@ ScubaDetector We do not dive. It will be for wet sand and wading. He would like like to get into both wet hunting just surf, while I sun bathe at the beach and dry land because we live in an area that is rich in Civil War history. Budget- around 1500. We are just not sure where to start and what kind of detector to get. We weren't sure if one detector could be used for both wet and dry or if we would need two. Thanks for any and all info you can give us. Thanks and hello to the rest of you.
@GeneralQuarters thanks for the info.
Well for salt and fresh water a dual frequency machine or more is the best. The two best water detectors for both fresh and salt water are the Minelab Excal and the Fisher CZ-21. Both will work in wet and dry sand and in salt and fresh water very well. Both are waterproof and can be dunked.
The AT Pro is a single frequency machine and although some say it works fine in salt water others have doubts. I never tried one in either environment.
Stay away from PI machines because they are practically useless in fresh water unless not much iron is present. They hit deep in salt water though.
Land machines are dangerous to use in the surf. I drowned two land machines.
On top of a detector you will need a wetsuit, booties, and or waders. A long handle scoop and a goodie pouch.
Land hunting is different. Although both machines will work on land. People that land hunt like a visual display also.
My opinion. Get a water machine and find enough gold to finance a land machine. You can find gold on land but not as much as the water.
Historic items are great to find but mostly not a lot of monetary value.
You can get lots of advice here. Please check out the tips page on my website.
http://www.scubadetector.com
I hunt fresh water 99% of the time but have been around enough to listen to all the salties talk of their machines and finds.