What type of machine is best for beach hunting?

[Kyle in Sac]

Hi, first post here. I wanted to know what would be best to use for beach hunting. I've been reading alot of the posts here for a few days and seems most of you guys get in the water. I wanted to get a Minelab Explorer SE but I want to beach hunt too for Jewelry. I had an Explorer XS and it was great for finding coins but I never put it in water even though I'm sure the coil was waterproof.
I keep reading about PI machines and wanted to know what the difference is between that and the Explorer or XLT machines.
Also is it better to search in the water or dry land or is it personal choice. Basically can I buy the new Explorer and find jewelry on dry beach or is it better to get a dedicated water machine?
Sorry for all the questions but I want to make a good choice here. Thanks, Kyle

 

[captRobert]

water machine. excal seems to rule the roost and are excellent but there are others that are very good at what they do...water hunting is extremely popular for obvious reasons wet bodys slide stuff off..as for sand hunting..lots of good stuff gets losts there too...Personally i dont see it as either or but whats moves you at that time...no point in limiting oneself in the beach bank.

 

[Kyle in Sac]

So do you use the excaliber for wet and dry at the beach?
What's the "lane" mean?
Do you guys hit the salt water beachs early to detect in the low tide?
Thanks, Kyle

 

[DavHut]

Kyle,
This water hunting business has a unique set of rules and a language all its own. It's okay to
A. NOT know about such things...
B. To ask.

Basically can I buy the new Explorer and find jewelry on dry beach or is it better to get a dedicated water machine?
Explorer is great machine but wont take kindly to salt water and sand in its guts. For dry sand its fine, but eventually your gonna want to go down to the wet stuff. It'll call you with a sirens lure, matey...

Water machine:. Excalibur seems to rule the roost and are excellent but there are others that are very good at what they do
The Excal will give you what the PI's wont - the ability to mask iron trash. It works well at the salt water and has become the standard others are trying to catch up to.

So do you use the excaliber for wet and dry at the beach?
You can - but the Excal isn't the sort of thing you tend to swing for hours in the hot, dry sand. Most water hunters get the Excal 1000, which is fitted with the 10" coil; the 800 has an 8" coil.
At the beach, its best to see things as two environments:
1. The Dry sand.
2. The Wet stuff.
Does this mean two detectors? In the main, yes, if your wise to the ways of the Sea.
One detector that offers a supposed dual role is the Tesoro Tiger Shark and at least a few people have faith in it. If it were me, I'd decide what I wanted to do - dry or wet and get something fitted to that environment.
Heres one suggestion: Get an Excal for the wet and a used Ace 250 for the dry sand.

What's the "lane" mean?
The area between the damp high water mark and the water itself. Where you see all the pretty girls strolling up and down the beach in their bikinis - that's "the lane."
Alternatively, the "mine" is the area from "the lane" out to where the waves knock you over!

Do you guys hit the salt water beaches early to detect in the low tide? Absolutely, if that is when the low tide occurs. Some go in the middle of the night if that is the case. Night huunting helps beat the heat, too.

 

[Kyle in Sac]

thanks for the reply it was very helpful.
I'm on the fence now about what to get. I'd like to get the explorer SE for general stuff and an excaliber for the beach stuff but I can't do both. explorer now and excal later or the water machine and the explorer later....
What do you guys think? Is the beach hunting in the water as productive as on the dry land? I'd really like to find jewelry this time around.

 

[captRobert]

Sage advice from David matey. if it were me I'd buy the excal water machine first.

 

[diggindirt]

I just wanted to give you some other ideas to think about. I also wanted two top end machines for Beach and water use. BUT, did not think it was necessary to spend big bucks on one machine when other top of the line units were out there with the performance and price I wanted to pay. I ended up getting a White's Surf PI Pro and Beach Hunter ID for "all" the situations I might encounter. I could not be more pleased with this decision and have found many great targets with these two units! First, I wanted a PI if the sand conditions were not too good for VLF type machines with few targets coming up. A PI used in the water will beat any VLF hands down on deeper targets. Also, (IMHO) out in the water you would want to dig everything since trash is far less than what you will find on the wet sand and Beach. Since plenty of hunters use "all-metal" with VLF machines when out in the water, you might as well have the advantage with the PI. First, the BHID can run in "all metal" for depth and still target id with color lights to help you decide what to dig (only detector I know of that can do this)! Next, many others and I have found nice pieces of jewelry and coins with the BHID. The machine is sensitive to small gold targets, is deep detecting and is not too heavy. It's balanced really well (can swing for hours) and build quality is second to none! I really, really, like the Surf PI Pro as it's super light and very sensitive to small and deep targets. I've pulled things up from super depths that I almost gave up on. The other factors are operator skill, correct ground balancing, and knowing Beach and surf conditions..... etc. I'm still learning everyday but feel that if a target is there and I go over it, I won't miss it as I've found things that other top of the line machines walked right over. If you purchase any top of the line machine and take the time to learn what it's saying, spend time in the water with it; you're going to find your share of really good targets! So, just something to think about. HH

 

[Kyle in Sac]

Well I ended up getting an Excaliber 1000 today and I plan on trying it out tommorrow at the lake. I really wanted to find jewelry this time around and seeing all the nice stuff you guys find I was hooked.
I'll probably get the Explorer SE for park hunting later but I'd rather be in water instead of the park when the temp. hits 105 this summer.
Hopefully tommorrow brings me something good. The tone id is a little different on the Excal compared to the Explorer so it may take me awhile to get used to it. Also the threshold "sticks" when it detects which kinda annoys me so I'll have to get used to it. I bought a monster scooper with it so it should be fun. Hopefully it will be cool.
Wish me luck!

 

[jimmy1956]

I use a MXT for the dry sand and a Whites PI Pro for the wet stuff. On the PI after you use it awhile you can distinguish between good stuff and bad stuff like nails, sprinklers, wire, cans foil, etc... The PI does go deep.

 

[Morris]

n/t

 

[DavHut]

The Excal is a Sovereign in a waterproof housing so will do nicely in fresh and salt water. Neat, huh?

At least one person here (Pa-Pa) uses his Excal in fresh water to good effect and he has discovered a side benefit to it:

The Excal is a great sunfish attractor. Whenever he uses it in the freshwater there in FL, he is swarmed by sunfish. After finding all the goodies, he whips out his ultralight casting rig and hooks a few fish for dinner. Is this a great hobby or what?

 

[Kyle in Sac]

Yeah I heard about that machine and another PI that has the electronics in the headset. I couldn't not get a Minelab though after having the Explorer.

 

[diggindirt]

[quote jimmy1956]I use a MXT for the dry sand and a Whites PI Pro for the wet stuff. On the PI after you use it awhile you can distinguish between good stuff and bad stuff like nails, sprinklers, wire, cans foil, etc... The PI does go deep.[/quote]

Yes, I agree about the Surf PI Pro. I'm still in the learning phase with it but I'm starting to hear the differences between some of the junk target signals and the keepers! Oh, and yes the target depth can be scary with this machine!!!!!

 

[Waterdog]

Now that you have an Excalibur you can find enough goodies to turn them into another detector

HH

 

[Kyle in Sac]

Every time I hear someone comment on how deep the PI's go I think to myself why do you need to go deep? My targets are usually right on the surface anyway and digging more than a few scoop fulls sucks when you're chest deep in water. Just my two cents, I'm no expert though and I haven't found anything too great yet but I just started Friday with my excal.

 

[diggindirt]

The thing is........I've hit many beaches where the tide is up and new sand has been deposited just putting the good targets out of range for VLF type machines. Now when that happens and everyone has left, go back over the same areas with a PI and you'll be surprised with the results. This can make the difference between a good or wasted day for me. I'm not the only one that will tell you this and that's why I use a VLF and PI for different conditions that I might encounter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and have great success with your new detector. HH

 

[DavHut]

[size=small]diggindirt said it all. Depth is an issue at the shore because the sands move around - what was there yesterday has deposited itself over there tomorrow. And covered things up in the process. From what Ive observed, the PI's are not better at finding things than anything else... they just have the ability to find it a little further under the sand.
It's still a crap shoot any way you cut it - you can only try to spin the odds a bit in your favor.

The extreme scenario is that lacking a PI, you must work cuts and wait on storms to pass or extreme low tides and so on if you want "depth". But most folks want to go when they have the chance, as often as possible, not waiting on serendipity to make it worth going. The PI gives you raw depth which says that if its there, you will likley know about it. Whether you want to dig to full depth to uncover yet another hair bobbin is your choice.

IMHO, the one deciding factor is the ability to discern ferrous targets with a fair degree of accuracy. Flatly put, there is a lot of iron crap lying in wait under the sand. PI's are iffy at discriminating this junk it seems, and/or they take a real talented ear to get it right. Why add that doubt to what you already have on your plate? I'd say get to know your Excal for the remainder of the year (remember, beach hunting is NOT just for the summer) - then decide if a PI is for you NEXT year.[/size]

 

[DavHut]

n/t