Bill (S. CA)

Many good, valid points here. I'd like to add one more: learn your detector. Hunt with it a lot. They are all nuanced and have their quirks be it by sound or TID. Dig your first 1000 pulltabs and I guarantee you will start picking up on subtle differences between them and potentially good targets. For many years I was a one detector guy. I'd save up my finds and then move up and buy another detector. But only one because that's all that I could afford. Now I'm spoiled and have too many choices. If I was totally honest I'd have to say I haven't learned any of them to the degree that I learned my detectors back in the "I only own one" days.

https://garrett.com/garrett-goldmaster-24k-metal-detector

The 24K is a great detector. I would highly recommend watching Steve's videos on the 24K on the Garrett web site. He knows the machine very well. Good luck with it. Bill

You wonder how long First Texas can milk selling heavy discounted dated machines. With that being said, the price on the F70 is amazing. But here's the question: would you hunt with one in 2024?

I honestly think that you are just more confident and proficient with your Equinox. Nothing wrong with that. I've used a lot of detectors over the years and some, despite being good machines, just don't work for me. I remember when I had my V3i, which is a marvelous detector in the right hands. My brain just never got that detector and i really hated it. I kept trying to love it and it never worked. The Deus II may be that sort of detector for you. My reason for wanting one is that on our beaches out here, black sand or not, in the water or not, an Equinox simply cannot beat a Deus II. My buddy Frank has hit pieces of gold earrings and chains in the wet sand with his Deus II that I can't hear at all with my Equinox. That's proof enough for me. Now you watch, I'll finally get a Deus II and I'll end up hating it! Would be just my luck! My advice? Get rid of the Deus II, stop all of this testing and just have fun and hunt with your Equinox.

That is a really interesting setup. I'm curious as to the shaft - custom? And I take it that the coil is aftermarket?

My first Minelab detector was a Sovereign XS and I did very well with it back in the day. It was long ago sold. Recently I picked up a super clean XS from a forum member, mainly for nostalgia purposes. However, while I am recuperating from a partial knee replacement and can't hunt, I have given some thought to rolling the Sovereign out and doing some hunting with it. So I'm curious if any of you guys still hunt with one. I was a chest mount guy, used the white coil inland and a WOT coil at the beach. I always loved the big target response of BBS machines, so different from today's multi frequency detectors. Bill

I emailed Detect-Ed about a straight shaft for the Legend and he indicated if there was interest he would consider it. I personally like straight shafts, especially in the water. Curious what you folks think. Bill

Some nice stuff. What detector were you using for these hunts? I've been sidelined recoering from knee surgery but my buddies have been doing well, even at Santa Monic which as you know is hunted to death. Bill

Chase, Really superb post. I'm sure it took a lot of time to put together. One aspect you mention about the Deus II is its "toe-heaviness" if such a work exists. It is an amazing detector and I hope to own one someday. However, every time one of my buddies loans me their Deus II to hunt with I can feel the upper forearm strain instantly. They tell me you get used to it but in my limited experience with the detector it is surprising to me that such a lightweight machine still feels heavy because of the imbalance. Any thoughts on this? Also, while I'm commenting on your post, I have had occasion to use a Manticore for several beach hunts and to me it is a heavy detector. To be very honest, my Legend is easily my favorite detector to swing in terms of balance and weight. With the new lightweight shaft and arm cuff it is literally feather weight. Bill

You have the right mindset, Dave. That's why I follow your posts. Your only agenda is to find settings that work for you and you are kind enough to share your results. Gee, interesting concept, you know?

I think what this discussion proves is that settings are subject to a number of factors that include not only the specific environment but also the user's preferences. I remember years ago when we were all using Explorers at the beach and as usual my buddy Frank was beating us all. He preferred what I think was referred to back than as "ferrous tones." One day he let me try his detector with his setup and I couldn't find a darn thing. I wasn't the detector, it was me. My ear just wasn't set up to hear what he was hearing. It literally made me nuts to listen to those tones. That's why these settings discussions, while interesting, really never end up going anywhere for me. There are just too may variables. Even here in S. CA, black sand varies a great deal. The guy Jim, who has a YouTube Channel "Fun with Jim," was given a Deus II by XP to try out at his beaches. He has really struggled with it and keeps returning to his Equinox 900. Is it the detector? The beaches themselves? Who knows? Ultimately at the beach it comes down to what works best for you. I'll be honest, and you guys will laugh at me for this, in the last year, I have found more gold with my Apex at the beach than my 800 or my Legend. I have no idea why. I will admit, I don't test much at all Simply don't have time or interest. But if I want gold, I will reach for my Apex first At least until I can scratch up the $$ to get a Deus II...

I mentioned your questions to him. He said that he does not run an offset and to be sure that you enable magnetic reject. He says if you go slow you will hear the good targets. He was out in the big storm today with 4 other guys. Heavy black sand. All five of them were swinging Deus II's and all five got gold. I know each guy and they all used to use Equinoxes. One also has a Manticore and it pretty much stays home as well.

No idea. I just asked him for his settings and these are what he gave me.

I've been following along with Midalakes post because I like his testing approach. He just tries things and tests and then posts the results. This particular test has really interested me since here in S. CA the Deus II just rules the beach. Period. Nothing out here can beat it in the wet sand, and that includes black sand. I'm not speaking from testing results, just in the field results. I'm pretty good with my 800 and head to head, on deep targets, even using Midalake's "double beep" method, the Deus II goes deeper. My friend, Frank, uses a Deus II exclusively and constantly whips all of us. These are the settings that he uses in the black sand. I have compared signals with him in heavy black sand and can't hit targets at depth that his Deus II hits hard. He has found several small gold earrings of late using his Deus II that neither the Manticore of 800/900 could hit. Perhaps you guys could try out his settings and see how you do. Bill P.S. He uses the 11" and 13" coils. I'm using beach sensitive Discrimination 6.8 Sensitivity 93 to 97 Salt sensitivity 3 Frequency 40 Iron volume 6 Reactivity 1 Audio response 6 Tones.... full tones Offset 5 Bottle caps 2 Notch off Silencer 0

I bought my first detector in 1972. A White's Coinmaster III. I remember the Metrotech. At the time it was between that detector, my White's and a Relco as I recall. I remember looking at Gardiner detectors but they had giant search coils and that scared me off. In the end my mother told me to buy the White's with my paper route money and she invested $50.00 of her own money since I was short of the funds. She was my number one detecting partner well into her 80's.

It's a beauty, George. When did you get your first one?

I remember that detector. What year did you purchase yours, George, and how old were you?

I recall several years ago that Ken White kept one of every model detector that White's ever made. That would be a great collection to see.

George, Was the Gold Trax a George Payne design? Bill

Your collection is like a magician's magic hat. It has no end! So George, what is your total count of metal detectors? Bill

I've never owned an X5 but have used one on several occasions. I really liked it. I wonder if there is any back inventory of the Shadows in a storage unit somewhere... Do you know if he ever had a prototype made of his visible target ID detector? Or am I just nuts and that never existed?

It really is a shame about Tesoro. I did try to contact Jack Gifford's sons for an article that I wanted to write for the GPAA Magazine but neither responded to me. Guess once the business died so did their interest. I know it sounds dumb, but I've always wondered why no one ever considered releasing a vintage detector line. For example, a company could buy several of the classic Tesoro designs and contract with a current company to make a run of them. Probably too costly. I was just thinking of how Troy pulled this off with his Shadows, designing the detectors and then having a company build them for him.

Just amazing this collection of yours. I see you have a very clean Shadow in the mix. Do you ever use it? I seem to recall way back that Troy was trying to make a new Shadow with visible target ID. I guess it never happened. Keep these pictures coming, George. They are really fun to view. Bill