Six" or 15" coil choice

[nagant]

Sorry if the subject causes vomiting, really searched for a while. The six looks tedious and the 15 seems huge and at just under a pound and a half torture. I hunt woods with light undergrowth, a couple fresh water beaches and a few yards (hate door knocking) but get a few yards a year in conversations plus i get a permit for city parks. Permit good for 1 month & 1 park, at least it's free. The six is the favorite due to separation in trash but the stock coil is better then i expected. I used a tesoro golden µmax with several coils including the 4 inch for years. I took the equinox in the back yard and pulled coins out that surprised me after 15 years with my tesoro so i knew the stock nox could handle trash. Would like your real world opinions on ups and downs of both, thanks.

 

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[Nick79]

Why not stick with the stock one?

 

[cudamark]

Unless you are in a heavy trash area, the stock 11" coil will work fine for most venues. The 15" is great for coverage on open fields and beaches. For heavy trash/iron, close to metal fences and rebarred walls, and around playground equipment, the 6" allows you to get much closer to those without being masked. The 6" is also great in heavy undergrowth where the bigger coils can't be swung. You'll either have to decide which type of detecting you'll be doing the most, or get both coils like I did.

 

[gunsil]

Personally I dislike 6" coils. I LOVE 8" coils, have them on most of my machines. Easier to swing in water or brush, better depth than a 6 incher. I have e-mailed Minelab and they so far have no plans to make an 8" coil for the Nox in the near future. If anybody else would like to see an 8" coil for the Nox please e-mail Minelab and let them know. I have used a 15" coil on my Safari for open field and beach hunting but I hardly ever use it. I guess I have the patience to swing an 8" but not a 6" and also the patience to swing an 8" rather than an 11" or 15" coil. The larger coils originally were meant for cache hunting, good for finding larger targets deeper, I usually am not doing that kind of hunting.

 

[nagant]

Eight would be my choice too. I'm downsizing everything lately and and selling/trading gear as i can. Keeping a basic vlf as a backup/loaner. The six makes more sense for what i do.

 

[CarsonChris]

Personally I dislike 6" coils. I LOVE 8" coils, have them on most of my machines. Easier to swing in water or brush, better depth than a 6 incher. I have e-mailed Minelab and they so far have no plans to make an 8" coil for the Nox in the near future. If anybody else would like to see an 8" coil for the Nox please e-mail Minelab and let them know. I have used a 15" coil on my Safari for open field and beach hunting but I hardly ever use it. I guess I have the patience to swing an 8" but not a 6" and also the patience to swing an 8" rather than an 11" or 15" coil. The larger coils originally were meant for cache hunting, good for finding larger targets deeper, I usually am not doing that kind of hunting.

I emailed Minelab last week to ask about an 8” coil. Great minds think alike!

 

[vferrari]

Sorry if the subject causes vomiting, really searched for a while. The six looks tedious and the 15 seems huge and at just under a pound and a half torture. I hunt woods with light undergrowth, a couple fresh water beaches and a few yards (hate door knocking) but get a few yards a year in conversations plus i get a permit for city parks. Permit good for 1 month & 1 park, at least it's free. The six is the favorite due to separation in trash but the stock coil is better then i expected. I used a tesoro golden µmax with several coils including the 4 inch for years. I took the equinox in the back yard and pulled coins out that surprised me after 15 years with my tesoro so i knew the stock nox could handle trash. Would like your real world opinions on ups and downs of both, thanks.

Eight would be my choice too. I'm downsizing everything lately and and selling/trading gear as i can. Keeping a basic vlf as a backup/loaner. The six makes more sense for what i do.

While, we are all waiting for that elusive 8 inch coil that is probably never going to show up, I will say this: The 6" coil IS tedius but effective in the specialized uses it is designed for (tight spots, thick trash), but those are few and far between. The 15" is great for coverage with a minimal weight penalty. However, having owned both coils for several months, it has just reinforced in me the fact that the 11" coil does more than 90% of what I need it to do and I find myself less inclined to put either of the other "specialty" coils on the machine if I think I can just get away with the stock. The stock just seems to be the sweet spot coil that performs the best overall. If you are trying to downsize, I say save your dough and stick with the stock.

 

[nagant]

Good advice, maybe I'll just get me a good water scoop.

 

[RustyGold]

I do beaches and so it was a no brainer to sell off the 6” and keep the large coil. I do think the 11” is the best all around coil available. Good luck!

 

[Bodkin]

I have both, plus the stock. I laughed at the 6" when it came in the mail thinking it would never be able to cover the areas I was searching. I now use it 95% of the time. I'm SHOCKED at how well it performs. I've used the 15" a few times on the tidal beach/river areas where I am to try to cover more ground but it made no real difference to me finding anything more. On the last 3 silver coins I found all I heard was a slight "squeak" amongst tons of iron and other things. As was said before, "tones are everything" and that's what got me to stop in my tracks and rescan these hits. If I had to pick between the 2 then I would go with the 6". If you can, get both for when you go on vacation to Florida. Good luck!

 

[Ironfeathers]

While, we are all waiting for that elusive 8 inch coil that is probably never going to show up, I will say this: The 6" coil IS tedius but effective in the specialized uses it is designed for (tight spots, thick trash), but those are few and far between. The 15" is great for coverage with a minimal weight penalty. However, having owned both coils for several months, it has just reinforced in me the fact that the 11" coil does more than 90% of what I need it to do and I find myself less inclined to put either of the other "specialty" coils on the machine if I think I can just get away with the stock. The stock just seems to be the sweet spot coil that performs the best overall. If you are trying to downsize, I say save your dough and stick with the stock.

When you switch coils, do you have to reset the detector back to factory presets like the Garrett AT Pro or can you just switch from the stock coil to the 6 inch coil and operate with the same programs you have assigned your machine?

 

[vferrari]

You do not have to reset the machine when you switch coils.

 

[cudamark]

Swap them around all you want. The only thing you might have to do is re-noise cancel when going to a larger coil. They are more prone to have EMI issues.

 

[Iron Buzz]

I sprung for the 15", hoping for a bit more depth and coverage, and my buddy got both the 15" and the 6" (is that thing really 6 inches? Looks more like 4"!) My 15" pretty much just sits in the truck, and I'm glad that I didn't also spring for the little sniper coil. I suspect that Minelab came out with that one primarily for the gold seekers. I side with those here that would love to see an 8" coil.

 

[Hawks88]

I have the stock coil and the 6” coil. The 6” has never been off since I got it more than 6 months ago. Love it. Light and easy to swing all day. I will keep both coils and will switch back someday I just don’t know when.

 

[ZR2guy]

I have the stock coil and the 6” coil. The 6” has never been off since I got it more than 6 months ago. Love it. Light and easy to swing all day. I will keep both coils and will switch back someday I just don’t know when.

What Hawks88 said x2

 

[Ironfeathers]

You do not have to reset the machine when you switch coils.

Thanks!

 

[Ironfeathers]

Swap them around all you want. The only thing you might have to do is re-noise cancel when going to a larger coil. They are more prone to have EMI issues.

Thanks

 

[RustyGold]

I went detecting at my local SoCal beach right after the 4th of July and was blown away with the amount of trash targets everywhere except on the damp sand. I may have to repurchase the 6” coil just to get in between the junk.