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I like to imagine scenarios, such as, what if we all only had one choice of detector and coil? And no settings to fiddle with? The world would be so different; everyone would be that much better at the research and technique aspects of the hobby, instead of spending energy on which machine is better. Forums would be mostly show-and-tell finds, research and technique tips, and attaboys. That's why I like this forum!

  • Like 5

40 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I agree obviously Bob, but on the other hand I can’t deny that if I had not followed the tech closely and always upgraded to the most powerful detector I could get, it would have cost me a lot of finds. The difference between where we are now and where we were 50 years ago is astounding. The hobby by its nature will always attract discussion as to what is best and why. And as a guy running a forum, I can’t say that’s anything but a good thing. :smile:

What cost me a lot of great finds were real estate agents! 🙂 Gone are the magnificent picnic groves of long ago to mansions in the woods. I also agree with you. My simple little SMF Garrett is quite an achievement over my 1977 Deepseeker, both ergonomically and technically! What I was meaning was being progressively "one" with each detector upgraded to over many  years... Not the very first one! 🙂 As a guy running a forum, you've done a fabulous job!

  • Like 6
15 hours ago, 1491 said:

The world would be so different; everyone would be that much better at the research and technique aspects of the hobby, instead of spending energy on which machine is better.

Which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing.  I selfishly would rather have people fretting and arguing over what is the best detector, making endless videos in their back yards of 3D nail target scenarios, and playing in their test gardens all day.  Because I am then not competing with those people on the beach or in parks.  :rolleyes:

As a member and moderator here, my main objective is not to endlessly debate what's the best but really to demystify the tech for people and quash myths and misperceptions. 

I honestly can't stand to watch MD videos as they are generally boring, often filled with embellishment, over-generalizations expressed as absolute truths, and outright misinformation and, frankly, they remind me that if I'm watching them, that means I am not out detecting myself.  This is because because the content creators are, with a few notable exceptions, primarily motivated by views and monetization rather than furthering detector knowledge and promoting the hobby.  The drama and hack information on detecting-themed social media pages is a travesty.

It doesn't take me long to determine whether the next new shiny object with a coil on it is: 1) worth my time trying out and if it makes it into my hands 2) I know after only a few hunts whether it will be a keeper.  I won't be proficient with it, but I'll know if it has potential to stick around in my arsenal for awhile.  Since Equinox, the search for the best detector is really the search for the most versatile detector.  Versatility enables me to thin the herd of "specialist" niche detectors.  I have gravitated to D2 and Manticore at this stage and retain the Garrett Axiom as my sole hot dirt PI detector.  I think just about any detectorist can be successful with any of the detectors like the ML Nox & Nokta Legend and their value-priced siblings   The maximum value sweet spot probably lies with the Nokta Score and ML Xterra series.  I think, with a little time and tweaking, Garrett Vortex will eventually find it's way into this conversation.  And speaking of high end value, there is something to be said for the XP WS6 Master as a very powerful Deus 2 Lite alternative with perhaps 95% of the features of the D2 at about 65% the cost.

So let the masses endlessly waste time debating detectors.  I'm here to get out to detect.  And I agree with @Bob S. that the greatest impediment to great detecting is not the mythical do-it-all-well machine but the shrinking landscape of places to detect whether it is disappearing public lands or the increasing tendency of landowners to not want to interact with people they don't know.  Put another way, you are better off getting a decent, reputable value detector, learning it well, and focusing your time and energy into researching and networking to get leads on new site permissions to actually detect.

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I have had the Manticore and D2 at the same time, testing them.  I'm in the minority here for sure but I wasn't impressed with either unit in MY mineralized soil. Specifically, civil war relic hunting.  We were marking relatively mid depth bullets and then trying to dial in the D2 and Manticore on them.  The problem was...most of them were simply not obtainable as a signal at all.  Meaning if you didn't know something was there before hand, you'd never know it.  And some of them were just 8 to 11 inch depth bullets.  The ole T2 with 11 round coil (SuperFly) would give an iron/zinc tab jumpy signal in disc mode and really light them up in motion all metal.  You could always tell from just the size/sound in all metal that it was gonna be something good.  

  • Like 2
5 hours ago, Daniel Tn said:

I have had the Manticore and D2 at the same time, testing them.  I'm in the minority here for sure but I wasn't impressed with either unit in MY mineralized soil. Specifically, civil war relic hunting.  We were marking relatively mid depth bullets and then trying to dial in the D2 and Manticore on them.  The problem was...most of them were simply not obtainable as a signal at all.  Meaning if you didn't know something was there before hand, you'd never know it.  And some of them were just 8 to 11 inch depth bullets.  The ole T2 with 11 round coil (SuperFly) would give an iron/zinc tab jumpy signal in disc mode and really light them up in motion all metal.  You could always tell from just the size/sound in all metal that it was gonna be something good.  

Daniel - maybe I didn't give it much of a chance when I owned one, but did you find that your minie ball setup for the T2 also gave you good button response at depth in your hot soil?  That's what pushed me towards the Deus 1 and ultimately the Tarsacci before Axiom came along.  Regardless of how much I tweaked my pre-multifrequency VLFs to hit specific targets at depth in hot soil, I could not make any of them hit both lead and brass consistently.  It was one or the other.  Tarsacci got closest, Manticore and D2 about the same but really deep bullets disappeared.

Bullets and buttons in hot soil are not an issue for Axiom (or the GPX) and Axiom doesn't come with the ergonomic baggage of the GPX.  Once I determined that I definitely still needed a PI as an essential machine in my relic hunting arsenal despite T2, Tarsacci, Manticore, and D2, then my niche vlf detectors, like Tarsacci etc disappeared.

Yes, it's an expensive and heavy substitute for the T2, F75, MXT all of which I used to varying degrees of success in Culpeper hot soil (less so compared to Tarsacci).  But Axiom fits my requirement for being less of a niche detector than say the T2 or the Tarsacci which was the best non-PI detector for minie balls I ever swung in hot relic fields.

 

Chase, 

My first DIV was at Coles Hill with the T2.  I only hunted 2.5 days and left at the BBQ.  I found 118 dropped and carved bullets, and 33 eagle buttons and backs, several j hooks and knapsack triangles, US bit bosses, and a breastplate.  My next one was at Brandy Rock when the pulse machines really started to take off and did about the same.  But by the next hunt, I too had a TDI and then a GPX.  Pulse machines reign supreme but the T2 or F75 with an 11" round coil (like the Manticore) ain't a slouch.  I don't hunt enough these days to justify having a pulse machine.  The T2 does great for when I get the itch to go.  No...I ain't gonna dig any 15" bullets and relics like I could with the GPX and 15" Spiral coil but anything within a foot that I get my coil over, is going in the pouch.  

  • Like 4

A bit off the main OP subject but after reading @Geotech revised ITMD3, I am beginning to understand that "mineralization" is not one size fits all.  We tend to concentrate on Magnetite (Fe3O4) like Black Sand since it is what the various Mineralization meters of detectors displays. This is certainly applicable to many users hunting Gold nuggets or beaches with Black Sand.

But many other users, @Chase Goldman @Daniel Tn hunt in a different mineralization, Maghemite (Fe2O3). This is the devil in Red Dirt soil, and it is different, and so is the way that a detector behaves/responds to deeper targets. Not many units can even begin to address this situation past 6 inches on coin size targets. This has been my focus on my relic sites.

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1 hour ago, Daniel Tn said:

Chase, 

My first DIV was at Coles Hill with the T2.  I only hunted 2.5 days and left at the BBQ.  I found 118 dropped and carved bullets, and 33 eagle buttons and backs, several j hooks and knapsack triangles, US bit bosses, and a breastplate.  My next one was at Brandy Rock when the pulse machines really started to take off and did about the same.  But by the next hunt, I too had a TDI and then a GPX.  Pulse machines reign supreme but the T2 or F75 with an 11" round coil (like the Manticore) ain't a slouch.  I don't hunt enough these days to justify having a pulse machine.  The T2 does great for when I get the itch to go.  No...I ain't gonna dig any 15" bullets and relics like I could with the GPX and 15" Spiral coil but anything within a foot that I get my coil over, is going in the pouch.  

Daniel

Thanks. That makes sense.

Those Brandy Station glory days are long gone after repeated poundings by DIV and others.  Brandy Rock is in Civil War Trust and now off limits.  On the other sites, you have to get lucky and happen into a hot spot patch that has somehow gotten overlooked or was perpetually covered by crops during previous DIVs and was just harvested.  I found a button patch a few years back in a bean field that was freshly harvested.  Or rummage through the aluminum beer can junk on the side of the road under power lines where the GPX's are useless with your VLF and get lucky like I did with an Eagle breast plate, recently.

I detect mostly Colonial sites now in mostly sandy/clay, so a PI is also less of a necessity than a luxury but with that and the D2 and/or Manticore, I figure I have all my relic bases covered regardless of the soil conditions as I still make it to the Culpeper area for DIV or to work a couple non-DIV sites. 

I make no claim that the Manticore/D2 can out perform a PI and I agree that some classic VLFs can run hotter on specific relic targets than those two detectors but owning the PI means I don't need to fill the D2/Manticore gap with a T2, MXT, or Tarsacci. 

I totally understand how the T2 is the best machine for you in your situation vs. overspending on a PI or high end multiF VLF that provides capability that exceeds your specifuc needs. 

So to loop it back to the OP's original question, when faced with determining what of a few relatively equal performing detectors should be held on to, this discussion really illustrates that the answer can vary greatly and has less to do with the relative detector capabilities and more to do with detecting objectives and site conditions.  That's why it's hard to put the question like that out there and expect a definitive answer.  But it can help you think of things you might not have considered whenbtrying to make your decision.

Happy hunting out there.

  • Like 3

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