Minelab or Minelab

[Scots Gaelic]

So, currently I have a Bounty Hunter (Quick Draw II) & have settled on getting a Minelab. I hunt dry land but am very interested in beaches (as I am 10 miles aways from Calif. beaches). I am trying to decide witch one is best to get 1st - Explorer SE or Excalibur 1000.

Please help lessen my stress.............

 

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[desertfox]

Good choice in detectors. If you are going to do a lot of beach and water hunting go for the 1000, you can also use it on dry land. On the other hand if you are going to do mostly land hunting get the EXP you can also use it in the wet and dry sand at the beach. And it does a good job, just don't get the controls wet! If it were me, I'd go with the 1000..... Just my opinion.

Desertfox HH

 

[Weasel_Loader]

What about a Sov GT? I've hear they are excellent beach/salt water hunters and do well on land too. Can be hip mounted for keeping dry on beaches. If I had to have only one and did 50/50 beach and water, I'd look at the GT.

 

[seas1to2]

all of the sovereigns are great for the beach, dry sand right down to the waters edge they run smooth as silk an the controls are you set it an forget it no matter were you decide wet or dry.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

When you say beach, are you talking about dry/wet sand or actually in the surf deeper then your knees?

I have both an Excal 1000 and 2 Sovereign GT's, both with the WOT coil, and one of which has been waterproofed. If your going to be deeper then your knees in the surf, you will have to be very careful or a Sov will become an expensive paperweight. If your only knee deep or less the Sov GT would be my suggestion, and is what I personally use.

The Excal 1000 is a fantastic beach detector, but there is just something about the Sov that makes it better to me. The tones are different, they are richer, a little more pronounced and it seems to be deeper. With that said, I still love and recommend the Excal 1000 which is why I still have one, I use to have 2 but sold one when I got my water proofed Sov. Added note, I sold the Excal for $75 less then what I paid for it when I bought it used approx 14 months earlier. THEY HOLD THEIR VALUE, especially if bought used. They are a little heavy for land use, but by using a harness (I highly recommend it) you would have no trouble on land.

I started off with my first Sov GT using it on the sand and up to my knees in the surf and fell in love with it. I found myself using the Sov GT more and more when I went to the beach and my Excal was used less, only using it when I was going deeper then my knees in the surf which you can't always do here due to the rough water. I spotted an Ad here on TN for a Sov GT a hunter had custom built to be waterproof and I jumped on it. My Excal hasn't been wet since I got the W.P. Sov GT.

Bottom line, if your going to be water hunting a lot, in the surf deeper then your knees, and can't find a custom water proofed Sov GT then go with the Excal. If your only going to be an occasional beach hunter and rarely deeper then your knees go for the Sov GT. It is a fantastic land and beach hunter up to your knees..

Detectors are like golf clubs, different choices for different situtations..........

These are only my opinions, I am not expert in any form. I am a water hunter, but still a newbie, I have only been hunting (addicted) for 21 months.

 

[Scots Gaelic]

Than you all. I am leaning towards the 1000. I sounds better than my B.H. QD II. & will work for both beach & land.

Does anyone know if the sun-probe will work with this also?

 

[seas1to2]

everything on the 1000 is hard wired in, you can't add anything to it

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Seas is correct, Excal is all hard wired. Only way to add the sun-spot would be to do it with splices. You would have to add splice connectors to the coil and to the sun-spot, and you couldn't use the sun-spot in the surf, and on the beach you would still have to be careful for the salt spray...

You can change coils and headphones, but to keep your warranty you would have to send it in to Minelab. A friend of mine sent in his out of warranty Excal 800, he had a Coiltek Wot coil. and new waterproof headphones hard wired into his unit, he had them go through and replace anything they found that they thought should be replaced. It only cost him $100 including the shipping.

If your Excal is under warranty and you send it to them to make changes to coils or headphones, they will continue to honor the warranty, if you hard wire it yourself, or you use water proof splices it voids your warranty..........

Good luck and good hunting...........

 

[Gilligan]

What about a Sov GT? I've hear they are excellent beach/salt water hunters and do well on land too. Can be hip mounted for keeping dry on beaches. If I had to have only one and did 50/50 beach and water, I'd look at the GT.

Howdy, I am at Seymour Johnson, a fire dog. I have 11 yrs active and now 12 yrs as a DOD civ. I have a GT. I have used it at the beach once so far and was very impressed with it's stability. I am still learning it, but it is a great detector. Take care, Bryan

 

[Born2Dtect]

Land? Beach? Water? We all have the same dilemma. I use a EXP II on land, beach, and in the water (only about 1 foot deep), it does well in all, you just don,t want to get it wet. Last summer I wanted to go water detecting, I could not afford an Excal too, so I got a good used Whites PI Pro for $300 and a SS sand scoop for $125. It also worked well. The only thing is I did not go as often as expected, only 3 times. The beach is 1 1/2 hours away. I decided until I get closer to the beach I will not get a Excal II. Looks like for now I saved myself over $1,000. I believe that most detector work well in one or two areas. If you can afford it get one that works well on land and another that works well in the water, either should work in the sand.

Ed D.