Safari Y/N

[bluehazeman]

I realise that the Minelab Safari is a new machine but i`d like to get owners HONEST opinions as to whether it`s all Minelab say it is or would i be better to save a couple of hundred pounds on a Sovereign GT or spend more on the Explorer or an E-trac, i use a Garrett 250 at the moment and have just added a Detech 15x12 SEF coil so when i move up machine wise it will have to be to one of the afore mentioned Minelab detectors or an XP GoldMaxx Power/Nexus as the 250 with the Detech coil will keep up with and in some cases i suspect better alot of the mid range machines, i just received a nice glossy brochure on the Safari and it seems to tick all the right boxes and looks fantastic but i`d like to hear appraisals from owners and not rely on biased reviews in various magazines who can`t afford to upset Minelab due to loosing advertising revenue (when`s the last time you read in a mag a bad review-it just don`t happen, if it`s a lemon then i want someone to say so) also in the same vein how do owners find FBS technology ? it looks good on paper but do you loose any discrimination ?

 

[TomH]

bluehazeman,

I have been using the Safari for about 6 months and feel it is an exceptional machine if you like power without the whistles and bells. I am a relic hunter and generally hunt in the Gettysburg, PA area with trips into Maryland and Virginia. I run into everything from soft loamy soil to bright red highly mineralized "powdered rust" and so far the Safari has performed better than expected. Most areas around here have been hammered since the introduction of commercialy available metal detectors and are considered "Hunted Out", yet I rarely come home empty handed. Most of what I have found has been deeper than 8 inches with some targets as deep as 18-20 inches (.58 cal lead bullets in moist soil).

Contrary to the Minelab claims I do not consider the machine to be a "turn on and go" unit. You will find stuff right away, but they will be the easy targets, large and near the surface. As you get to know the machine and begin to understand the tone identification you will find deeper and smaller targets. Like any detector, the better you know the machine the better results you will get. I guarantee that, at first, the cacophony of sounds will be confusing and can even be daunting, but once you spend time learning the good sounds from the bad you will not be disappointed.

I am very impressed with the FBS technology and the "Pro" coil is large without being too heavy. The DD coil makes for a wide and deep detection pattern without feeling like you are swinging a trash can lid on the end of a pole. I personally believe that the tone ID is better at identifying deeper or unusual targets than the TID and have learned to go by the sounds instead of the display in the rare event that they do not agree.

Personally, I feel that if you want a high horsepower machine with good discrimination and no whistles and bells then the Safari is the best choice. If you want a more sophisticated analysis computer and complicated displays that try to tell you what is under the coil then you might want the E-Trac or Explorer.

Just a humble opinion,
Tom Henrique

 

[Ray in WA]

Here's my appraisal.

Ray

 

[StevenJayne]

I've been using the Safari for just a month or so. I also have a couple of Bounty Hunter machines I let the kids use. We have been searching an old CCC camp here in New Mexico where the ground can be as hard as a rock and is highly mineralized. The Bounty Hunters cannot produce a reliable tone due to the MASSIVE amount of trash at the site. We are finding lots of blobs of lead, iron pipe, hinges and nails, nails, nails. I put the Safari in all metal mode and was shocked to find metal essentially everywhere. Apparently when they tore down the old barracks and chow hall, they just let all the metal stuff fall. In spite of this, I've still been able to get reliable tones when a coin is present. It's not much fun in the trashiest areas, but the Safari can still pick out the goodies. The pinpoint feature on the Safari is wonderful. The only problem is everyone else calls me over to verify and pinpoint their target before they dig it!
Good Luck!

 

[bluehazeman]

thanks for your views on the Safari, much appreciated.

 

[edjcox]

Here's my $1.78 cents worth. (all I've found thus far)

The safari requires you to learn the tones and read the manual over a few times as well. It is a good machine and does a great job detecting. It requires you to learn it's music (tones) and be able interpret good from bad. The graphics are next to useless, the numerical values displayed are also inconsistent on a lot of targets. I've generated and copied a lot of list indicators but you must bear in mind soil conditions, minerals, moisture, etc will sway the readings.



The E Trac provides better ID information but essentially the same tones. A more complicated display but you get out of it what you put into it from a time and effort and understanding point of view. The ability to load your own programs, as well as fellow detectors settings via your pc, from those who are willing to share is attractive.

I'm getting ready to move on to an Etrac. But it;s not to say the Safari in a good hands, and ears is any worse in ability to detect.

 

[ronaldj2]

Haze, I have to agree with these posts. The safari is definately different than any machine I've used in the past. In my honest unbiased opinion it is a great machine, but it is a machine in which you must get to know. Like Tom H said, It is not really a turn on and go machine, and the only reason why I am saying this is because of all the different sounds you hear. I think you should read some of the previous posts in the past 2-3 mths. What you will read are comments of frustration, excitement, disappointment, triumph, and victory !! Ron

 

[zeekeys]

Hi Bluehazeman, might as well throw my 1/2 cents in to. I am a beach guy. It works the best I have ever had a machine work on a (freshwater) beach. Like the rest of the guys said, it is not an easy detector to get to know. It does take time and it seems a number of people who have gotten one have decided that it was not worth the time to get to know it. I have been pretty much detecting on deserted beaches the last few months and have picked up 450 coins. Mostly deeper coins 5 or more inches. I only say 5" is because my other detectors seemed to mostly pick up surface coins (2 to 4) inches and every once and a while get a little deeper around 5" or 6". It is a dog in trashy areas, you can detect there but the Safari is not a pleasure to use in those kind of conditions.
I got a 4.5X7" coil and it sure does make it an easy detector to use in the coin mode. I have used it 3 times for about 6 hours total and picked up 79 surface coins and was going at a pretty good pace, almost at the pace of some of the faster detectors that I have used. I did cover a lot of ground and I guess the maximum on depth is about 6" with the 4.6X7" coil. I only mention this is because you can get used to the Safari much easier because there aren't as many sounds coming at you to get used to. You can get the coin sounds down right quickly. The more I use it the more I like it and the more I am finding.
Thanks for reading.....Z

 

[bluehazeman]

thanks for the time and input guys i`ve read quite a few posts on the safari and it appears as most of you indicate that it`s a machine that will start to bring home the bacon (as we say in uk) once you`ve tuned yourself into it, like most things in life the more you practice the better you get, it would be great if someone brought out a machine that was good for 18-20 inches and told you what you were onto and could pinpoint it to a square inch and was good on black sand/wet beaches, then there would only be one machine in the running ,although i quite enjoy the anticipation of seeing just what i`ve found (usually an old nail)maybe as a next step from the 250 an Ex-Terra 705 would make a good midway machine before moving to the top tier, we pay around 15%-20% more in UK for most machines in the better end of the scale: Minelab,XP,etc i can`t believe some of the deals from kellyco and other big American suppliers, shame that customs are so hot or i`d order from the states, happy hunting and many thanks

 

[Hart-IN]

Hi Bluehazeman, I moved from the ACE to an X-Terra 70 and don't regret the change even a tiny bit. If you don't plan on ever prospecting for gold, the 505 would be a great choice as well. They get good depth, are light weight, easy to learn and you can adjust how many tones you want to hear. They actually only weigh a few ounces more than the ACE.