My AT Pro Owned by Minelab Explorer

NJcigarman

Hero Member
May 25, 2013
565
337
Southern New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro,Whites Surfmaster PI
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Left the beach today to checkout an old lake and park on the mainland. Had only been hunting a short time when I met Sarge. He has been hitting this place for quite some time. He is a Minelab fan and was using an Explorer II. He told me he has pulled large amounts of silver coins out of the location. He invited me to hunt a spot with him that has been producing numerous silver dimes. I was curious to see what the AT would do versus the Minelab. Sarge fired up his Explorer and immediately got a hit where he was standing. I swept the the spot from all sides and got a faint signal with no readout. Sarge swept the spot again minus his headphones and what a signal. Crisp, loud and clear when he announced it's another silver dime. He dug down about 12'' and pulled out a silver rosey. I have to say I was impressed, but do that again!!! He did a few more times before I left and he was holding a few silver dimes and wheaties. Depth wise there was no comparison. I had the AT on full sensitivity and wasn't picking up the signals.
Anyway it was fun to get another perspective on equipment. In the end Sarge told me he might sign up here on Tnet. Hoping to see some photos!!
 

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The AT pro getting its b*tt kicked by an Explorer II ?? NAH !! SAY IT ISN'T SO ! :laughing7:
 

untitled11.png2013-09-23_21-41-33_946.jpg2013-09-23_21-43-08_567.jpg The first picture is what ive found over the last couple of months at the spot I met NJcigarman. The second 2 pics are what Ive found the last few days. I found the franklin and 3 silver dimes today. I use the explorer se pro on max sensitivity 32, gain at 8,limits all at 10 and deep setting. The se pro has a 11 inch dd coil. Most of these coins were 10 to 12 inches down migt have been deeper. Thanks for looking and good to meet njcigarman.
 

Left the beach today to checkout an old lake and park on the mainland. Had only been hunting a short time when I met Sarge. He has been hitting this place for quite some time. He is a Minelab fan and was using an Explorer II. He told me he has pulled large amounts of silver coins out of the location. He invited me to hunt a spot with him that has been producing numerous silver dimes. I was curious to see what the AT would do versus the Minelab. Sarge fired up his Explorer and immediately got a hit where he was standing. I swept the the spot from all sides and got a faint signal with no readout. Sarge swept the spot again minus his headphones and what a signal. Crisp, loud and clear when he announced it's another silver dime. He dug down about 12'' and pulled out a silver rosey. I have to say I was impressed, but do that again!!! He did a few more times before I left and he was holding a few silver dimes and wheaties. Depth wise there was no comparison. I had the AT on full sensitivity and wasn't picking up the signals. Anyway it was fun to get another perspective on equipment. In the end Sarge told me he might sign up here on Tnet. Hoping to see some photos!!

Sign up today....looks like he's been a member since March.

Congrats on all the good finds!!
 

Nice going Sarge! Now I have to go clean my keyboard of drool......again!
 

My Explorer SE is the deepest machine I've owned and ate my GTI 2500 for lunch in every category.
My Outlaw beats the Explorer in some categories like disc, pinpointing, detecting small thin gold, but not depth.
I'm getting an AT Pro Gold in the off season as I still like Garrett minus the GTI. I believe it'll be deeper than the Outlaw from all the info I've read from reviews and users here.

I like different machines from all big makes (Garrett, Tesoro, Minelab, Fisher & Whites) and would proudly swing models from each company.
 

Well at least you guys know I wasn't telling you a FISH story. Good Luck Sarge nice meeting you and keep finding that silver!!!

I have this BAD feeling I am going to be calling Bart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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Have had this 'whipped' experience myself. I like my AT though, I wont part with it just yet, unless the bread eats the butter. Nonetheless, I am headed toward a Minelab perhaps more surely than I once thought. So, for the people that say it's all hype ... I'll have to see for myself if it is.
 

How does the Exployer II Work in the water?...I hunt with a Guy That runs a Etrac...and Yes, he can find small silver coins much deeper than mine, But I find Much more Gold and Large Silver coins...My deepest Coin was probally around 10 Inches, where as his was 12" or so....But I know when we are hunting and its raining...I have no Issues...Finding Gold...No Issues...Going in the Ocean...No Issues....PLus the ATP has proven it can pick out Small bits of Iron Better than his Etrac...MInelabs are Great Machines for thier Purpose...It just all matters on what you are looking for.
 

Drop that Minelab in the water then do another comparison test... :laughing7:
 

Drop that Minelab in the water then do another comparison test... :laughing7:

I regularly take my Minelab into the ocean, under the ocean, under the lakes.... Still works just fine. Just got to have the right machine for the environment.
 

Well at least you guys know I wasn't telling you a FISH story. Good Luck Sarge nice meeting you and keep finding that silver!!!

I have this BAD feeling I am going to be calling Bart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Naw now there's a Tnetter on here that says he hits silver at 18" with his ATPro???? I'm not going to call anyone a liar but I'm a little suspicious that the coin fell into an 18" deep hole while digging it. I would compare the Explorer to Etrac before ordering one. They're are several improvements worth looking into.
 

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I regularly take my Minelab into the ocean, under the ocean, under the lakes.... Still works just fine. Just got to have the right machine for the environment.
The Exployer II is Water proof?...or are you referring to the 3000 dollar 3030?
 

Naw now there's a Tnetter on here that says he hits silver at 18" with his ATPro???? I'm not going to call anyone a liar but I'm a little suspicious that the coin fell into an 18" deep hole while digging it. I would compare the Explorer to Etrac before ordering one. They're are several improvements worth looking into.

Im a die hard ATP guy, but I think the Etrac is pretty much top of its game for detectors within a decent price range
 

Dont forget they am different machines. The minelab is a higher end machine and the at is a midrange machine.
 

What size coil was he using compared to the size coil you was using? People seem to forget that it makes a big difference on any detector. HH
 

The Exployer II is Water proof?...or are you referring to the 3000 dollar 3030?

I didn't say. The poster I quoted only mentioned taking a "Minelab" into the water. I have a "Minelab" made for the water, so that argument was a weak one.
 

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