Thank you very much for information on the V3i which is really the Big Daddy of the VX3. I liked how it does show information on the target. It seems mighty interesting. Also read it was heavy and that seems to be a big issue with a lot of people. But seriously anything built worth a hoot is going to have some heft to it. That price tag though, is what makes it unattainable for me. It is a fascinating machine though and so is the VX3.
Since you own the MX Sport, how does it do for you in iron trash and bottlecap hades areas? The MX Sport I've also looked at and its good you have one and also the V3i so you can be a good source of information on how much better the V3i does against the MX Sport.
I've had a couple Whites's machines years ago. Classic II SL and a Classic ID I think it was. I remember them being well built.
For whatever reason it seems that bottle caps are plentiful in most of the locations that I hunt.
They often sound like good targets (good VDI too) with both the V3i and the MX Sport — but it is fairly easy to tell the target is a bottle cap with both machines.
On the V3i there is a bottle cap reject option — I never use it though. To me it is easier to pull the pin point trigger and see which frequencies are hitting the hardest — green and the target is most likely a coin, red and the target is very likely a bottle cap.
Flip the trigger forward and the V3i gives a bit more info on the target. In polar-plot a bottle cap is almost always a squiggly mess, while coins generally show diagonal lines (for each frequency) with green being the most dominate. I tend to use polar-plot less than I used to though, as I get the needed information when pin pointing.
On the MX Sport I tend to hunt with the iron volume around 30 or so — that lets me hear the iron at a lower volume. A bottle cap sounds good (with a good VDI) quite often, but wiggling the coil back so the target is just off the front of the coil will let you hear the iron grunt of a bottle cap, while a coin still sounds like a coin should.
Concentric coils tend to be much better regarding bottle caps. I almost never get fooled (by bottle caps) with the MX5 (concentric spider coil) or the MX Sport (using the 6 inch concentric coil).
It is possible to get fooled (both the V3i and the MX Sport) by the occasional bottle cap — especially when using DD coils — but for the most part they aren’t an issue. I think the V3i is a bit better at identifying them — thanks to the visual aid of the pin point screen — but the MX Sport is no slouch once you’ve learned to wiggle back and listen for the iron grunt.
Were I forced to get rid of one or the other (V3i or MX Sport) I would keep the V3i. Some of that is because I have other waterproof machines available, but most of that is because the V3i is so customizable and I just love the machine.
However…
Were I in the market for a new machine — and owned neither the V3i or the MX Sport — I would lean heavily toward the MX Sport. It is a very capable machine, it’s waterproof, and it costs less. With the V3i I’m hesitant to use it when it seems like rain is likely, with the MX Sport the threat of rain means nothing at all.
Machine vs machine (my thoughts)
I think the V3i gives more target information, is far more customizable, can be tailored to the conditions and the user’s hunting style, and is possibly a bit deeper (if set up correctly). I think the V3i remains one of the top machines on the market.
I think the MX Sport is less customizable, with far fewer bells and whistles, but has faster recovery, has better ground balancing, and is deeper (stock program vs stock program). I think the MX Sport is the most under rated machine on the market.
