Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II

Hunter keeps on finding (at)(at)

bill, rene,gary,brad and 745 team in valley and total CA. coast -
It has been a while since we have been on this site. The year ( 2011 ) has been pretty good for the team as such we may have a profit after all the expense,, No matter what the seahunters came
through as always.. We hit the water with our new dive suits, and the hunters did all the hard work for us... NO matter what the minelab hot shots keep on talking about... The Garrett seahunter IS by far the best around for the California beach and parks,

all have a Great Holiday Season as we will be sending in our S.H 2's for update and be ready for 2012..Take care bill and the team.

Dec 09, 2011

6 Yes
0 No

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Garret sea hunter hk 11

barefootin68 in Florida / Bahamas -
This is one awesome machine. Yes you have to leave disc on normal and dig everything but it will find the gold. I have dug a thread of a fishing leader at 12 inches deep. You have to learn the proper use and it will produce..PS!!! FREE VLF DETECTOR NEEDS good home...Replaced by Garrett. Also if you don't wanna dig pull tabs and nails you will not find gold!!!!!!!!!!!!
A VLF Detector is only good for coins.

Nov 12, 2011

6 Yes
0 No

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PI good for salt or fresh water

joe in Ca -
I like my seahunter2 I get a double beep for hairpins I get a solid beep for bottle caps. Better yet I can disc them out at about 3 or 4 on the threshold. Cant disc out Iron. The discreet elim doesn't seem to work? I get a solid beep for quarters.

Sep 14, 2011

2 Yes
3 No

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Very good

Tony in Oregon -
Love it

May 14, 2011

2 Yes
4 No

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Aaron has it exactly right

Anonymous in Palmetto, FL, USA -
I began detecting in the early 80s with both a Garrett PI and VLF. The PI detects every metal and you must dig everything you hear if you expect to dig gold rings. Forget about hunting in a high trash area with lots of iron. The VLF detector was my favorite because it rejects iron. Unfortunately Garrett quit making that model.

Apr 24, 2011

3 Yes
7 No

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Great machine... Know what you are doing

Aaron in Maui, HI USA -
To call this machine rubbish or junk is just ignorant. I've used PI machines for years in many places and I know them well, so I will try and help some people out with this review.

The SHM11 is a machine for diggers. Period. If you don't like to dig nails, or bottle caps, or fish hooks, sinkers, etc... Don't get this machine, but you will miss the pleasant surprises that come from hearing a very faint, sometimes almost imperceptible tone, taking a scoop, getting louder, another scoop, blowing your ears out , and BAM! A nice gold ring in the scoop that the VLF guys went right over.

There is a phenomenon with PI detectors that causes them to detect objects deeper in salt water and wet salt sand than in air alone, so air tests are not accurate. Because it is a PI machine, iron reads as a good conductor, so there is NO WAY you can discriminate iron, and any amount of an attempt at discrimination will cost you depth.
This is what you have to do... Run on zero discrimination on standard mode and forget discreet mode, It costs you depth. There will be a natural wavering of the tone, and in highly mineralized sand you will get a false signal if you touch the coil to the sand, but you will get a slight, or loud, sharp, REPEATABLE increase in volume when you go over a target.

No matter what Garrett tells you, or anyone tells you, you can NOT eliminate an aluminum pop top and still pick up a gold ring. It is the science of metal, not my opinion.
Gold is lower in conductivity than aluminum and the size an karat amount will determine how hard it is to detect. Gold is a POOR conductor. It is used in electronics for it's high corrosion resistance, not conductivity. You may get lucky and pick up large, thick men's rings with disc. set higher, but you will miss a lot.

If you live on the Texas Gulf coast where there are lots of nails and junk in the water, you either dig until you are sore, or try a VLF detector that will discriminate iron. High trash areas will be frustrating and discouraging.

Here is a good way to find out if you will find gold rings... No nickels dug, No pull tabs dug = No gold rings dug. It is that simple. As far as quality of the machine... It is built like a tank. Very durable and leak proof.

The volume is loud because it is a DIVING detector. Divers need the loud volume to hear targets over their bubbles. As far as Garrett goes, I don't think anyone can dispute that their customer service is the best in the business. If you have a problem, just call them and they will make it right by you, without fail.

Brand bashing is irresponsible and I have tried a lot of the leading brands. They all have pros and cons, features that I liked, and some I disliked. No machine is perfect for all applications. It is unreasonable to think anyone can build a machine that is, because it is impossible. Detecting successfully is a science, you don't learn it all in a week, a year, or ever. It is a never-ending learning process.

If you do decide on the Sea Hunter... Read some books, turn your disc. down to zero, be persistent, learn your machine, slow down and enjoy being outside and getting some exercise. You will be rewarded over time...

I hope I helped some of you with facts I learned the hard way and from men who knew a lot more than I.

Mar 20, 2011

145 Yes
0 No

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Good for ocean, bad for dirty beaches

nicolas in Hollywood, FL -
I just bought this unit one month ago. My area is a salt wet sand on the beaches and salt water in the ocean. Of course, my goal-the Spanish gold from the ocean, but now I have a LOT of trash.

I'm not sure about all PI machines, but this one has no discrimination. The same sound for penny, for nail, for beer`s cup, for everything. The difference is-if the item is big-the signal stronger.
I try to use this unit with max. position for discrim.-some beer cups `gone`. But another trash-no. The good news is-this unit works great in salt water and salt wet sand. No leaks, no noise, the sensitivity is fine.(My coil is 8") Just one problem-no golden rings! But I still hope!

Feb 20, 2011

8 Yes
8 No

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Sea hunter 2

Paul in North California -
I bought one and a 14 inch coil too, I was hoping for great depth but this machine cant hardly detect a quarter at 8 inches.I want to sell it!

Other than that it has been good. I haven't seen any difference between standard and discreet modes.

Jan 11, 2011

6 Yes
13 No

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Bill is at it Again ! Floating coil problem solved so far

bill, gary, brad , rene the 745 team @^@ in Southern California San Diego to Santa Barbera now days -
Well what can one write this baby rocks... took it out in waist high water with the BIG 10 x 14 coil..found couple rings 925 silver BUT hey that was not bad for a start.. Floating coils can be a headache SO---- hello 2" thick cut to coil size from square vinyl blanks that I got at the scrapyard and attached with yes twine !! HEAVY HECK yes BUT a LOT easier,, in the water it is easy to handle but take a break every 10 minutes or so. I use the Keene Eng Co. long handle sand scoop and this is a help. They are located out in the San fernando Valley (( and the WWW I think..))

As to Magnets, well I will pass on the steel ones when in the water. Use the soft ones.


The old G.I. pistol belt(s) & Combat Suspenders well they can last two / three good years IF you rinse and air dry them, salt water is mean..


Sure the coil weighs a lot, but the finds are worth the added muscle power. the water can be tricky at times so that lifevest is a MUST. for me at least. even IF you can swim, be SAFE and buy one...water goggles i use, snorkle well lately not as much.. The colder months will be on the way so i plan on getting a new set of Neoprene full sole Chest Waders... as my old pair has seen better days..B.T. W. all total this week is 7 silver rings 6 mens & 1 ladies Plus one 14kt nugget style mens gold ring out in the water.((( NO we did NOT find the DIAMOND rings etc that everybody else keeps on telling us they have found, but never seem to show us ))).. and the usual coins, keys and junk !!


Not bad for the week, but could have done better.. if it was not so darn HOT !!! I've got a TAN over my TAN !!!! good for me and the partners we have the senior citizen parking pass.. now if they just had a beer bar pass !!

We use Gary's Mobil Home head up North first then beachcomb all the way back down to San Diego

Well all have fun and keep on doing what you like.. to us the mark2 P.I. detectors do a darn good job.. and the price is right, we have seen the NEW white's P.I. in action, but will stick with what we KNOW is producing finds for us.. to each his own..


Take care and stay safe..

Aug 22, 2010

20 Yes
11 No

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Not to Rub it In BUT Thank you TIM !!

bill h in S.F.Valley, Santa monica, Riverside City, L.A. -
While at the beach day after Thanksgiving 2009, we were using the mark2 and Bingo a NICE white gold ring just came up , well I quit that day and headed home.. the retail value for one similar to it is $999.00 here in the Santa Monica jewelery store and thats the sale price.. was at lot five south, this month & we were up by lot 3/4 north and hit my first BIG sized ring, I mean a BIG sized one -- put it on my thumb and it would slide right off.. had room all around my thumb !! xeu marking.

Garrett tuned the mark2 up and thanks to Brad at Garrett's it came back as always in clean condition.. Thank You Brad. now TIM is a Beachcombing , Gold, and THer Professional, he has been doing this along the east & west coasts & in between since 1983

So if you bump into Tim tell him hello for us, he KNOWS his detectors and how to use them to there full potential,he has helped us & others as well, thanks to him we were able to save on our beach parking fees, hello senior citizen parking pass, L.A. county, he is one that is business first beachcombing, you will be glad you have met Tim, we are. Remember your sun block and do please keep well hydrated and pack a light beach chair and a small chair umbrella

So you can rest & sit down in your chair, NOT the sand. People have been injured by broken glass laying just under the surface.. so be safe, one of our bc buddies almost got his rear cut, he was happy his wallet was in his back pocket, now he totes a chair.. take care and find all that lost jewelery.. bill h

May 18, 2010

11 Yes
19 No

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