On an average beach--do you think a PI is an advantage, given the amount of iron that must be dug? In other words--is it worth all the extra work?

[Anonymous]

By at the average beach, I mean on the wet sand--not in the water.
I am aware of the fact that PIs get greater depth than every other type of detector but I wonder how much more gold can be dug, given the fact that more time will be spent digging iron. ("My" beach has an assortment of nails, wire, hairpins and bits of iron, in the wet sand.)
If you are kind enough to answer, I would be grateful if you would also tell me which detector you swing on the wet sand and how long you've been using it. Do you usually swing the PI on the wet, if not, then when do you use it there? Only when the sand cover is deep?
Feel free to add whatever else you wish and feel free to email me privately, if you prefer to.
Thanks, in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

I swing a GQ SS PI and an Explorer II. I almost exclusively use the PI at the beach and I hunt 95% in the wet sand.
The wet sand is fairly free of junk. I have gone out for hours and come back with less than 10 junk items in my pouch.
There are times when the wet sand will have nails and wire but this is the exception. This happens after heavy rain or beach erosion. By the next week, the wet sand would be relatively iron free again. On these times, I just walk away and come back another day.
If your beach is inherently nail and iron infested, then dont get a PI. Buy a VLF. There is not point detecting if there is no fun. Digging up nails by the hundreds is no fun.
JT

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Kathy,
Just returned from a beach trip, The beach I hunt has a low ratio of trash. Normally, I'll search in the wet sand or even up to my waist in the surf and try to stay away from the lower part of the beach connected to the wet sand "because of the higher ratio of trash" unless a beach cut has formed.
Today's ratio of trash was very low compared to the 62 coins my Headhunter Pi and GQ recovered, Only 4 hair pins and two pieces of iron fooled my Pi's compared the 62 coins my pi's recovered with a few other trash pieces in the mix.
. I'll enclose a picture of today's finds and you can see the low ratio of trash compared against the coins found today.
HH, Paul (Ca)
<center> <img src="http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/photos/00000000000a61coins.jpg"> <p>

 

[Anonymous]

I think that it is best to have both types of machines. Ocean's beaches change so much, one day you might be hunting in a iron infested area, the next day not. The key to becomming a successful beach hunter is to hunt often, get to know the more productive area's and the depth of a PI will only increase your good finds.

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Mr. Bill check email;<FONT COLOR="#ff0000">NT</FONT>

 

[Anonymous]

I have always used a PI when beach hunting for several reasons. I like the increased depth that a PI offers over most other machines. PI's are not affected by mineralization or salt water rushing by the coil making false signals. I've never been able to properly ground balance a VLF at the beach because of the salt mineralization. Others may be able to but I would rather not put up with the hassle. When I am hunting at the beach I am digging ALL targets. If you are using discrimination at the beach and are rejecting pulltabs, bottlecaps, and iron bobby pins, you are also discriminating small gold rings so I prefer to dig all targets. One other trick I've learned is that if a target blasts you in your headphones, telling you that it is a shallow target, more than likely it'll be trash. Gold is a heavy metal so it sinks fast and deep because of the wave action. Most of the gold rings that I've found were deep whispers in my headphones. Not to say that they won't work their way to the surface depending on recent weather conditions but rarely have shallow targets, IN THE WATER, turned out to be gold. On the beach, in dry sand, is a little different. That's enough for now as I'm sure your head is spinning like a top. Good luck in whatever you decide. therick

 

[Anonymous]

The key is to know the areas that you will be searching. If there is a lot of iron then a PI is not a good choice. If however there isn't much iron to deal with then a PI will get you deeper targets than you can get with a VLF. Today's multifrequency VLF's like the Fisher CZ series, the Minelab Excalibur, Sov, and Explorer can all handle the wet salt sand and shallow saltwater with ease but still can not equal the overall depth capabilities of a good PI.
HH
Beachcomber

 

[Anonymous]

My two cents. We are at the beginning of the next phase of metal detectors...When PI's finally full Disc. abilities then all VLF will be boat anchors. If you get in here now you are at a definate advantage to anyone who uses a VLF because you will be digging targets in level 2 and level 3, vlf's are depth of level 1.
The iron thing...so what... after you learn self-discipline and practice it and armed with the knowledge that iron masks all kinds of targets that are associated with it in the radiated pattern, you will find quality targets that are near or in the same hole as the iron parts. Remove all the iron and with a deep PI that is sensitive to gold and you goody box will start growing.
Deepest machines going, hunt behind anybody, super sensitive to gold...what negative opinions could you have...besided you will develope stronger arms and back...Frank

 

[Anonymous]

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