Whats the best NEXT coil to get?

[bobinyelm]

I haven't detected since the mid-1970s when I had a Heathkit detector, which was fairly primitive to begin with, but during the discard-able "pop-top" era was a recipe for pure frustration.

Basically, now being retired with a truck camper and lots of time to use it, I would be taking a detector as something to do with lots of time on my hands on nice weather days. I plan to re-visit areas where highways
cross the Oregon trail (you can still see wagon ruts crossing the ground in the middle-of-nowhere where 2-lane highways bisect the old wagon roads), maybe hit some parks, and old abandoned
fall-down dwellings along the less-traveled roads.

Just purchased an MXT w/ stock 9.5" coil, and was wondering what the BEST "next" coil to own would be? I picked the MXT because it appeared to be quite versatile and possibly well
suited for a variety of detecting tasks. I assume the MXT not the "best" at anything, but pretty decent at everything based on possibly 100 owner reviews I read prior to buying.

I'm thinking that the 9.5 is a decent "general" coil for relics and coins, so am interested in getting a second coil that would be much better for probing dry washes in AZ (and elsewhere) for
small flakes and nuggets.

Would that second coil be better than the 9.5" coil for anything else, or just gold?

In other words, I'd like to limit myself to just two coils, but have them cover those types of detecting without handicapping myself too badly.

Thanks-
Bob

 

[Larry (IL)]

I'm not a nugget hunter but from past posts it seem that the 6X10 DD is the coil of choice for nugget hunting with the MXT. At the top of the forum you will see a SEARCH button.click on it and in the search field type gold nugget and search past posts in the MXT forum for the past year. Lots of good information.

 

[bobinyelm]

I'm not a nugget hunter but from past posts it seem that the 6X10 DD is the coil of choice for nugget hunting with the MXT. At the top of the forum you will see a SEARCH button.click on it and in the search field type gold nugget and search past posts in the MXT forum for the past year. Lots of good information.

Thanks. I tried a bunch of different search terms like "gold nugget" "Gold coil" "nugget coil" etc., but the only mention in one thread was a 4"X6" DD coil.

As I said, I am curious if such a coil (either 6X10 DD or 4X6 DD) is great for anything else, or which among those two would be better. I understand such a coil will pin point things better, and ignore "trash," but wonder what other attributes or short comings such a coil will have (less or more depth penetration, better rejection of iron, etc.).


Hopefully, someone will chime-in with some real-world experience w/ such coils.

Thanks-
Bob

 

[Scottowl]

If I had to limit myself to 2 coils, the 9.5 would NOT be one of them. It covers too much ground to use in anything but trash free areas. I guess that's not the coils fault, just that the MXT is so responsive to all targets.

I have not prospected, but have hit a few parks and falling down shacks (in the state of Oregon, even!). My favorite is the Eclipse 5.3. You get virtually the same depth as the stock coil, in a smaller window for targets. Pinpointing is a snap, and VDI and depth indication are more accurate than anything other than the stock coil.

The 10x6 is also a good coil, and I have spent a lot of time with it as well. It sounds off louder on small pieces of metal, which is good for prospecting, bad for coin shooting. It is a huge improvement over the 9.5 in trashy parks and nail infested old homesteads. To my ears it may even do a bit better job at iron rejection than the 5.3.

 

[srf2112]

Hey Bob. Thought you might like some input from someone new ( 3 mo's ) to detecting. The first coil that I tried in place of the stock 950 was the 6x10 and it works amazing for me. I have found that with just a little practice I can separate and isolate targets very well with it. Pinpointing is not too tricky at all I've found. It also works good for getting into uneven terrain and also getting in to search close to large metal structures and poles if you need to. The 4x6 and 5.3 would have some advantages over the 6x10 in these same areas but unless you have extremely trashy and or mineralized ground I think the 6x10 might be the most versatile choice for you with the added ground coverage. I have the 5.3 but always find myself going back to the 6x10 as my daily driver, I've never nugget hunted yet.and if you are going to seriously do that I would listen to an experts advice as far as the best,job-specific coil to use just for that. From what I've read you want to stack all the odds in your favor to maximize your success when prospecting. IMHO.
HH
Scott

 

[Larry (IL)]

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?25,1094313,1094403#msg-1094403

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?25,1070504,1070504#msg-1070504

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?25,904485,904533#msg-904533

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?25,846125,846154#msg-846154

Here is 4 of 275 hits by searching gold nugget......if this does not get you out in the field........
The 6X10 is also a great general hunting coil, especially in the mineralized ground.

 

[auacemanII]

I have had the MXT for about 8 years and used to sell them in Sacramento when I was manager @ Gold Mine. I would forget the small 4x6 as I found that that coil was pretty much dead. The 6x10 is a good all around coil and works well under mineralized conditions. My machine has been modified by "Nevada Bob" and is now almost as sensitive as the GMT on small gold.
A couple of tips with the MXT If hunting in the Prospecting mode you hear what you think maybe is a target and you are using the Groud Trac setting don't keep sweeeping over the target after 1 or 2 sweeps , bounce the coil AROUND the target area well away from where the target is located then change over to the fixed ground balance setting. Otherwise the machine could trac out a small nugget , it tracs very fast and in mineralized soils can degrade the target so much that it will "Disappear". Another thing about high iron mineralization , don't trust the Iron ID unless it jumps right to 75% + and accumulates to 100% within 1-2 sweeps. I used to make the mistake of trusting it otherwise untill a pal I was hunting with dug an "IRON" target I did not dig. He came up witha 11 grain nugget. At todays prices that is $ 23 bucks!
If you can find one another coil that maybe worth considering is the 'Hot Foot by Applied Creativity- a Jimmy Sierra product, they were out of prouction and I don't know if they are again available. It works very well with the Modifications I spoke of.

Good luck and happy trails.

 

[BarberBill]

I have to respond to Scottowl's statement that the 6X10 is "bad" for coin shooting. I've dug many many coins using the 6X10 and have found it to handle fairly trashy areas pretty well. It's my preferred coil. I have the 5.3 and the 4X6 as well, both of which handle heavy trash very well and go to them in that situation. The 4X5 can be very useful for getting between rocks etc. when crevicing for nuggets with the 6X10 serving to cover more area where the conditions permit. My two bits.
BB