Jump to content

15" Coil Turns Up Some Keepers :)


Dan(NM)

Recommended Posts

  I got my 15" coil yesterday just in time for a planned hunt today at a fort dating back to 1851. The morning started off slow because I deviated from my plan and I kinda just wandered around for the first 3 hours without much to show for it. Around noon I finally went to spot and started gridding like I normally do and it started to pay off. The  normal stuff began to come to light, percussion caps, lead, trouser buttons and a few odds and ends. At the end off the day I scored my first ever Dragoon button and within 20 minutes or so, hit my second!! I did manage a 3rd button, but I don't have a positive ID yet. It looks to be a one piece, which I believe predates the Dragoons.

 

 My take on the coil.....

I found that I was hitting as small of items as I have with the 11" coil at this site which was impressive!  The weight's not that bad, I kept the coil close to my feet and was able to swing it for 7 1/2 hours before switching over to the 11"  I think If I would have stopped for lunch, I could have swung it the entire time. The extra coverage was a much needed bonus at this place as it's huge and the sensitivity to small items was icing on the cake. I'll probably use the 15" coil here more often than not as it performed wonderfully.

 

My settings....

Park 2

15" coil

2-tones

6-recovery

0-iron bias

0-ground balnace

22-sensitivity

Tone break -9 to +8

I tried running a recovery speed of 4, but, due to amount of junk I'd hit with each swing, I bumped it up to 6 which seemed to work just fine.

 

fffinds.jpg

ff1.jpg

ff3.jpg

fftrash2.jpg

fftrash.jpg

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Great post and finds!

The 15" coil is remarkably sensitive to small items. I really do like this coil. Almost all oversized VLF coils have disappointed me as not really adding much if any depth and really screwing up  the ergonomics. In fact it seems the only other large VLF coil that I really liked was the CTX 17" coil. But I like this even more, and have no problem swinging it all day long without a harness. That's not going to happen with the CTX and 17" ?

minelab-equinox-15-12-dd-coil.jpg.9c0b89

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

NICE digs, Dan!

You did well with the 15" -- and I LOVE those Dragoon buttons!  Very nice condition!

Steve

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the button, very hard to find in California although I have dug a few. 

I really like the 15" coil too, it's just as sensitive as the 11" from what I can see and it's impressive in sea of nail areas.  I'd love to use it at my union army encampment, but the bushes would probably make it prohibitive.   So on the one hand the bushes provide an element of challenge, but on the other hand it's so remote that there's very little modern trash.  Usually end up digging a pull-ring and a bit of clad each hunt, but not too bad compared to most sites.

Doesn't look like you get too many 3-ringer drops eh?   Usually get a ton at the site we found, I enjoy digging them because their just not often found on the left coast, but I prefer buttons and other military accoutrements.  Still hoping a belt plate, breast plate or even a bit boss will show up, which to be honest, I'm a bit surprised we haven't dug one yet.  I do find the site to be exceedingly stingy with coins.  Probably have been there between 6-8 times, and between the two of us, we've dug one seated half dime and a seated half dollar.  I guess they just didn't bust out a lot of money in camp, yet they had to be doing something with their pay right? 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice D Cuff button and the other (hard to tell, but looks a litter larger) probably coat?

You certainly have great coil control too, evidence of the primer caps.

Your post got me excited and I need to put my 15" back on for a few more hunts.  Most of my sites are extremely trashy, so I prefer the small 6" coil. 

Nice story and pics.  Thanks for sharing.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice finds Dan!  I really like the thought of that two tone setup!  Can't wait to give it a try!!   What kind of depth were you getting?  ~Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those P caps mirror my experience with the 15" coil on wet salt beach conditions.  Love the coverage and it has no problem with tiny targets.  Even the 11" coil has impressed me with a few button shank finds (see below).  I am sure the 15" would have pinged that button shank also based on the tiny stuff it hit on at the beach.  I have not had much success with it in highly mineralized ground, though.  I am heading out to the red, hot Virginia relic field dirt this week, and will break out the 15" coil at some point to see how it does there, perhaps even experiment with some test targets, but so far the 11" seem to deal with mineralized ground much better.  Great finds, Dan.  You are having quite a relic run of late.

20190219_083917 1.jpg

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great finds here! My 15" arrives today and my brother in law has secured a site a few towns away where where a large farm has been in the same family for a number of generations. The ladies father died a short time ago and said that her folks and their folks never let anyone detect on the land...but she's going to let us since we're friends.

The 15" will complement the stock and 6" will and always travel with me in my backpack for a quick field swap-out when needed.

-Bill 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...