First Real Beach Hunt With The Manticore - Impressed!

[Compass]

10 hours ago, strick said:

Deep mode in general or low conductor...swear I was pulling coins out almost as deep as my tdi pro...this was at Pismo last Summer. I was using both machines one one day and the other  the next...

In Santa Cruz last year after the storms I got into a big patch...couple other guys detecting far off were eyeballing for a long time then finally they had to come investigate...at that time nobody else really had a Manticore as there were few out...It is for sure a salt water beach machine in the least of things...

strick week with

I seem to recall reading some comments from you about the Manticore's capabilities in black sand(?) that were pretty encouraging. Since this was only my first real "beach" hunt with the detector, chances are that I still have a lot to learn before I get the optimum performance. Even though I've yet to find my first Manticore gold I felt that I was really close on this hunt and that it won't be long before I can make that claim.

[Compass]

9 hours ago, Tony said:

I'm very confident in saying the Manticore is as deep as my GP3500 in white beach sands. I'll put this to the test soon. The Manticore with 15"x12" DD v GP3500 with 14" DD coil is going to be very interesting indeed. The test will be my 18K wedding band buried in a length of PVC water pipe....probably in damp beach sand.

Tony, as you know I have been asking around about certain deep seeking detectors and learned about the GP3500 from you. I am surprised but impressed that you mentioned the Manticore giving the GP3500 a run for its money on depth. Looking forward to hearing the results of your testing.

[strick]

13 hours ago, Compass said:

I seem to recall reading some comments from you about the Manticore's capabilities in black sand(?) that were pretty encouraging. Since this was only my first real "beach" hunt with the detector, chances are that I still have a lot to learn before I get the optimum performance. Even though I've yet to find my first Manticore gold I felt that I was really close on this hunt and that it won't be long before I can make that claim.

Forgive me if I ramble some...I'm not a big salt water beach hunter due to work and distance to the nearest beaches which are about an hour and a half from me. I've maybe used it 10 times on salt beaches a bunch on fresh water beaches. For the  amounts of black sand I've ran into on the salt beaches I've mentioned above the machine does fine. I like to run it in tracking and will depress the tracking button once in a while while pumping the machine up and down and that will quiet it up if it gets too chattery...or if conditions permit run it in Auto GB and re balance every so often..I am paranoid about all my machines being ground balance as best they can be so I do a GB often with what ever I hunt with and where ever I hunt.

When I mention  the depth compared to my TDI pro there was no formal testing done just an observation  I made and these were different sized coils so I hesitate to mention it. It has been mentioned before on this forum that a good VLF will perform every bit as good as a PI on inert ground and the salt water beaches I've hunted have areas that have mixed areas of black sand....more in some places and less  in other places so again take what I say with a grain of salt. 

I have one beach (fresh water with lots of black sand) where the M-Core gives me fits but it is full of trash and you have to use a smaller coil which I do not yet have...when I get that coil I will do much better at that beach. Long story short your gonna love using it at the beach I'm confidant about that... ramble over lol

strick

[bklein]

 

I posted this video on another thread but this one seems more appropriate, we were talking of starting one on this topic. In this video the manticore failed on a nickel.  I tried several settings and had no added discrimination - only the stock iron settings in effect. The thing is that this was heavy black sand concentrate. I went back the next day and filled a 5 lb bucket with not as black sand from an area a few blocks up the beach, brought it home, put it in a plastic cement mix tray and the manticore did just fine - I could not duplicate the video. The AQ did exactly the same. I did not have my Manticore with me to test the second site sand before taking it. So yeah beat me up for not recording exact settings etc.  Thing is that the video is not edited, my first take, I did not know what to expect.  My friend came by and tested his manticore on an area maybe 15 feet away and had no issue. I don’t think there is a difference between his and my detector - I think it is a dependency on the ferrous content.  We both walked towards the water and started hitting targets and compared responses between us - same numbers/strengths.

We see black sand and yes, often there are good targets beneath it, but perhaps if the concentration is too high we miss them.  This is not just a Manticore thing. Seen video of it happening with an eq800. So I hope others do some experimenting MC vs PI in black sand.  Try my nickel test next time you run across sand like this. I screwed up my back carrying the damn bucket. I bought a bag of black ferrous material and may just mix it in with my sand to test. 

[Compass]

1 hour ago, bklein said:

 

I posted this video on another thread but this one seems more appropriate, we were talking of starting one on this topic. In this video the manticore failed on a nickel.  I tried several settings and had no added discrimination - only the stock iron settings in effect. The thing is that this was heavy black sand concentrate. I went back the next day and filled a 5 lb bucket with not as black sand from an area a few blocks up the beach, brought it home, put it in a plastic cement mix tray and the manticore did just fine - I could not duplicate the video. The AQ did exactly the same. I did not have my Manticore with me to test the second site sand before taking it. So yeah beat me up for not recording exact settings etc.  Thing is that the video is not edited, my first take, I did not know what to expect.  My friend came by and tested his manticore on an area maybe 15 feet away and had no issue. I don’t think there is a difference between his and my detector - I think it is a dependency on the ferrous content.  We both walked towards the water and started hitting targets and compared responses between us - same numbers/strengths.

We see black sand and yes, often there are good targets beneath it, but perhaps if the concentration is too high we miss them.  This is not just a Manticore thing. Seen video of it happening with an eq800. So I hope others do some experimenting MC vs PI in black sand.  Try my nickel test next time you run across sand like this. I screwed up my back carrying the damn bucket. I bought a bag of black ferrous material and may just mix it in with my sand to test. 

Thanks B, As encouraged as I am about my first beach hunt with the Manticore I have no doubt that it will struggle in heavier black sand concentrations. Last year I hunted in large patches of "solid" black sand that I'm sure that the Manticore would be pretty useless in. Even with my PI detectors I had to de-tune them considerably to work effectively. However, I'm seeing things that the Manticore can do that my pulse can't do besides the obvious TID feature. Unfortunately, no one detector can do it all - one reason why so many serious hunters have multiple machines.

[bklein]

I’m liking the Manticore but the lack of good targets is bumming me out. If there were some I could desensitize it to the junk and a much more fun day.  The real good sounding stuff are cans and rusty pipes 1.5 feet deep, surrounded by rocks. In the wet, too deep to get, again in rocks with sand that continues to cover the scoop hole just dug. I don’t seem to be able to locate targets as well as I can with the CTX, just need more time and better conditions - or just hunt the dry. Thus, this is the time to learn the machine and experiment.

[Tony]

10 hours ago, Compass said:

Tony, as you know I have been asking around about certain deep seeking detectors and learned about the GP3500 from you. I am surprised but impressed that you mentioned the Manticore giving the GP3500 a run for its money on depth. Looking forward to hearing the results of your testing.

Not officially tested yet.....but hope to soon. I also wanted to mention that some "black sands" aren't attracted to a magnet so don't present a problem to a VLF. I had one beach just like that and the Excalibur could be run at high sensitivity with no nulling. I took some of the black sand home and dried it out....spread it out and not a single grain was attracted to a small magnet....so no Magnetite in that sample.

[bklein]

Yea I did that too!

(Corona Del Mar)

[okara gold]

A few years ago, I was hunting in the water in the Adirondack Mt's in NY State. The area is known for having deposits of iron ore. This is a picture of the inside and outside of my scoop that I have a magnet attached to and is covered in black sand after just a few target digs. This was with the Nox 800. 

Before that, I was using the Excal and it struggled to pick up a nickel several inches deep along the shore. The shoreline was covered with black sand and literally shut down the Excal. That prompted me to buy my first PI and those areas were never a problem again.

[midalake]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:49 PM, okara gold said:

This is a picture of the inside and outside of my scoop that I have a magnet attached to and is covered in black sand after just a few target digs. This was with the Nox 800. 

Yup!!! Been there!