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Ok....its well known the Etrac is a deep silver machine....but how is it on gold? I mainly hunt northern freshwater beaches, currently running an AT Pro and recently traded a machine for a CZ-21. I don't need a water machine so not interested in an Excal. I am interested in though possibly a better gold jewelry machine then the AT Pro...deeper to be specific. I really don't hunt much in area's which the deep silver aspect of the machine would be a benefit. I need a dry/wet sand killer gold...small gold machine...will the Etrac do the job or should I consider a different machine? Since this is the Etrac forum, any other machine recommendations should be PM'ed.
Did you say that you do have a CZ-21 or you traded one? If you have the CZ-21, that is one of the best all around water machines you can use and you are set for both fresh water and salt water beach hunting. The CZ is on equal terms with the Excal IMHO.
The E-Trac is a very capable gold machine and it works well on both fresh and salt water beaches. The only thing that it struggles with is the smaller gold chains/necklaces.
The most sensitive machines are the PI machines. They can find stuff down to 2 feet in some cases and are very sensitive to the smallest targets. The only thing is, you cannot adjust the disc on most of them and the one's you can, you loose depth when you do. If you have a lot of trash/iron where you hunt, the PI machine may drive you crazy. I would recommend the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II for a PI machine.
Hopes this helps.
P.S - Since you are so new, your PM privileges have not been granted yet.
Ok...thanks for the advice. Yes I have a brand new CZ-21....hoping to get more depth with it in the water then my AT-Pro's. I tried a PI up here...no go. Simply waaaaay to much garbage, it never...and I mean never shut up on the beach. I'm just looking for a land machine that might see deeper for gold rings/chains. Seems the AT is limited to 4 - 6" in most cases....and its not the settings or operator (I have over 500 hours of running time on the AT).
I really believe with the E-Trac and the CZ-21 you have it covered. Take um both to the beach and do a side by side comparisons with various gold objects (both large and small) and see which one works best on your beach. I do not own a CZ-21, but I've used them and have several friends that own them. I plan on getting one before summer rolls around.
Ok...thanks for the advice. Yes I have a brand new CZ-21....hoping to get more depth with it in the water then my AT-Pro's. I tried a PI up here...no go. Simply waaaaay to much garbage, it never...and I mean never shut up on the beach. I'm just looking for a land machine that might see deeper for gold rings/chains. Seems the AT is limited to 4 - 6" in most cases....and its not the settings or operator (I have over 500 hours of running time on the AT).
If you're not looking for deep Silver and will mostly be using it on the beach I would suggest the Sovereign GT as opposed to an E-Trac. I have and use both, but unless the beach is very trashy the Sovereign or Excal are always my first choice. I may be imagining it, but I honestly don't think the E-trac hits on ring sized gold as well as the Sovereign or Excalibur. I may give the E-Trac the nod for tiny golds items like ear ring backs, but neither is exceptionally good at very small items. Also your AT Pro will handily beat either on thin or medium weight gold chains as they are basically invisible to the E-Trac and GT unless they have large clasps or pendants or your are running the unit extremely hot.
You're not the first person I've heard say that...That the Sovereign hits better on gold rings than the Etrac. I know my GT hits better on gold rings than my Explorers did. For very fine gold like earings you are better off with something other than a Minelab, but when it comes to deep gold rings and deep silver I'll take the GT. Think about it. Most of the gold you'll find at the beach are lost rings, so I'd want a good machine for that. If I was interested in gold chains or earings then I'd consider something else.
The Etrac is fairly good on Gold. Here are some of my better Etrac gold finds in the past year of the dozen gold items I found. The total of both rings is 4.5 carats (94 stones total) of diamonds and 34 grams of 18KT.
