In the back of my mind i have wondered since i bought the V3i whether it was worth the money over my ATP. Having struggled with it the 1st 4 or 5 times out I was somewhat skeptical. I am no longer skeptical because every time i have hunted an area i previously hunted with my ATP I have found more. I am of the belief that one can never find it all in an area but when I find more than a coin or two I missed in an area i hunted and come close to finding the same amount i did with my ATP I am finally convinced this is the Cadillac of detectors.
I been hunting the same area since back in Dec and it keeps producing. I just started experimenting in Hi Pro yesterday so I decided yesterday I would hunt an area I had hunted really hard with my ATP. I went to an area I had found over $14 with my ATP and said to myself if i find over 75 cents walking back to my truck i will keep hunting. Well I found 75 cents in less than 100'. I decided to cover the area completely and in 2-1/2 hours I found $7,69 in clad, This is a soccer field that like i said I had covered it with my ATP hunting both ways. There are 6 soccer fields in this area I have found over $75 so far. I keep going back because it keeps producing. Since the 1st of March I have hunted 11 days and found over $59 in clad so far,
It amazes me how much a little tweak can make a difference. The amount one can do with this detector is somewhat overwhelming but that is what makes it so great. I bought it for the challenge but more than that I wanted a detector that could do as much or more than any detector on the market. I have read where many people sell their V3i because it is too complicated. Because of all the options one has that is what makes it so good. I am sure most users find or make their own programs that work best for them. I am not comfy enough to start making my own programs because I want to do it systematically
I want to learn it well enough to learn how to change things on the fly without wondering what I am doing. I keep reading all i can on the Whites forum and try to apply what I read to hunting. I am not sure how the band ranges effect the swing speed etc yet because i have tried different bands and it seems to make no difference but i am just starting to experiment so I probably don't notice and subtle differences.
The more I use and learn about the V3i the more it produces.
