How good is the 17"?

[Jason in Enid]

I was the original poster of the question. The reason I asked was to try to make a decision to purchase a CTX and Minelab was offering a free one if the purchase was prior to Jan 16th. After hearing about it I joined the CTX club and will retire from the GT club. Thanks for everyone thoughts and opinions.

I plan to mostly use the coil at low tide on the mud flats.

Congrats, Welcome to the clan, and you better have an Outstanding digging device with you on your hunts!

Yeah, you're going to need a bigger (and stronger) shovel!

 

[Atlas]

I really like my 17. I mostly have water/beach hunted with mine. On the beach wet sand I was digging coin sized targets at 16" easy. This was Florida sand so no iron mineralization. I think I went down over two feet on a pocket of lead fishing weights resting in a pot hole on some rocks. I thought I had hit some Spanish silver for sure

In more mineralized (black sand) lake hunting I get coins at 8-12" but that is deeper than the stock coil on average which is 6-8" for the most part in this extremely mineralized ground (single digits on suggested sens). You are mostly running the machine below 10 on sens or it howls. Any way depth is difficult to estimate underwater but coins to 3-4 scoops deep are not uncommon with the 17 and the stealth scoop.

Noticeable drag with the 17" in the water. you have to push and pull it around and it will wear on you if you hunt all day. Out of the water and in I use a harness.

 

[JJ]

For only a couple extra inches, I'm not convinced that this massive coil is worth the very hefty price tag. The same amount of ground coverage with the stock coil can be achieved with proper swing technique. I think this coil is severely lacking in depth when a similarly sized coil on an Etrac or Explorer would easily go twice as deep. JJ

 

[mrwilburino]

I think this coil is severely lacking in depth when a similarly sized coil on an Etrac or Explorer would easily go twice as deep. JJ

Is this something you've witnessed?

 

[JJ]

Can't say I have personally compared targets on both machines with coils this large but I am confident where my money would lie. Stock coil +2" is harldly worth bragging about for a coil of this size. JJ

 

[trojdor]

How good is the 17" coil? I here you get about an inch or two in wet sand. I also here there is no difference when used in a trashy park because of the number of targets.

You'll typically get 2 to 4 more inches on coin sized objects...more on larger objects...just like with any coil. (Depending on dirt type.)
That might not seem like much, but in my area, an inch is roughly equal to 10 years. Going 2-4 inches deeper is going 20 to 40 years further back in time.
That can easily be the difference between clad and silver.

There's no magic in bigger coils...the detection efficiency of going bigger (for coins) drops off quickly after 10 or 12 inch diameters.
(And then there's that nagging issue of smaller targets starting to actually lose depth...or disappear completely...when the coil is too big.)
Otherwise, we'd all be using coils the size of hula hoops.

Additionally, a big advantage to the 17 is increased coverage area. It's like swinging the coil once instead of two or three times.
And larger coils seem to find coins 'on edge' more readily.

The drawbacks, however, are very real...
Larger coils are heavier, and more unwieldy.
At the same time they cover more ground for coins/jewelry, they're also covering more ground for trash...especially iron trash that can null a good target.
It can be tricky to pinpoint with a big coil...especially at first.

It's the best/right tool for the right job if you're hunting an open area like a beach, field, or other large open area like a sports field.
It's the wrong tool for the job if you're hunting in trashy and/or confined areas like tot lots.

As far as the price goes...well, this IS a hobby...it's not like we've been forced to buy these things.

It reminds me of a saying from another expensive hobby I used to have (motocross racing); "If you want to play, you've got to pay."

hh,
mike