Beach hunting - What is the best waterproof/land detector....on a budget

[CoinCollector1982]

Hi! I am trying to get some ideas on my first detector. I live in FL, close to the beach so I was thinking something that could possibly go at least a foot into the water, but also be used on the sand and on grass, etc. I don't need anything top of the line.

 

[bigscoop]

Unfortunately, machine requirements and machine expense tend to follow the same graduation as you go from dry sand, to wet sand, to saltwater. When you add the description "waterproof" this alone gets you to a minimum of about $600.00 unless you can find a reliable used machine, which is pretty difficult since they are in increasing demand. As for new machines that will allow you to water hunt, the Garrett AT Pro and the Tesoro Sand Shark are at the lower "expense end" of the "new" all purpose saltwater waterproof beach machines. And, you should probably take a study of both of these machines as they are at complete opposite ends of the two general types of technologies manufacturers use.

 

[MBbeachrat]

I don't need anything top of the line.

Your wrong. You do need top of the line. You live in Florida. Excalibur II or CZ 21. Don't waste money on anything less.

 

[LuckyLarry]

MBeachrat is correct, and especially the CZ 21. The AT Pro is just a do-all, but not the best at anything.

 

[DewGuru]

Do yourself a favor and don't fall into the matra of "it costs more, its better", that many do. It Simply ain't so.

 

[mikeybgoode]

Your wrong. You do need top of the line. You live in Florida. Excalibur II or CZ 21. Don't waste money on anything less.

what does FL have to do with it? I'm a newbie so may be a stupid ? but I'm looking for my first md too

 

[Buzzlitebeer]

I bought an F4 and use it on the wet and dry sand in FL. There is a bit of a learning curve, but if you have the patience and ground balance correctly it works great. I think of it as my dues before I can go out and get an Excal! This is not a water machine for sure so please dont think you can run this one in the surf!

HH

 

[Jason in Enid]

Sadly, "water hunting" and "budget" don't exist together if want to have a real detector. Your cheapest solution would be with a PI (pulse induction) but then you dig everything. If you want avoid digging most iron you need a VLF and there are only a few VLFs that are up to the task of saltwater beach / water hunting.

 

[bigscoop]

Getting your feet wet in this hobby doesn't require a top of the line machine. Truth is, there's a lot to learn before you'll ever even start to get the most out of any machine. The greatest part of success in this hobby has far less to do with the machine and way more to do with learning how to read a beach and learning good techniques, etc. This said, if you plan to hunt the dry sand, wet sand, and saltwater environment then you'll at least need a machine that is designed to handle these various conditions. The saltwater environment is far different then a freshwater environment due to the increased mineralization of the salt/sand/water mixture, and also the black sand, obviously these factors alone add cost to the machines that are capable of handling this mineralized and corrosive environment. Do you want the capability to discriminate the various metals? The answer to this question is also critical to choosing a machine. Typically, better discrimination capabilities also increases the cost of the machine, and so on and so on. The Sand Shark is a "great machine" for the money and it has a great warranty, but it does not have the ability to discriminate which means that it's pretty much a dig-it-all all proposition. Posters are correct when they say, "Buy a CZ-21 or Excal" if you desire top performance with the ability to discriminate. So you see, there is much you need to research and to decide upon as your question is far more complicated to address then you might think. Best advice = find a local club so you can learn all this stuff and actually try the various machines out before you buy. "There is nothing worse then being stuck with a machine that either isn't up to the task or that you have no confidence in."

 

[MBbeachrat]

what does FL have to do with it? I'm a newbie so may be a stupid ? but I'm looking for my first md too

Everything your blessed to be in a location where you can water or beach hunt so much. Take advantage of this put in the extra money and get and Excalibur or CZ21. This is not a dress rehearsal.

 

[MBbeachrat]

PI you will dig to much junk. Many have been there and done that. PI is good for find all ship wrecks. Only a few use PIs. They are a special breed.

 

[DewGuru]

Everyone has their favorite detector brands. Everyone claims their brand is the best. Very few can differentiate why. A metal detector is made with one purpose. Finding metal. There is not a single form of discrimination, a single tone, a single id meter, which operates with precision flawlessly, with ANY brand. A detector is only as good as the detectorist using it. These are indisputable facts.

PI machines have no discrimination. Key to a PI machine is a good ear, and you can pick/choose the targets you want to dig. Their just as capable, some say more so, than any VLF machine on the market. https://www.facebook.com/TesoroSandShark will show just a bit of what I, and others, dig regularly with a PI machine.

Many like to boast about the iron discrimination of VLF machines. Granted, a nice feature, and it works, as a whole. What you don't hear about, is the flip side of that coin, about all the tiny bits of aluminum foil and tin that they love. Pros and cons on both sides of the equation.

People ask me regularly, what is the key to my success. My answer is simple, and to the point:

"Machine go beep, dig hole".

He who digs the most trash, finds the most treasure!

 

[OBN]

No one said it better then the "SandMan"

(C) Sandman, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
"TIME IS THE ONLY THING YOU NEVER GET BACK, WHY WASTE IT SWINGING A DETECTOR THAT ISN'T UP TO THE TASK."


Minelab Sovereign XS 2A Pro Metal Detector | eBay

Sovereign, throw it in a WP bag, and hunt with the bigboys........watch the forums forsales, they go for 275 to 375 ====BBS Excalibur

Friendly Metal Detecting Forums

Same for the explorer series, WP bag...==== CTX

Fisher Metal Detector CZ6A Quicksilver with Hard Case | eBay

Bob/Nebr posted this over on the other forum to someone....cz6a or newer cz., throw it in a WP bag, ==== CZ20

Someone (Big Companies) found out these land machines did very well in the saltwater, so the thur the guts into a WP case, threw in some flash..then they doubled the price on them...

 

[lost items recovery]

Tesoro Sand Shark! P.I. technology yes u will dig all but gets the gold and goes deep! 8" coil model $570 something. Runs in VCO mode and it's awesome for close by target detection. Rated for 200 ft water depth and comes with a lifetime warranty. How could you go wrong?
Strongly recommended!

 

[Beachbumtnt]

A PI for the water and wet sand, a excal for water,wet sand and the dry sand,but what do you use for" small gold" in the dry sand??

 

[lost items recovery]

I use my shark for water, wet sand and dry sand. If you use a discriminating machine, you still have to dig bottle caps and pull tabs same as a PI. You also can discriminate out small gold why risk it? The only thing I'm digging that a discriminater machine isn't picking up is some iron on occasion but than I get to remove it like an obstacle that could be on top of a gold object. Leave the iron leave the object that's under it " if there is one".

 

[dewcon4414]

Im the flip side of DewGuru's coin. I prefer to cover more beach....... jumping in the first time you do not know what to expect no more than i do on a beach ive never hunted. Ive hunted a couple of locations so far that was a bear even with a disc machine. On those days i prefer to cherry pick. Dew is good and his SS serves him well up there. My suggestion is find the best machine for your needs.... be it PI or VLF dont let price be the issue because they will pay for their selves. BOTH machines will find the gold. This aint dirt digging and you arent looking for clad out there. Cant argue with the SS warranty thou over the VLF choices.

Dew

 

[boris]

Tesoro sting ray used[half price] has been excellent for 8 years, previous 30 wore out BHs that were no good on wet sand or rain! HH Boris