F350Platinum

Another nice hunt in the books for you! You're really doing a service to the beach getting all that junk out of there, and it's nice to get paid in silver ?

I have snapped one bolt so far with the 13", I like to keep the coil tight so it doesn't flop around. Can't seem to do that with the SteveG CF shaft, probably the second washer on the plug side, and possibly because it allows the plug to rotate. Whatever, bolts are cheap. ?

A good showing first time out. ? Silver Slayer is a great program but only if you just want coins and well... Everything else you said you dug. The D2 is really good at hitting hard on deep iron and aluminum/steel cans, lifting the coil on a strong signal helps, if it's still there a foot or more up, it's junk, or 95% probability. I have had a loud signal that I lifted on be this: So it isn't all wine and roses. ? It's the tones that matter and you'll get used to them. I dug that because it sounded good. I use Silver Slayer in 3 scenarios: First, if there's machine gun iron and other junk, and second, if I'm under power lines and can't get stable. Third, I use it for pillage when my time is limited. ?‍☠️ Biggest problem there is you're missing brass and gold for the most part. My highest gold signal was a 79, and I dug a 14k 100+ year old gold ring. My Relic Reaper program is discrimination-free, but you are going to hear everything. If your soil is not mineralized turning 45-90 degrees on iron will make the tone dive low, another technique you'll have to master if you use it. That and lifting will keep trash to a minimum. If it's red dirt or granite soil like Culpeper or New England, well God bless you and good luck, the tones will be first false and then silence, but it worked in Culpeper so I'm good. I'll PM it to you if you want. Like you I'm not a fan of the "Chicken Scratch™" tones, but I walked before I ran. ? I love and almost completely trust the D2.

Thanks Cap'n! We met a couple of YouTubers there, one fella said he got a bunch of bullets and a 1940s silver quarter with his Equinox 800 using gold mode, but they all came from the woods. He said that people would think he's nuts but I say whatever works. ? The other talked to Chase at length about the Axiom, and they looked for some in a large earthwork there that was a backstop for a range. That's way out of my range so I looked elsewhere. ? The "false cut" I wrote about was that you'd get a high tone, and instead of it diving to a low tone it just cut out (cancelled) in another direction. After digging some junk I got used to it. The button was a solid 72 I managed to pick out of some iron around it, kind of a shock to have the 13" do so well but it's not coming off the CF shaft soon! ? The big takeaway from all this is that I get a deeper appreciation of my own area, I'd hate to have to hunt there all the time. ?

Thanks LC, can't imagine getting anywhere without 'em, getting a little Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot, but still plugging away. It will go away when I start beach hunting I hope. I wonder if they make orthopedic shoes for metal detecting... ?

Thanks Colonel! it was a hunch that paid off. Even though we're taught not to "skyline" ourselves, some can't resist being King of the Hill, I guess... ?

Thanks TJ. Chase calls that area the "gold belt", there might well be some in the Hazel River that flows through the farm. I have no idea how you would get in there, but you also might get some CW relics as well. Hope you get a chance! I'm used to hunting my area where there is no gold, and "them thar hills" are maybe 200' max. ? All my terrain is flat for the most part.

You'll find plenty at DIV for sure, if we go to Liberty Hall again the fringe areas and woods are the way to go. ? For a noob I was grateful to get ONE thing ? it didn't seem like there was much overall, and most of it came from the woods. There's still a lot of area we haven't been over there. I was really pleased with my program overall, but it definitely was a different animal there. Undesirable finds were all "false and cut". Wish I had more time to create a better program for red dirt, but I did test the Reaper against Relic, and it went just as deep. ?

No, and I wished I brought them for the first couple hours, but the red clay and rain would have messed them up. ? I had heavy socks on so my feet stayed warm. It never got above 52 despite predicted 71.

Sorry about your MI-6, that happened to me too, and despite greasing them it still happens. You can get replacement caps here, I would order 2. Price is acceptable and shipping is reasonable and fast: https://www.colonialmetaldetectors.com/xp-pinpointer-end-cap.html As the Cap'n wrote, get used to the stock programs first, I would totally recommend General for relic hunting and beach for beach ? don't jump right into the fancy stuff like sensitive or deep. I made that mistake and now just use a modified General program with success. I have a Beach sensitive program that works well in the beach, but really have to prove it out this year. The menu system is a bit complicated but get out there and use the machine. They will become second nature quickly. Looking forward to your exploits! ?

Got back from a day hunt in Culpeper Virginia yesterday, usually I post immediately but struggled with a title ? This post is more an ode to the Deus 2 than anything spectacular, I'd be in a world of cramps and pain today without it. ? This farm is in Rixeyville VA, it was a part of the Battle of Brandy Station in 1863. The owner hosts hunts there, it's a beautiful place with an incredible old house called Liberty Hall. The hunts are "limited" to 100 detectorists, and despite the absolutely miserable weather there were only 5 no-shows out of 82 signed up. I saw every kind of detector in use, from an Ace 400 too the WS6 Master, and PI's galore. I don't know how they do it. It doesn't get much more miserable than 42 degrees and heavy mist that turned to rain. Luckily it only rained for a couple hours. Add to that the heavy mineralized sticky Culpeper red clay, and you've got quite an adventure. ? I had to keep wiping my pinpointer off in the grass just so I could push the button! I'm not complaining, my time in the Army both in winter Basic Training and the muddy hills of Germany helped me mentally overcome adversity, Chase was there to get trigger time on the Axiom, but he hunted with the D2 as well. According to him the place has been hunted for quite some time now. He made quite a stir with the PI guys. Turns out that hunting the fringes and woods of this place was the way to go, they seeded some stuff but mostly prize tags, and on 220 acres that wasn't much. I think only 9 of them were found. Most successful finds were made in remote areas. Here you can see my track in OnX Hunt, many of the areas had horses or cattle in them and were off limits. I mostly tracked around the marks I made, pickets and cannon emplacments and such. Seemed like all the walking was uphill. ? I'm 63, and still have a bit of "go" in me so I was able to make it through 7.75 miles of up and downhill. Yikes. Sadly I didn't photograph my trash, it was meager but covered with red mud so I left most of it there. I got an iron "Chain Trace" that was identified by one of the participants. The rest was wire and nails. I did find a couple of .223 shells, but stopped digging them and left that area. Here's my ode to the D2, if I didn't have that light machine I would have cramped arms and a bit of a rough time today. Despite the heavily mineralized clay, every good signal was a good find, I just didn't get my coil over many good targets. Iffy signals were all iron or junk. I have complete confidence that I can hunt with the D2 and come home with a minimum of junk. I used my Reaper program almost exclusively, which while acting somewhat differently because of mineralization still gave me the returns I expected with a VLF. With SteveG's carbon fiber shaft and the 13x11 I was able to cover a lot of ground, my legs did the rest. All I got in 7.4 hours of hunting and walking was this Yankee General Service button, I'll post better photos after cleaning it up more. It has the shank and should have backmarks. I followed a hunch, went to the top of a hill on my last push to find something, and there it was. An "11th hour" find that made the day worthwhile. ? It was by far the toughest hunt I've ever been on, my wife wasn't happy with all the red clay on my clothes but she managed to get them spotless. ? Some of my gear now has nifty "battle scars". ?

Great hunt GB, the button sure looks original, your soil is kind, or it's a reenactment item. ? Naval battle in a park? ? interesting ring and bracelet. If the bracelet is silver, I wouldn't have it already. My wife loves silver and white gold. She'd probably pass on the ring especially if it didn't have a makers mark. I'd photograph each item individually on a white background and "Lens" them with the Google Lens app. That's got me closest on many occasions. Your attractive red background may work ok tho.

The Reaper is for hearing everything, you might want to turn iron volume down a notch. Looks like car parts to me, I've found whole Model T Fords out there ? make sure you're ground balanced on a clear spot (12 pumps minimum), and turn 45-90 degrees on falsing targets. They will "dive" to iron. Up reactivity in machine gun nails, but not really over 2.5. When you're not hearing stuff deep, it's too high.

"Thank you very much for the tip, that's why its value is cheap, now when you go to an SDC 2300 the cheapest PI the price is already totally different." ?

No, not that I've ever seen. I don't have any mineralization here, and EMI is usually at a minimum because my area is extremely rural. The permission I was at today does have EMI, but it does not affect either the Deus 2 or the MI-6. I've always been pleased with how well it handles interference. The only thing that might happen is that the pinpointer might "go off" once in a while, the tone keeps going, but a quick button press stops it. Sometimes it doesn't connect to the remote, so turn it off and turn it on again. Don't let people dissuade you regarding this machine and its peripherals. Everything works well. Every machine out there has its quirks, particularly the most versatile. ?

I do that with the Carrot, but not with the MI-6. The MI-6 in my opinion is far superior to all the pinpointers I've used, and it's a bonus to me to hear it in the headphones. I use pitch audio instead of pulse, and there is no hiss. You only hear it when you turn it on. It might be a bit flaky, but it hits stuff very deep and I can use it to keep holes at a minimum if I have to. I run it at full sensitivity all the time. ?

Welllll, just the price of the coil, a second shaft, headphones and a pinpointer... ? Shovel, finds bag... ?

Thanks LC. I can't say enough good about that detector, for sure anything else would give me muscle cramps in my arm. Sadly Relic season is winding to a close. ?

It's a Predator Raptor "D" handle. 11" blade gets you to the finds fast. ? I also have their T handle Barracuda which only digs 6". Far less intimidating. ? They're very tough shovels and cut through roots like a hot knife through butter.

Our friend who writes in Portuguese says: "Generally I try to explore the whole area if I find something I go back there again, but if I don't find even a hint of an object I abandon it and look for another one to explore." Well said indeed ?

Put the 13x11" coil on your wish list for later. ? For relic hunting it's proving to be a bit phenomenal, I have that corroborated by a person long familiar with the Deus. I've had the D2 for over a year now, and have to say it works like I would expect a detector to work. They really have put a lot of effort into giving us a very versatile machine. I'm glad they are being very careful to test and verify the upcoming update, but I'm also very happy with it as is.

Thanks Unox, it is a very big old farm. The original land grant was 3300 acres, this field is about 500. I was glad to find anything of interest, but after over 6 miles of walking I should have found something. ? That view from the top of the hill is unusual here, this is all coastal plain. I wish I could have done better with the photo.

Thanks Cap'n, no silver this time but I thought the finds interesting and in some cases old enough to post, the stamped buckle is probably 1800s, but the spectacle is much older. The diversity of finds in this farm is incredible, and should be. ?

This also explains it, and more accurately I think, as the parts for that sort of tool would be long gone. Please thank your wife for me! I think she nailed it. ??

Right after posting that occurred to me as well. Might explain why other parts weren't found, like broken spur bits. I looked it up, and only found the pointy ones so I didn't mention it. I have seen that style before, but only on toy spurs. ?