If I am not using a Minelab CTX 3030 you can be sure I have a Minelab Excalibur attached to my arm, in my opinion probably the best waterproof metal detector ever made. Based on the legendary Sovereign series the Excalibur has been very good to me. I have recovered roman coins in English fields using an Excalibur, US civil war relics in the deep South and modern gold jewelry in the Caribbean islands, you name it I have probably recovered it using an Excalibur. As a beach and water hunting enthusiast the Excalibur to this day is still an important part of my beach treasure hunting plans. One of the main pros of the excalibur is the 200ft waterproof depth rating, making it an obvious choice for scuba divers like myself who like to search beyond the depth rating of the CTX 3030.
The cons of using an Excalibur have to do with stock metal detector shafts designed for wading or diving, recovery speed and search coil selection, two of these cons can easily be dealt with. There are many after market straight shafts the Excalibur can be mounted on and a very slow sweep speed will help with detecting targets following any initial detected target. Unfortunately your only option is to use inline connectors to use different size search coils or have a second Excalibur with a different size search coil, I have never been a fan of modifying a hardwired search coil cable. I have found many pounds of gold jewelry using Excalibur's and I have reinvested some of that gold to make sure I have two Excalibur's, with hardwired 10 inch and 8 inch search coils. My 2004 Excalibur still purrs like a kitten in the water when I search for Bobby Dazzlers in Davy Jones locker and it has paid for itself many times over in gold and precious stones. The other Excalibur with the 8 inch search coil is so good in trashy sites and totally counters any target recovery issues associated with using the older BBS technology, the search coil is actually 7 1/4 inches and I see no real loss of target depth using the smaller coil as I can run the sensitivity hotter. At a tourist type beach you are often searching for recently lost jewelry the reason why these type of beaches are heavily hunted, target separation always rules the water hunting day in heavily searched areas. On the beach an Excalibur with an 8 inch search coil is a gold magnet, especially to an experienced Excalibur user who knows how to hunt by ear and knows exactly what gold sounds like. Whats the target numbers, yea right! good luck seeing numbers on a metal detector VDI screen in murky water or a driving rain storm, spend a few years using an Excalibur and you do not need target ID numbers to help you figure out if you should probably dig a target or not. I can identify a penny, dime, quarter, pull tab or bottle cap in two passes of a Excalibur search coil, I hear the unmistakable tone of gold on the first pass. Many beach and water hunters are now infatuated with potential ferrous and conductive target numbers, they are ok for a second opinion but your first opinion of a target should always be what you hear. If I didn't own a CTX 3030 I would use the Excalibur full time, which is a testament to both of my favorite metal detectors that are passing the test of time. The Excalibur is a formidable beach and water hunting unit, taking only a few minor additions to make it even better, starting with a decent straight shaft and larger easier to turn control knobs. For more information about my favorite water hunting metal detector check out my Excalibur Pro user guide on my website at www.garydrayton.com
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