Which Machine For Dry Ground?

[BushWhacker]

Since we haven't had a decent rain here in over a month the ground has gotten really dry. When it rains this place is a swamp. Where I could once hit bullets at 10 inches and sometimes 12 inches I can barely get a squeak out of the machine at 6 inches. Part of the field has been plowed under and part of it has not been touched. I do better in the places that have not been touched by the plow but not by much. It's bad dry here and I don't see it getting any better in the weeks to come.
Knowing that this will happen in the future I am looking for a machine that will fit my needs. So what machine do really well in dry ground? What about freshly plowed dry ground?

 

[Patriot1776]

The AT-Pro

Since we haven't had a decent rain here in over a month the ground has gotten really dry. When it rains this place is a swamp. Where I could once hit bullets at 10 inches and sometimes 12 inches I can barely get a squeak out of the machine at 6 inches. Part of the field has been plowed under and part of it has not been touched. I do better in the places that have not been touched by the plow but not by much. It's bad dry here and I don't see it getting any better in the weeks to come.
Knowing that this will happen in the future I am looking for a machine that will fit my needs. So what machine do really well in dry ground? What about freshly plowed dry ground?

I recommend the AT-Pro
call me if you have any questions

 

[BushWhacker]

I recommend the AT-Pro
call me if you have any questions

I have the AT Pro and it didn't fair well. The X-terra 705 actually beat it in this dry ground and most of the other time too. But when it's dry like this the X-terra will not get much past 6 inches on most targets.
Any other really good dry ground/plowed field machines?

 

[Pennypacker]

I have heard the Deus is good in loose soil, how that relates to dry ground I don't know.

Check it out.

 

[Longhair]

I have the AT Pro and it didn't fair well. The X-terra 705 actually beat it in this dry ground and most of the other time too. But when it's dry like this the X-terra will not get much past 6 inches on most targets.
Any other really good dry ground/plowed field machines?

In Prospecting Mode the Xterra 705 will do better than C/T Mode in baked dry conditions.

 

[ScubaDetective]

If the ground is that dry, will you be digging in grass? You will kill it and leave brown circles if so.

Water conducts electricity and a machine will go deeper in moist or wet ground. Maybe you just need to wait till after a rain or two?

I know not the best answer. I also know I have no idea where you are hunting. Is there a metal detecting club near you?

 

[Captain Silver]

Those summers when I ran the F75 LTD and the Omega, I had trouble getting more than 4-5 inches of depth on a silver when the ground was fart dust dry. Single frequency machines suffer in those conditions...but a multi frequency machine will punch deeper. This summer I'm running a Sovereign, and in May and the beginning of June when there was like no rain at all...I was still able to find silvers and even a couple musketballs at 8-9" with good tones and id's on the meter. A Sovereign in good shape can be had for about $400-$600 depending on which model it is and what comes with, but any Sovereign model would work...

 

[itsaring!]

Tried piles of detectors. None work well in dry ground. In Florida if it rains you got a couple days then its dry again. This drought we are in you won't see me inland at all this year. That's for the rainy weather. They all suffer unless you maybe try a PI?

 

[BushWhacker]

Thanks for the replies!

I will have to try the prospecting mode. I never have utilized it much since I have to go so slow with it and have a ton of ground to cover.

No grass to kill in this field since it is all farm ground. Some has been plowed months ago and had a few small rains on it but hard pack dried ground now. Some of it is freshly plowed ground that is dry but hasn't had a rain on it. I do better in the hard pack but not by much and the digging is terrible. Yeah I have thought about waiting until the rain but by that time the weeds will have probably taken over and I will not be able to hunt it again for a long time to come. No detecting club nearby.

I will have to look into the Sovereign.

I kinda want a PI but still not sure as of yet because it would only be used in one particular place.

 

[BushWhacker]

In Prospecting Mode the Xterra 705 will do better than C/T Mode in baked dry conditions.

I touched on this a bit in my last reply but I don't think I am using this function right and would actually like to learn more about it. I have always run in C/T mode and sometimes when I find a target switch over to Prospect mode and it seems like I have to slow down much more when I go back over the target. But after my last reply I took my 705 outside and tested it on a couple of targets running through like I would if I was hunting in C/T mode and the response time seemed fine. So maybe I am using Prospect mode wrong? I also don't care for the constant hum of the machine in this mode. If there was a way to make it silent or less audible then it may be more pleasing to run. I have Randy Horton's book but it tells very little about this mode. I would really like to learn to utilize it more if you care to share. Thanks!

 

[Jamflicker]

I have been finding stuff in our bone dry ground trashy parks here in Southern California with my Etrac at 8-10 inches. I think it's multi frequencies helps it go deeper in dry ground as well as wet.

 

[Pennypacker]

I touched on this a bit in my last reply but I don't think I am using this function right and would actually like to learn more about it. I have always run in C/T mode and sometimes when I find a target switch over to Prospect mode and it seems like I have to slow down much more when I go back over the target. But after my last reply I took my 705 outside and tested it on a couple of targets running through like I would if I was hunting in C/T mode and the response time seemed fine. So maybe I am using Prospect mode wrong? I also don't care for the constant hum of the machine in this mode. If there was a way to make it silent or less audible then it may be more pleasing to run. I have Randy Horton's book but it tells very little about this mode. I would really like to learn to utilize it more if you care to share. Thanks!

I didn't have the 705,(505 without prospect) but I'm assuming you need to turn down the threshold to mosquito levels while using that mode.

Cheers.

 

[BushWhacker]

I didn't have the 705,(505 without prospect) but I'm assuming you need to turn down the threshold to mosquito levels while using that mode.

Cheers.

I have tried all of the threshold levels but it's still noisy when I swing. Maybe it's something I have to live with when using this mode?

 

[MD-Mainiac]

got a long water hose?

 

[Longhair]

The audio is something that takes some getting used to, but it's not that tough. It's typical of VCO audio.
For hunting around here (not prospecting) I generally turn my Iron Mask up to 20 (the max) and go. Of course you still need to NC and GB in that mode, but it's pretty close to turn-on-and-go. When the audio drops out, you're over a discriminated piece of iron, and when it squeals you've swept over a non-ferrous object. Pretty simple.
It's something that I started playing with because of dry conditions, and the first target out of the ground was a 13" Buffie (hit with a 15" 3kHz coil) that didn't make a squeak in C/T Mode. That sold me on Prospector Mode for hunting in those conditions. It's worth learning, if for no other reason than being able to take full advantage of what you paid for when you bought a 705.

 

[BushWhacker]

Thanks for the reply! I played some more with it in the yard and found a prospecting tone I could live with if I have to listen to it all of the time. So what threshold do you run it at or just leave it on the preset? Thanks!

 

[Longhair]

I never leave anything "preset". Threshold level depends on ambient noise. It has to be sufficiently audible to hear when it drops out, which will also vary with whatever headphones employed. With my phones and my hearing I usually have it set around 4 in a reasonably quiet environment.

 

[BushWhacker]

I guess the thing about the threshold in Prospecting Mode is the constant noise. No matter if I go up or down on the threshold to me it never changes because of the constant noise. In C/T mode I can hear the threshold change because there is no constant noise. It's this way on both the Xterra 70 and the 705. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

 

[Longhair]

Okay, to be clear, the threshold adjustment in Prospector Mode only adjusts pitch. Ambient noise can have an effect of making different pitches more or less audible, which can be more or less of an issue depending on whether or not you have some degree of hearing loss.

 

[metaladdict]

Minelab E trac /safari/explorer,Deus,Pulse induction.