How deep does it go.... Lets hear it

[burlbark]

I was hunting a local school yard when a guy walked up using a Minelab. He commented that he was a Whites guy for years but he saw they didnt have the depth he was looking for. He then found a Rosie at around 5" and then stuck his probe to the bottom of the whole and called it 7". Fine we all have done it at one time or another. I found a merc minutes later at 3-4".


The question really is..... What is the deepest target you have found? I am not talking about large iron or crabtraps 4ft deep on the beach.

This is for coins and relics, belt buckles and silverware. Here is one of my experiences.....today.

Today I was beach hunting and once again the v3i likes to show off. This is the second time this has happened.

I got a 78 at 12" and hitting on the 2.5 frequency. There was a family of 6 no more than 10 yards away watching and interested in what I was digging. I use a stealth 08 sand scoop which is 8" wide and 12" deep and has a shovel handle. I pull targets out at 10" with a single scoop. Well today I had to scoop 5 times and was down well over 14" when I pulled this quarter out. Yeah I may have chased it a little but I was always able to scan the hole and see the quarter in the same spot. When I finally got it out the family started applauding as they had never seen a detector find a target that deep. Halo was a factor I am sure. I got 4 quarters today going slow at over 10" deep. I once again am completely awestruck with this detector.

My wife and her DFX found a dime and a penny to my $3.00 or so in clad.

The v3i is completely different machine when compared to anything Whites has ever created.

The only thing that has stayed the same is the black paint job and customer service.

 

[nw1886]

My deepest has been 12" or so but most deep ones have been around 8 to 10 inches. I don't do old coin much these days as jewelry and clad spots are closer and more productive for me due to time constraints. Still...old coinage is my favorite. My DFX still has the record for my deepest coin at 16 inches in loam. (Barber Half) If deeper coins were in the ground I've hunted they would have showed up but as soon as I seen what this machine acts like for small low conductors......switched priorities.

 

[Larry (IL)]

Depth will vary greatly with ground conditions. I just dug a 12" LC in pretty mineralized ground and that really impressed me. I would think a 14" quarter in the sand would be a walk in the park.....

 

[Bill_S]

Havent owned mine long enough to get any really deep digs yet. I am impressed with what it will do with some coins that I buried in the yard.

 

[Altamaha]

I have dug several large cents at around 12 inches (strong clear signals) with the eclipse 950 coil. These were in undisturbed dirt at old house sites, not sand. I've owned/used most of the top of the line Whites machines since the Eagle II and the Spectra V3i is the deepest of them all in my experience.

 

[mickfin]

Hi burlbark, My first Whites was a Blue 1988 Eagle II , After two years i upgraded to a Black Eagle II SL 90 and still have it as a Back up to my
Whites VX3 I never found nothing DEEP with the Minelab SE-Pro So i traded it in on a Whites VX3 it feels good to be BACK!!!!!
Mickfin

 

[earthmansurfer]

I'm in Bill_S' shoes. But I did dig a 9" bracelet like ammo box chain. I was really surprised as the links were not tight. (I imagine the detector saw it much like a bracelet.) I was hunting with a fast recovery (delay at 20!) and I just got a peep from it. I moved the recovery delay to 60 and upped the sens and it hit it Solid.

In my test garden I can hit a Nickel at 9" that has iron around it (not by design, my yard is just full of it). I can do that with the stock coil as well as the 6X10.
I have to say it's a very difficult Nickel to hit with the iron around it. Really a good training set up, outside of the fact I'm in Germany (But I needed some kind of test to compare with).

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

I have said this before, but I will say it again. Although I think the V3i is a deep seeking detector, where it really excels is its uncanny ability to sniff out the deeper and smaller targets.

Case and point: With 10 years of detecting with three different brands of detectors, I never found a half dime. Since using the V3i in 2010, I have found 3 half dimes and 1 three cent pieces, all at moderate depths (6-10 inches). A hunted out site that produced 100 buttons with these other detectors gave up more than 250 additional buttons with the V3i.

I will go head to head with any other detector on the market and dig more of the moderately deep small targets and as many deep coins. I challenge anyone who disputes this to prove otherwise.

 

[gilfordberry]

I'm reluctant to dig deep targets because of the areas I detect (public parks and school yards mostly) and absolutely refuse to dig more than 3 or 4 inches deep if the soil is dry (which it usually is here in Southern California). The reason is simple enough - I like this hobby and don't want to be the cause of ANYONE being able to see where I have dug a target. We have enough problems without doing any damage to the environment. And, if that all isn't reason enough, how 'bout I'm too lazy to dig very deep anyway.

But I did get a good target near the corner of an outside basketball court in a public park, and since the ground was wet from a thorough session with the sprinklers, and the park was unoccupied except for my wife and me, I decided to dig the target. Showed a little erratic on VDI -between 50 and 70, predominant frequency was 2.5 KHZ, depth showed 12 - 14 inches. Because of the damp soil I was able to cut a large horseshoe with my digger, flipped the sod over, and checked with pinpointer - nothing. Checked with the detector again and it still showed the target, but now a little steadier and reading 78. Dug out four more inches with the digger (now down over 8 inches) and checked again with the pinpointer. At first nothing then after a few trys I got a short beep. Again with the digger (down another two or three) and now the pinpointer rang loud an clear in the bottom of the hole. Another inch netted me a nice 1951 quarter. Checked the hole again - got another beep with the pinpointer- and again - and again - net was 2 silver quarters, 3 dimes (1 merc and 2 rosies) a war nickel and 2 wheats. I think the depth had to be over 12 inches. My first, and ONLY, silver pocket spill in 10 years of detecting.

 

[earthmansurfer]

I'm reluctant to dig deep targets because of the areas I detect (public parks and school yards mostly) and absolutely refuse to dig more than 3 or 4 inches deep if the soil is dry (which it usually is here in Southern California). The reason is simple enough - I like this hobby and don't want to be the cause of ANYONE being able to see where I have dug a target. We have enough problems without doing any damage to the environment. And, if that all isn't reason enough, how 'bout I'm too lazy to dig very deep anyway.

But I did get a good target near the corner of an outside basketball court in a public park, and since the ground was wet from a thorough session with the sprinklers, and the park was unoccupied except for my wife and me, I decided to dig the target. Showed a little erratic on VDI -between 50 and 70, predominant frequency was 2.5 KHZ, depth showed 12 - 14 inches. Because of the damp soil I was able to cut a large horseshoe with my digger, flipped the sod over, and checked with pinpointer - nothing. Checked with the detector again and it still showed the target, but now a little steadier and reading 78. Dug out four more inches with the digger (now down over 8 inches) and checked again with the pinpointer. At first nothing then after a few trys I got a short beep. Again with the digger (down another two or three) and now the pinpointer rang loud an clear in the bottom of the hole. Another inch netted me a nice 1951 quarter. Checked the hole again - got another beep with the pinpointer- and again - and again - net was 2 silver quarters, 3 dimes (1 merc and 2 rosies) a war nickel and 2 wheats. I think the depth had to be over 12 inches. My first, and ONLY, silver pocket spill in 10 years of detecting.

Great story and I have yet to find a coin spill, especially a silver one! I know what you mean about not digging big holes. But, dry ground means that the closer you cut the roots away from the grass (e.g. a 2" or 3" deep hole) the likelier that grass is to die (If that was partly what you were talking about). I know from digging around my house that the shallow holes often almost killed the grass during dry months (I would water the holes). If people are around though, I don't like to dig deep holes either. In those cases, in public places a shovel is not recommended.

Anyway, grass or not, a good suggestion to not letting people be able to tell that you dug a hole (if there are none around I mean) is to use a pillow case or the like to put the dirt on. Then just pour it back on the hole and NOTHING can be seen. AND the roots are still going deep, so no harm there. A long powerful knife like a Lesche is great for this.

 

[squirrel1]

I have had my V3i a while now. Detector depth is a very controversial topic. There are lots of things that affect the V3i's depth capability. Soil, size of target, composition of target as well as your detector settings just to name a few. Let me say this, I believe I could take my V3i to several old sites and dig every target my V3i squeaks on over the course of a year, I would eventually be able to report" Boy I found a silver dime at 12-13 inches or a v nickle at 11 inches. And I would probably would wear out 4 lesche diggers and 2 shovels, have a bad back, plus the landscape around where I live would look like a bunch of gophers or moles had a hold of it. Now I've read here and on other forums where some folks have tried to compare say the e-trac/explorer/fischer f75 with the V3i. I see where many say "my V3i could see every thing the e-trac/explorer/f75 could see". The one thing a detector needs to do is alert you to halt and investigate a potential good target. So to be able to hear a tone or squeak may not be enough to get you to stop and investigate. Now I'm not writing this post to compare detectors or to start a feud, just make a point. I believe in giving information so a user/potential user will know what to expect. When I first got my V3i I dug several old wheats at depths between 9 and 11 inches. The coins were real green when they came out and the soil was green too not to mention this was in Feb this year when the ground was real moist. Believe it or not the target ID was steady as a rock withe VDIs at or around 70-72. Since April my deep finds dropped off substantially and I know I have been in places with deep coins ala e-trac. What I have noticed is the VDI and tone really get distorted when adding depth now with the soil dry using the v3i. I got what looked like a penny solid hit with my e-trac 12-42/44. I got my V3i and scanned it from every direction and could only muster a 59 vdi reading and this was after adjusting settings and reground balancing. I dug the coin-53 wheat 4 inches deep on edge. I even rescanned the hole and pinpointed it as well. There were no other targets even close. The V3i in my opinion does have deep potential and a user had better be prepared to dig quite a few sub par coin VDI readings/bad or broken tones to bring home the old loot. I find my V3i hits substantially deeper on copper wheats than it does silver dimes. And that is using multi as well as single frequency. My soil here seems to be in the low to moderate category here in middle Tn. And yes all detectors VLF/FBS regardless of brand begin to have trouble as depth increases. Some just handle it better than others. There are examples in the field of some very deep finds with the V3i. Some of the finds ring out loud and clear some not so nice and others just plain ugly. Two things are certain. To make finds you need your coil over them. And a person that's not digging isn't briggin' home the goodies.

 

[burlbark]

I have had my V3i a while now. Detector depth is a very controversial topic. There are lots of things that affect the V3i's depth capability. Soil, size of target, composition of target as well as your detector settings just to name a few. Let me say this, I believe I could take my V3i to several old sites and dig every target my V3i squeaks on over the course of a year, I would eventually be able to report" Boy I found a silver dime at 12-13 inches or a v nickle at 11 inches. And I would probably would wear out 4 lesche diggers and 2 shovels, have a bad back, plus the landscape around where I live would look like a bunch of gophers or moles had a hold of it. Now I've read here and on other forums where some folks have tried to compare say the e-trac/explorer/fischer f75 with the V3i. I see where many say "my V3i could see every thing the e-trac/explorer/f75 could see". The one thing a detector needs to do is alert you to halt and investigate a potential good target. So to be able to hear a tone or squeak may not be enough to get you to stop and investigate. Now I'm not writing this post to compare detectors or to start a feud, just make a point. I believe in giving information so a user/potential user will know what to expect. When I first got my V3i I dug several old wheats at depths between 9 and 11 inches. The coins were real green when they came out and the soil was green too not to mention this was in Feb this year when the ground was real moist. Believe it or not the target ID was steady as a rock withe VDIs at or around 70-72. Since April my deep finds dropped off substantially and I know I have been in places with deep coins ala e-trac. What I have noticed is the VDI and tone really get distorted when adding depth now with the soil dry using the v3i. I got what looked like a penny solid hit with my e-trac 12-42/44. I got my V3i and scanned it from every direction and could only muster a 59 vdi reading and this was after adjusting settings and reground balancing. I dug the coin-53 wheat 4 inches deep on edge. I even rescanned the hole and pinpointed it as well. There were no other targets even close. The V3i in my opinion does have deep potential and a user had better be prepared to dig quite a few sub par coin VDI readings/bad or broken tones to bring home the old loot. I find my V3i hits substantially deeper on copper wheats than it does silver dimes. And that is using multi as well as single frequency. My soil here seems to be in the low to moderate category here in middle Tn. And yes all detectors VLF/FBS regardless of brand begin to have trouble as depth increases. Some just handle it better than others. There are examples in the field of some very deep finds with the V3i. Some of the finds ring out loud and clear some not so nice and others just plain ugly. Two things are certain. To make finds you need your coil over them. And a person that's not digging isn't briggin' home the goodies.

You got a 59 on a wheaty on edge at 4" in moderately minerlized soil. Great, nice find....... The 59 vdi has just about nothing to do with depth, I am sure you know this? It is the combination of conductivity of the coin and the minerlized soil around it and it was on edge. You make it seem like the etrac saw the penny better?

I dug 7 of them in a little over an hour a couple of days ago in yard that had been detected for the last 30 years, I was using the 5.3 coil and I got a merc out of it the day before. Oh yeah and a gold plated pocket watch. E-trac seems to be a nice detector. I sure love a" true" 3 frequency...... I would have missed close to all of my silver coins without it. Oh not to mention the Gold....

 

[squirrel1]

My point of my original post is to inform new users/potential users using the V3i, some finds are not just so-called "text book" finds where the V3i rings and someone answers. Some targets can be a bit dicy and sometimes one has to evaluate and make an educated guess as to whether to dig or not. When I got my V3i I was concentrating on too much on the sure thing when it came to targets. Like wheats ringing up as 70-72 and dimes as 73-75. Looking back now with more knowledge and experience and using another detector besides the V3i I have a bertter understanding of what to listen for and watch for when using the V3i.

 

[Rob (IL)]

There are many variables including how the depth was determined. Many people use the depth the detector indicates, some use a ruler, some estimate, and some people are old fisherman. ROB

 

[gilfordberry]

Yep, you have named my digger; and you're right on about shallow digging killing the grass- you must cut deep enough to flip to sod over with all the roots intact in the plug. And speaking of plugs, I always cut a horseshoe shaped plug leaving the "flat" end of the plug still attached. I see those gadgets that cut a complete plug like one for a golf course green, and while it looks nice and neat when you walk away (assuming you replaced the plug properly and stamped it back into place), if the plug doesn't get any water for a couple of days you will see a nice round spot of dead grass. Now, back East, where you get frequent summer rains, you might be able to get away with this, but here - in dry (usually) Southern California - those things should be outlawed. I've seen park lawns that looked like they had developed smallpox from all those ugly round spots. No wonder we catch h*ll from park rangers sometimes.

 

[PokerShark]

How about a wheatie at 9" on it's edge. One swing it would say dime, and another would come up copper cent. I cut the plug, grabbed a couple digs of dirt and there it was, about 20% of the edge sticking out in the bottom of the hole. Makes me wonder how the V3 saw it with so little reflective surface to return the signal. I like my V3 just fine. Like my Grandad always said, let the dogs bark, the train could careless and just moves on. So let the brand x,y, and z detectorists make their claims.....we know what we have and it is GOOD!

The Shark

 

[earthmansurfer]

Yep, you have named my digger; and you're right on about shallow digging killing the grass- you must cut deep enough to flip to sod over with all the roots intact in the plug. And speaking of plugs, I always cut a horseshoe shaped plug leaving the "flat" end of the plug still attached. I see those gadgets that cut a complete plug like one for a golf course green, and while it looks nice and neat when you walk away (assuming you replaced the plug properly and stamped it back into place), if the plug doesn't get any water for a couple of days you will see a nice round spot of dead grass. Now, back East, where you get frequent summer rains, you might be able to get away with this, but here - in dry (usually) Southern California - those things should be outlawed. I've seen park lawns that looked like they had developed smallpox from all those ugly round spots. No wonder we catch h*ll from park rangers sometimes.

Great suggestion and I'm going to try that. It's an interesting point you make. If you leave one side still connected there are more roots to that side unaffected.

ps - I lived for 9 years in San Diego and never detected
I even had a good paying job... but surfing will do that to you.

 

[yazoo]

When I first got the Vision now the V3i back about 2 1/2 yrs ago i found silver at 12-14 inches with a 10X14 excellerator coil that is no longer available.This was at a ball field I had hammerd pretty good with my DFX over the years. Since that time I got rid of that coil and got 2 butterfly coils 6X8 and 10 X12 Have gotten maybe 12 inches with them. Wish I still had the 10X14 but I really don't care to dig that deep a lot so what coils I do have will be just fine. 2 of my favorite coils to use are the stock D2 and a 8 inch DD from excellerator.Another thing that I feel was that the Vision could get deeper than The newer brothers even though it had issues.This is what I did in ground that phases at -87 to -93 depending what part of Indiana you are in.And are my opinions . Happy Hunting Yazoo

 

[TIM CLARK]

I have been getting coin in the 8 to 10 inch and junk up to a feet. using the 10x12 sef coil