On the Beach: Eclipse 5.3 (6x6) or Shooter DD (4x6)

[Discrimination Dave]

I've had my MXT Pro for over a year and it has been great. I usually hunt the deep woods which have little trash, so the big 300 / 12 inch stock coil is well suited for my hunting. Im heading to the beach up on the north shore (Sea of Japan) in three weeks.
Need a smaller coil. After reading many reviews, most folks prefer the 5.3 to the shooter DD 4x6 because of depth. Considering the typical beach conditions (dry sand, not too mineralized, plenty of rusty nails and foil...) and my MXT Pro, should I go with the shooter DD or the Eclipse 5.3?
They are both the same price which makes this decision tougher for me.
Any free advice?
Thank You,
dave

 

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[nov2101]

I pefer the DD great coil. funny thing I have a used one on ebay, since I bought V rated for my V3i...Great pin point...

 

[norbyx]

Well both are dd ... So I don't get the previous post. Anyhow I say that the 5.3 (6x6) dd is better. Why would you want a 4x6 that was designed for tight spaces on the beach Also I personally dont see the need of such a small coil at the beach unless it's infested with trash. A 10x6 would be even better in my opinion since it would give you a little more coverage.

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[ticm]

Well both are dd ... So I don't get the previous post. Anyhow I say that the 5.3 (6x6) dd is better. Why would you want a 4x6 that was designed for tight spaces on the beach Also I personally dont see the need of such a small coil at the beach unless it's infested with trash. A 10x6 would be even better in my opinion since it would give you a little more coverage.

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Yep I can't imagine using a small coil on a beach.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Yep I can't imagine using a small coil on a beach.

I cant imagine spending 10 hours covering the width and breadth of an entire beach.
Im going to the beach to spend time with my wife and kids, it is not for the sole purpose of detecting.
Yes, the beaches in Japan are generally covered in trash as well as coins. Not 25 cent coins but five dollar, one dollar and fifty cent coins.
So I am just planning on doing a little poking around and would like some decent target separation.
Do you have an opinion on the two coils I asked about in the title of the post?

 

[ticm]

I cant imagine spending 10 hours covering the width and breadth of an entire beach.
Im going to the beach to spend time with my wife and kids, it is not for the sole purpose of detecting.
Yes, the beaches in Japan are generally covered in trash as well as coins. Not 25 cent coins but five dollar, one dollar and fifty cent coins.
So I am just planning on doing a little poking around and would like some decent target separation.
Do you have an opinion on the two coils I asked about in the title of the post?

I have both of them. I am going to go to a hunk of woods that is loaded with trash. However it has some good targets there too. I am going to use a v3i. They are both small will pick out the better targets. To me it's a toss up. I guess I will use the 5.3. Normally I use the 9.5 coil. That stock coil I don't use to much. If your looking for just coin your mxt will tell you that no matter what coil you use. I don't know what this type of coins show though.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

I have both of them. I am going to go to a hunk of woods that is loaded with trash. However it has some good targets there too. I am going to use a v3i. They are both small will pick out the better targets. To me it's a toss up. I guess I will use the 5.3. Normally I use the 9.5 coil. That stock coil I don't use to much. If your looking for just coin your mxt will tell you that no matter what coil you use. I don't know what this type of coins show though.

Thanks TCIM,
Seems you prefer the 5.3, much as everybody else does.
The reason I wanted to try a really small coil is that the MXT jumps around alot (vdi) as it is. When using the big coil with all the foil, rusty nails and pull tabs, it just seems to get so much more jumbled up than it did at the beach with my old ace 250.
I could be totally wrong, but I thought it would be fun to use a small coil amoungst all the trash.
Still havent decided on a purchase. With an eight year old, a two year old and a fearsome wife, 150 bucks doesnt get away from me with out some blood, sweat or tears.

 

[norbyx]

Tell me about it I have a 5 y/o boy a 3 y/o girl and my wife. When something new comes in something old must get out. So as soon as I buy a new toy I have to see what I sell in order to keep the balance. If I get out of balance, and it has happened, I have to hear a speech of a couple of hours from my wife.
Its just life.

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[Discrimination Dave]

Tell me about it I have a 5 y/o boy a 3 y/o girl and my wife. When something new comes in something old must get out. So as soon as I buy a new toy I have to see what I sell in order to keep the balance. If I get out of balance, and it has happened, I have to hear a speech of a couple of hours from my wife.
Its just life.

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Right on Norby-san.
Hey, can you ship the coil you have up on ebay to japan?
I have american credit card / paypal, etc.
shoot me a link and let me know...
dj

 

[norbyx]

Well I wish I had a coil on sale but I don't what coil are you talking about?

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[Discrimination Dave]

Sorry!
That was Nov 2101 who advertised that!

 

[Tom Slick]

Someone above stated that both the Eclipse 5.3 and the 4X6 shooter are DD coils. That is incorrect. The 5.3 is a concentric coil and the 4X6 Shooter is a DD. I would go with the Eclipse 5.3 for sure if working a trashy beach. The 4X6 doesn't have the depth of the 5.3 and the 5.3 is still very good in trash. With the undulations in the sand from footprint etc you need the extra depth the 5.3 offers.

 

[norbyx]

Someone above stated that both the Eclipse 5.3 and the 4X6 shooter are DD coils. That is incorrect. The 5.3 is a concentric coil and the 4X6 Shooter is a DD. I would go with the Eclipse 5.3 for sure if working a trashy beach. The 4X6 doesn't have the depth of the 5.3 and the 5.3 is still very good in trash. With the undulations in the sand from footprint etc you need the extra depth the 5.3 offers.

Ok my bad I don't know what I was thinking, yes as tom stated the 5.3 is concentric.

 

[Lizard-Prince]

Hi! Just thought I like to say I have both of these coils and use them on my DFX and V3i. Mainly V3i and I love them both never did like and get use to coils with holes in the center, I don't know what I have against them it happens also with my Garrett imageing coil of my GTI 2500 and I only use the snipper coil. So you can imagine what kind of a hassle I have to put up with when I go to the beach with this unit. Last beach hunt I did it entirely with the 4x6 on Mighty Gorgo(V3i) yes maybe I was a little lazy to change to the 5.3 but I did get from 8 A.M. thru 11:30 $6.35 in clad coins and the Army Medal in a recent post here. I usually rescan the beach on my next trip with my 5.3 to pick out anything I left behind with the baby coil. I think both are sensational and will do the job with honer.Maybe the liking of closed coils (without holes I call them dougnut coils) comes from the fact that I used and started my hunting carrear in 1982 useing the 8inch and snipper on my coinmaster 5000 series 2 witch I still have and found and still find loads of coins no matter witch coil I use. Yes the 5.3 will cover more ground but the 4x6 is great to work and get close to palm trees. Well hope you can have both coils in your accesorys and try them both out they are very handy when you get bored from useing the stock coil. Glad to help.... Ralph LP/ TA