CZ-21 Beach hunters who also own an Equinox?

Just sort of wondered how many of you are still using the CZ-21 in the wet sand since the Equinox 800 came out?

Now the equinox is a fantastic machine, I do love mine, but there are situations where I find I do better with my CZ-21 (besides in the water).

Where I am hunting lately there is an endless amount of small bits of iron from a washed out pier, wrecks, etc, in the wet sand. There are also iron flakes, and tiny tiny bits of can slaw.

My equinox hits on all of these things with mixed tones which encourages one to dig them, no matter how small, and very very rarely turn up as a good find. Often it's microscopic slaw.

Even if it was gold foil, at this size it's nearly worthless (unless you are micro-hunting in which case this is a good thing).

But for this beach it really brings down the efficiency of the hunt.

I switched back to my CZ-21, found the depth to be the same and/or better.

When iron is everywhere, I switch to disc 1, silences all of the iron completely and I don't get the misleading high tones I tend to get with the equinox.

You are saying "yes but what if it's iron and a non-ferrous target together? You will miss it!"

Surprisingly, I found the CZ-21 actually does a better job of isolating the non-ferrous signal. Where the equinox gives weird broken bouncy tone, the CZ gives a clear high or mid tone, while ignoring the iron.

Someones the iron can mask the high tone completely, but but I found changing the swing by 90 degrees will usually bring it out clearly. This is why gridding again perpendicular to the first grid is so important.

I've hunted directly behind some other hunters here who were all using equinoxes (it's a popular machine!) and found more while digging less holes.

I always make it a point to ask how they did at the end of the day and also share how I did, we are all trying to learn to be better after all.

I'm not saying the CZ-21 is a better machine, it's certainly an old machine, but it is very good at "what it is good at".

Also nice to hunt at night with no desire to look at the screen.

Just wondered if anyone else is still clinging to their CZ after getting an equinox?

There are my two favorite machines currently. I always pick the equinox for dry sand, and 50/50 with the CZ in the wet, and strictly CZ in the water.

I can see why the CZ3D is still popular.





Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2022 04:39PM by flgliderpilot.

The CZ is indeed desensitized to small trash. This is to include small gold. But......... the CZ does have the uncanny ability to lock on to a target......and not deviate.....,,,,,,,........even to greater depths. The EQX is VERY good also......... except........ in the wet-salt environment....... the EQX loses a bit of its ID accuracy. The EQX is also 'hot' on small gold.......when compared to the CZ platform. , . , . , . , . , . , . enough to where I prefer the EQX for wet-slope and in-the-water hunting.

That's true the CZ will totally miss most thin chains and thin platinum rings.