Average Woods Hunting Setup

[fsdigital12]

I know this has been beaten to death and talked about many times over and yes I've done a lot of reading on here as well as contacted minelab on the differences between ferrous coin and ground coin.

My buddy has an etrac and pulls coins constantly, I know it's all about getting the coil over the target and right place right time. He uses Goes4ever settings ( Auto + 3, stock coin pattern) HIgh trash/ground difficult multi conduct

I've been using ( open screen except last Fe line on bottom, 01-01-01-36 and CO 50 blacked out,ground coin mode auto + 3. I Hunt mostly wooded areas, some iron in ground but not usually extremely heavy iron. Auto +3 usually gets to 23 or so.

here are the responses I got from minelab regarding FE coin vs Ground Coin. which I will paste below.

I know they talk about high vs low mineralization and when to use the different seperation modes. They also mention high/low trash

With so many options I'm afraid I will be missing out, I don't want to have my machine setup one way and walk away thinking " I wonder what would have happened if I was in ground coin or Fe coin etc etc. I know you're going to say try different modes, well I want to hit a spot the best I can on the first time out.

With the etrac it was a set it and forget it style of hunting. How can I achieve this with the CTX? What settings will generally be best 90% of the time? I know soil.ground conditions are different but it seems with the E-trac it didn't matter.

THanks for any help or insight

Response # 1 from minelab

errous-Coin is for areas with a lot of Iron targets, but low general ground mineralization.
Some ferrous objects (especially larger ferrous targets) contain both ferrous and coin like properties, so can show up as a coin and ferrous target together.

Ground-Coin is for the opposite

 

[GateKeeper]

Wow are you worrying yourself to death. What Minelab told you was indeed correct. But to simplify settings for you, and
your woods hunting, go with this.

If your Sensitivity is 17 and below, use your Ground Coin mode to counteract the mineralization in the soil.

If your sensitivity is 18 and above, use your Ferrous Coin mode.

That's as simple as I can make it for you. Once YOU figure out what type of soil is in your area, then YOU
can determine which mode to hunt with on an everyday basis.

 

[fsdigital12]

Thanks, will give that a go.

If in Ground coin mode, should I be also be "ground balancing?

 

[GateKeeper]

If your machine is acting erratic, then YES, especially when your sensitivity is showing up low in Auto.
By setting your machine in Auto, the processor is basically letting you know how much mineralization
is in your soil.

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

Not to be a dink but why not just set up your CTX3030 the same way as his Etrac and set it and forget it as you said.

It's supposed to be a better faster machine and id'stargets better and such.

I set mine up on Auto +3, Trash High, Coins factory pattern et.c just like when I used my Etracand started hunting. Later I have set up a combined program and tried ferrous-coin and ground-coin. I have gone over spots after hitting them from different directions and wet and dry conditions and found most everything that way using the original Etrac type settings. When I hit those spots again with different settings and patterns and slower even sweep speedsand smaller coils I didn't come up with anything much maybe a rusty wheatie or corroded nickle.

I believe a slower sweep and overlap just a bit and hit it from different directions more so than settings I say. Watch your friend and observe how he hunts for a bit and see if he's doing something your not.

My soil here makes the CTX run at anywhere from 13-14 to 21 in Auto +3 here so my soil is pretty mineralized or difficult.

Remember this isn't an Etrac it's supposed to be better with the new coil technology.

Just like an Etrac wasn't supposed to be an Explorer when it came out and so the setup was a bit different.

 

[ronfin]

I'd first research the woods you're hunting via some old maps. You might not be finding much because there might not have been anything or anyone in those woods, or very little. Try some parks, or find some old buildings in the woods using old records and focus your hunts around them. It doesn't matter what mode you use with the CTX. I've used FC and GC and aside from a slight difference in TID's, if you put your coil over a coin you'll know it.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Have you tried Gone Huntings settings? They rock for open hunting!

 

[fsdigital12]

Thanks for all the help guys. I need to get more confident with the machine and not keep second guessing things. Stay tuned