Best Performing VLF's for Wet Sand Beach Hunting

[berryman]

I'm looking for a VLF machine that will perform well on wet sand beaches. I'm focusing on a VLF machine rather than on a PI machine, because I also want to be able to use it for a variety of different dry land hunting activities as well. I know there aren't really any perfect all-purpose detectors out there, but I'm interested in your thoughts and recommendations for a VLF machine that will perform well on the wet sand.

 

[Critterhunter]

The Xcal or GT seems to be a favorite on the beaches, especially mineralized or salt water beaches where they seem to have less trouble then some other machines thanks to their BBS multifrequency. If you are just hunting fresh water areas or less mineralized beaches I'd look into the AT Pro. I may buy one of those down the road for my water hunting and as a backup land machine on days when I want to swing faster, as it's a light weight water machine with full LCD screen so it's just as at home on land as in the water. They are very reasonably priced too.

Really I am able to chest mount my Sovereign GT and wade up to my belly button water hunting, but I'm hunting the great lakes where there aren't really any waves on most days. The Sovereign coils have extra long coil cables for this very reason (chest mounting). It's also an excellent machine on land for old coins or rings. Very deep machine. I did have a Tersoro VLF machine (it's either the Tiger or Sand Shark...One is a PI and the other is a VLF) and that was a nice water machine and well built, but no tone alerts or VDI for land hunting. With the GT I simply disconnect the meter and throw the control box in my chest mount bag after putting it in a plastic back tied closed with rubber bands to keep it splash proof. I have the stock shaft with 10" coil that's my water rig, and a lightweight shaft I built with meter and 12x10 coil on it for my land rig. Best of both worlds. Quick and easy to switch between the two setups for land or water.

 

[EdwardH]

like critterhunter said check into the garrett at pro... I have not personally hunted with it in the saltwater but i have a number of my customers tell me that it worked pretty good in the saltwater, the only thing you have to remember to do is when you ground balance it notch it down 10 to 15 segments or until its not so chatty, for examlpe if it ground balaces at 60 notch it down to 50 or 45 and then your good to go for saltwater.... atleast that is what I have been told

 

[BH_Landstar_]

If your going to use an AT Pro or AT Gold at the beach (salt water) ...... make sure you wash it in clean running water when you get home, the salt will turn parts of it white !

 

[JOE in MD]

AT PRO isn't to bad in wet sand/salt water, but you have to turn the Sens way down. At least where I hunt. It is very good on small thin gold bracelets and chains. Thats why I use it because where I water hunt it's hunted just about every day and targets are not deep, but I get the thin gold where my CZ20 will not even give a chirp!!

 

[tvr]

There is NO single frequency VLF machine - including the AT Pro, that will give you more than 4"-7" in wet saltwater sand.

Hunting I've done with a F75-LTD does not track with the above statement. Got to keep it ground balanced, and check and adjust the ground balance frequently. Doing so will get better results than Namolos would expect.

Like Joe in MD indicates about the AT PRO, the F75-LTD will also get the small stuff that neither the CZ or Excal will notice (at least the individual units I have).
tvr

 

[Hobo lobo]

There is NO single frequency VLF machine - including the AT Pro, that will give you more than 4"-7" in wet saltwater sand. You need either multi-frequency or broad band spectrum if you want to discriminate in saltwater. Single frequency VLF machines (Very Low Frequency), have limitations in the harsh saltwater environment. Take for example the Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. This VLF single frequency machine (17.9Khz) is one of the finest and deepest gold nugget finders on the market today. The Lobo Super Traq, is capable of finding BB-sized gold nuggets eight-inches deep in heavily mineralized ground, or a nickel in dry beach sand at 14-inches. Put that same nugget

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, the multifrequency BBS machines (Sov/Xcal) do much better in salt water or even fresh water beaches that are very mineralized. I hunt fresh water wading with my GT, so if I do decide on getting a water machine as a backup for going deeper then I'll probably get an AT Pro. Not as deep as the Xcal/Sov, but still very impressive from what I've been told and a very light machine with full LCD screen so it can be just as comfortable on land as in water. I prefer my GT for land for performance reasons (my soil is somewhat mineralized), but there are days I'm in the mood to swing faster and the AT Pro would be a nice alternative on land on those days. I hear it has really impressed some people pulling stuff out of iron thanks to it's fast recovery speed, but recovery speed is over rated IMHO. If you swing slow a slow machine will do just fine. The real key is using a real sharp detection field such as the 12x10 to see between targets. Still, there are days when it would be nice to swing faster in heavy iron and not have to worry that I might be missing targets doing that. Garrett has a real winner in terms of features and price for a light weight water/land machine. Just based on the price alone I can't pass one of those up. Sooner or later it will be added to my line up.

 

[youdig?]

I have only owned one detector at this point so my experience and knowledge isn't as vast as a lot of the guys on this forum but I'll throw in my two cents anyway I have a Whites BHID 300. It works great, it's easy to use and it paid for itself the third time out (beginners luck) I use it in the water, wet and dry sand and land hunts. It's a good machine and easy to learn. Good luck and Happy hunting!

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, the BBS and FBS machines are not as sensitive to small gold like fine chains or earings as some other machines, but when it comes to gold rings (and even thin gold rings) these BBS/FBS machines will get them at some amazing depths well beyond even some machines that have good small gold sensitivity. That's due to the nature of a gold ring. Even a thin gold ring is an intact circle that presents a very "intrusive" target in the coil's detection field. I haven't owned a machine that will get a gold ring as deep as the BBS machine I have now.

But still, if you are one to want to hunt for fine gold chains and smaller gold items such as earings then there are much better choices out there for that kind of sensitivity. On the other hand, my philosophy is that gold rings are what is lost most on beaches or on land, so I don't really care about going after the other stuff myself. But that's me. Others I'm sure have really cleaned up on gold chains and stuff using a machine more sensitive to those kinds of targets.