Which is a good choice?

[UNCLENICK]

I all...I'm starting to get an interest in water detection. I love swimming, going to get diving cert. and love the water. I am looking to spend around $700 probably at kellyco. Which is a good choice for underwater, beach hunting. Salt of course. Pi, or Vlf. I like the idea of the 200 ft rating on the Tigershark, and the Seahunter 2. I just dont know which I would rather buy. I like the lifetime warr on the tesoro, but also the great reputation of the Seahunter, (mel Fisher) etc. Does anyone have any ideas? I watched the Seahunter video at Garretts website. It looks pretty easy to use... Tesoro did not have a vid. I would love to hear some opinions! Thank you all HH

Nick

 

[Da Sand Crab]

Howzit going Nick,
I almost exclusively use my Sand Shark for all my hunting. I've had it for 4 years and really work it hard. I don't know anything about the Sea Hunter but can attest to the durability of the Sand Shark. Of course every beach and location differs and if you encounter an abundance of iron it will be nearly impossible to use because it will pick up a pin at 4 to 6 inches deep with a strong signal. My beaches are fairly clean and I don't mind digging everything because I know that I will find everything that's there to be found. I especially like to find area's that have bigger, heavier deep iron targets because along with the lead they usually produce gold and silver. I also have a Minelab excal but it cannot compete with the Sand Shark in regards to depth and sensitivity. It also has a problem finding gold chains, which I like to find.
Good luck in your future choice.

 

[USMCLion]

Sand crab, if you don't mind me asking. What island are you on? I recently made it back to Oahu, last time I was here I spent most of my time surfing and chasing tale around the island. Fast foward 8 years and I' married with two kids and add a detecting habit I picked up in Virginia along the way and things are much different. I'm very interested in getting into beach hunting but I'm not sure where to start. My detector isn't water proof, so I'll have to get a new one. I'm trying to read up on here about the tips. Guess I need to just get out there and give it a try. If you have any pointers let me know, you know like howlee safe beaches and all that.

 

[TexasRT]

Sand Crab - How does the Sand Shark perform in dry sand/normal land conditions and fresh water? I currently have a Whites DFX which works real well in dry conditions and fairly good in wet sand (about ankle deep only of course), if I get the Shark for water should I plan on keeping my DFX for the dry conditions or will the Shark do both?
Thanks in advance, TexasRT.

 

[Sandman]

TexasRT, the only advantage the DFX has if you want to call it that is the screen that can show you what might be in the sand. Since sand is easy to scoop anyway you can use a machine like the Sand Shark to reach deeper depths and be able to hunt the wet sand and in the water too and not have to worry about salt spray on the White's.

http://www.losttreasure.com/content/archives/tesoro-electronics-sand-shark-metal-detector Sand Shark field test.

 

[Willee]

Well ... since you cant buy a new Tesoro water detector right now that does narrow the market ... dosent it.

Why not go to the beach a few times and see what others are using?

Willee

 

[Da Sand Crab]

Sand crab, if you don't mind me asking. What island are you on? I recently made it back to Oahu, last time I was here I spent most of my time surfing and chasing tale around the island. Fast foward 8 years and I' married with two kids and add a detecting habit I picked up in Virginia along the way and things are much different. I'm very interested in getting into beach hunting but I'm not sure where to start. My detector isn't water proof, so I'll have to get a new one. I'm trying to read up on here about the tips. Guess I need to just get out there and give it a try. If you have any pointers let me know, you know like howlee safe beaches and all that.

By your screen name I would guess that you are on Marine corps airbase Kaneohe. I live on Oahu and hunt all over the island. A good place to start would be the beaches on the base as you would probably have exclusive access to areas closed to the general public. For a new metal detector call All Island Treasure Detectors located in Aiea. They carry and service all brands of metal detectors. I like to research and hunt more of the smaller and secluded beaches. Waikiki and Ala Moana have more detectors and competition than grains of sand on the beach. Good luck.

 

[miser]

Sandman, as always, I bow to your superior knowledge.

Unclenick, one other detector you may want to consider since no one can buy a Tiger Shark as they haven't started production again, may be the White's Beachhunter ID 300. I think Kellyco has some very good deals going on them right now.

Some people do not like it because it doesn't have a weighted coil, but I was talking to one guy (another customer) when I was at the Kellyco showroom who says he loves his and that the indicator panel can really help you avoid digging up iron, bobby pins, foil, etc. Good depth too!

As for myself, I want a water detector and I'm going to wait until the Tiger Shark becomes available (sometime this year I hope!). But if you want one now, the ID 300 might make a decent alternative. Also, don't discount the possibility of buying a used Excalibur. Some people are letting theirs go for $600-$700 in good condition. Check out Craigslist and Backpage!

Best of luck to you!

 

[Da Sand Crab]

Sand Crab - How does the Sand Shark perform in dry sand/normal land conditions and fresh water? I currently have a Whites DFX which works real well in dry conditions and fairly good in wet sand (about ankle deep only of course), if I get the Shark for water should I plan on keeping my DFX for the dry conditions or will the Shark do both?
Thanks in advance, TexasRT.

If you are serious about this hobby, you should have different detectors for different elements. Myself, I seperate my dry land and water detectors because they are designed for specific functions. To use a Sand Shark on dry land would be impossible because it is too sensitive and will pickup every little bit of iron, sometimes even in mineral form. On the other hand to flirt with the danger of getting your land detector wet is not worth trying to use it in or near the water. The Sand Shark works great on dry sand as long as you don't encounter a high concentration of iron targets. Some of the beaches I hunt have tons of rusted nails, screws etc from bon fires and other past littering, these conditions make it impossible to use the Sand Shark. Again the Sand Shark is not for everyone because you will probably dig twice as many targets as a Minelab Xcal user and get worn out twice as fast.

 

[petersra]

I am on the east coast and use the Tesorro Tigershark VLF and the White's Dual Field pulse. The pulse is much more stable in the water than the Tigershark. The Tigershark is MUCH more sensitive to small gold than the pulse. On a typical gold wedding band, the pulse will hit at about 13" deep and the VLF will hit at about 10 1/2" deep. However, on a small and thin gold earring the Tigershark sounded out loud and clear at about 7" and the pulse had to almost touch the earring to sound off. I read the review of the Sand Shark pulse that Sandman posted and the reviewer said he found a gold chain with a gold pendant on it. I don't think my White's Dual Field pulse would have sounded on the chain but it would have on the pendant. I have never found any thin gold with my White's Dual Field. Everything I have read suggests that the Minelab Excalibur is the way to go and the small difference in price between what you were planning to spend and the cost of the Excalibur will be made up by three gold wedding bands. I don't own Excalibur and have never used one so that suggestion is only based on what I have heard. Good luck in your hunt for the right detector.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

An Excal with a WOT coil will give you 12 inches plus and the advantage of not digging any iron I have an Excal with a WOT coil as well as Sov GT with WOT and SEF 15"x18" Butterfly coil, both detectors have given me targets over 12 inches...................

 

[USMCLion]

Sand crab, if you don't mind me asking. What island are you on? I recently made it back to Oahu, last time I was here I spent most of my time surfing and chasing tale around the island. Fast foward 8 years and I' married with two kids and add a detecting habit I picked up in Virginia along the way and things are much different. I'm very interested in getting into beach hunting but I'm not sure where to start. My detector isn't water proof, so I'll have to get a new one. I'm trying to read up on here about the tips. Guess I need to just get out there and give it a try. If you have any pointers let me know, you know like howlee safe beaches and all that.

By your screen name I would guess that you are on Marine corps airbase Kaneohe. I live on Oahu and hunt all over the island. A good place to start would be the beaches on the base as you would probably have exclusive access to areas closed to the general public. For a new metal detector call All Island Treasure Detectors located in Aiea. They carry and service all brands of metal detectors. I like to research and hunt more of the smaller and secluded beaches. Waikiki and Ala Moana have more detectors and competition than grains of sand on the beach. Good luck.

Sand Crab,
Thanks for the Tips. I went and saw Dale yesterday and he set me up with a Whites Surfmaster. I took it out for a test drive lastnight at about 1030 in the dark with no scoop just my kids sand shovel. Got 1.35 in clad in about 15 minutes, along with the 10-15 pieces of junk. I found a bobby pin at about 12 inches, I'm not sure if that is a blessing or a curse!!!! Anyway, thanks, I'm pretty excited to get out there for a full day.

USMCLion

 

[grumpyolman]

I have two Tiger Sharks. They are VLf machines. Some seem to think they can use them in saltwater. I don't! You can use them but the falsing will drive you bonkers. The Sand Shark is a PI unit and will work in the saltwater just fine...but there's no discrimination and you dig it all. Careful...They are both Tesoros and both are good machines but the first part of the name is sometimes used inter-changeably and they are totally different machines that operate in different environments.

Tesoro is the only water machine designed and constructed from the ground up, to make changing coils easy. The problem is the company that supplied the connectors to Tesoro stopped making them. (Who knows why?) When Tesoro exhausted their supply they could no longer sell the machine as there was no way to produce the waterproof connectors on the coils.

Tesoro has tried many thing to remedy the problem. Finally, they obtained a machine that will make the connectors and have that in their factory. As soon as it's dialed in and Tesoro has tested the connectors, those machines will again be available. I am told that the new connectors will be a better design but they will be totally compatible with the new or older machines. jim