but a good bit of that is trash. Take a look at the finds......... most of us pull one.... maybe 2 golds when we time it right. So how valuable is it to not cover as much beach where you know others have been pounding it.

 

[Higgy]

...getting a saltwater machine (Tesoro Sand Shark) that I could use on the beaches this summer. However, to keep myself from shelling out $575 on a piece of wall art, I have a couple questions.

1. If I can go to the beach 1-2 times per week for ~6 hours a time during the summer months (8 weeks), is it worth investing in a dedicated saltwater detector?

2. I'm aware that the Sand Shark (and other pi's) cannot discriminate. Will I drive myself insane with digging junk and save up for an Excalibur? Is it really worth more than 2x the $$$?

You seem to be centered on either the expense of time or the expense of the detector, and whether or not you'll get a return on your investment. I have a couple MDing buddies who can't seem to get that out of their heads either. They feel the need to either lament or brag about how quickly their detectors paid for themselves. My philosophy does not follow that thinking at all.

I think that THing in general is a pleasurable pastime, and should be treated as such. Like boats? Many people buy boats and never once calculate how many times they use their boats during the summer vs the cost-per-outing. Calculate the payment, gas, insurance, and other variables, and it would surprise you just how much a boat costs you every time you take it out.

This was a project I did in an accounting class I had in college years ago. I used an example of a $30,000 bass boat. I figured in how much I would put down on it, the interest rate, the payments, and everything right down to the gas and sandwiches. Then I figured how many weekends, we had in the typical season up here in NH, and figured that in as well. If I went Saturday and Sunday EVERY weekend during the season, I would wind up spending approximately $200+ every outing. AMAZING.

What I'm saying is, that it will haunt you if you always think of your detector as a money-maker, and it may inhibit you from enjoying yourself. Isn't that what this hobby is all about? You are asking us if it will be worth it for you to buy a water detector. I am saying to ask yourself. If you will enjoy a little bit of being on the ocean or lake, getting a change of scenery, and possibly getting some different finds, then do it. If you are going headlong into it thinking you'll be finding rings like OBN, you may have a bit of a learning curve, hehe.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Like you said, penzfan, I was going to start out with the SS, but I have absolutely NO IDEA how trashy the beaches I would hunt are. I wish I could try one out for a day.

Do you see people fishing often? Is commercial crabbing allowed off shore? Are there buildings, piers or man made structures on the beach? Do hurricanes or Nor'easterns affect your beaches, if yes to any your most likely going to have a dirty beach.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Which tabs are you able to leave and know they aren't gold?

NONE!

 

[crazy4coins]

Do you see people fishing often? Is commercial crabbing allowed off shore? Are there buildings, piers or man made structures on the beach? Do hurricanes or Nor'easterns affect your beaches, if yes to any your most likely going to have a dirty beach.

It's not often that I see people fishing/crabbing there, but we definitely get our fair share of winter storms. Thanks for pointing that out

 

[crazy4coins]

You seem to be centered on either the expense of time or the expense of the detector, and whether or not you'll get a return on your investment. I have a couple MDing buddies who can't seem to get that out of their heads either. They feel the need to either lament or brag about how quickly their detectors paid for themselves. My philosophy does not follow that thinking at all.

I think that THing in general is a pleasurable pastime, and should be treated as such. Like boats? Many people buy boats and never once calculate how many times they use their boats during the summer vs the cost-per-outing. Calculate the payment, gas, insurance, and other variables, and it would surprise you just how much a boat costs you every time you take it out.

This was a project I did in an accounting class I had in college years ago. I used an example of a $30,000 bass boat. I figured in how much I would put down on it, the interest rate, the payments, and everything right down to the gas and sandwiches. Then I figured how many weekends, we had in the typical season up here in NH, and figured that in as well. If I went Saturday and Sunday EVERY weekend during the season, I would wind up spending approximately $200+ every outing. AMAZING.

What I'm saying is, that it will haunt you if you always think of your detector as a money-maker, and it may inhibit you from enjoying yourself. Isn't that what this hobby is all about? You are asking us if it will be worth it for you to buy a water detector. I am saying to ask yourself. If you will enjoy a little bit of being on the ocean or lake, getting a change of scenery, and possibly getting some different finds, then do it. If you are going headlong into it thinking you'll be finding rings like OBN, you may have a bit of a learning curve, hehe.

You hit the nail on the head here. I too love the thrill of the hunt, even if I come home empty handed at the end of the day. However, I find that I need some valuable finds sprinkled in the mix every once in a while just to keep me going. If all I find on my trips to the beach is iron, I'm not going to be as eager or excited to return.

 

[crazy4coins]

So I took a visit to metal detector.com and spoke with none other than Bill Ladd. I was very surprised when he recommended (drum roll).... The Makro Racer. I was a bit skeptical, but when I got back home I hit up some YouTube videos and was shocked to see how well it performed. My hope is that it could serve my needs as both a beach hunter, and an upgrade to my F2 on land.