Thank You Minelab For The Manticore

[Jeff McClendon]

I was less than neutral about Minelab's Manticore when it was introduced. I wasn't negative about it but I certainly did not celebrate its release or the fanfare that went with it. I waited for almost a year before buying one. Thanks Gerry/Gerry's Detectors for making my Manticore purchase happen!!!

I only started using it full time for coin and jewelry hunting around the last week of January 2024 when it warmed up enough here to melt most of the snow. We have had small amounts of snow and cool temperatures since with no hard freezes so hunting for deeper targets in moist soil conditions has been ideal and still is now after the 14" of snow melted from a recent blizzard.

So my Manticore has been doing great (so did my Deus 2 with 13X11" coil during September and October of 2023) as far as detecting these deeper, challenging targets shown in the photo by giving me enough information to choose to recover them. Sure, I am digging some rusted nails too but my US wheat penny count for the last two months is 128 and I haven't dug anywhere close to 128 rusted nails. 

All of these silver, gold and copper target finds have been in public parks. All targets were at least 6" to 12" deep and there were no easy, totally isolated, no brainer finds. All were in high iron mineralized dirt that by itself would mask these targets using single frequency VLF detectors and these parks have plenty of trash to deal with and listen to. Plus, I have hunted these same parks extensively with the Equinox 800 and I did not find those 128 wheat pennies or the targets in the photo. With the Equinox 800, I would average 1 or 2 wheats a week, a silver ring or jewelry find once a week and a silver coin and gold jewelry find once a month at these same parks.

I am using All Terrain General with the All Metal discrimination pattern and the ATG Preset default upper and lower ferrous limits unchanged, Normal audio theme, 5 tones with tone volumes, tone pitches and tone breaks adjusted for my preferred targets, recovery speed 4 or 5, and sensitivity between 22 and 24 with the stock 11" coil.

Basically, I had no idea that this much silver was still left in these parks and I have only hunted 22 times during the last 2 months in parks that are old enough to have these types of targets.

Thanks Minelab for the Manticore!!!

 

[Rattlehead]

That's an impressive two month haul Jeff. Looks like you're getting along with the Manticore very well.

[D&P-OR]

Jeff-----You mentioned that you used & did well with the Deus 2 with 11X13" coil in Sept. & Oct. 2023.------Do you feel that the Manticore with the 11" coil did better or the same as the D2 with 11X13" coil in this hunt situation?-----Putting it another way---do you feel you could have found these same targets with the Deus 2 with 11" or 11X13" coils?-------Thanks-------Del

[GB_Amateur]

Excellent report, Jeff.  Gives other Manticore owners (myself included) a lot of hope/confidence.  But more than just the detector and the sites I've got to think that the detectorist has a big part in this.  I have yet to find such masked targets as you are getting and I have hunted some parks with it that likely have a lot in common with yours (other than high mineralization which makes some of yours even tougher).

Thanks for posting your settings.  I'm confused with what "iron bias 0" means for the Manticore, though.

 

[Jeff McClendon]

10 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I'm confused with what "iron bias 0" means for the Manticore, though.

I'm confused as to why I wrote that too. I will edit my post.

I was hunting in All Terrain General with the All Metal discrimination pattern and the ATG Preset default upper and lower ferrous limits unchanged.

I have tried All Terrain High Conductor on some of these deeper high conductor targets. The results were not as good with far less "lock on" as far as giving me enough high tone audio responses to make a dig/no dig decision. I had ATHC setup with the same tones, tone pitches, tone volumes and tone breaks as ATG.

I have the same "issue" with Deep HC on Deus 2. Basing my deep coin programs on the Sensitive program has just been better for the soil conditions here.

[Jeff McClendon]

7 hours ago, D&P-OR said:

Jeff-----You mentioned that you used & did well with the Deus 2 with 11X13" coil in Sept. & Oct. 2023.------Do you feel that the Manticore with the 11" coil did better or the same as the D2 with 11X13" coil in this hunt situation?-----Putting it another way---do you feel you could have found these same targets with the Deus 2 with 11" or 11X13" coils?-------Thanks-------Del

Hi Del,

I think so.

I have never used Deus 2's 11" coil however so I can't include it in that answer.

I had lots of success with the 13X11" and basically I can call the Manticore 11" coil and Deus 2 13X11" basically equal with Manticore at sensitivity 22 to 24 and Deus 2 sensitivity at 95 or so.

If everything hit the fan tomorrow and I had to pick between them for deep high conductor hunting in iron and aluminum trash, right now I would pick the Manticore with the 11" stock coil simply because it feels better on my arm than Deus 2 with the stock shaft swinging that 13X11" coil and the Manticore is easier to setup for water hunting (no setup really) and it is just better for gold prospecting even after XP's improvements for Deus 2's Goldfield program.

[Redneck]

I've been getting the manti with dialed in as well this year.   I am hunting an old park  where the coins are not super deep, but alot of trash.  I've concentrated on using the 5 x 8 coil, and like your parks, no easy signals. The coins are camouflaged with trash. In my test garden, I have been comparing the depth and audio signals.  I have bumped up recovery speed to 6, and depth  has not suffered, but 6 gives a better signal on the iffy targets than the 3 & 4 .  I have pulled out 5 wheats, one indian, one buffalo, 2 v nickels,  and a barber dime in a 30 foot radius.  All coins near iron trash, all targets at the bottom edge of coil detection.  I will then go back thru that area with the 11 coil at some point.   If the target ID turns up a coin number, while bouncing around, and the audio sounds somewhat good, I dig it.  Good results. I dig a bit more nails though,  its been worth it. 

[Skull diver]

@Jeff McClendon

I'm glad to read your impressions of the Manti, especially since you also own a D2.

I have not yet succumbed to the temptation to buy it, because after a year of intensive use of the D2, I was already dreading the difference in discrimination compared to a more precise Ctx despite its 11 years of age.

After deciding to sell the D2 and going back to using the old "sniper rifle," the numbers soared again, and I think there is an obvious reason behind this result.

I complained strongly on the D2 about too large an allocation of low conductors.

Could you confirm that most of the jewels fall in the first part of the scale up to a maximum of 60 points?

After viewing hundreds of trials in others' videos, it adds to my impression that the 2d panel is very reminiscent of the Fe/Co meter of the Ctx and that the target trace has been replaced by black traces anyway using a similar system.

Certainly this is not rocket science, but the selection of what I need to dig into and invest time or not depends solely on the quality of the signals, and although on the D2 this was done only via audio, an on-screen reference was sorely missed.

The recommended X/Y screen, is not even remotely effective in representing a valuable signal.

I simply cannot spend too much time digging up every possible signal.

Being underwater from fall to spring is just another kind of hunting and does not admit of wasting time playing with the air available.

I therefore find myself still using an old and ruined detector with better results.

What I can hope for, is that on the Manti I can find more depth and better allocation of low conductors once and for all.

[Jeff McClendon]

With my recent use of the Manticore I was concentrating on high conductor targets first, and then, low to mid conductor targets between target IDs 10 and 30 due to the high levels of aluminum trash in my area that has target IDs between 30 and 55. So far, all of the women’s jewelry that I have found and tested which is mostly smaller earrings, smaller chains with pendants, small engagement rings and small bands have all had target IDs between 10 and 30. Larger men’s rings will definitely be between 30 and 60 or so. Modern silver jewelry seems to start around 60 to 65. 

I owned a CTX for a while but only used it on land. It was similar to swinging a heavy double barreled shotgun! I imagine it would be a different story submerged.

The biggest improvements on the Manticore compared to the CTX for me are the much improved response on low/mid conductors, faster target separation, better unmasking in iron, better handling of mineralization, better ergonomics, better user interface, much easier to read screen and the audio enhancements. I do not like the expanded target ID system and the 8 hour max battery life. For you, the vibrating handle for a secondary underwater target alert and the onboard flashlight may be helpful too.

The 2D target trace will display multiple targets immediately and simultaneously which for me has been very helpful. CTX kind of did that but at a much slower rate. The Ferrous limits are somewhat similar to the CTX patterns but there are upper and lower ferrous with non ferrous in the middle.

As far as Deus 2, I really like mine but I don’t have to look at its screen under water. I have a hard enough time seeing it in daylight. I also dont’ like all the extra hassle of setting it up for hunting with it under water or having to charge up more than two things in order to hunt. Yes, the 25 to almost 85 low and mid conductor target ID range is a bit much.

If you want a less expensive option with a good screen, only 50 total non ferrous target IDs and solid underwater performance, the Legend is also a possibility. I have two of them and they are fantastic. Is the Legend as fast as a Deus 2 and equal to it in iron trash and depth……No. The Legend is also not as deep as the Manticore. However, for the money the Legend is still a great bargain and it won’t miss much.

[Skull diver]

@Jeff McClendon

Having operated extensively with Cz21, Excalibur, HeadHunter, Tdi Bh, Ctx, and D2, even today I still do not believe that there is one tool that encompasses everything a dive hunter needs.
I could certainly list the merits of each, but the recent trend of these "hybrid", multi-purpose machines moves away from my concept of a single, dedicated tool.
The Excalibur continues to get top marks for the maximum depth to which it can be taken in the water.... But stability in salt water is paid for with poor sensitivity to broken and thin jewels.
Wonderful audio discrimination on gold.... Unmistakable.
I would like a 9" concentric coil on all of them.... I love the crisp response of HeadHunter audio.... But 8" in this case with a single 2.4kHz frequency is outdated stuff...
The beloved deep yellow Tdi... Oh my...it flooded too soon to leave it dry or die.
The 3030 heavy sniper rifle continues to work wonders...but those 3-meter waterproofs are a scam...It lacks audio volume for God's sake...
Aside from a wedding band right out of the box, of the Cz21 I remember the half hour of mechanics applied to changing batteries and borrowing 4 duracells of the likely 9 or 18V for a handful of Ah.
Regarding the D2, I retain the realization that I have to dig everything, just everything...Maybe out of the water please....
Now all these needs are pre/purchase filters....
And the pressing questions are:
Will I have powerful audio as on the Excalibur?
Will I really be able to go 15 feet without thinking about seeing water in the screen?
Will I have a low target Id for a low conductor up to 7 grams of 18K in spite of the thickness?
Will I have the pleasure of seeing a broken necklace again without its pendant?
Will I be able to avoid changing rods after a week?
The list could be lengthened...