Question about coils..............

[cwtrader1863]

A friend of mine bought an AT Gold with the small DD coil. We tested it with nails and relics. I put a Union cuff button between 2 good size nails and it sang out with a high tone. Did the same thing with a half dime between two big nails. Okay, question is does the 8 x 11 DD coil see thru iron that good? If so, I would rather use the bigger coil to cover more ground. If not, I will use smaller coil.

 

[mudpuppy]

Your decision might be a situational, financial, and location dependent one...I can say I have the big coil, and hunt silver fairly effectively through iron with it...or at least it has found me some silver with iron also coming up in the scoop..Water hunting only, the signals may not all the time be crisp, sometimes they are, the center of the big coil seems to act like a sniper coil, based upon how you use it...the general consensus for hunting silver in heavy iron is to use the small coil so a fellow doesnt get too much feedback from multiple targets underneath it...thats the right tool for the job so to speak...all I have is the big coil, and I also need to cover a lot of ground on account of my location/situation/finances, and have learned what its saying, and how to sort of 'hover' it, pump it, tight wiggle it, whatever, to try to isolate silver in the trash..I run 3 clicks down from full sens, iron audio off, pro zero, with an Atpro. A guy can sort of isolate that sweet tight ping based upon tone and size of the target...most all the really good silver coin hunters use the smaller one in the trash...

As far as I'm concerned, based upon where I am and what I hunt, I need the big coil, I have too much realestate to cover, and have learned to live with its strengths and weaknesses...I have been greatly impressed with it picking silver through the iron.. Can you do it with the big coil? Probably. Can you do it with the smaller coil, definitely!
Mud

 

[William-NM]

As Mud said, it's a trade-off. The bigger coil does a very good job of seeing through iron trash and gains you an inch or two of depth. You can lift it up a few inches to reduce the size of the search field - the DD's have a wedge shaped field - so that can help isolate targets. My regular haunts are thick with iron of all shapes and sizes, so I run the 5x8 on my ATG as my weapon of choice. I do think that it's noticeably better at sifting through trashy areas without giving up much depth. I also like it in my brushy/rocky sites for it's ability to get in tight spots.

If I was doing more farmer's or sporting fields or cleaner parks/schools, I'd run the big coil more, though I have some carpal tunnel and tendon issues and the little coil is as light as a feather.

 

[ohiochris]

The larger DD coil covers more ground at once , so even though it will still see between objects better than a concentric coil there is more chance of trash being under the coil and within its detection field. So the answer is yes it will still work that way but not necessarily as good as the small coil. Thats why many say the smaller coil is quieter and more stable , with clearer hits on the good targets.

I just use the small 5x8 all the time. After getting used to it I can hunt even large areas pretty easily , even with less coverage per pass.

 

[BootyHunter]

Yep, what they said!! The 5x8 is an awesome coil, but the 8x11 is too! If you have the time to hunt a place thoroughly I would say the 5x8 would be the way to go, if you only have limited time or a huge area to cover, then the larger coil. Best of both worlds would be hunt it with the large coil, then go back over it with the smaller one. Good luck!

 

[88junior]

Coil selection to me is dependent upon the amount of iron and trash in the area. Non iron and trashy areas I use the 8.5x11. In iron laden and trashy areas I use the 5x8" coil. I primarily hunt Civil war relics 80% of the time so when i am in the woods and fields for those areas which are less trashy I run all metal using the 8.5x11" coil for the added depth and coverage.