Suggestion for post-hurricane metal detector

[CaptainChance]

Hello everyone.

I'm a full time storm chaser / hurricane chaser who has done some limited detector searching on the east and west coasts.

To give a brief family background, my uncle was likely the first person to use a metal detector in the San Diego region after WWII. He was involved in land mine detecting during the war and he used his knowledge to build one of the first "private" detectors. Back then, the un-searched beaches were loaded with loot. He had the walls of his home lined with gallon jars loaded with gold watches, rings, coins, etc. I believe he eventually sold everyone off for over 500k, back in the 1970's before he died.

I often chase hurricanes along Florida's Treasure Coast and have a desire to do some post-storm detecting. I want to get some professional opinions concerning the best detector to use in wet, disturbed sand. Yes, I am well aware you cannot search in the water. I need a good detector that will filter out iron. I also need a detector that can be broken down and fit in luggage. I currently have a 9-10 year old Whites MXT 300mm that I'm sure is very outdated.

Thanks in advance:

Warren Faidley
http://www.stormchaser.com

 

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[RTR]

Don't want to filter out "iron". I found something good on the treasure coast while digging a strong iron signal

 

[clv]

You want a detector that has a relic setting would be good choice for a person without a lot of experience.
Minelab make a few that has this setting. An older machine that will work well is the Safari. There are other machines out there but this is the detector I use the most. It will also break down to fit in a small box, about the size of a small/medium suitcase.

 

[Coinboy]

Minelab Equinox

 

[CalReg]

If you're not worried about iron or other junk, you might want to try a pulse induction machine. It's deeper than a good VLF but it won't discriminate. People who hunt beaches a lot have a good water "resistant" VLF machine that does well in wet sand and a pulse induction MD for those deep, hard to detect objects. Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[cudamark]

Minelab Equinox

That would be my preference too, mainly because it's light, can be reasonably broken down into small enough pieces to get into a big suitcase, and it does a very good job in wet salt water sand. Nothing wrong with an Excalibur or CTX either, but they're heavier, more expensive, and aren't quite as packable. A Deus wouldn't be a terrible choice either, but, it's not as good on depth and target I.D. as the Minelabs. Same story with the Makro/Notka stuff.

 

[CaptainChance]

Thanks everyone. I'm amazed at how few of the "top" detectors don't break down enough to fit in normal luggage. I'm assuming the manufacturers think everyone is hunting locally. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Safari or Equinox.

 

[Coinboy]

Thanks everyone. I'm amazed at how few of the "top" detectors don't break down enough to fit in normal luggage. I'm assuming the manufacturers think everyone is hunting locally. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Safari or Equinox.

For beach hunting get the Equinox.

 

[cudamark]

Thanks everyone. I'm amazed at how few of the "top" detectors don't break down enough to fit in normal luggage. I'm assuming the manufacturers think everyone is hunting locally. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Safari or Equinox.

Both would work fine at the beach. I get the feeling that the Safari's days are numbered however, and frankly, the Equinox is a much better buy and works better in just about every area of detecting. The only real plus of the Safari is that there are tons of different coils for it, so, if you also have an Explorer or Etrac, you can use their coils on the Safari. But, If you already have one of those detectors, you probably wouldn't be asking about the Safari!

 

[angelito1]

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[ColonelDan]

I agree with cudamark. I had a Safari and have an Equinox 800 for hunting our Florida beaches. Hands down I prefer the Equinox....Faster processor, lighter, better separation, much more sensitive and deeper than the Safari.

The Safari is old technology and just can’t compete with the Equinox in my personal opinion but as I always say, that’s just the view from my foxhole....