SandShark OR Sea Hunter Mark II

joshpughnaples · May 10, 2013

Looking to buy a PI for water hunting down here in FL :grin:

My hunting buddies all have PI machines they hunt in the water and I hunt the sand well im going to join them I have 700 to spend been looking at the SS and the SH any advice one the 2 im looking at

Terry Soloman · May 10, 2013

I use the 8" Sand Shark and could not be happier with it. Good luck no matter what you decide!

CanSlaw · May 10, 2013

I hunt with a SH so I will give why I choose the machine over the other one. The SH has interchangeable coils, it comes with the 8 in coil, but for $97. more you can add a 10X14 coil that covers almost twice as much ground per swing. It is about as deep and sensitive to small targets as can be.

The headphones are interchangeable. If you want to upgrade the headphones the SH gives you that options. Not so with the other unit.

The pulse delay is adjustable on the SH but they call it discrimination (dumb) but it is adjustable, not so with the other model.

Garrett customer service is one of the best in the business. They even fully replaced a GTI 1500 for me and I was the second owner.

Mel Fishers dive team that discovered the richest ship wreak in US waters the Achoia worth over $400 million discovered it with Sea Hunters. Last summer while at Mel Fisher's museum I talked to one of the divers and asked what detectors they were using now....answer, the Sea Hunter. Here is a professional company that can afford any detectors they wanted and he was using a SH. That sold me and glad he said that, I had just bought mine.

However if you are going to be hunting Naples, get the Viper. :grin:

metaladdict · May 10, 2013

get a viper :shock:

dewcon · May 10, 2013

Terry i thought you sold that 8" SS? Ron Lord uses both of them down there.... either will do since they are PIs in your price range. I still prefer a VLF, but some feel like they are missing something by not having the few inches a PI may offer. Not nearly the depth advantage here in Fl as up North. Stuff gets pretty deep fast here so many of us prefer a VLF just to cover a lot of beach fast. Best of luck.... ive heard good things about the SH. Dont discount finding a used DF or Inf. in that same price range. The Finny you can change coils. Whites has some of the best customer service in the business.

Dew

Crumble · May 10, 2013

Definitely the Sea Hunter, for all the reasons Canslaw listed. But mostly because the Sand Shark is mediocre.

Hotrod Tom · May 10, 2013

I can't wait to check this thread out later.

robby4570 · May 10, 2013

I have the Surf PI Pro, a very old unit I grant but it still works, that I purchased for $175.00 used. Now, I got a KILLER deal from the guy who sold it to me but you should be able to find a used PI machine by any manufacturer in good shape for around $350 and up. If you can get into a used Excalibur though, I personally would go that route.

robby4570 · May 10, 2013

DITTO on that!

Hotrod Tom said:
I can't wait to check this thread out later.

itsaring! · May 10, 2013

If i was you i'd ask your buddies. If they are digging nothing but iron, skip a p.i. altogether. If you ask most guys here where i'm at which p.i. is best, they'd say "Magnum P.I." If you hunt a beach nicknamed iron beach you will do everyone a favor by clearing iron all day. Which ones are they using?

CanSlaw · May 11, 2013

itsaring! said:
If i was you i'd ask your buddies. If they are digging nothing but iron, skip a p.i. altogether. If you ask most guys here where i'm at which p.i. is best, they'd say "Magnum P.I." If you hunt a beach nicknamed iron beach you will do everyone a favor by clearing iron all day. Which ones are they using?

Naples beaches are SO heavily hunted even a PI is quite for a 1/2 an hour at a time. I use my SH there and sometimes think it is broken. It has and is hit hard with PI hunters.

Pull Tab Hunter · May 11, 2013

Josh, I'm making the same decision right now. The SS has a volume control but is hard wired. The SH has changeable coils and headphones but no volume control. Robb at Kellyco said to get a SS and other sponsors say the SS outsells the SH by a wide margin. The forum's other sponsors may offer a better price so check them out. The SS has 'VCO' and 'normal' modes. The SH has a 'discrimination control' but how the hell does discrimination work on a PI, anyway? I watched the SH discrimination test on Youtube and it looked like it will work somewhat. But it was demonstrated by the Garrett company, so who knows. I'm going with the 8" coil on either one for better control in the surf and pinpointing abilities. I'm still open to either machine.

Which is your favorite so far?

I saw a video of Ron Lord in Naples using an Infinium.

Wish I could buy a nice used Excal II or but it ain't gonna happen for $600.

As you know I'm in Naples also so maybe we can hunt soon!

jtindover · May 11, 2013

I love my PI! Its not a everyday detector or a every beach detector. However it performs great in the water. Yes it loves bobbie pins and iron which I rarely dig in the water. Now wet sand you start picking up the bobbie pins and iron frequently. Dry sand with a PI you are just cleaning the trash off the beach and will get frustrated.

SandShark OR Sea Hunter Mark II

joshpughnaples

Junior Member

Terry Soloman

Elite Member

CanSlaw

Elite Member

metaladdict

Elite Member

dewcon

Quality Control Expert

Crumble

Elite Member

Hotrod Tom

Elite Member

robby4570

Elite Member

robby4570

Elite Member

itsaring!

24K Larry

CanSlaw

Elite Member

Pull Tab Hunter

Full Member

jtindover

Full Member

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