A few X-70 questions

[jjaddict]

I'm looking into buying an X-terra 70 or 705. I was wondering what kind of depth a person could expect the X-terra to get on dimes, pennies, and quarters. It's my understanding that the 70 performs just as well as the 705, minus a few new options, do you find that to be true? I have heard lots of good things about the X-terra, and I'm excited to get it, I'm sure it will perform much better than my $100 bounty hunter although it is a clad killer, up to 3-4 inches. Any help would be appreciated!

Adam

 

[7centsworth]

Oh there is no comparison to a bounty hunter. I had two bounty hunters before I got a n x-terra and I thought the bounty hunters were the stuff. Then I got a x-terra. I have found so many coins I had missed with the bounty hunters. I dig regular 6 inches on coins with my 70 and some up to 8 inches. I have hit civil war bullets deeper than that . Let me tell you when I first got my x-terra I hated it . It gives so many tones . It took about a week and I have only used my bh twice in about a year and a half. I have the 6inch dd coil also and it finds things left by the stock coil. You have to sweep the minelabs slower , but you will get used to that after a while. I think you will like the x-terras. I go by tones mostly on mine , the numbers can be jumpy if there is trash around. Welcome and check out the faq faq post at top of page.

 

[TURNMASTER]

I have not used my BH for a long while either. Now that I have 2 MLs I will probably part with it. I think it is probably a decent machine I did not ike the controler and its layout. Xterra will take a while to learn but it is a good machine. I guess I would have to ask what your uses will be and sugest you cater to your intended uses, allthough the 705 excells at most tasks. There are some who find that it does not suit them, I found it to have a fairly intuitive controler. It has also done well for me in a varity of hunting conditions and soil types. It is a machine that will grow with you. You will likely find the desire for an extra coil or 3.

I have now got an Explorer SE that I purchaced used and if you look at the Explorer forum you will learn it has a devoted following. Yet I have NO plan to get rid of my 705. It is simply to versatile of a machine, not to mention that is very light weight and a joy to swing. I have found some fairly deep coins and a few that were liberated from some adverse conditions.

Whatever brand you choose get a quality brand, no more BH for me. First Texas does have other better labels in their stable. So far I like the Minelabs if I go anywhere else it would probably be Garrett or Whites, maybe Detector Pro.

Oh Yeah browse through the forums and see which brands post the good finds. Any machine should find clad, old coins and gold go to the better brands and skilled hands.

Whatever you choose, enjoy

Jeff

 

[Digger]

especially where you said "skilled hands". I often think too much emphasis is put on one particular detector brand or another. The key to having success with any detector is learning how to maximize it's performance at any given situation. I'd be the first to admit that all metal detectors are NOT created equal. But there are more similarities than some will admit. We all have different hunting styles, and search for different types of treasures. As such, I chose the detector I use based on how it performs for me in those circumstances. Much like a mechanic selects a certain tool for the job.
I was fortunate to Field Test the X-30, X-50 and X-70. After the 705 was introduced, I bought one of them. Although the additional functionality may not mean squat to some, (compared to the X-70) I appreciate the Tracking GB Offset, Pinpoint Sizing mode and a bit faster processor enough to justify the "upgrade". Either model may find as much as the other, in most circumstances. As I said, it's more a matter of learning your machine and understanding when to tweak it to fit a specific site. But I'm convinced each of those "features" I mentioned, help me get the most out of the hunt. JMHO HH Randy

 

[jjaddict]

I bought a used X-70 today, can't wait to get it and give it a swing. I'm rather excited about the many tones it gives, will be much better than the two tones my BH gave. I'm used to relying on the subtle differences in the tones since the BH doesn't have a screen, or a TID #. I hear that is the best way to use a minelab, rely on tone, then check the TID before you dig. I'm sure the learning curve will be longer than the BH, but I put plenty of time in detecting, so I should be digging those deep beeps soon. Still looking for my first Barber, hope this is the machine that will put me at the depth needed to find the older stuff. Have gotten lucky on a few shallow Mercs and Indians, but they are few and far between. The bounty hunter did me well, good starter machine, but there just comes a point where you get sick of digging clad from 1 - 4 inches deep (usually only hits 4 inches when the soil is real wet) and want to move on to the deeper and older coins. I'm glad to see a X-terra only forum, has already answered lots of questions for me. Hope to be sharing my finds with the forum soon, thanks for the help, and HH!

 

[7centsworth]

Depth wise, 70 with a 6inch coil will go about 4 or to 5 inches deeper than my bh did with stock coil. All my old places became new again. Congratulations on your 70 purchase . Looking forward to your post.

 

[TURNMASTER]

Start out in four tones and pattern one. Read back through the set up posts. The 99 tones is an awful lot to get use to.

On a bad day I have been disapointed with 4" depths, of course some of the dirt I don't even want to dig 2" it is so hard and the targets sound so iffy and jumpy... I dig em and keep getting clad and wheats so I keep going back looking for silver. Did pay off though that is where the '98 barber dime came from.