A good detector for the beach/water

I'm about to get this machine! It seems to fit me well. How good is the Garett sea hunter? Their both in the same price range at a local metal detecting shop.

If you are fortunate enough to have a metal detecting shop close by you should try to rent a few machines and try them out. Most shops have machines they rent out. The cost of rental will far outweigh the cost of purchasing the wrong metal detector for you and your needs. You may even be able to work out a deal with the shop owner on discounting the rental if you make a purchase from him. So go down there and talk to him and explain your intentions right from the start. I'm sure he will try to work with you.
 

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I started detecting 3 years ago with a fisher f2 on east coast of Florida after 2 years with it I had found everything within 1 mile of my beach access ( hundreds of beer cans lots of modern coins a couple smartphones no gold but some silver jewelry) down to 7-9" maybe 11" after a good rain. After researching online and watching other metal detector owners. I noticed that minelab owners were digging deeper holes(15-20") and finding more jewelry and digging up less junk. So I decided on an explorer se but scoured eBay and forums for a good deal and saved about $500 off retail price for a one used less than 5 times and only 1 small scuff on the coil cover. So my suggestion for you would be to see which detectors are digging deep and finding good stuff at your beach. And don't rule out used Sometimes you can get extra coils or premium headphones or other accessories that you will want later on but couldn't afford when purchased new. Also premium headphones allowed me to hear things about 2" deeper. On my beach I dig down to 24" but still have not found any gold. Good luck with whatever you pick.
 

Love my Sand Shark! Not sure how the 10.5 coil will handle in the surf yet, but its great at the wet line. Thanks for your advice Terry!

Good luck to you and I hope your Shark pays for itself as quickly as mine did! :icon_thumright:
 

Good luck to you and I hope your Shark pays for itself as quickly as mine did! :icon_thumright:

Well terry, I now own a Sand shark! Thanks everyone for your input. I went to the Metal detecting shop, asked a million questions, and decided on the Sand Shark with a 8" coil. Waking up early tomorrow and gonna test it out.
 

Congratulations! Now, go back to page 12 in the manual and MAKE SURE you have set your tone frequency to match YOUR hearing the best. Do you hear high or low tones better? Next, set your pulse width to about 3/4 power (2-230pm position). Turn your threshold up to where you can barely hear it above the waves and wind noise - like a mosquito hum, and use the machine in NORMAL mode. Get to know your machine for the first 50-hours in Normal mode (which I find easier to identify deep targets) BEFORE you experiment with VCO mode.

DO NOT just walk up or down the beach in one direction or the other! Pick yourself a 50-yard long beachfront, and start gridding it S-L-O-W-L-Y. You start at Low Tide in the wet sand high mark and detect right into the water thigh-deep, move over a step and detect right back up to the high wet sand mark.. Rinse and repeat until the whole 50-yards or 5-hours is done.
 

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