Detecting Beaches - Witch Broomstick is Best ?

[freelance]

For detecting salt water beaches - both in and out of the water - there are many choices of detector !

What I am trying to find out is - in the honest opinion of the forum members - which detector or detectors do they, from experience see as being amongst the best.

There are 2 main areas of detecting to consider -
1. On the Beach (mostly from the waterline to the sand dunes - and to a lesser extent in perhaps 1 to 2 feet of salt water). - and
2. In the Salt Water (from the water`s edge to diving deep - mostly in salt water from 1 foot to say 25 feet deep - ie; waterproof detectors).

Also there are 2 main detector types - the VLF`s and the PI`s - both with their advantages and disadvantages.

So far I have looked at and considered -

Minelab`s - On Beach - CTX3030 , E-Trac , Sovereign , X-Terra 70/705
- In Water - CTX3030 , Excalibur
Garrett - On Beach - Infinium LS , Sea Hunter , AT Pro
- In Water - Infinium LS , Sea Hunter
White`s - On Beach - Beach Hunter , Surf PI
- In Water - Surf PI , Beach Hunter ?
Other Brands - looked at the Tesoro`s - seems like poor quality build and poor quality customer service, have not yet had a careful in depth look at the Fisher`s, or Detector Pro, or C Scope, or any of the lesser known companies.

From my research - it seems that the Surf PI and Infinium LS are good for under water, and the Sovereign for on the beach are among the better choices.

What do you believe are the better or best detectors for the beach - on dry land mostly , - and in the salt water ?

 

[KinTN]

Whats your budget and what %age of your time do you anticipate hunting where? How deep do you want to be able to hunt?

 

[dewcon4414]

I learned very quickly a PI was a nitch machine for my style of hunting....even thou I really liked the advantage of the Finny. A VLF just let me cover more beach. So I moded my Xcals for PP hunting. ..kind of both worlds. I also found most of the time I didnt like dragging two machines. So the xcal still gave me the depth I needed both in and out of the water.

 

[Mrmikejackie]

Minelab Xcal in the water, Minelab Sovereign wet sand to waters edge. Mike

 

[Dancer]

For a pulse induction I went with Garrett Inferno (Infinium) Mainly cause it can use different size coils, instead of being hot wired to a single one. I mainly got it for salt water wading, but I've also knocked off many deep nickels in the mud.
I use the AT Pro for dry sand, and it has been quite impressive for me. But honestly I've seen the CTX in the right hands prove to be a real killer. Along with the Excal, Dual Field, Beach Hunter and Tesoros SandShark.

Here's what I truly believe as a common sense fact. A experienced, Sabie hunter will be more successful with just about any machine. Versus a hunter with less experience, sabie, armed with a machine with cutting edge technology. Another view, the best golfer carries many different clubs in his bag. Most metal hunters carry many (tools) in their bag also.

 

[mudpuppy]

Theres a recent very interesting youtube video done by 'Detectorcomparisons" showing a CZ21, a ML Excal II, and the new DetectorPro UW with a 12"NEL coil...

Wet salt sand, buried gold rings at measured depth, and a gold chain...very interesting indeed..for a 2.4khz single freq rig's performance, especially on the gold chain has me baffled....it sort of defies accepted thought and logic..?.

'TheRover' posted a link up on the DetectorPro site if you want to take a look...it should make for a heck of a fast and light drysander with that big coil on a stick...and it sure looks to be quite capable in the wet salt as well...
Mud

 

[Overvoltage]

I went with the Garrett Infinium for salt water in the surf hunting (waist deep and deeper) and with the intentions that I an going to get SCUBA certified. It is good to 200ft. I also use it on the dry sand as long as the beach isn't too trashy. It goes Deeeep. I have the 8" mono for surf hunting (easier to handle and PP with in the constant moving surf) and the 10x14 DD for dry sand hunting. I have the Garrett Blue underwater headphones for diving and very rough surf and the GG Amphibians for shallow water work and dry sand beach hunting. I prefer the GG Amphibians because of the volume control and they are a little more comfortable, the Infinium volume is loud. I have the CTX for when I want to cherry pick the beach or anywhere else for that matter. It is great for picking good targets from the trash. It goes deep also but not like the Infinium. I really like the GPS feature of the CTX because I can go home and download the information to my computer and I can keep a visual record of where I have hunted as it overlays my path onto Google maps. I can then see where I have missed and look for possible good producing areas to go back to. I have the 6" coil for very trashy areas. The little 6" has phenomenal separation. It is also easier to use in areas where weeds and brush has overgrown. I have the 11" coil but don't really use it much. If I am in an area where I could use the 11" I usually go big and put the 17" coil on to give maximum depth and ground coverage. I typically use the 17" in waist deep water or shallower and up on the dry sand. I like to use the Infinium during daylight hours in the water (I don't like water hunting in the dark, I get a little creeped out, call me a sissy) where I don't have to fight the crowds as much and the CTX during hours of darkness (it has a lighted screen) after the beach goers have left and before they arrive.

 

[OldBeechnut]

A Modded Excalibur.. simple and finds gold. Then as you get more detailed about hunting conditions, any of the others

 

[biglry]

A Modded Excalibur.. simple and finds gold. Then as you get more detailed about hunting conditions, any of the others

[size=large]+1[/size]

 

[freelance]

Thanks for the interesting and helpful replies. I`m still learning this detecting stuff - have had 8 detectors so far (Minelab`s - 15000, SD 2000 with deep mod, SD2200D, GP Extreme modded, X-Terra 70, Bounty Hunter Time Ranger, Garret Infinuim LS, and the Whites GMT) and most or nearly all of my detecting has been done on the goldfields - with only a little on the beach (GP Extreme , and X-Terra 70).

For underwater detecting, I don`t plan going any deeper than say 25 feet (natural dive or maybe in the future using a hookah).

I know that PI`s definitely go deeper - however deeper is not always best !!!

With VLF`s, (using the same [size] coil) which one/s will go deepest ?

Is there a difference between fresh water and salt water detecting - both in shallow and underwater ? - eg; 2 feet , and then say 10 feet under in fresh water, and salt water.

How deep are coins, gold, and other jewelry found (usually and approximate maximum) - on the beach - and underwater ? The answer to this will in many ways determine the detector necessary to find the goods !

Are there excellent detectors (for the beach and underwater) that are little known ?

Much to learn and understand.

 

[dewcon4414]

The CTX is only rated to10'. A note.... as more people switch to the CTX they are disc out more trash and even pennies. That means more for a PI to have to check..... and more time digging. However, there are about 4 times as many targets on the dry sand as there is in the water. The Xcal and CZ are dive rated to 200+ ft.

Most PI used in the salt water doesnt have a great advantage in sensitivity to gold over a multi freq VLF because of the uS use to make them work out there. Mel Fishers machines can be an exception.

The Xcal uses a DD and the CZ uses a concentric. Concentrics can go deeper depending on mineralization..... but having a cone shaped foot print you loose some coil coverage. Fot the most part depending on conditions they are about the same in depth depending on the user of course.

Yes you can use a fresh water single freq machine in fresh water that are more sensitive to gold..... like the AP pro, Tiger Shark or Fisher. The deeper you go the more the salt content can change.

As far as depth...... im not looking for anything but gold out there. So there is very little depth difference between the VLFs and PI that are used. The Xcal picks up a piece of about .3 grams. Depth.... wow thats a hard one since in reality most of the gold found is rings. The depth will very depending on K, weight, size, depth and even what metal was used along with the gold. BUT..... i can tell you ive never dug many targets at 2 ft that was worth digging.... even those deep expensive sunglasses end up being scratched.

Some use an AquaSound here in Fl. Bit pricy and like a PI depends on the beach because they dont like a lot of black sand.

 

[biglry]

[size=large]I can tell you ive never dug many targets at 2 ft that was worth digging.... even those deep expensive sunglasses end up being scratched[/size].
Truer words have never been said dewcon4414

 

[Furious T]

When thinking about which type of detector we buy, the main question to ask ourselves is "How hard to I want to work". I have an excal II, and 2 PI machines. Detecting beaches is not my main area of activity, simple because I dont live near a beach and I dont get time to visit beaches all that often. Over the years I have used the Excal more than I have used the PI s individually, but my combined usage of PI s is greater than time spent on the Excal.

Each of the PI machines has found more gold than the excal, and combined, they have found three times the amount of gold as the Excal. But I work a lot harder when I am using the PI s than I do with the Excal. Additionally, there are a couple of spots I would not take a PI, but am happy to take the Excal.

There are many choices out there, and I dont think you can make a bad one. But depending on your own needs and the locations you intend to go, you need to ask yourself many questions, so that when you get your machine, you kinow it is the most appropriate, for you. HH

 

[Johnnyanglo]

The CTX with replaced O-rings is transformed into a submergible detector to ~40+ ft. It may go deeper - we'll see.

With a variety of coils there isn't much it can't do (except micro jewelry and poor conductors - not the best in that area).

The nice thing is you only have to learn one detector - and knowing your detector well is one of the most important keys to performance.

 

[Overvoltage]

Johnnya, what CTX3030 o-ring replacement are you talking about that will make it submergible to 40+ft?

 

[Johnnyanglo]

Sorry, thought everyone was following that discussion. Using thicker o-rings for the CTX battery compartment and USB port the detector stays waterproof for diving.

It's a simple fix that costs less than $5.

You'd have to go to another detecting website which I probably can't mention here. Look at the Beach and Shallow Water section.

 

[Overvoltage]

Johnnya, thanks that is great info about the modification. I am ordering new o-rings tomorrow.