In our country, among metal detector users, there is a firmly established myth that 5-inch coils (sniper rifles) are needed exclusively for digging using the old-fashioned pit method. Many videos, notes and publications on this topic dominate the Russian segment of YouTube.
However, this is not how snipers are used everywhere, or more precisely, almost nowhere else. In European and American practice, small coils are used exclusively for instrument search in tall grass. And, to be completely objective, in the USA they are actively used to search for coins in heavily littered areas of abandoned cowboy towns. Where fragments of sheet metal densely cover large areas of the territory.
And yet, the main purpose of sniper coils, in the vast majority of countries where instrumental search is allowed, is precisely to search for relics in thick and tall grass. And I decided to check this feature of using small coils in a ferrous metal mine.
Well, why not try, I wonder what will come of it?
Metal detector: Fisher F-70. Reel: domestic Russian manufacturer Magic Lab “Magic 5”. Search terms: Abandoned calf barn, repair camp and peat developer village. Everywhere there is already knee-high grass and it is extremely problematic to walk around and look for scrap metal with a regular, standard reel.
At first it was somehow unusual. The coil is small and it was difficult to understand or determine for yourself the frequency of the step and wiring of the metal detector, so as not to miss good signals. Another difficulty was the load on the arm. Still, the resistance of the grass gave additional force to the arm muscles. On the first day, even the elbow joint began to howl. But, this is a matter of habit and after a week I was walking and working as a metal detector without any third-party notes of discomfort or physical inconvenience. Like I said, it's all a matter of habit.
Another factor in the undeniable superiority of a sniper rifle with a standard coil is the fact that, thanks to the small field size, you can objectively assess the size of the target and decide for yourself what it could be, a tin can or a tractor track.
There was also a well-founded fear that the small coil would have difficulty seeing in depth. Simply put, the metal detector’s detection depth for the treasured ferrous metal will decrease. I don’t know how it will be on other metal detectors, but on the Fisher F-70 the detection depth with a five-inch coil turned out to be quite decent. The same caterpillar track from DT was perfectly detectable to a depth of two bayonets of a standard fiskar. And you don’t need ferrous metal to dig deeper. Anyone who, like me, has at least once dug a dozen buckets in a row from a depth of a meter, will understand me)))
We can talk for a long time about all the advantages of a snapper for digging ferrous metal in tall grass. I'll just give a specific example. Two days ago I found the place where the village blacksmith once stood. Springs, ploughshares, parts of frames, axles from carts, there is so much metal that I will take more than one day to remove it. Definitely not one day. So, the place is covered with thick grass, in places thickets of nettles. And, I am sure that reconnaissance in this place with a simple coil on top of the grass would not have yielded any result at all. So he would have passed on his happiness. But it didn’t pass, as the reel worked almost on the ground itself.
