Do I need a Pinpointer?

jbylake

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Joined
Jan 23, 2009
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89
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Northern KY
I'm just purchasing my first real detector, a Whites M6, and some digging accesories, which is stretching my budget that I had planned for this. (I'm a rookie). I see a lot of talk about pinpointers and wonder how necessary one would be. I mostly will be looking for coins, relics, jewlery, and just about anything I can dig up, of interest. I was looking at Kellyco, and they range in price from 59 to 159 bucks. Are they really that useful?
thanks,
j.
 
I have never used one . I just use the pinpointer on the machine. Others here on the forum say they are great to have
 
Do you need a pinpointer? No. BUT ... they save a lot of time and frustration searching for the target in the dirt, and therefore allow you more time to hunt. I hunted many years without one, but since getting one, I wouldn't hunt without it.
 
I guess you don't need one but once you use one you will not want to hunt without it.
 
MDing is really pretty simple. You swing until you find and pinpoint a target; recover the target; and repeat the cycle. Finding/pinpointing time can be reduced somewhat, but the real opportunity to increase your finds per hunt lies in reducing the recovery time.

A good pinpointer can reduce your average recovery time by a third.

I would rather my "moment of Zen" be spent finding another target...not playing in the dirt.
 
Once you dig a hole that is half an inch off target and waste 5 minutes trying to find the object, you will wish you had one.

Once you try one that belongs to someone else, you will say I gota get me one of these.
 
Whites has a very good pinpoint on their machines. You wont have a problem finding your target.... but its sure nice when you dont have to run handsfull of dirt over the coil to find a penny you cant see. They dont have to be a wallet buster... in fact i used a little wizzard for a few years. Got it from Harbor Freight for about $15 its used by wood workers to find nail in wood... kind of like a stud finder. Once i started using it, i found it to be a necessity.
 
I had an in-line and use a handheld PPer.
Both are an asset in searching nice lawns.

Alot of targets can be found without digging.
Simply PP target and pop it out with probe/screwdriver.

When digging a deep hole and it's not in the plug.
The PPer directs you to the target vs. wave coil/dig, wave coil/dig.

Less digging, smaller cleaner looking holes, faster retrevial time.
Your hunting changed, the first day you turned it on.
 
Never used one. I bought a DFX that had a Sunray DX1? probe but took it off as soon as I got it. I figured I didn't need extra weight.

If you find you have problems finding a target after pinpointing, then I'd say get a pinpointer.
 
MDing is really pretty simple. You swing until you find and pinpoint a target; recover the target; and repeat the cycle. Finding/pinpointing time can be reduced somewhat, but the real opportunity to increase your finds per hunt lies in reducing the recovery time.

A good pinpointer can reduce your average recovery time by a third.

I would rather my "moment of Zen" be spent finding another target...not playing in the dirt.

Well said. Work with your new detector without one for a while. Once you get more proficient with it look into adding that pinpointer. I believe you'll find it a worthwhile purchase & addition that will pay for itself with saved time.

Until then, determine whether you might want a separate pinpointer or one that goes in-line with you detector coil (i.e. - a Sun Ray probe). Personally I prefer the Sun Ray as you don't have to add more batteries to the mix and I've yet to read of a Sun Ray breaking, which certainly cannot be said of ANY of the hand held/separated probes.
 
I love the Garrett's Pro-Pointer that I bought recently. The holes I dig now are smaller because I can "pinpoint" the object better and easier which requires less digging and results in less effort on my part.
 
Well said. Work with your new detector without one for a while. Once you get more proficient with it look into adding that pinpointer. I believe you'll find it a worthwhile purchase & addition that will pay for itself with saved time.

Until then, determine whether you might want a separate pinpointer or one that goes in-line with you detector coil (i.e. - a Sun Ray probe). Personally I prefer the Sun Ray as you don't have to add more batteries to the mix and I've yet to read of a Sun Ray breaking, which certainly cannot be said of ANY of the hand held/separated probes.

Couldn't agree more. I went without one for a month or two. Then I realized the Little Wizard I had for woodworking could be used for pinpointing. (Looks like Dewcon likes it too!) Used that for a few months more till I bought a Whites. Like using them both. Good luck! Curt
 
I went over 7 months without one. Got a ProPointer included with my latest detector and now I wouldnt want to be without it. It definitely speeds things up.

Before I got one I figured it would be a needless hassle. I didnt think I was abandoning too many targets to make it worthwhile. In retrospect I think it was in my imagination because I have since redug quite a large number of previously given up targets and nearly all were coins. Most were deep in trashy areas which made the machines pinpointing less effective. Others were in difficult locations like in tree roots.

The ProPointer is a great tool. Its small and comes with a solid holster to attach to your belt- you wont even notice it is there. If I was using a light weight machine that Sun Ray that was mentioned sounds ideal.

Anyway I am glad that I did so much detecting sans pinpointer. At least now if it breaks I can still continue on knowing that I dont have to have one.:p
 
I wouldn't be without my Pro-pointer.

When I find a target that is 2-3 inches down I simply take my pin pointer to find the exact spot to dig.
 
I never have used one as my recovery time is very short by hand & sounds. The people I have been out detecting with that use one seem to spend a lot of time with it. I sometimes find 2 coins to their one . Or maybe I'm just lucky :) Steve in so az
 
Lets go through this really quick. Locate a target, pinpoint target location. open plug, Pick up detector and relocate target, remove more dirt from hole, wave handful of dirt at coil. No target repeat until target is located.
Now with pin pointer, Locate a target, pinpoint target location. open plug, check with pin pointer and locate target, until you recover target. IMHO I think a pin pointer makes life easier.
 
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