CoinShooter

Steve, All that snow and cold water. I don't see you how you worked the dredge. Didn't your fingers and toes go numb? 🙂 I'm currently in Sterling, AK and looking out the window everyday to see when I'll be able to get outside and put my Manticore to use. Will be leaving in a few weeks and driving back to the lower 48 for a while. I am looking forward to a little dirt fishin' in the sun. P.S. I do run a sluice box in some of the local streams around here. Still looking for those big gold nuggets though. John

Thanks Phrunt for the heads up on the "why's" for the headphone update. It's tech guys like you that keep people like me in the "know." 🙂 John

TampaBayBrad, Yeah, that's why I put the side note about updating the firmware on the headphones. Most overlook that part of the process. One would assume that if you update the Manticore, the headphones would need updated too. I can't say for sure though. John

Hello, This past Monday, I sent an email to Minelab customer service stating that my Manticore ML 105 headphones weren't functioning. The headphones wouldn't turn on, nor would they take a charge. Within a couple of hours, I had a response from them. This was only six days ago and I already have my NEW headphones paired up with my Manticore. Keep in mind, I am currently on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and EVERYTHING takes longer to get to my location by mail. I am totally impressed by Minelab's customer service! On a side note, make sure you check for the latest version of software on your headphones as well as the Manticore. My headphones needed to be updated, however it only took about two minutes. John

Dang Steve, You nailed it! Great job 🙂 Finding a silver half-dollar in the ground is hard to come by these days. John

Jeff, Great job! You are killing it for sure 🙂 Like you, I think the Manticore is an awesome machine. John

Hello, Below is an excellent coin program that I found on YouTube from Metal Detecting NWGA. I LOVE this program and use it when looking for coins. This program also sniffs out old nickels like no other program I have ever used. If you watch the video you can turn this into step-by-step instructions 🙂 Hope this helps! John Manticore Silver Shooter Program By Metal Detecting NWGA (on YouTube). January 2023 (7:14 minutes) Settings: All-Terrain High Conductors. Recovery Speed set at 3. Lower speed for less trash and higher speed for more trash in ground or too much iron. *Leave open: 22-28; 55-56; 70 on up. *Discrimination Pattern. Notch out: 0-21; 29-48; 49-54; and 57-69. Ferrous Limits. Edit from Custom One. Top gray at 10. For lower gray go to Custom 1 and override. The first segment of gray put at -13 and the rest at -21. Audio Theme. Depth. Min pitch at 10. Max pitch at 65. Multi IQ. Sensitivity. Run the hottest you can and back down in increments.

Great finds! How did the 10K toe ring sound for you? Thanks, John

Hello Blackflag, Great finds! Thanks for sharing your pictures with the rest of us. Looks like the M8 coil is working the way we expect it too 🙂 John

Hey thanks for the response. If you found some neat stuff visually, hopefully I'll find some good finds detecting. Finally getting into the 30's here this week. I'm so ready! John

Hey all, I know some of you like reading my stories about the Manticore. The newly released issue of American Digger Magazine (March - April 2024) has a new column called, American Digger on the Road. Since I'm always on the road, the owner, Butch Holcombe, thought I'd fit right in. I have an story called, Dirt Fishin' in West Virginia. I used my Manticore for this story and found some pretty interesting finds. You can find the column on page number 67. Lastly, in the fall of 2023, I attended Ka-Do-Ha's Treasure Fest, in Arkansas, and wrote about the event. If you've never attended a seeded hunt, they are a lot of fun because you get to interact with so many other like-minded dectorists. The added benefit is that you get to put your hands on new equipment, meet many popular YouTubers, and of course, find treasure. This story is on page number 43. Even though I used the Manticore at the Treasure Fest, I manly focused on the event for this story. Hope you all are finding a lot of treasures this week. I'm STILL looking at over three-feet of snow on the Kenai Peninsula. I'm getting so desperate, I'm going to start detecting snow banks pretty soon if the weather doesn't improve. Have any of you ever done that? Surely all those gloves being taken off to retrieve car keys has to leave a ring or two on the ground. And just maybe, a snow plow pushed the ring to the side of the parking lot. Desperate times people! LOL Best, John

Tom, I absolutely love the Manticore. I have found a lot of things with it. If you enjoy finding old coins, then you'll love the machine. The Manticore sniffs out silver consistently. It's also great in saltwater too. If you get really bored, I wrote a story called, The Mythical Beast and the Harvest. You can read the story on www.freelandsadventures.com. You'll find the story in my blog page. There's also a story that I wrote called, Rises Above the Competition that you may find useful too. Both are Manticore stories. I took a picture the other day from my top deck. If it wasn't for all of this snow, I'd be out detecting now. Waiting patiently for the thaw here on the Kenai Peninsula. At least the moose is enjoying my freshly plowed driveway. I'm just glad he didn't kick my truck. LOL John

Hey that's a great tip. I'll have to give it a try next time I get my detector ouit. Thanks!

Hey, I thought I was the only one that found those. It was a pleasure digging those pull tabs my last few years in Pensacola. We had a club member that always brought a five gallon bucket to the club meetings and everyone knew to throw their tabs in his bucket. He would give the tabs to the Ronald McDonald house and each pull tab equated to a minute on a kidney dialysis machine for those less fortunate. After that, nobody complained! John

Thank you Brad, I appreciate the upbeat feedback. I truly don't work for Minelab, but I've been a fan of their detectors for years. Once I figured out all the the flute sounding noises, it was easier for me to pluck our silver coins. I do admit, those tones were a challenge until I got used to them. Best, John If I winter in Florida next winter, I'll be sure to look you up sowe can go detecting. I MISS the Gulf waters!!!

Great finds. Glad to see the M8 coil is what I had hoped it to be. Can't wait till this three feet of snow here in Alaska thaws so I can use mine 🙂 John

Thank you 🙂

When flying with my Manticore detector. I always detach the CPU and battery and put it in my carry-on baggage. (I wrap both with bubble wrap to protect it too.) TSA requires Lithium Ion batteries to be taken on board because cabins are pressurized whereas the luggage area is not. Additionally, the flight crew is trained to put out fires in cabins where the belly may go undetected. It's really quite simple to tear down, just be sure to put the tool in your luggage so you can reassemble and have fun on the beach when you arrive. In my suitcase that goes in the belly, I use my clothes as cushion to protect the shafts, coil, headphones, etc. I do this all of the time and have never had an issue, nor questioned. I used the 11-inch stock coil on this trip. Although I do have both the 15-inch coil and the M8 coil, I wanted to keep it simple. If I was going to Arizona, I'd be looking for meteorites. (UPDATE: I just reread your post. I thought your text was the Grand Canyon and that's why I posted about the meteorites in Arizona.) I see where you wrote Grand Cayman. LOL Please let us know how you did in the desert! John

I try to have an equal balance. I'll probably get blasted for this response, but Pensacola, Florida has much prettier beaches. Before arriving to Alaska, we were there for nearly four years. Thinking of wintering next year near Tampa. If so, I'll be sure to look you up for some fun beach detecting 🙂

No sir, no face mask or snorkel. I hunt from the shore to chest deep and do my best at waist deep.

Hello - I was there for almost two weeks. We did do a lot of sight seeing but I managed to get several hours of detecting in too 🙂

Hello all, Just got back from vacation from Hawaii and STILL looking at the same three feet of snow in Alaska. I am glad I took my Manticore to Waikiki Beach because the conditions were favorable in the water. I was fortunate enough to find a place where the wind shifted the sand off the coral. This helped me produce, nine rings (two are 14K gold) (one is a really nice opal with diamonds around it), 12 Wheat cents mainly from the 40s, and a ton of modern coinage. I am impressed how the Manticore handles in the salt water. To me, it handles better than the Nox 800. Also, my Excal II wouldn't have picked up the necklace but the Manticore produced a nice tone. Attached are a few pictures. Thanks, John

Hey all, I started a blog a couple of months ago. Since my wife and I travel all the time, I thought it best to start writing stories for family and friends. If you want to read a couple of stories on the Manticore, check out our website. It is, www.freelandsadventures.com. If you go to our blog page, scroll down and you'll find two stories. One is called, The Mythical Beast and the Harvest and the newest story is Rises Above the Competition. It's winter, so now's a great time for some reading material with pictures. Let me know what you think. Personally, I really like the Manticore. Once you figure it out, it is an awesome machine. Thanks, John

Hey congrats, Sitting at my desk and looking out my window at three feet of snow right now with temps around 0 degrees here on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Salivating for next week to get here. I'm heading to Waikiki Beach for two weeks in search of what you just found 🙂 Good find! John

What a neat story. For sure, there's a lot of history around here. Unfortunately many of it isn't documented, only memories that have been passed down like what you shared with us. Right now, I'd love to be able to detect on the banks of a stream looking for some quartz filled gold. However, everything is frozen. LOL Waiting for springtime to arrive. Thanks for the cool story about your father. John