AT PRO: Coil Questions

Paper · Nov 9, 2015

I've been trying to do some research into different coil options for the pro.

Dimensions:
Snake: 3.5X6.5
Garrett: 5X8
Sharpshooter: 5.5X9.5

Sharpshooter:
Why is the Sharpshooter such an unpopular coil? From what I've read the NEL coils are specifically tuned for the machine and thus perform better. Is the .5X1.5 size difference too large to make up for this better performance? Price difference? I can't even find a youtube video on this coil for the pro.

Snake:
Do people here actually own and use this coil? I saw a lot about it from when it was new but then I haven't seen many regular posts mentioning it. It's about half the size of a 5X8 (3.5*6.5)/(5*8) = 56.875% (and less than a quarter of the size of the stock coil) which while obviously making the coil lighter I feel like I would be more limited in just regular swinging. Is this coil really appropriate for all around hunting or is it just a glorified sniper?

5X8:
If I'm digging trashy signals that at best turn out to be zincolns with the stock coil anyways what difference can I expect with this coil?

General:
Depth is not a big deal to me. 5.5 inches on a quarter would be more than acceptable. I try to dig it all with the exception of iron and even then a blip of a midtone will often get me digging. It would be nice to have mixed tones be more consistent but generally speaking if I hear an "iffy" target I'm at the very least seeing if my ppat can pick it up off the surface. I don't grid search or overlap my swings.

Your experiences?
Thanks!

Grumpysrb · Nov 9, 2015

I found several videos on Youtube with the Snake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JwI5WDBtTxo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IsMs7S1qZqo

When I look at coils I look at several things. How well does it perform, weight, and coverage. I have the Garrett 5x8 for trashy areas. The stock 8.5 x 11 for normal use and the NEL BIG for open areas without a lot of trash.

The 5x8 is lighter, but covers less area per swing. It picks through trash better, pin points to a smaller area, but you have to swing faster to cover the same area in the same time as the stock coil.

The BIG covers a much larger area, too much for my short legs and stride, but goes deep. It is also heavy and I ended up getting a sling to use with it. It pin points as well as the Garrett stock coil, but does so directly under the rod connection. . I keep it near, but use it little.

woodbutcher · Nov 9, 2015

That 5x8 is a Garrett product and although I've used and liked the sharpshooter coil on other machines,I went with the 5x8 just because of the company's great customer service,and it performs awesome.

robby4570 · Nov 9, 2015

Paper said:
I've been trying to do some research into different coil options for the pro.

Dimensions:
Snake: 3.5X6.5
Garrett: 5X8
Sharpshooter: 5.5X9.5

Sharpshooter:
Why is the Sharpshooter such an unpopular coil? From what I've read the NEL coils are specifically tuned for the machine and thus perform better. Is the .5X1.5 size difference too large to make up for this better performance? Price difference? I can't even find a youtube video on this coil for the pro.

I don't know why you call the Sharpshooter "unpopular", I have one that gets used just about as much as my stock coil on the E-Trac. To me the Sharpshooter in trash is outstanding and in "MOST" conditions seems to deliver nearly the same depth as the stock coil. I say this because I have found some tiny targets at 8+ inches with it and I have on a few occasions found a deep target with the stock coil, performed an in-field coil swap, and still found the target with the Sharpshooter. I am considering either the Sharp or Snake for my next coil (see the right side of the pic below) however as I do have a couple very trashy sites and I'm hoping for even more separation than what I get with the Sharpshooter...

Paper said:
Snake:
Do people here actually own and use this coil? I saw a lot about it from when it was new but then I haven't seen many regular posts mentioning it. It's about half the size of a 5X8 (3.5*6.5)/(5*8) = 56.875% (and less than a quarter of the size of the stock coil) which while obviously making the coil lighter I feel like I would be more limited in just regular swinging. Is this coil really appropriate for all around hunting or is it just a glorified sniper?

There are plenty of Google hits and YouTube hits for this coil...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z2ymFswyuQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsMs7S1qZqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z2ymFswyuQ

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=213940

Just to name a few...

Paper said:
5X8:
If I'm digging trashy signals that at best turn out to be zincolns with the stock coil anyways what difference can I expect with this coil?

I would think the same results but possibly a more solid signal and more stable numbers with the bigger coil...

Paper said:
General:
Depth is not a big deal to me. 5.5 inches on a quarter would be more than acceptable. I try to dig it all with the exception of iron and even then a blip of a midtone will often get me digging. It would be nice to have mixed tones be more consistent but generally speaking if I hear an "iffy" target I'm at the very least seeing if my ppat can pick it up off the surface. I don't grid search or overlap my swings.

Your experiences?
Thanks!

If depth isn't a big thing, I would think ANY of these coils would be acceptable to you. I found that the NEL lineup delivers outstanding bang-for-the-buck performance.

Paper · Nov 9, 2015

Grumpysrb said:
I found several videos on Youtube with the Snake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JwI5WDBtTxo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IsMs7S1qZqo

When I look at coils I look at several things. How well does it perform, weight, and coverage. I have the Garrett 5x8 for trashy areas. The stock 8.5 x 11 for normal use and the NEL BIG for open areas without a lot of trash.

The 5x8 is lighter, but covers less area per swing. It picks through trash better, pin points to a smaller area, but you have to swing faster to cover the same area in the same time as the stock coil.

The BIG covers a much larger area, too much for my short legs and stride, but goes deep. It is also heavy and I ended up getting a sling to use with it. It pin points as well as the Garrett stock coil, but does so directly under the rod connection. . I keep it near, but use it little.

Thank you! I've watched those videos. The park hunt one was more useful than the other one but it really seemed like the location would have been better hunted with a larger coil due to the lack of iron and sparse grouping of targets. I'm getting the impression you wouldn't trade your 5X8 for a snake would you?

woodbutcher said:
That 5x8 is a Garrett product and although I've used and liked the sharpshooter coil on other machines,I went with the 5x8 just because of the company's great customer service,and it performs awesome.

I can't argue with that. Garrett has been fantastic to me in their customer service. Thanks.

robby4570 said:
I don't know why you call the Sharpshooter "unpopular", I have one that gets used just about as much as my stock coil on the E-Trac. To me the Sharpshooter in trash is outstanding and in "MOST" conditions seems to deliver nearly the same depth as the stock coil. I say this because I have found some tiny targets at 8+ inches with it and I have on a few occasions found a deep target with the stock coil, performed an in-field coil swap, and still found the target with the Sharpshooter. I am considering either the Sharp or Snake for my next coil (see the right side of the pic below) however as I do have a couple very trashy sites and I'm hoping for even more separation than what I get with the Sharpshooter...

There are plenty of Google hits and YouTube hits for this coil...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z2ymFswyuQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsMs7S1qZqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z2ymFswyuQ

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=213940

Just to name a few...

I would think the same results but possibly a more solid signal and more stable numbers with the bigger coil...

If depth isn't a big thing, I would think ANY of these coils would be acceptable to you. I found that the NEL lineup delivers outstanding bang-for-the-buck performance.

I'm not saying the Sharpshooter is an unpopular coil size, I mean the sharpshooter is unpopular in the context of the AT Pro. I see it being used a lot on other machines which is why I'm wondering why so few use it on the pro.

I'm thinking the snake is really limiting in coverage. I think actually getting your coil over a target is the most important (compared specifically to depth) part which is why I'm a bit leery of using a smaller coil.

JWalker3 · Nov 9, 2015

Paper said:
I'm not saying the Sharpshooter is an unpopular coil size, I mean the sharpshooter is unpopular in the context of the AT Pro. I see it being used a lot on other machines which is why I'm wondering why so few use it on the pro.

I'm thinking the snake is really limiting in coverage. I think actually getting your coil over a target is the most important (compared specifically to depth) part which is why I'm a bit leery of using a smaller coil.

I agree with robby4570 the Sharphoter and the nels in general are good coils. I use one on my E-trac, and I love it. But the reason they may not be as popular on the ATPro is simple marketing. I got my 5X8(Garrett) coil in a 2 coil package at a great price. Should I need to replace it or had I not got the 2 coil package I would get a nel Sharpshooter now. Don't misunderstand me the Garrett 5x8 IS a great coil in trashy areas also. It is on my ATPro 99% of the time.

AT PRO: Coil Questions

Paper

Elite Member

Grumpysrb

woodbutcher

robby4570

Elite Member

Paper

Elite Member

JWalker3

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