How do you guys hunt in the brush with the Pro coil???

[njnydigger]

How in the heck do you hunt in the brush with the stock coil on the Minelab's? (I have a Safari).
The open coil keeps getting caught up on every twig, branch and doodad in my sweeps. Any tips or tricks you guys can recommend? Also, when there is a hefty layer of leaves covering the ground (say an inch or so), will the detector "see through" the leaves and brush, or, is it the same thing as detecting through dirt??

Oh yeah, is there a solid coil cover made for the Minelab's to put on the coil to make it closed versus open?

 

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[Woodland Detectors]

That's a great question.
I feel your pain as far as fighting with the snags.
I personally run in all metal where I get plenty of depth.
You obviously can't brush the coil near to the floor due to plant growth,vines, etc... You just do what you can do to detect.
Fortunately, older relics don't wander too deep in the forest floor so you should be able to get a tone with the coil, above snarls of the vegetation.
I hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Mach1Pilot]

In reality... and I'm not trying to be smart mouthed with this reply, but the only way to combat that is either a brush hog or detect in the spring after the snow has flattened the vegetation.

 

[Dano Sverige]

A small DD eliptical coil or the 8x6 SEF would help. The eliptical's probably better as it's a solid coil. If you want to be cheap...tie a frisbee over the bottom of the pro coil.

 

[Iron Patch]

Oh yeah, is there a solid coil cover made for the Minelab's to put on the coil to make it closed versus open?

Sunray used to make plugs for the early stock coils but I don't believe they stuck with the idea.

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Ya know, now that Iron Patch posted that I vaguely remember someone saying that a different brand detector coil cover would fit the pro coil perfectly.... Tesoro maybe?? Someone may remember for sure....

 

[Iron Patch]

Ya know, now that Iron Patch posted that I vaguely remember someone saying that a different brand detector coil cover would fit the pro coil perfectly.... Tesoro maybe?? Someone may remember for sure....

There is an 11" round wide scan coil.

 

[neilo]

Buy yourself a Coiltek Joey Coil they are great in the bush as they are eliptical, narrow very light, sensitive and cant get tangled up in bushes. Neilo

 

[Iron Patch]

Buy yourself a Coiltek Joey Coil they are great in the bush as they are eliptical, narrow very light, sensitive and cant get tangled up in bushes. Neilo

But have moisture issues, or did. That was always a dealer breaker for me.

 

[XT18000]

Make your self a cardboard or plastic cover and attach it with
plastic twist ties. No big deal!

 

[mpostma]

I hunt the brush with my 5" Sunray. I find that it lets me get into all the tight spaces, and up against small bushes and trees.
As mentioned targets tend to be shallower in the woods, so the smaller coil works well for me.

Keep in mind that only the center is live on a coil, so you have about 4 and a half inches of "dead zone" when you are bumping brush with the larger coil.

Small solid coils are the way to go. I use on on my Quattro, and on my E-Trac too.

Good Luck,
Mark

 

[U.K. Brian]

With these types of coils I just place on a bit of corrugated plastic as used for "house for sale" signs. Run round with a pencil, cut out and attach to the coil by taping round the outer edge. If its a large coil that will sag in the centre a small square of velcro will hold it.

This plastic version of corrugated cardboard weighs almost nothing.

 

[JOE(USA)]

njnydigger,

The Sunray coil plugs DO work very well on the Minelab in the woods. The open parts of the coil are mainly what is making it snag things. I have found that the plugs need to be glued in or they will pop out during heavy use. I always carry a pair of pruners in the woods for use when I find a hot spot. I feel that going to a smaller coil in most situations for woods hunting is really counter productive because of the loss of depth. Yes, the electromagnetic field from the coil goes right through the leaves and forest litter. You do of course lose that corresponding depth into the soil. Joe

 

[JohnnieWalker]

will a frisbee fit on it with a couple #64 rubber bands?

 

[JOE(USA)]

JohnnieWalker,

Hey, getting creative and saving $$ is always good. If you found a Frisbee the right size, I'm sure it would work well. Over the years I've done a lot of improvising regarding metal detecting, sometimes it works, sometimes buying the right piece of equipment is the way to go. Having the right equipment in this hobby is paramount. Too much is at stake to miss out because of not having the right gear. Joe

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Ya know, now that Iron Patch posted that I vaguely remember someone saying that a different brand detector coil cover would fit the pro coil perfectly.... Tesoro maybe?? Someone may remember for sure....

There is an 11" round wide scan coil.

I finally remembered where I saw that, it is in another forum. As usual Iron Patch nailed it, it is the TESORO widescan 11" coil cover that fits perfectly over a pro coil. The fellow that discovered it even had a picture of it over at the other site and it looked good.

 

[lostlake88]

Do yourself a favor and try an 8" coil. It was mentioned in a previous post that coins and relics tend to be shallow in the woods and this is true. The 8" will get you enough depth to find what you want and it is much easier to navigate through the brush. Look how shallow these seated dimes were.