Freshwater- Tiger Shark and Excal Question

[rainyday101]

This is for freshwater. No saltwater anywhere near me. I currently own a Tiger Shark and have been really pleased with it. My question is, is it worth me getting an Excal? Is the additional cost of the excal justified over what I have now? I always think about getting one but wonder if I can gain enough over my Tiger to justify it.

I don't think depth between the two will matter because most of the areas I have hunted (so far) have sand that runs from 1-8" deep and then some sort of layer of hard pan below it. Most coins only get as deep as the hard pan. The only exception to that I have found is when I found items in a reservoir that were there in the ground before the reservoir was made. As an example I have found shotgun shells below the thin layer of sand and 4-5" into the original ground.

I guess we always wonder if what we are using is good enough or should we look at getting something better. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

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[Sir Gala Clad]

I don’t think so rainday.
If you are pleased with your current detector, and are effective with where you hunt, I don’t understand
Why you want to change? I have never even seen a Tiger Shark, so my comments on it are based on
What I have read and that is the Tiger Shark is more sensitive to small gold.

The advantage and disadvantage of the Excalibur is that the threshold nulls on iron in the discrimination mode. This saves you from having to dig iron when it nulls.

The disadvantage is that you cannot detect a target while it is nulled.
targets may be masked which are too close to iron as the detector has a slow recovery speed.

The CZ21 would be better than an Excalibur for your hunting conditions.
Again this is based on research, not practical experience. If you read the stiky: THE GOLDENOLDE above you will see that Norman Garnush favored the earlier CZ20 over the Minelab Excalibur as he was able to cover more area in a hunt, which for him meant more targets.

Hopefully, Sandman will reply.
As he is very experienced the three: Tiger Shark, Excalibur. and the CZ 21.

 

[Fletch88]

The Tiger Shark and Sand Shark were my first two water machines. I had the same question you are having now. I had to get the Excalibur and while I really like it I'm not sure if in freshwater you really are going to gain anything. The Tiger is better at smaller targets but the Excal is probably better at ignoring iron. The Excal has a threshold (pitch hold) in disc mode where the CZ and Tiger do not. This can alert you to very deep targets that are to weak to give a target response but will change the threshold tone based on the conductivity of the target. I have recently started using the CZ-21 and really like its Autotune am mode and being able to roll disc knob to check targets. The Sharks and CZ are built like tanks and feel like one when out of the water!

 

[Higgy]

I guess we always wonder if what we are using is good enough or should we look at getting something better.

I suffer from similar symptoms! I'm a very frugal guy. I don't need the biggest truck, or the best of whatever comes along, but I always try to get the best available for my hobbies.

I have experience with a couple Tesoros, and some experience with my AT in the water. All I can say is that I WILL be getting a CZ21 for saltwater, and keep my ATP for freshwater. Eventually, I want to get a PI machine, which will probably be a Sand Shark. GL and HH!

 

[dewcon4414]

You may well loose sensitivity to targets the Xcal might not pick up. Also.... life time warranty is priceless when you consider some of the Xcal problems with just a year warranty. Salt water beaches have a better payback so the Xcal is worth the expense there. The TS is lighter also. You may gain a little depth with the Xcal but they are pretty slow recovery and targets dont deteriorate in fresh water like salt.

 

[Sandman]

I own all three, Tiger Shark, Excal 1000, and CZ-20/21. I still use my 1280 too, but it isn't as deep as the CZ's. I am not hunting the coast anymore so its only freshwater for me. On a side note, swimmers at lake beaches are more confined to smaller swim areas and finds per time spent are increased. My Tiger Shark has the coil connector so I can use the 7", 10" or the Clean Sweep Coil which is 3X18" and covers the area super fast, but isn't as deep as the 10 inch. When I use the TS, I like to use Slow Mode cause I think it is deeper. It's great on thin chains without claps or pendants too and sounds off on earring backs which are fun to find. Neither the Excal or CZ can match this. CZ has two frequencies but is always in SALT mode whish is like some disc. Excal is a different animal and needs mods to keep up. I've dove with all three to over 100 foot with no leaks ever.

Both CZ and Tiger Shark have concentric coils which are deeper than Excal's DD but you should overlap sweeps to make full use of the extra depth. It's all about the fun you wanna have. It's a Blonde, Brunette vs Redhead thing. They're all fun.

 

[rainyday101]

I own all three, Tiger Shark, Excal 1000, and CZ-20/21. I still use my 1280 too, but it isn't as deep as the CZ's. I am not hunting the coast anymore so its only freshwater for me. On a side note, swimmers at lake beaches are more confined to smaller swim areas and finds per time spent are increased. My Tiger Shark has the coil connector so I can use the 7", 10" or the Clean Sweep Coil which is 3X18" and covers the area super fast, but isn't as deep as the 10 inch. When I use the TS, I like to use Slow Mode cause I think it is deeper. It's great on thin chains without claps or pendants too and sounds off on earring backs which are fun to find. Neither the Excal or CZ can match this. CZ has two frequencies but is always in SALT mode whish is like some disc. Excal is a different animal and needs mods to keep up. I've dove with all three to over 100 foot with no leaks ever.

Both CZ and Tiger Shark have concentric coils which are deeper than Excal's DD but you should overlap sweeps to make full use of the extra depth. It's all about the fun you wanna have. It's a Blonde, Brunette vs Redhead thing. They're all fun.

Thanks everyone. On the question why would I want to change? It's not really that I want to change, but I always wonder if there is something better so I thought I would ask the question.

As far as the Excal hunting in a threshold based tone, the Tiger does that in all metal and is unbelievably deep in that mode. From what you Excal users describe it is like hunting with the Excal only in this mode, the Tiger of course has no discrimination. I have only done this in deep sandy areas where trash is far and few between.

Thanks for the tip on Slow Mode Sandman, I will have to give that a try.

From what you guys have said, I guess the added expense is not really worth any advantage I might gain. As I get set up for scuba I am thinking about getting a second detector so if one fails I have another. The scuba season is just too short up here to be without a detector for a week or two. I for sure will be getting a Anderson dive shaft for the Tiger. Right now I am still in the process of buying all the scuba equipment. I have my BC on lay away and should be getting it in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Bumpstick]

I own an Excal 1000 and my hunt partner has the CZ-21 the Sand Shark and a Tiger Shark.
I am from the old school of detecting and use the different tones from the Excal when hunting.
My partner scuba dives in deeper water with hood on so tone variances are not as relevant.
He loves the Sand shark because of the weight and water resistance when swinging under water.
The CZ-21 is like a tank and wears you down on an all day hunt. Still room in the boat for a good machine.
He will recover 50% more targets with his face on the bottom; 10 years younger and always first in the water.
I hunt for the yellow metal not bobby-pins and nails from old docks.
Check some Wisconsin hunts with you tube link.
Quin P - YouTube

 

[rainyday101]

Dam Quin, you're up in my neck of the woods! Nice tube vids!