Half day hunt a token, pocket watch, 10 wheats, war nickle 12x15 sef

[burlbark]

The SEF 12x15 once again entirely impressed me. Running a gain of 6 in Mixed mode stereo I found this pocket watch at an unbelievable 16" in our hunted to death school field. The war nickle was a solid 10" down and rang up solid. The wheats where at a depth of 4-9" and I almost always knew they would be a coin from the repeatable VDI. The Fort Bragg, California token was down around the 9" mark and was pretty jumpy, it says "K and M good for 10 cents" "Fort Bragg".

If anyone is lacking in depth and wants more from there detector I suggest they purchase the 12x15 or the 10x12 sef coils. They get exceptional depth and the larger coil ignores the small foil and tin while still finds dimes at 10" in very cluttered rusty ground. The v3i loves to be swung slow in 7.5 frequency using mixed mode stereo and this coil combination.

On a side note I joined our neighboring cities detector club and got to meet and greet all the members. A couple of them wanted to show how deep their detectors could find a quarter. The AT Pro did pretty good, however the v3i had 4" of more depth and I was running it mild, some of the guys where blown away and I am sure they will be looking into purchasing. They had never experienced mixed mode stereo and they left highly impressed.

Heres my meager finds, but I know there is another Seated out there waiting for me and I had a super fun day.

 

[DocBars]

Nice finds. I was thinking about getting a SEF 12x15, you may of just convinced me. LOL
Being new to the V3i,Im finding out that this thing has some serious power. A lot of folks are misinformed on this machine and don't know want they are missing out on.
GL
HH

 

[nalc472]

how does the 10x12 compare to the 10 dd in depth?.. What about depth between the 12x15 and 10x1?2 in depth

 

[burlbark]

how does the 10x12 compare to the 10 dd in depth?.. What about depth between the 12x15 and 10x1?2 in depth

I had some limited success with the d2, it was extremely sensitive to everything. I hunt really trashy sites and it would find everything no matter the size. I dont like to find things that are not coin size or larger. The SEF goes a bit deeper and has a larger knife blade like responding zone and the SEF coils will often see right through aluminum wrappers that have become so prevalent, of course if the wrapper is big and folded you will see it but it really doesnt lock onto it strong.

This being said I think a person needs to use all their coils in a hunting location as the D2 may see items in a different way and get you some that would have been missed. My wife currently has it on her DFX and she got 2 silvers yesterday, 1918 merc and a ring. She was hunting the same school field as us and did better for coins than we did.

As far as depth goes with the 12x15..... I found many good signals and would use my relic digger and dig a plug only to lose the signal or not be able to find it with my pinpointer. I would have to take one or 2 scoops out of the hole to get my pinpointer to sound off. The depth is actually a little scary, you start to worry that someone will see you digging deep holes or you may hit a water pipe. With this coil you dont need more depth, unless you are field hunting with a backhoe. The v3i and this coil are the deepest detector ever, on small positive coin sized conductors. You will need to purchase a bungee cord swing thing or you will ruin you shoulder swinging this heavy coil. I can swing all day with the harness.

The 10x12 has 70% of the depth of the 12x15, or some where close to that. It does extremely well in trashy areas and I used it last week to get 7 wheats and some silver in a area hunted for years. It is a must have coil and is irreplaceable. If you need crazy depth get the 12x15, if you need great depth and knife edge separation 10x12.

There is no truly magic coil, everyone of them sees things differently. You must swing them slow and methodical and it takes some getting used to to squeak out signals. I have to stop from time to time and take a deep breath and calm down and slow my swing down. Let the coil find the coin, dont run around trying to find it yourself...

 

[old lobo]

That is an excellent post and great advice and information burlbark. Is that pocket watch a name brand and old, that is worth having restored, or is it rusted out inside?

 

[burlbark]

That is an excellent post and great advice and information burlbark. Is that pocket watch a name brand and old, that is worth having restored, or is it rusted out inside?

The pocket watch is toast, we averaged 45" of rain a year for quite a few decades. I hit the watch while digging it and water leaked out. I still need to open it up and look for engraving.

Its really interesting to see all these old deep targets come out of the ground below 12". Its as if these areas have never been hunted before. I hope to get down to San Francisco before someone starts hunting the parks with the v3i 12x15 sef combo. I am sure the silver would be plenty but its a 3 hour drive for me and I am pretty busy.