If I were hunting over a known shipwreck site, etc., then I'd be in PP and I'd be more inclined to treat the Excal like a PI and I'd dig most everything, would do the same thing if I were doing a bit of recon in search of a possible older site. But for modern beach hunting it simply serves no purpose other then to wear me out without covering much ground and I've personally never experienced the reward worth all the effort, though I have put it to the test many times. Right now the beaches are becoming so sanded in over here it's become a recent drop affair anyway, anything that survives through the next tide change is most likely going to get buried so deep in the churning soft sand a PI or a larger coil on the Excal isn't going to help much anyway. The best bet, the most sensitive setup you can use with decent depth and very tight hunting patterns.