Another vague post that leaves too many unanswered questions.
Texashunter36: said:
So I’ve been at this hobby for over a year now and I’d say I’m pretty comfortable with my Garrett AT Pro, ...
Hummm? What's your definition of "pretty comfortable" with the AT Pro? A year isn't all that much time to really learn a detector unless you spend a lot of time afield and work to learn and master all the strengths and weaknesses of a detector.
Left out of your post is which search mode and settings you used; which search coil/s you mainly use; and what types of sites you were hunting and ground mineral information, etc.
Texashunter36: said:
... my Uncle who I hunt with has been at it for around 3 years and uses a Max. He’s got a deus but so far he’s not that big of a fan of it, mostly cause he saying it’s not as easy to pinpoint coins.
So your Uncle has been at this about three times as long as you so one might guess he has more experience and has learned more or understands more, and he's using an upscale AT series model. Did you ask your Uncle for any help solving the problems or questions you have?
If he pinpoints easier with the AT than the Deus, why would that be? Pinpoint mode function? The search coil size or type used?
Texashunter36: said:
Anyways, my point being is we’ve both been 99% Garrett guys so there’s not much difference in our hunting between us. We just did a 400 mild circle this weekend and hit some primo looking stuff. At 18 Wheats, 1 Indian, and 1 Rosie I just can’t help but think we’re missing coins.
In mid-January not a lot of folks here in the USA can make a 400 mile drive and find coins due to the wintry environment, so: Where, in general, do you live and what area, in general, did your make your trip through?
What types of places were you hunting on your 400 mile journey, and you traveled that distance and put in ample detecting in only a weekend? It might seem like you found some good potential sites to hunt but perhaps didn't put in enough detecting time ... OR ... you were searching at too fast a pace or sweep speed to efficiently cover the locations?
Does 18 Wheat's, 1 Indian head and 1 silver Roosevelt represent what you found or was that your combined total? What was the recovery tally of modern coinage on that trip? What types of places were you coming across that surrendered that production? I know many people who would like to find that many older dated keepers on a weekend.
Texashunter36: said:
I feel limited by my Garrett.
In what way/s do you feel limited? Specifics can be helpful. I've enjoyed this sport for a long time and used to have a Garret model or two in my Regular-Use Outfit and even was a Garrett Dealer from '77 through most of '81 when they had more competitive models. I've used the AT Pro and evaluated it when it first came out, and I've also borrowed an AT Gold and AT Max just to get a feel of what they can and can't do for me and the types of hunting I most enjoy. Obviously they work and can find coins, and some people enjoy them. For me, well, I'm not a fan of the AT series.
Texashunter36: said:
I get a lot of ground interference in mineral rich soils so I often wonder if that’s masking coins.
Can you describe where you hunted and what you feel constitutes
"ground interference" or what were
"mineral rich soils?"
Did you Ground Balance? What search coils were you using? Did you have a proper coil height from the ground to help eliminate interference? Try reducing the Sensitivity or ??? to try and counter the problem? Are you sure it wasn't EMI from hunting too close to the AT Max or some other EMI source?
Texashunter36: said:
I also don’t feel like I get much depth. With that being said is there a machine that’s way more suited for coins than the Garrett?
Uh Oh! We're back to that 'depth' topic already.
So, you mentioned finding 20 older-dated coins and I'll ask: How deep were those 20 coins and in what type of site environment?
How 'deep' do you expect older coins to be, and in what types of ground conditions?
I started out 'Coin Hunting' and continue to enjoy it, but the bulk of my hunting time since '83 I devote to working older, long out-of-use places as well as Relic Hunting ghost towns and similar locations where I have better chances of finding older coins, Trade Tokens and other smaller artifacts of interest.
In my 54 years of detecting I have recovered a countless number of coins. In the early decade I could find 60+ thousand coins a year, unless I wasn't working overtime or a part-time second job, then my annual coin take was upward to 120K a year. A good percentage of those coins were silver or early mintages.
But those were the 'glory years' in this great sport, from '65 through about '75 where there were abundant lost coins to be found and it was first-come / first-served. Coin numbers stayed very good from the mid to latter '70s on through the '80s, and by then all of the commonly worked public areas were starting to get thinned out and we don't see a generous contribution of lost coins these days because those once active locations just aren't being used much anymore.
One thing I have learned is that while there can be locations where time and natural activity has resulted in some coins being located a bit deeper, and in over five decades I have found deep coins, but the bulk of the coinage that has been lost isn't all that deep. The bulk, by far, are located in the surface to 4" depth range, and a 'deeper' coin might be anywhere from over 4" to perhaps 7" or so.
Texashunter36: said:
I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about the relics...I’m after coins so I’d be happy with something more suited to that. I’ve been thinking Equinox?
'Relics' is a definition and some sites have a greater number on non-coin targets that some Relic Hunters are in search of, especially in battlefield type environments.
Other 'Relic Hunting' involves searching older sites that might have a nice old artifact here and there, but searchers are often more interested in older coins, trade tokens and anything that signals a hit to such a potential find. Hunting old ghost towns, homesteads, stage stops or railroad depot sites, pioneer or military encampment site and other similar places can turn up some very impressive 'coin' finds.
Since you say you don't care for 'relics' are you suggesting that you are primarily a 'Coin Hunter' and you prefer to search the traditional places most Coin Hunters like to hunt?
With only a year experience with an AT Pro, what prompted you to consider an Equinox?
Do you need to shop for a brand new detector, or would there be a used model or two out there that might help you find 'older' or 'deeper' coins at the places you search?
Many responders have suggested other models, and also that you might want to outfit yourself with two or more detectors to better handle different applications. All good suggestions. I used to only own and use one detector, but since late '71 I have always had two or more. Usually three or more and only a couple of time was down to two detectors.
I glance at the wall in my den and I have nine detectors hanging there that I select from, and only two of the nine are current production models. In other words, you could add one or two detectors that are used and more affordable and hang on to that AT Pro, if you want to. Also, if shopping for a detector do not forget to make sure you have one or two search coils for it that are best suited to the types of places you hunt.
Just some thoughts.
Monte
what detector are you using?
