Best PI machine for Salt beach

[dirtdigger1581]

I'm thinking about buying a PI machine for hunting the wet sand and shallow water(up to chest deep) of a salt water beach. I'm wondering what the opinions of everyone here are as to what PI machine is best for this application. I currently use an Excal II for the beach and it's been great, but I've heard there is a big depth advantage over the Excal when going to a PI machine. How deep can they actually get compared to the Excal? I don't mind digging a few more targets while on the beach if it gets me a few more goodies that are missed by the Excal. What's everyone's take on this? And what does anyone have experience with? Thanks for your help!

Happy Hunting!

-Nate

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[dirtdigger1581]

No problem, Nate. I will have it for you, hopefully within a few days...it will be worth waiting for, I guarantee...

Can't wait! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[StormSurge]

Nate, I know we haven't known each other that long but you really don't strike me as the kind of guy that would stir up so much !

 

[dirtdigger1581]

Nate, I know we haven't known each other that long but you really don't strike me as the kind of guy that would stir up so much

I KNOW! Look what I've done...

 

[Craig-PI]

Beachhunters are an intense group my wife tells me I am too intense all the time lol... nothing wrong with a good debate every now and then

Nate, I know we haven't known each other that long but you really don't strike me as the kind of guy that would stir up so much

 

[Terry Soloman]

I never thought I would hear you admit it

Wait a minute.. You agree with me? I Never thought I would hear you admit it!

 

[dewcon4414]

Crap.... i thought all my dirt diggin years was helping me be successful beach hunting..... now i find out im a simpleton and a blind squirrel. I think those broad comments about us beach hunters not having or needing any skills were worse than those about your machine... at least they were talking about just you. Your comments were kind of a shot gun blast at those of us who didnt even have a dog in the fight.

Dew

 

[Terry Soloman]

So, what have we learned?

A) The only thing you need to be a successful beach hunter is lots of money for equipment and a beach.

B) There is very little difference in Pulse Induction metal detectors priced between $600.00 - $1,200.00 except hype and advertising.

C) 80-percent of metal detector owners are "Brand" loyal.

D) There are at least three people that disagree with Terry, all the time and about everything.

E) Terry gets a huge smile on his face every time he fires up his beach machine.

F) A lot of metal detecting "experts" believe everything they read.

G) Very, very few actually know what they are talking about, but don't really care as long as you are paying attention to them.

H) For 95-percent of hobbyists, if they found their best find with Brand "X" then it is the best detector on the market.

I) If you really believe something, no amount of factual information is going to change your mind.

Pretty good thread so far!

 

[Terry Soloman]

You mean, a Five-year-old can't successfully beep a beach? Seriously. Now getting IN the water (past your knees) is a different animal, yes it is harder physically here on the East Coast Atlantic beaches, but on Long Island Sound or in parts the Gulf it is a piece of cake, more or less like being in a lake. Reading the beach? Takes about one-minute to learn for anyone with a high school diploma.

Metal detecting has become so easy with the new machines and technology these days that any moron can do it. I was so surprised when I decided to get into beach detecting. As a nuggetshooter, it is like going on vacation to a spa. No bending down on one knee, no ground adjustments every 10-minutes, no cactus, no rocks, caliche, dust, kneepads... It is a day at the beach!

Sorry if I hurt a bunch of feelings guys, but dirt hunters look at the beach as easy pickin's. With beach hunting there is but ONE concern - Volume. How many people are using the beach. In Craig's case, it is how many people were using this beach 100-years ago. That research I can respect, but Craig doesn't have a choice. He LIVES on Long Island Sound, so he HAS to research just like everybody else that lives on the Sound, because their choices are limited.

Research - not your machine.. Location - not your machine. If I have a better location to detect with a Garrett Ace 250, than you do with your Tesoro Sand Shark, Guess who will find more..

Beach detecting is easy compared to dirt detecting.

Crap.... i thought all my dirt diggin years was helping me be successful beach hunting..... now i find out im a simpleton and a blind squirrel. I think those broad comments about us beach hunters not having or needing any skills were worse than those about your machine... at least they were talking about just you. Your comments were kind of a shot gun blast at those of us who didnt even have a dog in the fight.

Dew

 

[Aka Nameless]

So, what have we learned?

A) The only thing you need to be a successful beach hunter is lots of money for equipment and a beach.

B) There is very little difference in Pulse Induction metal detectors priced between $600.00 - $1,200.00 except hype and advertising.

C) 80-percent of metal detector owners are "Brand" loyal.

D) There are at least three people that disagree with Terry, all the time and about everything.

E) Terry gets a huge smile on his face every time he fires up his beach machine.

F) A lot of metal detecting "experts" believe everything they read.

G) Very, very few actually know what they are talking about, but don't really care as long as you are paying attention to them.

H) For 95-percent of hobbyists, if they found their best find with Brand "X" then it is the best detector on the market.

I) If you really believe something, no amount of factual information is going to change your mind.

Pretty good thread so far!

Sounds like you are describing your own thinking... especially the last one... no matter how many facts we throw at you, you still believe the Sand Shark's magical micro-processors (lol) are the bees knees... and pulse delay is a myth.

Most of us use multiple brands of machines, you are the one who only uses one brand, Tesoro, except your Minelab PI.

There are big differences between the different PI machines. Less of a difference comparing a DF PI to an Infinium, but a huge difference comparing a Sand Shark to the Infinium.

You do realize that the Minelab PI is so sensitive to small gold, because it runs at a very fast pulse delay, right? The same reason the TDI or Infinium can't compete with it, because they run at slightly slower pulse delays, making them only sensitive to around .3 grams.

You need to stop reading the advertizements for machines, and start reading the spec sheets...

 

[Terry Soloman]

Sounds like you are describing your own thinking... especially the last one... no matter how many facts we throw at you, you still believe the Sand Shark's magical micro-processors (lol) are the bees knees... and pulse delay is a myth.

Most of us use multiple brands of machines, you are the one who only uses one brand, Tesoro, except your Minelab PI.

There are big differences between the different PI machines. Less of a difference comparing a DF PI to an Infinium, but a huge difference comparing a Sand Shark to the Infinium.

You do realize that the Minelab PI is so sensitive to small gold, because it runs at a very fast pulse delay, right? The same reason the TDI or Infinium can't compete with it, because they run at slightly slower pulse delays, making them only sensitive to around .3 grams.

You need to stop reading the advertizements for machines, and start reading the spec sheets...

I think you should probably face the other way before you ugh, continue. You're facing INTO the wind and beginning to look a little damp..

 

[bigscoop]

Crap.... i thought all my dirt diggin years was helping me be successful beach hunting..... now i find out im a simpleton and a blind squirrel. I think those broad comments about us beach hunters not having or needing any skills were worse than those about your machine... at least they were talking about just you. Your comments were kind of a shot gun blast at those of us who didnt even have a dog in the fight.

Dew

Barney with a scatter gun. I was going to tell him about the volumes of archie field summaries, early Spanish docs & maps, etc...filed and piled up around here, but since we don't have to do any research to find anything.........but I still love him and I'm in the mood for a big old group hug!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Barney with a scatter gun. I was going to tell him about the volumes of archie field summaries, early Spanish docs & maps, etc...filed and piled up around here, but since we don't have to do any research to find anything.........but I still love him and I'm in the mood for a big old group hug!

Again.. You mean, a Five-year-old can't successfully beep a beach? Seriously. Now getting IN the water (past your knees) is a different animal, yes it is harder physically here on the East Coast Atlantic beaches, but on Long Island Sound or in parts the Gulf it is a piece of cake, more or less like being in a lake. Reading the beach? Takes about one-minute to learn for anyone with a high school diploma.

Metal detecting has become so easy with the new machines and technology these days that any moron can do it. I was so surprised when I decided to get into beach detecting. As a nuggetshooter, it is like going on vacation to a spa. No bending down on one knee, no ground adjustments every 10-minutes, no cactus, no rocks, caliche, dust, kneepads... It is a day at the beach!

Sorry if I hurt a bunch of feelings guys, but dirt hunters look at the beach as easy pickin's. With beach hunting there is but ONE concern - Volume. How many people are using the beach. In Craig's case, it is how many people were using this beach 100-years ago. That research I can respect, but Craig doesn't have a choice. He LIVES on Long Island Sound, so he HAS to research just like everybody else that lives on the Sound, because their choices are limited.

Research - not your machine.. Location - not your machine. If I have a better location to detect with a Garrett Ace 250, than you do with your Tesoro Sand Shark, Guess who will find more..

Beach detecting is easy compared to dirt detecting.

 

[Aka Nameless]

I think you should probably face the other way before you ugh, continue. You're facing INTO the wind and beginning to look a little damp..

Nice reply...

I was hoping for some poor excuse as to why the Minelab PI is so sensitive, other than the mythical pulse delay, that doesn't really do anything...

Guess you ran out of B.S.

 

[Craig-PI]

Keep believing yourself Terry if it makes you happy... you missed your calling as comedian...

To be successful week in and week out it takes knowledge of reading a beach one needs to think out of the box...

There is a big difference between machines until you can wrap your head around the importance of pulse delay you just aren't going to get it and no sense wasting anymore words here...

Brand loyal? I have used in the water the Detector Pro Headhunter, the Whites PI PRO, the Minelab Excalibur, the Dual Field, the Minelab Sov GT all found me gold... I have even hunted with my friends Barracuda wish I could find one in decent shape and lastly the CZ20 but I don't have unlimited funds so I kept the Dual Field and GT as they are the best for me... I wish I could have kept the Headhunter and the Excalibur.

I will disagree with anyone who at times gives bad information to others who wish to take up our hobby as I am not brand specific... a little example is a new guy who posted on another forum about wanting to take up beach hunting in Atlantic City you told him to buy a pulse machine that is the worst machine to use down there and I told the new guy to go with a VLF... so if I'm not on your list I should be now lol..

The rest of your points are blah, blah blah to me...

So, what have we learned?

A) The only thing you need to be a successful beach hunter is lots of money for equipment and a beach.

B) There is very little difference in Pulse Induction metal detectors priced between $600.00 - $1,200.00 except hype and advertising.

C) 80-percent of metal detector owners are "Brand" loyal.

D) There are at least three people that disagree with Terry, all the time and about everything.

E) Terry gets a huge smile on his face every time he fires up his beach machine.

F) A lot of metal detecting "experts" believe everything they read.

G) Very, very few actually know what they are talking about, but don't really care as long as you are paying attention to them.

H) For 95-percent of hobbyists, if they found their best find with Brand "X" then it is the best detector on the market.

I) If you really believe something, no amount of factual information is going to change your mind.

Pretty good thread so far!

 

[dewcon4414]

Once again.... "any moron can do it" what the heck is wrong with you? How about lets see some of the GREAT finds an expert like you is finding? Either that or keep it on track about the equipment.... not the part of the hobby we chose... or US!

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

Getting back to the difficult, and obviously very debatable task of selecting the best saltwater PI machines.....I'm thinking it all comes down to a handful of machines and then finally the machine that provides you the most confidence and comfort. Sacrificing confidence and comfort for something that's "suppose to be a better machine" isn't gaining an edge, it's losing an edge. Hunting within your personal confidence and comfort zone is probably the single most important aspect of choosing a machine that's right....."for you". This is the advantage of belonging to a club or having access to a variety of machines, so you actually test drive several of them a bit before you buy.

 

[dewcon4414]

Now thats good advice. Contact some of the icons in the hobby of water detecting..... many are on one site or the other and get some advice. Most of them stay on top of the equipment and know all the specs which may come into play.

Dew

 

[Craig-PI]

Also machine means squat if a hunter doesn't know how or where to hunt... you can have the deepest machine on the beach and if one is meandering around in overburden all they will come home with lightweight trash

Getting back to the difficult, and obviously very debatable task of selecting the best saltwater PI machines.....I'm thinking it all comes down to a handful of machines and then finally the machine that provides you the most confidence and comfort. Sacrificing confidence and comfort for something that's "suppose to be a better machine" isn't gaining an edge, it's losing an edge. Hunting within your personal confidence and comfort zone is probably the single most important aspect of choosing a machine that's right....."for you". This is the advantage of belonging to a club or having access to a variety of machines, so you actually test drive several of them a bit before you buy.

 

[hamiddetecting]

In 2007 i bought PI, there is a deep but i lost the time for to get the coins and the iron. My friend with MD of china, he found more than me. You know why? He hunt all beach and me was in only place on the beach. In the now i like Sovereign GT with 15'' Wot, 10'',8'' and Excalibur II 800 when the beaches lot of iron and salt water. Its my idea. We trust my God for to get gold. Hamid

 

[Aka Nameless]

In 2007 i bought PI, there is a deep but i lost the time for to get the coins and the iron. My friend with MD of china, he found more than me. You know why? He hunt all beach and me was in only place on the beach. In the now i like Sovereign GT with 15'' Wot, 10'',8'' and Excalibur II 800 when the beaches lot of iron and salt water. Its my idea. We trust my God for to get gold. Hamid

Yeah, the Sov GT and Excalibur are great machines. We are just arguing about which PI machine is the deepest on the beach. The Whites TDI would probably beat them all...