garrett at pro an beaches?

[grumpy]

Friends I have a beach hunting question , does anyone use a garrett at pro for beach an shallow water hunting on the beaches?? A report on how well they work would be appreciated.
I have a excal 1000 an a fisher cz21 but would really like one machine that works good in parks as well as beaches, it would really cut down on our cargo load
Thanks
Grumpy

 

[Nauti]

Hi Grumpy,although I don't own one I know somebody who uses one on the beach and he stays up on the dry sand most of the time,the AT pro does'nt quite cut it on wet salt sand.You can use it here but you have to reduce the sensitivity a bit which is really defeating the object of getting those deeper targets.If you want a machine that does it all,take a look at the Whites M6,this machine is excellent on the wet sand and will give most machines a run for their money on inland sites.It will run completely stable on the wet sand,even at high sensitivity settings with no disc.......much better machine for the wet salt sand than the AT pro.

 

[ML]

The two units you already own are superior to the AT Pro in the salt water environment. You could always sell one of them and get the Garrett for the parks.

 

[Water wizard]

I would just hunt with your Excalibur. They are great all round. Very similar to the minelab sovereign. Keep your money and stick with the Excalibur happy days

 

[Nauti]

A lady in the club I used to be in used her excal exclusively on inland sites which proves the versatility of the machine......she used to find loads of great stuff.I think she bought it so that she could keep hunting whatever the weather.So as WW says,the machine will cope with all types of hunting if you did'nt want to spend any more money.
If you still want another machine I stick with what I said in my last post,the pro is'nt that good on wet salt sand.

 

[Fortuna]

The two units you already own are superior to the AT Pro in the salt water environment. You could always sell one of them and get the Garrett for the parks.

I agree with ML

 

[wltdwiz]

use your Excalibur for it all
works great if you have the after market shaft

 

[WaterWalker]

I don't believe one detector is the Holy Grail that will work well from the salt water to the mountain tops. I personally own many detectors/coils and choose the one combination that I think is the best for the area I plan to detect and bring my second choice along as a back-up. For one small, feature packed, and reasonably priced - do it all detector, I like the ATPro. With the detectors you own - a VLF and a BBS, I would add a PI for the highly mineralized area you may detect in. The better you KNOW your detector the less you need to replace it. It all comes down to where and what you are detecting for and then owning a detector that will do well in that environment. Except for size / weight you have two fine detectors.

I have tested and used the ATPro in salt water. It has located gold, silver, clad, toys, and junk in salt water and on land and platinum in snow. But in no way can the ATPro compete with a PI in salt water. It is NOT the detector! It is in the LEARNING and KNOWING a detector's strong points and its limitations in any given envirionment. Hope this helps.

 

[Fishers Ghost]

I have read a lot of varying reports about the AT Pro on salt beaches and there seems to be around a 60/40 split in opinion.
60% feel it is not good for salt beaches in the water or over the wet sand and 40% say that it is OK but not great in the wet sand and in the water.
This has to make it difficult for people to decide which detector to buy at times .
The Sov XS was my mainstay general purpose detector for many years including gold detecting in our Aussie gold fields. This detector is difficult to beat for salt beach work where depth and discrimination is desired.
When the Infinium arrived on the scene it ousted my Sov for beach detecting because it was deeper on our coins (Only just) and was WP. and I am a dig all target person
I now have a Sand Shark that has ousted the Infinium on the beaches because the SS is lighter,much easier to use and comes very close to equalling the Infinium for depth in wet salt sand.

There is no doubt that the old SOV XS is a very capable and versitile metal detector when matched up with a TID meter.
Other VLF Detectors have come and gone and some may have equaled the SOV on the beaches but in my opinion none have bettered it.

Just an opinion. Not set in stone

 

[Nauti]

Thats a pretty accurate post.The at pro WILL work on wet sand but not as well as other beach machines.The problem with the pro is that on most salt beaches you will have to reduce the sensitivity to the point where you are losing depth,to keep the machine stable.
Like you say,the sovereign (all models) are one of the best detectors on the beach,the only problem is that they are not waterproof.If you want a waterproof sovereign get an excalibur,basically the sovereign in a waterproof housing and proven all over the world.The problem with this detector is the price for many so there is still the need for a fully waterproof detector with discrim and excellent depth.An often overlooked detector is the Whites Beach hunter 300......waterproof,deep and sensitive.Run in all metal,i am finding more with this machine than I ever did with my sovereign.The good thing about the machine is that even in all metal,indicator lights still give an idea of what the target may be.The machine takes a bit of getting used to but if you put the work in with it the rewards are well worth th effort.If this machine is too expensive the M6 as I mentioned above is a worthy contender,still better than the pro.

 

[Fishers Ghost]

HI Neil.
I used a BHID for several months and I agree it is a very good beach detector,
Runs quiet and smooth from the dry to the water and is not bothered by waves washing over the coil.and goes quite deep on coins and ring size items. I found this detector to be a pleasure to use that provided drama and stress free metal detecting. The only reason I let it go was because I found it to be not so good over high black sand concentrations but no probs otherwise and is a very underated detector.

 

[tincanalley]

I have used the AT Pro at Myrtle Beach NC along with my CZ3d. The Pro will work in the wet sand (I don't hunt in the water), but just not as deep as the CZ would go. You have to GB down to about 13-15 in the salty conditions. This will make the Pro less sensitive to gold which was my main targets, so less depth and less sensitivity to gold due to low GB numbers keeps me using the CZ. If I bumped the coil against the sand I would many times get a false beep. If it was all I had, I would use it for beach hunting, but there are better options. I like the CZ3d as it's a beep and dig machine. I don't have to play around listening to the sound of the target to decide if I want to dig. Of course beach hunting is easier to do than dirt digging also. If it's not iron, dig. I used one of the smaller ladies shovels with a long handle instead of my sand scoop. It's easier for me to flip a shovel full of sand out and spread it out with my foot to find the target than trying to sift all the wet sand out of my scoop. The shovel is much lighter also. If I were in the water, it'd be different.

 

[lovee-1]

Grumpy..
I agree you need more than 1 detector if you are Serious about Metal Detecting..I hunt both Salt and Fresh Water and 1 machine would never work for me.You have one of the best machines out there,the Excalibur,for water and beach.I think a PI machine is a Must for Water and Shore,the depth from a good PI will out perform any land detector..I use a Minelab Sovereign for beach and sometimes the odd park,,it's pretty well the same machine as your Excalibur .I mostly use the 15" WOT Coil from Coiltek and I get unreal depth.The coil is heavy but if you balance your machine properly or use a Bungee than you can hunt all day..My PI Machine is a Whites Dual Field,,it's the machine a lot of the pro's use and when you get used to a PI you will see why..I am a Dig All person mostly,except for bobypins,,I hunt in All Metal with my Sovereign Detector and you learn the sounds but some other sounds are too close to Gold so I dig..With a PI you will dig a lot but out in the water from about a foot out from shore I don't find much trash.I would keep your Excalibur for sure,,if you want something lighter for shore and parks there's so many good machines available now,,read the forums,you'll find something that suits you..