Attention E-trac & Explorer owners that have decided not to upgrade! Please post your "hunted out" locations below for CTX owners to "practice" their

[BarnacleBill]

GPS coordinates will be appreciated! But please hunted out spots only, don't give away a Cherry patch that is still producing.

HH
BB

 

[Bill_S]

You are more than welcome to come to Missouri and I will take you to some of my pounded public spots. You can use your ctx and I will use the Etrac then we can post the results on here if you want

 

[Erik in NJ]

The forum is already split along CTX and non-CTX lines except for some of us lucky enough to own both (or all three or four machines). I think part of the issue is that due to the price tag on the new machine that not everyone here on Findmall can afford to "upgrade" their machines causing some resentment and staunch support of their Explorers/eTracs. It doesn't help that we also have some newbies comparing their new CTX to their old Garrett Ace 250 or similar, singing the accolades of their new machine as the holy grail of detecting (which in effect says nothing!). I think you would be hard pressed to find anything good at sites that some of the top experienced hunters here have worked methodically with their SE Pro or eTrac--not saying it is impossible to find anything--luck as we know is also a factor, but these areas will not be the "silver fields" some here are inventing (masked silver lying everywhere just waiting to be found). It's just pure nonsense. Why not take up the challenge from the poster below as a friendly quantitative experiment--he sounds sincere?

 

[Bill_S]

I was serious. RayMo and. Khouse have joined me on several hunts
I am sure Ray and Kenny will be back and I look forward to hunting with them again.

 

[BarnacleBill]

A. There is no fire to fuel that I'm aware of.
B. In regards to resentment of ownership I don't own a CTX nor am I resentful of those that do, and I don't own a V3i and am not resentful of those who do either.
C. I would have liked to made this post in June concerning the exploration of the concept of whether FBS2 is an improvement over BBS and FBS, because that has been questioned since day one, but CTX users only had a few hours of experience at that time, but by now some should have several hundred hours.
D. In order to explore the issue of FBS2 as an improved technology a large sample of soil types that have been sterilized by FBS operators needs to be hunted. To be statistically valid a large number of locations needs to be sampled by users of various expertise.
E. CTX users who use or have used FBS units and then begin reporting finds in areas hunted out by them with the CTX, have had their credibility attacked as needing to justify the cost of the CTX purchase. Having a second party CTX user hunt the sanitized ground removes that stigma providing an arms length assessment.

If someone has sanitized an area to the point it no longer produces then they have nothing to fear because they're not going to get more out of it anyway. But perhaps I am over estimating the altruism of fellow ML owners as you seem quite negative over the mere suggestion, though you would have nothing to lose and maybe a friend to gain in offering up some fallow ground.

BB

 

[SAGITTARIUS]

BB, Maybe you speak in jest but that is a rather snobbish remark that serves no purpose in the metal detecting community. We should promote goodwill no matter what detector one uses.

I agree with Erik that all this big talk is nonsense. And yes I have a CTX. As a matter of fact I now have my second one. I sold the first one because In a small park I have hunted regularly since the 1960's. found only two silvers and a handful of wheats.in about two weeks with it. In the last two years I had taken out over fifty silvers and over two hundred wheats with an Explorer SE Pro using Bryce Brown's settings in this park. That is nothing to brag about. and I am not the only only Minelab guy hunting here. After selling I got to missing some of the new features of the CTX so I bought another one. I do like the new one, It runs smoother than my first one and locks on to targets better. I know from my own experience that same models of detectors can vary a lot depending on quality control. I think it is a better detector than the explorer, maybe a little deeper and maybe a little better in iron because of new features.

I also would like someone to show me how to find a lot of silver in this hunted out west Texas park.

 

[Guvner]

Have u ever seen Ray ever take his E-Trac out again? I sure haven't. Wonder why?

Guvner...

 

[Digger]

BB, Maybe you speak in jest but that is a rather snobbish remark that serves no purpose in the metal detecting community. We should promote goodwill no matter what detector one uses.
I agree with Erik that all this big talk is nonsense. And yes I have a CTX. As a matter of fact I now have my second one. I sold the first one because In a small park I have hunted regularly since the 1960's. found only two silvers and a handful of wheats.in about two weeks with it. In the last two years I had taken out over fifty silvers and over two hundred wheats with an Explorer SE Pro using Bryce Brown's settings in this park. That is nothing to brag about. and I am not the only only Minelab guy hunting here. After selling I got to missing some of the new features of the CTX so I bought another one. I do like the new one, It runs smoother than my first one and locks on to targets better. I know from my own experience that same models of detectors can vary a lot depending on quality control. I think it is a better detector than the explorer, maybe a little deeper and maybe a little better in iron because of new features.

BB is honest, observant and highly skilled in all facets of metal detecting. He is certainly not snobbish. Having been involved in the development of many modern detectors, including FBS units, BB is certainly qualified to post comments and his opinions regarding the capabilities of the CTX 3030. Did his post serve a useful purpose? I suppose that will depend on whether Explorer users offer coordinates from their "hunted out" sites. Goodwill? His offer is a request for Explorer users to demonstrate goodwill. How could anyone promore goodwill more than by sharing "hunted out" locations with someone using a CTX 3030? Afterall, one post claimed that many of the CTX finds are at depths of less than 6-inches. If their Explorer is unmatched in depth and separation, and the sites they are asked to provide coordinates to have been "hunted out", they have nothing to lose. It would be a gesture of goodwill to let the CTX users give it a shot. On the other hand, if those coordinates turn out to be intentionally misleading, we'll recognize those claims as being ill conceived, at best.


But I was glad to hear about your success at the park........ According to your post, you've been hunting the same park since the 1960's. In the last two years you took out over fifty silvers and over two hundred wheats with an Explorer SE Pro using Bryce Brown's settings in this park. (reference your comments above) When you got your first CTX, you went back to that same park and found two more silver coins and a handful of wheats in about two weeks. (again, reference your comments above) Regardless of the math as to how that works out for silvers per week, you made it pretty clear that in about two weeks, the first CTX found two silver coins and a handful of wheats that you had not found with the the Explorer SE Pro in two years of detecting that park. Now that you have another CTX, one that runs smoother and locks on targets better than the first one, sounds like you may be spending more time in that park. HH Randy

 

[Ray-Mo.]

I issued a friendly challenge to any fellow Explorer forum members that would like to come to one of my very hammered bigger parks and show me how to pull some more goodies out of her as I had just about given up on this once glorious site.

Dr.Bob & his Explorer answered the challenge and we set up a day to meet and hunt it.We both did find a few oldies and some silver that day but much more importantly, I got to meet Dr.Bob and we became good detecting buddy's .

Bob soon purchased an E-Trac and I was there when he dug his first Barber with it and guess what...He now has a CTX and today he dug his first Barber with it while we were hunting together.

Sure am glad I issued my little E-Trac verses Explorer challenge and nothing but good came of it, Ray.

 

[Bill_S]

I think Ray could out hunt most of us with an Ace 250.....Lol.

 

[mtwolf2270]

I know this I was an Explorer SE and SE pro user tried stock and SEF coils many patterns from Etrac/ Explorer book and after almost 4 yrs of serious hunting and Knowing my SE was tweaked as good as it could get. My silver finds were still low and my hunting buddy was beating me with his Etrac almost every hunt. So, I bought, my CTX pre order and was hunting since the release date with it spents over 100 hours in the water alone with it and did very well seeing how weather in this area made for a poor lake season. So, early August, we switched back to landhunting and I hit hunted out parks that have not produced for local hunting clubs in years. Some I tried with my SE and never found much other then fresh dropped clad and trash. 1 park has produced 11 wheats most 1910-1922 some oldies. I have hit a few old home sites I have pounded in every direction since I own my first ace 250 years ago and I have found in 3 weeks on land with my CTX 50% of the silver I had in 4 years with the SE. My hunting buddy, has purchased a CTX and has done very well with his, in the same sites, he has pounded with me. So an Etrac and SE pounded sites now are producing with the CTX. That is not hype it is fact. So, I say as I have in many posts, if your SE or Whites or Acme super machine is all that and a box of chocolate then have at it. If you are so sure you are right then invite us to hunt those sites with you, what can you lose ? Other then your pride ?? I think this challange was a chance for naysayers to prove us wrong. I know my CTX is much improved over what was a great detector in the SE and I have seen my hunting buddy leave his Etrac and is glad he did. So for me the proof is in the pudding. HH all!

 

[SAGITTARIUS]

Hello Digger, As you referenced I did find those coins over a two year period. I found a lot at first and then it slowly played out. This last two weeks I have not found a single silver or wheat there. So the last couple of days I moved over to another park and found a mercury,a rosie, a silver war nickel and a couple of wheats. What I would would really like is to find a nice Walker like that one you found recently. That is a nice coin. I found my first and only Walker in that park back in the seventy's with a D-Tex I bought from Bill Mahan in Dallas. Hopefully the CTX will help me find it. The more I use it the more I like it. Don

 

[Guvner]

n/t

 

[Digger]

Good to hear Don. I happened to be at the right place, at the right time, for that recent Walker. With the local parks having been detected pretty hard the past 10 - 15 years, I've found myself hunting private yards and old homesites more and more. Good equipment and the proper skills are important for pulling old coins from their hiding places. But sometimes, its just a matter of sweeping the coil in a place others have missed. JMHO HH Randy

 

[Digger]

It doesn't help that we also have some newbies comparing their new CTX to their old Garrett Ace 250 or similar, singing the accolades of their new machine as the holy grail of detecting (which in effect says nothing!). I think you would be hard pressed to find anything good at sites that some of the top experienced hunters here have worked methodically with their SE Pro or eTrac--not saying it is impossible to find anything--luck as we know is also a factor, but these areas will not be the "silver fields" some here are inventing (masked silver lying everywhere just waiting to be found). It's just pure nonsense.

Your post is nonsense. Contrary to your comments, I've been on this forum since day 1, and I've not read anyone making posts about the "silver fields" or "masked silver lying everywhere". I've not read of anyone singing the accolades of their new machine as the holy grail of detecting. I don't claim to be one of the so called "top experienced hunters" you referred to in your post. I've done this for a long time. But my ego ain't big enough to consider myself anything but a guy who enjoys the hobby. For the record, however, my first Explorer was an Explorer 2. If I recall, that would have been in late 2003 or early 2004. After using it for several years, I traded it for a new Explorer SE. Each of these detectors gave me many years of enjoyment and provided me with some great finds. About 4 years ago, I got an ETRAC, "compared it" to my Explorer SE, and sold the Explorer. I happen to like the concept behind the 12 FE line. Other than the ergonomic balance, I've been very pleased with the E-TRAC and still have if, along with a full assortment of coils. But I also have well over a thousand hours on the CTX. (which I must say has far better balance than the Explorers or ETRAC) When I test any new detector or coil, I make "head to head" comparisons with a variety of detectors and coils. Grid, scan, mark, rescan, mark, scan, mark, rescan, mark, scan, mark, rescan, mark, scan, mark, rescan, mark, scan, mark, rescan, mark....... when all of the detectors have thoroughly searched the gridded area from multiple directions, and I have documented their capabilities, I then uncover the target. After recovering the target, I rescan it in the air, to determine what (if any) affect the ground conditions might have had on detection traits or target identification. And I repeat this process for each detector and coil combination. For testing the CTX 3030, I used 5 detectors and 12 coils. One of the detectors used in the comparisons was my ETRAC with the stock coil, and the 6-inch EQ2. Coil for coil, hunt after hunt in site after site, the CTX 3030 continually beat the E-TRAC for depth, target separation, target identification and advanced sensitivity while maintaining stability with the target in the ground. There was less difference after removing the target from the ground. But in my 40+ years of detecting, I've yet to find a target suspended in the air. With the CTX 3030, I have dug countless targets from specific areas that I've hunted for more than 25 years. Places where, until the CTX 3030 came along, I would have considered "beat to death". I've dug Seated coins, Barbers and IH cents from amongst nails and trash where, in head to head comparisons, the E-TRAC didn't see the coins. So your comment as to being "hard pressed" to find anything good at sites that have been worked methodically.......THAT is also just pure nonsense. JMHO Randy

 

[Jeff in Pa]

It's amazing how offensive or defensive some will get over their machine!! Funny but never the less amazing!! Just imagine how much the newbies are learning from this post!

 

[BootyHunter]

Wow, just read this thread, everyone interested in this should look at my most recent post "first silver with my CTX". I had not read this thread before posting that, but you can see the results of hitting a yard with 2 CTX's vs and Etrac and an SE Pro. Same 2 hunters, same techniques and the things in this yard were obviously there the whole time. I loved my Etrac, and if it is what you have to hunt with it is still a great machine, but the CTX is a fantastic machine and will get coins in a hole with 3 nails that my Etrac missed, and yes I am sure I swept the coil over the exact ground. That section of the yard was only about 10 feet wide and I covered it thouroughly with my Etrac. I'm just stating facts, I am not trying to convince anyone to get a CTX, actually I would rather they didn't because going in behind them after a CTX I don't thing there would be anything left to find. There is always hype with every new detector, but I am seeing with my own eyes what this detector can do and it has made me a believer. HH

 

[Erik in NJ]

When two detector comparisons contradict each other, one is wrong.

And like Bill_S below is...Ich bin ein Missourian!

 

[Sonny(IN)]

same goes here in indiana... Heading for Jamaicxa Sunday with my cz21. Hope it does not leak

 

[Ray-Mo.]

Even when tests are done in very controlled scientific ways the result can differ considerably if one variable is included. That variable is geographical location and the differing soil compositions of said locations.
Dr.Bob and I did a number of in ground native target comparisons between my E-Trac and his CTX and the CTX came out on top every single time with complete certainty to us. These test were performed near the KS MO border on targets very deep and not so deep as well as collocated with trash/nails.

I had a hard time leaving my new CTX in the trunk while we did these tests Needles to say my E-Trac is relegated to back up only now.When you consider I had far beyond a thousand very successful hours on my E-Trac and Bob had less than ten on his CTX the results were even more impressive.