M6 and depth

[smkunder]

New to this site, just a question on the M6 and depth. I seem to get beaten by my friends in my club using an unnamed detector in the depth department on silver coins. I have recently gotten a new 10 inch dd coil and seem to do better, but still cant seem to keep up. I have also switched to the tone only method listening for those high tones. Is there any more I can do or should I be thinking of an upgrade.

Steve

 

[Elton]

Depth is a relative term to where you hunt..Some areas 6'' is deep..some more..but the fact is..No, not fact, My opinion is, the M6 is just an average priced average depth detector...5- 6 inches on a dime size target......Now that's not saying conditions right it will not do more..it will ,but the average is 5- 6 inches..in my area.

Up grade doesn't always mean more depth though..Sure the potential is there..but the soil in your area might restrict the depth on any machine...
Try different settings and your new coil...try different sweep speeds, and all metal...if your still not happy then look at different model machines..XLT_ DFX _MXT..
SpectraV3..........all kinds of possibilities..Or get the same machine your buddies use if competition is an issue..but I will say this...Not all machines work as well for all people..experience and learning your machine makes a very big difference in results..with any machine...Good Luck..........

 

[clondike clad]

I can get dimes at 9 inch with the M6 ,but I can also do this with the Classic detector and the XLT
You need to take some time and learn the detector.
The M6 is a deep hunter like the MXT
My old gal the XL PRO can go to China and pull dimes

 

[smkunder]

Do you hunt in the tone mode?

 

[labeachbum]

where did I put my troll spray ?

 

[Delaware Bill]

I have been using a M6 for a while and find it to be one of the deeper seeking detectors for detectors costing less than 1,000 Dollars . Having never used an Explorer , F75 or Vision I can't speak on their performance .But on the XLT, Sovereign XS2A Pro, some Tesoros, Fisher f4, some White's Classic models and various other detectors in my area the M6 is the deepest that I have used. With the stock coil I have found coins in the 8 to 10 inch range. Just received the 10" DD Excellrator and the little bit Of time I used it (about 2 hours ) I found 5 Wheat Pennies in the 8 plus range without any problem. Many should remember that maybe 2 or so years ago the argument was centered on the MXT vs the Fisher CZ vs the DFX vs the Explorer , and the M6 has pretty much the same depth as the MXT.Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[gregl01]

Ditto Elton, I have buried a dime and a nckel @ a measured 7" and the M6 doesn't see them at all. I have also tried my QXT pro and Tesoro Cibola and nothing. So I tend to agree that certain soil conditions have a huge effect on all machines. I have some spots my M6 does quite well finding coins in the 5-7" range, but not everywhere. My little test has showed me alot about depth ground conditions. I love my M6 but I think it is an average depth machine that performs as a mid-priced coin hunter should. I'd like to try some other machines on my test plot and see how "deep" some of the top machines fare!!!!!

Greg

 

[smkunder]

Do you think the upper priced machines make a real difference, I am having trouble trying to decide which way to go in an upgrade, I keep bouncing between Safari, Explorer and DFX.

Steve

 

[Elton]

The Minelabs are noted for it..But not everyone can get best results with a MInelab...........Explorer appears from posts to have the edge but Safari should be close..

DFX has capabilities that are very good for different hunting locations.........8- 9 inch coins is about the norm..With the right settings..it's a tough call...you need to go to local dealer and try out the different machines. Not any detector is going to work exactly the same in any two different locations..

If you like setting the detector for specific hunting areas then the DFX is your machine..Just about everything can be tweaked and changed....

Maybe Larry (IL) will jump in here . he is the DFX Garu................Don't over look the XLT either..unless you are going to be hunting Salt water Beaches..

It's really going to be what you like best.your budget, your ultimate goals with a detector Ie: Comfortable, lighter weight, etc etc...

 

[Larry (IL)]

You did fine Elton. If smkunder is getting beaten on depth, it is most likely due to experience rather than machine. The M6 with the D2 is a great combination for coin hunting and depth should be equal to the MXT and DFX IMHO. A slight depth gain could be made by going to the Explorer line or better yet the new White's V3, but again, depth detection is mostly gained from experience and not from the hardware.

Here is a post that describes well how experience is depth. You can substitute any machine for the one used.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?19,945749

 

[smkunder]

Larry, I am sure it is all about experience, that is why I added the D2 to my collection, but I am hunting with a lot of SE folks in my club and even a person who newly switch's to that machine is having great success. I am not giving up, just trying to gain the experience I need. I love my Whites machine and think it is a outstanding company, but I can not argue with the success others are having, that is why I am doing my best to research and make an informed decision. This website has been a great wealth of knowledge in providing answers.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Larry (IL)]

There is no doubt the SE is a fine machine, I use one too for deep silver and if deep silver is all I hunted for, that is probably the only detector I would use. BUT......I also like to find gold expecially with clear rocks mounted in them. The SE did not even peep at two of my better finds. #1 a 108 diamond bracelet in the 2005 Best finds issue W&E Treasures and the newest bracelet find, a 36 diamond bracelet now on White's finds page, April, 2009. I also found my first gold coin a couple of weeks ago that I probably would not have dug with the SE although I'm sure the SE would have "seen" that one.

It all boils down to what you want and willing to put up with.

 

[smkunder]

Parks is what I hunt mostly and older silver coins I love. I have also found two gold Jewelry pieces with my M6. Sounds like I should keep my M6 and maybe find a used SE when I club hunt for them silver coins. Like it has been said no one machine seems to do it all.

Thanks

Steve

 

[ohio fred]

Go hunt with my brother in law and he will usually come up a few coins a head using ace 250 they will with different coils get respectable depth ,But he digs almost everything i have ace 250 usually run my mxt with him so their is no cross chatter but i don't dig everything I'm u sally on the hunt for certain vid,s and deep sounds or whispers.My idx is getting fix up have used other machines ,Some is luck some experience,Some people say rather be lucky than good. Keep trying good luck

 

[Carolina Phil]

Keep in mind that all TID (Target Identifier Display) detectors loose the capability to lock-on to targets at the fringe of detection depths. This is because the detector is

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Steve, I will only repeat what you have already observed (since I have to be careful, as this is a Whites forum): You are right: if you want to find deep turf silver, then the Explorer will spank all else, as your friends have shown. In fact, I don't think it's that bad on low conductors either. Naturally, a fine tinsel thin chain or whatever, is going to give a power house machine fits. So for some little gold charms or chains, ironically a less-deep-seeking 2 filter (or some various Whites) might excell better in low conductors. To that, my answer is that, generally speaking, there is no lack of low conductors in the parks. Ie.: you or I can go to ANY blighted inner city park, and fill our aprons full of low conductors (foil, tabs, etc....) right? So why would I need a machine that simply give me more of what I can already find without effort? So if you're passing surface stuff, and angling for old coins (of which most, with the exception of nickels, are high conductors), then it just stands to reason: a machine that kicks b*tt for deep silver is an acceptable choice, for some hunt environments. Out here in CA, some of those S mint silver coins carry high value

 

[mikezap]

Since im looking at buying a m6 as a spare detector for my girlfriend and friends that want to come hunt, I think I will chime in. I currently use a teknetics t2, and I love it. I think the t2 is based loosely off of some of the mxt design same operating frequency etc, awesome recovery, good id. M6 is based off the mxt also, its been proven a million times that the mxt is a great detector, and there are tons of guys getting good depth out of both the mxt and m6. So some of your buddies using explorers are getting more depth? No big deal, in the long run you will find more coins I believe and be more successful. Why do I say this? Here is a true example of why I wont use an explorer. My detecting friend and i mostly hunt old house sites, fairly trashy, nails, etc etc. So we were out one day, He took the left side of the sidewalk, I took the right (not a very big yard). After a couple hours we both had about the same number of coins (I was using explorer se pro with the stock dd coil, he was using mxt with the 6x10dd) then we decided to switch sides. Now I think we had both pounded our respective sides very well in the first few hours, I really didn't think there was anything left on my side. Oh was I wrong, about 30 minutes into the side switch I hear him say, "oh zap your gona hate me!" I go over to where he is, and take a nice long look at the walking liberty half dollar he pulled out from about 3 inches down. Now i know i pounded that area where he found it because it was close to the sidewalk near the house, so I told him to put it back in the hole and cover it up with the plug he had dug. I ran the explorer around that plug from every which way, and you know what i got? Nothing, just the typical explorer NULL. Obviously there was some big iron somewhere near the coin, but I was too disgusted to look for it. Any machine should be able to pick up a gigantic silver 50cent piece only 3 inches down Suffice it to say, I congratulated him on the great find, and proceeded to loose all confidence in the explorer (i put about 25 more hours on it before i sold it). Now in hindsight, I probably should have been using a smaller coil and maybe i would have picked it up, who knows. I always used the slow and low approach with the minelab, and was using a program from one of the UK guys that i was super comfortable with. I probably had close to 150 hours logged on that machine up to that day, so I wasn't a novice, not a master by any means but I knew what i was doing with the setup I had. I'm not really sure what i am trying to accomplish with this post but...for me, and the sites I like to hunt, a good recovery speed is an absolute must. Sure the explorers might be a bit deeper than the mxt/m6, but really, how many of your friends are finding coins past the 7" mark? Next time your buddy finds one he says is deep, go check his hole, better yet watch him dig it out, he might have dug a 9" hole, but missed the pinpoint and the coin is sittin 5" down and a couple inches to the right or left of his hole From what I have read and talked to people about, the mxt/m6 will go deep, but you have to be able to interpret what the machine is telling you, from most of what i have read (and i have read alot) if you get hits lower than 7" your not gona have much in the way of vdi, but that doesn't mean you cant dig it All in all i think the most important factor in metal detecting is having confidence in your choice of machine, once you find one you are happy with, learn it inside and out and i am sure that you will outhunt all your pals 99% of the time. Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[smkunder]

Thanks Mike, great post. I have not given up, just trying to get the most out of my M6. Thanks for the insight on M6, it makes me feel better about my machine. I think as time goes on I am finding those high faint tones are the ones to dig for silver coins. I think a better set of headphones will help also.

Steve

 

[jspoon]

Ditto Elton, I have buried a dime and a nckel @ a measured 7" and the M6 doesn't see them at all. I have also tried my QXT pro and Tesoro Cibola and nothing. So I tend to agree that certain soil conditions have a huge effect on all machines. I have some spots my M6 does quite well finding coins in the 5-7" range, but not everywhere. My little test has showed me alot about depth ground conditions. I love my M6 but I think it is an average depth machine that performs as a mid-priced coin hunter should. I'd like to try some other machines on my test plot and see how "deep" some of the top machines fare!!!!!

You can't just bury a coin and expect your detector to hit it, the coins have to stay in the ground for a while and create a halo effect as far as I've always heard.
HH
John

 

[goodmore]

I see that some Explorer and E-Trac users are put off by the complication factor. In the classified section I see " Just not for Me " in their selling adds all the time. There is a learning factor in all detectors. Some more than others. I would try sticking with the M6 this year. What is the hurry. Hunt & dig. Experience is the number one factor in finds. Not detector depth. Granted that some detectors perform better in certain areas. Soil mineralization is a factor. The Tejon is a depth monster in low mineral soil. Average detector in high mineral soil. My modded IDX Pro is great in soil & pretty lousy on the beach. The bottom line is to know the detector & what it can do. The m6 finds targets. We all know that. Most targets are not 9 inches deep. We know that too. The right coil with the least amount of discrimination for an optimized hunt = $$$. If your not digging trash your not detecting.