Looking for advice for e trac coils.

[bottle collector]

I'm waiting (anxiously) for my new E Trac to arrive. I'm tempering the pain by reading and re-reading Andy Sabish's book. My question is about the "best coils" for my situation. I will be hunting trashy areas occasionally but not primarily. I will be focusing on areas where old coins (1800's) would likely be found What would be a good selection of coils to have? Are the SEF coils any deeper or better. I'm not interested in the monster sized coils but am wondering if there are any aftermarket coils that are about the same size as the E Tracs stock coil that are markedly better?

 

[mike - in]

I would stick with the Pro coil and get a 5 or 6 inch Excellerator for the really trashy areas. I've tried from 18" down to the 5" and my favorites are the Pro, the 5", and the 5x10 Joey for working corn rows. Do have a soft spot for the 12x15 SEF too! Hope this helps a bit. Mike

 

[UtahRich]

Jump over to the Explorer Forum and read through Bryce IL's sticky at the top of the forum " Field Tests with Various Coils that I've Used".

 

[MT]

You're gonna find it very hard to beat the stock "Pro" coil
MT

 

[CONDUCTOR7E]

The pro coil,in my opinion,is the best general purpose coil for the E-Trac under a variety of conditions.I own a 15'' WOT,a Sunray 12'',the Minelab FBS 800 and my 6'' excelerator.I use the pro coil and the 6'' the most,with great results.

 

[grumpyolman]

I am kind of stuck on the SEFs. I have a 6X8 for trashy areas as it's small. The 10X12 to replace the Pro coil, and a 12X15 to cover more area in clean areas. There's no doubt they are heavier than some and if you don't or won't use a Swingy Thingy, I suspect you'll complain about the weight issue.
I sold an 8" and a 10" Sunrays after I got the SEFs. I have always had problems with 'Ghost' holes with the Pro Coil. I asked a few of the forum moderators if that was typical. At least one suggested they didn't experience the ghost hole issue with the SEF as much as they did the Pro. Same has been true for me.
The final thought for all is, what work's in the soil and conditions I work may be totally different then the soil and conditions in which you work. If you get some of the good brand coils you don't lose too much when you sell them in the classifieds and maybe trial and error learning is just a valuable as evaluating other's comments and reports.

 

[bottle collector]

Thanks for all the great, thoughtful responses so far. I really appreciate the input from those with exerience with other coils.

 

[sharpshooter]

I think you find the stock pro coil will handle most hunting situations just fine.
The optional coils all have their niche, but I always find myself going back to the stock coil.

 

[digitrich]

Something for really dense trash in the 5-6 inch range...I really like the 4.5 x7 excellerator...gets awesome separation and still pretty good depth
A mid size..either the 6x8 Sef or the Sun Ray 8 or both if you have the scratch