Which Excalibur Coil, the 800 or 1000 ??

[Waterman]

I have used 2 Excals in the past years and am now about to order my Excalibur II; which coil is more widely used out there as I'm having a tough time deciding which coil size....

Thanks

Waterman

 

[goodmore]

If you are good at pinpointing I would go with the 10 inch. It is a little deeper and has a bit more coverage. People claim the 8 inch swings better in the water but the 10 inch does fine.

 

[OldBeechnut]

Where are you hunting, AC, VB, west coast Florida, in the water deep, shallow, wet sand? Most of the time the 10 would be the choice, but I like my 8 inch in the deep and where I can't see the bottom..much easier to retrieve. I hunt OC Maryland, when the waves are hitting, if you don't get the target on the first scoop, your chances of recover are less. In the Bay, you can't see the bottom, and when your neck deep and the small waves are making you bob, PP with the 8 is so much faster. In hunting the sands of rehoboth beach, wet high tide to low tide, the 10 gets the call, more coverage, more depth..So were your going to hunt makes a difference......Good Luck, ..........Joe

 

[Waterdog]

I hunted with the 8 for several years. Then one time when I sent her in for her check up the tech told me there was a problem with the headphones. While I had him on the line I had him put on a 10 inch coil. I hunted with it but seemed to slow me down. I had a hard time pin-pointing with it so the next season I sent her in and had them put the eight back on. It seemed to drag more in the water, and pin-pointing was more of a challenge. I do this for a hobby to enjoy myself. You may get more coverage but I am happy with the depth .
Most of the gold I found had just been lost within a couple of days.

 

[bcoop]

I just purchased the 1000 and here were my reasoning's behind my decision.

1. Same price as 8 inch ( little more for the same money with 10 inch coil )

2. Not much difference in weight

3. 10 inch coil has a little more depth

4. 10 inch coil has just a little more coverage


This is my first Excalibur and I am sure not an authority on the matter. Whichever machine you choose you can't go wrong with either one, and you will definitely want to purchase a straight shaft.

BCOOP

 

[Critterhunter]

After looking at the old 8" (which is like 7 1/4" or so) BBS coil on my friend's Excal 800, I can't imagine hunting with that thing for coverage reasons. It looks only a hair bigger to me than my S5 5.5" coil, and I don't think I'd like the feeling of pointing a "stick" around in a large expanse of open water trying to locate the next target to dig. The 15x12 is my prefered land coil. Coverage is awesome, but it's got a little too much drag to me in the water. The 10" Tornado feels about right in the water in terms of drag issues, but I sure wish I had still more coverage. That's why I don't use it on land anymore, and the SEF seems to PP and seperate better anyway so why use the 10" on land anymore is the way I see it. In the water it's a winner though, but I'd probably opt for the 12x10 SEF in the water and plan to try one water hunting when I pick a used one up (still in the market for one if anybody has a 12x10 for sale). I would figure you probably can't tell the drag difference (if any) between it and the 10" coil, yet it'll give me the feel of more coverage and probably better depth. Besides, on the SEF's it's killer to PP using the base of the "V" at either the tip or the tail of the coil. In the water you can use your big toe and stick it right into that "V" and now you are dead center over the target with your toe. Even easier to PP with than the 10", which on that I use the tail of the coil but it's a little less accurate to me than the 15x12. Using the tail of the coil is also handy when water hunting because you simply stick your toe at the trailing edge of the coil and then slide your scoop right up along side your foot. Then move the coil out of the way and scoop. Couldn't imagine pin pointing with the middle of the coil or tip, as that would require more figiting around to get the scoop ready in the right spot. Works for me so far anyway, but I'm a relative newbie again to water hunting as it's been years since I got my coil wet.