ironman200081
Active member
A month ago, I was detecting with my friend moreb (from this here forum right here) and at our first spot we hit a carpet of burned nails with our CTX machines. After 30 minutes or so of misery and no finds other than clad, even with the small coils, we packed up and hit another spot. That is our go-to move for the iron infested sites; retreat. On the drive we mentioned whether a “newer” machine would be of any use or benefit to us. I had secretly been researching the Manticore for a months because I have heard great things about its unmasking ability after the earlier reports of it being prone to iron falsing turned me off initially.
Now I have been swinging Minelab’s FBS machines for 15 years, and have been going steady with the CTX exclusively since Memorial Day 2012 when it debuted. My CTX has been with me through life’s highs and lows, through births of children and divorces. The CTX is the best machine I have ever owned, and it would take something with beastly performance to make me leave it in the bag. But when I got back from that hunt, I placed an order immediately for the Manticore along with the M9 coil. I spent the 2-day shipping time watching hours of videos to get up to speed on the machine (plenty of real good uns out there with real digs).
It arrived on a Thursday afternoon and I was blown away by the weight compared to my boat anchors of a CTX and E-trac. I edited three of the All Terrain programs to the consensus recommendations for iron/trash and made a date with a trashy park the next day. I chose a park close to home that I had hunted very recently with the CTX and the 11-inch coil, but became frustrated at the nails from a long-torn down structure (found a silver dime and a few wheats with the CTX). After a few minutes of “get-to-know-you” time with the new Manticore, and thanks to watching the videos, I began picking up modern coins. Ok, it works – now I want to see how it handles the iron. I made a beeline for the nail carpet and began sweeping the same dirt that I had investigated with my CTX a week ago.
I was not prepared for what happened next. Bam – Mercury dime (with 3 nails in the hole too). Bang – another Merc! And the wildest of all, three(!) silver Roosevelt dimes in the same plug (well, one was in the sidewall), also surrounded by iron. I also found some wheats and some deeper clad in the nails, and I was completely blown away by the unmasking ability of this machine. First hunt, five silvers (my pictures)… in a place I had just hunted with the CTX. I called moreb on the drive home to tell him the story and before we said bye, he was already online ordering a Manticore for himself!
Since that first hunt, I have found more silver in places I have previously swept with other machines. The recovery speed and unmasking ability of the Manticore make it a killer in the iron trash. The weight is easy on the arm and for the first time since 2018, I can hunt without a ProSwing harness. Only a month in and the Manticore is opening up old spots that I thought were closed to the CTX. Despite the amazing unmasking ability, I do have some gripes with the Manticore. The screen glare is annoying and the battery life (especially in ATHC) is abysmal. I do not believe that the Manticore identifies targets at depth as well as the CTX. Yes, it is super hot on iron, but it is hot on silver as well. The stabilizer helps some if you choose to run it, and you can also employ the tried-and-true iron falsing techniques like a slower sweep speed and turning on the target at least one 90-degree rotation. The Manticore, like the CTX, tends to false more on the backswing too. And let’s face it, burned and bent square nails and round rusty iron will get just about any machine every now and then. The Manticore is no exception.
I miss the bells and whistles of the CTX like the clock and the GPS map. I know, I know, fancy extra stuff that should not be on a detector. But let me tell you, that GPS map really helps when you are gridding a Civil War camp in the deep woods where every darn tree and bush looks the same. I am not mothballing my CTX at all and it will still be my first-out machine for new spots and relic spots. But once I encounter the bed of nails, the Manticore beast will be unleashed to eat up the hidden goodies.
Now I realize I have only spent a month with the Manticore and I have exclusively used the M9 coil so please take my review with that in mind. I have also only hit places I have hunted before that I know are super trashy and loaded with nails. My settings have just been what I found online for iron infested sites. But the results are real. The Manticore finds silver that my CTX and E-trac could not. I am excited to spend the summer learning the machine even more and also saving some gas money by hitting closer sites that I had abandoned due to iron trash. I am happy to be digging with the Beast.
Now I have been swinging Minelab’s FBS machines for 15 years, and have been going steady with the CTX exclusively since Memorial Day 2012 when it debuted. My CTX has been with me through life’s highs and lows, through births of children and divorces. The CTX is the best machine I have ever owned, and it would take something with beastly performance to make me leave it in the bag. But when I got back from that hunt, I placed an order immediately for the Manticore along with the M9 coil. I spent the 2-day shipping time watching hours of videos to get up to speed on the machine (plenty of real good uns out there with real digs).
It arrived on a Thursday afternoon and I was blown away by the weight compared to my boat anchors of a CTX and E-trac. I edited three of the All Terrain programs to the consensus recommendations for iron/trash and made a date with a trashy park the next day. I chose a park close to home that I had hunted very recently with the CTX and the 11-inch coil, but became frustrated at the nails from a long-torn down structure (found a silver dime and a few wheats with the CTX). After a few minutes of “get-to-know-you” time with the new Manticore, and thanks to watching the videos, I began picking up modern coins. Ok, it works – now I want to see how it handles the iron. I made a beeline for the nail carpet and began sweeping the same dirt that I had investigated with my CTX a week ago.
I was not prepared for what happened next. Bam – Mercury dime (with 3 nails in the hole too). Bang – another Merc! And the wildest of all, three(!) silver Roosevelt dimes in the same plug (well, one was in the sidewall), also surrounded by iron. I also found some wheats and some deeper clad in the nails, and I was completely blown away by the unmasking ability of this machine. First hunt, five silvers (my pictures)… in a place I had just hunted with the CTX. I called moreb on the drive home to tell him the story and before we said bye, he was already online ordering a Manticore for himself!
Since that first hunt, I have found more silver in places I have previously swept with other machines. The recovery speed and unmasking ability of the Manticore make it a killer in the iron trash. The weight is easy on the arm and for the first time since 2018, I can hunt without a ProSwing harness. Only a month in and the Manticore is opening up old spots that I thought were closed to the CTX. Despite the amazing unmasking ability, I do have some gripes with the Manticore. The screen glare is annoying and the battery life (especially in ATHC) is abysmal. I do not believe that the Manticore identifies targets at depth as well as the CTX. Yes, it is super hot on iron, but it is hot on silver as well. The stabilizer helps some if you choose to run it, and you can also employ the tried-and-true iron falsing techniques like a slower sweep speed and turning on the target at least one 90-degree rotation. The Manticore, like the CTX, tends to false more on the backswing too. And let’s face it, burned and bent square nails and round rusty iron will get just about any machine every now and then. The Manticore is no exception.
I miss the bells and whistles of the CTX like the clock and the GPS map. I know, I know, fancy extra stuff that should not be on a detector. But let me tell you, that GPS map really helps when you are gridding a Civil War camp in the deep woods where every darn tree and bush looks the same. I am not mothballing my CTX at all and it will still be my first-out machine for new spots and relic spots. But once I encounter the bed of nails, the Manticore beast will be unleashed to eat up the hidden goodies.
Now I realize I have only spent a month with the Manticore and I have exclusively used the M9 coil so please take my review with that in mind. I have also only hit places I have hunted before that I know are super trashy and loaded with nails. My settings have just been what I found online for iron infested sites. But the results are real. The Manticore finds silver that my CTX and E-trac could not. I am excited to spend the summer learning the machine even more and also saving some gas money by hitting closer sites that I had abandoned due to iron trash. I am happy to be digging with the Beast.
