A side order of gold

Side detection is not something you often see mentioned, but in my opinion it is an important to understand how it can be a big advantage at eroded beaches and in trashy areas.
Several years ago I bought and tried a metal detector I had my eye on for a while, but the lack of side detection caused me to sell the metal detector after only one month.
I recovered 39 pieces of gold jewelry that month using the metal detector, but I still decided to sell the metal detector after I detected a tin can. 
Selling the metal detector came about because the edge of the search coil had to be touching the tin can to detect it, the tin can was detected under the search coil but that should really be a given no matter what.
The tin can experience showed me just how important side detection is and I learned from it.
I always used to think my favorite Minelab metal detectors stunk at pin-pointing targets, until I realized how good the metal detectors are at detecting targets away from the edge of the search coil. 
For example, my CTX 3030 with an 11 inch search coil can detect a small size gold wedding band a good 3 to 4 inches away from the edge of the search coil. 
That translates to a 14 nor 15 inch detection foot print when you sweep an 11 inch search coil across the ground. 
Now you know why it is important to use a small size search coil in trashy areas, because of the amount of targets your Minelab can detect under the search coil and to the side of the search coil. 
Kissing the base of a cut on an eroded beach insures you detect every target along the base of the cut because you have the added advantage of side detection. 
In less trashy wide open areas, a larger search coil helps you to cover the entire area faster, assuming you have the advantage of side detection from your search coil. 
I am a big fan of target testing on search sites to check the capability of metal detectors and search coils I use, better to test than potentially miss what you hope to find at the sites you search.
Lessons learned from target testing can be gold on future hunts, knowing you can detect what you are searching allows you to concentrate on reading the site being searched.
It is the less talked about things like side detection that can make a difference between a successful hunt and unsuccessful hunt. 

available at www.garydrayton.com