New coils for Ace 350. Is it worth it?

[dave_e]

I'm getting to learn my Ace 350 and the standard 8.5"x11" DD coil that came with it.

I'm thinking about adding a couple extra coils. One for junky areas and one for covering more ground faster and deeper.

For a small one for sniping, should I look at something like the CORS Shrew 6.5"x3.5" DD or the Garrett 4.5" Sniper?

For depth and speed would adding a CORS Giant 15"x17" DD be worth it? Would it reach much deeper and cover much more ground per swing than the standard coil?

 

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[Kodiak43351]

Yes they would work for what your looking to do. The smaller coil is going to work better in trashy areas and bigger will cover more ground. It's still going to be harder to tell junk from good. I had the 350 and found great things just have to dig a lot of trash for the good stuff. I upgraded twice since then and am doing a lot better but trash still fools detector and me in real trashy areas. Good luck.

 

[dave_e]

Thanks. Also wondering if upgrading the detector itself would be a better use of the money than spending the extra money on more coils??

 

[kayden]

Just buy the AT Pro & sell the 350 .... Enjoy hunting the water & rain with no worries!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Thanks. Also wondering if upgrading the detector itself would be a better use of the money than spending the extra money on more coils??

I'm sure the Ace 350 will please you for some time to come. The question you have to ask yourself is one of mathematics. What is the cost of new coils versus an upgrade of the detector itself? How far do you want to go with the Ace before you will want something more serious? Your next logical step in that would be the AT Pro. And then here you'll read of others full of all kinds of temptations.

IMO, personally I'd upgrade the detector versus the coils. However, that 350 is quite capable. Some of us just can't be satisfied in terms of detecting power. Maybe don't let that become you - gets kinda expensive

Keep the faith!

It's Deep

 

[jharhed]

Just jump to the at pro a buddy of mine uses one, ive had the 350 and uhh... just get the pro i think that you' ll be amazed at the difference

 

[John-Edmonton]

Yes....get a new coil. Getting a different coil for your machine is like buying a new different metal detector at a small price. A new coil allows the machine to excel in a different environment. Small coils find the good targets in trashy areas, whereas a large coil will get better depth and cover a large area to be searched verses a smaller coil in any given amount of time. I would recommend the 5" x 8" coil, which has been given excellent reviews by thousands of users.

 

[bigfoot1]

I have to say that selling the 350(or keeping)and upgrading is going to happen at some point.the trick is to figure out when that point is and make sound financial decisions based on that.coils arent cheap and you only get some of it returned upon sale.
If it was me,and I have both the 350 and atp I would upgrade.my 350 is for a back up or loaner.either way you are upgrading.

 

[HunterZed]

Just buy the AT Pro & sell the 350 .... Enjoy hunting the water & rain with no worries!

Yeah I agree AT pro is much better. Happy Hunting

 

[releventchair]

A 5x8 is my primary coil in trashy areas ,parks ect..
It seems like much better separation .if separation is the right word , than the 8.5x11 .
Now that larger (stock) coil is great to cover more ground when there are less targets. Enough to me to not warrant a bigger coil.
A sniper coil would help more under bleachers or along fence edges but the 5x8 in the open can squeak out mixed stuff pretty good with tight swings or wiggles on multiple or iffy targets.. Recoveries with the 5x8 along fence edges and guardrails hint ,to me anyway ,that other detectorists are missing those edges. A sniper might be even better ,but I'm content getting as close as I do.
IF you are a patient gridder of sites and they are hard trashed and you don't want to remove everything , and want to try and cherry pick instead..a sniper coil seems the way to go.
Had I not bought a pair of 350's with two coils each before the AT-Pro was proven .....an AT-Pro would have been a first choice as an upgrade from my other Ace detector..

I've hunted a park a couple times using a 350 with a fellow detectorist met there with an AT-Pro and I'll give him a slight edge in original confirmed hits on potential targets faster , and better I.D. at max. depth..(we lean towards coins mostly) but the AT-Pro is going to whup the 350 of course if the detectors features alone are compared.
We both miss stuff the other finds , and the user matters as well as what we are willing to dig on a certain day. .
Too I've watched him do the same wiggle on iffy deeper targets repeatedly. He has me beat by totals/finds ,but has put in many more hours in that park also.


Were I to pursue an AT-Pro I'd want a smaller than stock coil also ,though not a sniper coil, ..but that's me and how I hunt.
There is a diamond (single stud/diamond) earring on a trashed site I've ignored.
It's a very public place and would be hours of detecting with out the other earring to test on.
Perhaps a sniper coil would help but the diamond would be returned ,knowing the owner anyways.

Have fun deciding.

 

[MackDog]

The Pro is a great machine, but the secret to upgrading is let your detector finds pay for it. Use your 350 until you earn most of the money the sell the 350 for the rest. If you don't hang on to a detector long enough to pay it off your not really giving it a chance. I used my GTX 550 from Garrett to buy my AT PRO. Then used the Pro to buy a DFX from White's. within a year of that used the Pro and Dfx to buy the V3i. The Pro is an unbeatable detector and I still use it the most. But I also now love the V3i.