Safari and Etrac

[Surfinsafari]

Hi everyone! Long time lurker here. I don't want to beat a dead horse but I wanted to put my 2 cents in on the Etrac vs. Safari debate. I have been detecting for over 40 years. My last machine was a Whites Surfmaster so I am a tone hunter. I finally wanted to move into the 21st century so I went to a shop and got set up with a Safari. I avoided the Etrac because of the bells and whistles. My Safari is awesome and I caught right on to it, but the reputtation of the Etrac was nagging at me so I found a barely used Etrac for half price on Craigslist and bought it. I caught right on how to use it because it is much like the Safari. Anyone doubting their purchase of the Safari over the Etrac has nothing to worry about. The Safari is every bit as good as the Etrac. The Etrac just scrims better and if you hunt with your ears and not your eyes, one machine is just as good as the other. I didn't believe the Minelab hype about finding silver in hunted out parks, but I am doing it every day with both machines. I hunted a beat out baseball field last Saturday with my Safari and squeeked out (literally) a Merc and a Silver Rosie. Today with the Etrac, I squeeked out 2 Mercs and a small gold ladies ring in a beat out church lot. While at another park, a park worker came over to talk, turns out he is a fisher too. I told him what I had been finding and he knew the sites I had hunted. He quit going there because he thought they were beat out. I can't wait to go back with my 12x15 SEF coil and find more. I cant upload pics with this silly tablet I am using while my laptop gets fixed or I would show my finds. Anyway, if there is anyone doubting their safari is not an awesome machine, look me up and Ill prove it. Gonna hit an old beat out church in my town tommorow and see if I can do it again. And God just blessed me with rain tonight! Thanks for reading.

 

[Prep1957]

Been sharing the same opinion on this forum for years I have had 3 Etrac and sold them and kept Safari.I have run a friends CTX over 100 hours and I have come to the opinion they all have same depth.At least in my area of Illinois.Had some Chicago boys come down to hunt a park I have hunted often all 3 had CTX they hunted hard for 9 hours total for whole day was 3 silver dimes and 4 wheats.27 hours,7000 dollars in machines.Maybe an area is never hunted out but some places are next to being a waste of time until the next new deeper system comes out.Remember a guy who hunts new locations with cheap detector will always find more than someone with the most expensive at hard hunted places.

 

[Surfinsafari]

I am in Illinois as well, near Joliet, lets get together and hunt!
The hype of the Etrac is what got me. The days of easy silver are gone but there is still plenty of it out there but you cant find it sitting at home. I absolutely love my Safari but I dont feel like I wasted money on the Etrac as it is a really good machine. I think people who try to push fence sitters on the Etrac is people who have bought them and really believe they are almost magical when a Safari will do almost anything an Etrac will. I made a test garden and made some deep holes and and tilted coins and put nails and junk in the holes and the Safari sniffs them out just as good as the Etrac. The key is to hunt with your ears and check targets from different sides. I even angle my coil sometimes if I think a coin is tilted in the hole and I can't get a good signal. To me the whole fun of dirt fishing is playing detective. I listen to what the machine is trying to tell me, superwhamadyne LCD screen and fancy numbers be damned, and I try to ferret out a good signal. Do I get fooled? I could fill my garage with junk I have dug over the years. But it is all fun. Not knowing what is in that hole is the part that keeps me going. I still cherry pick certain areas but I dig all good tones at an old site or one I don't know yet. Metal detecting should be fun, not a big weenie contest. I would take my years of tone hunting and my Safari and put it up against anyone with an Etrac or CTX 3030. Heck I take my sons Ace 350 out to a church that is so full of clad that you can bloody your fingers digging it all out and cherry pick quarters by tone only. I get dimes too but the key is use your ears. Don't listen to the hype. In my opinion, the Safari is a high-end machine that will do whatever you need it to do if you take the time to listen to what it is telling you.

 

[MetalMiner]

Thanks SS for your honest opinion of the Etrac & Safari. I was considering upgrading to the Etrac, I think I'll save my money & keep my Safari.

 

[Dave400]

Wow SS you sure speak the truth.Had my safari 2 years now and love every hunt.It sniffed out 42 silvers in the last 4 yards.Ican't say enough about it.I looked at the e'trak when buying my safari and didn't buy it cause I didn't need all the bells and whistles.I tell people all the time about my safari and say they will never need another machine.Found all kinds of stuff at all my hunted out sites.I like the fact that you can go to the trashiest sites and pick out the good targets.I looked at every machine out there before buying my Safari.I made the right choice.HH

 

[Surfinsafari]

Wow SS you sure speak the truth.Had my safari 2 years now and love every hunt.It sniffed out 42 silvers in the last 4 yards.Ican't say enough about it.I looked at the e'trak when buying my safari and didn't buy it cause I didn't need all the bells and whistles.I tell people all the time about my safari and say they will never need another machine.Found all kinds of stuff at all my hunted out sites.I like the fact that you can go to the trashiest sites and pick out the good targets.I looked at every machine out there before buying my Safari.I made the right choice.HH

The truth shall set you free! The only reason I chimed in is because I have been reading up on my machines and I love to see peoples finds, and it seems the Etrac users are sort of sticking their tongues out at people with "lesser" machines and it bothers me. I am an Etrac owner and if someone asked me what detector they should buy, I would never push them into an Etrac. My Safari is a silver hound, big time. I recently found a small silver ball, part of an earring or pendant, smaller than a pea, at over 8 inches down. Granted this was in nice black topsoil, but the Safari screamed like crazy. I read all the war stories and testimonials that almost read like, " I have an Etrac and you don't so I can find more goodies that your cheapie machines will never see". Knowing what I know now, I am glad I went with my instincts and bought the Safari. I only picked up the Etrac cause I got it cheap. The previous owner , who was a very expirienced fisher, is now using a Garrett something or other and is knocking it out of the park. He said he fell for the hype but he also said it is a great machine but way overpriced. The bottom line is if you want an Etrac, check Craigslist and find one cheap. I think noobs buy them thinking they are magic wands and when they find out they are not coming home with Mr.T bling around their necks after every hunt, they sell them for what they are really worth. I got blessed with a heavy rain here in NE Illinois so I am taking out my Safari and I will report any goodies. If anyone could tell me how to shrink a pic small enough to post on this site, i would appreciate it. I am using a Samsung tablt right now and it does have editing software but wont let me shrink the pic small enough for the web.
Save you money, get a Safari and start swingin. Time over targets and a good ear is the secret. Not money and hype. Its all about fun!

 

[KinTN]

SS, go to Tinypic.com and just follow the instructions. You end up with several options re size of your pics and the service is completely free.

 

[Surfinsafari]

SS, go to Tinypic.com and just follow the instructions. You end up with several options re size of your pics and the service is completely free.

Thank you my friend....Just got in from fishing...nothing but clad to report. I was woods hunting though so nothing is normal. Taking my Safari with the 12x15 SEF coil to the old baseball field I found 2 silver dimes in last Saturday. They are forecasting rain but I will still go if its not bad.

 

[Prep1957]

We will have to get together I live near Ottawa,I worked Joliet area for 30 years with major pipeline company,retired.Now I have 6 years with another major pipeline company.I enjoyed the 4 inches of rain we got this week also.Never hunted Joliet prefer to stay out in the country.Have to wait another weekend to hunt farm field too muddy for this 55 year old, still will try to get out this weekend to do some turf hunting.I got 2 of the Etracs and other detectors from pawn shops north of Joliet.I locate for a living with this pipeline company pipes,conduits,cathodic wires,control boxes,and scan and clear area before the guys dig.working in Cook,Dupage,Mchenry now.Will have to take a look at Craig's List never been to that site.

 

[Surfinsafari]

We will have to get together I live near Ottawa,I worked Joliet area for 30 years with major pipeline company,retired.Now I have 6 years with another major pipeline company.I enjoyed the 4 inches of rain we got this week also.Never hunted Joliet prefer to stay out in the country.Have to wait another weekend to hunt farm field too muddy for this 55 year old, still will try to get out this weekend to do some turf hunting.I got 2 of the Etracs and other detectors from pawn shops north of Joliet.I locate for a living with this pipeline company pipes,conduits,cathodic wires,control boxes,and scan and clear area before the guys dig.working in Cook,Dupage,Mchenry now.Will have to take a look at Craig's List never been to that site.

I think my e-mail is visible. PM me and we'll go get muddy. My son can't always go with me and sometimes I get tired of hunting alone. Gonna hunt near Lisbon tommorow if the weather cooperates.

 

[kschae4]

Most interesting thoughts on the comparision of the two units. I too, have full confidence in the Safari capabilities. If the pic re-sizing that KinTN offered isn't working out for you, then perhaps Goldstrike's method is a great way to upload for pc owners (not sure about Macs) :

Posting photographs.
Posted by: Goldstrike
Date: May 27, 2013 09:28PM

There are still a few forum members that have problems posting photographs because they are too 'big' (in other words, too many KB's). I know there are a number of ways/programs to store photographs but hopefully the following simple steps which I personally use might help someone if they use the same program as myself..
I use 'Windows Photo Viewer'
Click on the photo you want to post
Click 'Open'
Click 'Paint'
Click 'Resize'
Enter '40%' (which will resize the photograph to below the 420KB that the forums require to post photographs).
Click 'OK'
Click 'Save' and your done!

 

[Prep1957]

Never hunted Lisbon ,but somewhere over that direction in the early 80's I ran into a school out in the middle of no where called Milton Pope. The school looked new at the time so I blew it off.Then one day after pheasant hunting in that area ,just for the heck of it I hunted the ball diamond west of school was finding a lot of older silver.The only reason I remember that school was I found another 21D Merc never made it back there after that day not sure school is even still there.Good Luck see how weather is may get out tomorrow might head your way and see if I can find that school was using Whites 6DB back then..There was another school over there also hunted back in the day can not remember name was near a creek.

 

[Surfinsafari]

I have been to milton pope school, in fact I went there yesterday after striking out in Lisbon. There was some event going on there and a million people there so I left and went to Seneca. I ran into another fisher who was detecting an old farmhouse on Rt.6. I gave it a few minutes but it was a junkyard and I called it a day. Gonna do some woods hunting today.
I hunted with my Safari with the 12x15 SEF coil in Lisbon and I did pick up a few items that I missed the last time I was there. A couple of wheaties and a small silver hair clip. The SEF coil is VERY sensitive and made the Safari keep nulling out so I backed down the sensitivity a bit to get her quiet. Look me up if you get out this way. I have some old wood by my house that had the oldest structure/trading post in Will County on it. The archeologists picked the area clean but the woods still yields some goodies. Some days its nice to put the machine in all metal and stroll around the woods and not have it nulling on garbage all day. Nothing like having a quiet machine and all of a sudden she screams and you get a good deep target. Have fun!

 

[Southwind]

1700 more target segments and multi-tone vs 30 tones is the main difference between the E-Trac and Safari. If target ID resolution and tone ID isn't important then go Safari.

 

[Surfinsafari]

1700 more target segments and multi-tone vs 30 tones is the main difference between the E-Trac and Safari. If target ID resolution and tone ID isn't important then go Safari.

I have the almighty Etrac and I still get fooled. I woods hunted today with my Etrac and found out that shotgun shells will ring the same as coins. I did manage to sniff out a 1916 Buffalo in awesome shape. The point of my whole postings is that if you LISTEN instead of watching a screen, the Safari is equal to the Etrac. I have both and I don't have a preference. The Safari has 50 tones.

 

[TellYaWhut]

1700 more target segments and multi-tone vs 30 tones is the main difference between the E-Trac and Safari. If target ID resolution and tone ID isn't important then go Safari.

Speaking of Meters....is more target ID segments better than less segments??? Curiously the Sovereign 180 (less segmented) is far more popular than the 550 (more segmented).

 

[Southwind]

For me more segments is better. The more segments the more accurate the target ID. If you're the type that digs anything above iron then it wouldn't matter much. I'm a selective digger and like a more accurate/precise target ID.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I bought a new Safari four years ago - had it for few months - ( found ( 3 ) Large Cents the first week I had it ) - it's a great machine.
From everything I've read and been told - the Safari will hit just as deep as the Explorer's and E-Trac's.

But ... here's why after owning a Safari for a few months - I finally decided to upgrade to the E-Trac ...

( 1 ) - The Dual target ID Numbers - a huge plus.
( 2 ) - The E-Trac gives you a lot more Setting Options.
( 3 ) - The Backlite Display Panel - I do a lot of night hunting - so this is a very important feature to me - it's also really nice to have on overcast days.
( 4 ) - The Ergonomics - The angle of the E-Trac's handle is set at a15 % different then on the Safari's and Explorer's - all three of these Minelab machines are heavy. This small change in the handle angle makes a huge difference in how long you can swing the machine without any arm or shoulder discomfort. After one hour of swinging the Safari my shoulder always began to ache.
Because of this small change in the angle of the handle I can easliy swing the E-Trac for three hours without it bothering me at all - this feature alone was worth the extra investment to me !
If possible, go to your local Minelab dealer and swing both machines - you'll feel the difference right away !

Good Luck !