HELP what is the best Metal detectorfor 200$

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I am not asking for somthing that can consistantly go deeper than 6" i know it depends on ground situations. im just asking if there is a md that can fined coins deeper then 6" in lets say a good ground situations . lets say a md that will see a coin more then 6 " in a are test . yes i know the are test dont matter but if a md can see a coin at lets say 10" it will have more of a potential of seeing a deeper coin . then a md that can see a coin at 6 " and thank you for all that good info i will do some research on the Silver UMax, a Garrett 250/350 or a Fisher F2, . like i sad i did want a Tesoro Cibola i relly like that md and what it can do . but i still would like to know if there is somthing cheeper out there . thank you Treasure_Hunter :notworthy:
 

Hosensack

Hero Member
Apr 20, 2007
752
107
Mertztown, Pa
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac, Safari,X-Terra 705, Tesoro Tejon, Whites DFX, Garrett AT Pro, GTI 2500, 250, Fisher Gold Bug DP,F75 Limited
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hosensack... I dont think its a outrageous claim that i found the civil ware button down 8" .there is a lot more metal on the button . then the coins i have found down 6" . looks like brass on the face of the button and what looks like rusty steel on the back of the button .my md gave me a trash and coin sound at the same time .it was the 2 hunt i went out on and i never herd that sound so i dug it up .the hole was deeper then 8" but i did a are test and it sounds like trash at 9 " @ 8" i get the trash and coin sound .this is a tough crowd here y should i have to feel like I need to walk on egg shells here. this is a hobby for me i like to go out and have fun hunting for stuff . some of you guys take this stuff way to serous . lighten up . G wizz lol :headbang:

Never said it was an outrageous claim. Was not disagreeing with you either. Just offering a possibility. You are a fellow TNet member no egg shells are ever needed. You may say things that insight great disagreement but that should never be taken as a reason not to say what you want. However if you are unwilling to sacrifice somewhere be it depth or investment you are not going to come to a consensus you will just have to choose. I try to refrain from solicitation and keep my business presence separate from my forum presence but in this case my payment options may benefit you, if interested give me a PM I'll give you more information.
 

rossman85

Full Member
May 14, 2012
213
20
harrisburg, pa
Detector(s) used
garrett at pro, pro pointer, lesche digger
I just bought a barely used tesoro eldorado for $278 shipped 2 months ago, and i have been hitting targets at around 8-12" frequently.
 

Dwight S

Hero Member
Apr 26, 2010
558
70
NC
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT-Pro & White's TDI & Tesoro Compass uMax
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Welcome to T-Net! Relax....

Almost any detector will make a find or two at 8"+, it depends on target size. A lot will depend on ground conditions. Someone suggested that the button wasn't 8" deep and dropped into the bottom of the hole, that is possible, it happens more than you think. Most lower cost detectors will lack the ability to detect deep targets, unless the targets are soda/beer cans. :BangHead: There are plenty of good old targetslike silver coins well within the 4" range, if you get lucky to pass your coil over it.

Look... When everyone recommends something like the Tesoro detector I would give it serious consideration. No, you can't swap coils, but you can't on a few others either. Some you can, but you're not going to get a great deal deeper doing that. Manufacturers like Tesoro package their "beginner" detectors such to make it easy for a beginner to learn and not get frustrated. Once you have it mastered, you keep it as a backup and you step up to a better unit. The $200 limit you have will put you into a beginner unit from most detector manufacturers. I can turn you onto a detector that can get a target at 16"+, but you don't have $4000+ to buy it...

I suggest you reconsider the Tesoro, Fisher F2 or Garrett Ace-250 if you have to have a new detector now OR continue to save your money until you can get something you will be happy with.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
@ Dwight S thank you for the info . Garrett Ace-250 sound good . but i here the Teknetics Alpha Metal Detector can see small coins deeper then f2 and 250 . the problem i am having here is all you guys have awesome Metal Detectors . :laughing7:.so its a tough ? . what i need is some one that has a cheap md that can say yes i have found a coin down 8 or 10" with such & such md .I did here this 1 guy say he found a siler dime down 10 " with a Bounty Hunter Lone Star .but every one tells me to stay away from Bounty Hunters lol:dontknow:
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
@ rossman85... eldorado or the eldorado UMax. and were did you get it . were is a good place to get a used md im not going to ebay:BangHead: that a hit or miss place to buy a md??? . thanks
 

rossman85

Full Member
May 14, 2012
213
20
harrisburg, pa
Detector(s) used
garrett at pro, pro pointer, lesche digger
I would buy one on ebay again..... The seller was very helpful, and the detector looked as if it was sitting in the box since it was bought... All the pieces were still wrapped up too...I saw a great condition tesoro cortes go for $380 on ebay a few weeks ago.... They are $720 new
 

Adrian SS

Sr. Member
Dec 7, 2008
363
73
Canberra
Detector(s) used
LST, BDHI,Infinium,Sov XS,6000DI Pro SL,Scorpion,V-SAT,Spectrum XLT,Gold Spear,Scorpion,Sand Shark, Compadre,Sierra Madre,Safari, SDC2300, Sea Hunter,CS4PI,TDI OZ Pro, Vallon VMH3CS. Gardiner 202A
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Deeper than 6 inches on what? A Mack truck or a Coin??

Most well designed metal detectors fitted with 6 or 8 inch concentric or DD coil and with preset GB or manual GB will respond to a 1 inch diam coin laying flat in the ground at between 6 and 10 inches in very quiet or non iron mineralised ground. Problem is I cannot think of any new detector with those features that are 200 dollars or less.

You could try an second hand 6000DI Pro SL, they sometimes sell for around 150 bucks and this is a very powerfull detector that will eat coins at 10 inches in any ground that the detector can ground balance out.
 

Gunrunner61

Silver Member
Jan 12, 2011
2,963
457
Dalton,Ga.
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, E Trac, Garrett Pro Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
@ Dwight S thank you for the info . Garrett Ace-250 sound good . but i here the Teknetics Alpha Metal Detector can see small coins deeper then f2 and 250 . the problem i am having here is all you guys have awesome Metal Detectors . :laughing7:.so its a tough ? . what i need is some one that has a cheap md that can say yes i have found a coin down 8 or 10" with such & such md .I did here this 1 guy say he found a siler dime down 10 " with a Bounty Hunter Lone Star .but every one tells me to stay away from Bounty Hunters lol:dontknow:

SS, I shouldn't even open my mouth,but here goes.....You get what you pay for!!. 200.00 bucks will buy you an entry level detector........Keep using what you got and save your money. in a couple of months or whatever go by yourself a 350.00 or 400.00 machine, Although something tells me you won't be satisfied with it either after a couple months............JMHO...............HH
 

Harp

Greenie
Jul 22, 2012
13
1
FL
Detector(s) used
Fisher CZ-7 Quicksilver
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
"Keep this in mind though, when you spend the money for a higher dollar detector, your not out the money, it is still there in your detector....I ahve bought a lot of used detectors, and I halv always got more than 75% of my money back when I sold them, but I buy good quality detectors knowing I will get my money back..."

Thanks Treasure_Hunter. That is a really, excellent, point that bears consideration.
 

Gregmid40

Jr. Member
Mar 20, 2013
52
9
Advance, NC.
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter VLF/TR 840, Tesoro Tejon, Bounty Hunter Time Ranger, Fisher 1225,1260,1265,1266,1270X, Garrett Freedom Ace CDC, MP Series MP5 Pro, Garrett Coin Hunter TR Disc. (1978), Mikron NRG-110, De
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
my 44$ md gos just as deep as the Tesoro Compadre .and it has pinpointing all metal mode disc and tone id and auto ground balancing.y wood i want to pay 3 times more for less options .that dont make much sense to me:icon_scratch: . there has got to be a MD that can go deeper then 6" for 200$ . thank you all . pleas no more talk about the Tesoro Compadre .I am not getting that MD lol

Yes. I don't know if you already found and/or purchased another detector silversurfer 1111 but I purchased a used Bounty Hunter Tracker 4 on Ebay for +/- 80.00 and I've got to tell you, that thing can find the same stuff (quarter at 8" PLUS) and just as deep if not deeper than my friend's Tesoro Silver uMax which cost him 299.00 + tax and his uMax is a step above the Tesoro Compadre some others talked about in this forum. Mine has 2 tone i.d. (low for nickels, pull tabs, gold rings and sometimes nails; amt. of rust being a factor, and a high-pitch tone for pennies, silver rings, clad and silver dimes, quarters, halves, dollars, buttons, buckles and your garden variety beer and soda cans and other large objects) and will also tune out (at pull tab setting) most smaller iron junk. So to recap, there's disc./all-metal/tone i.d. mode(which I usually hunt in) and your disc. and sensitivity knob. I usually crank my sensitivity all the way up where there's no external electrical interference, set my coil right on the grass and keep my coil level and low to the ground at all times. If you raise your coil like I see a lot of coinhunters do, you WILL lose depth and then what's the point in getting a 2" or deeper detector than what you have now if you raise the coil 2" off the ground while swinging it and lose that 2 inches? So operator skill is EQUALLY as important as the metal detector you choose. I laugh when I see these rich hot shots with all their Minelab e-Tracs and other high dollar detectors and you see them raising their coil 4 or 5 inches off the ground while swinging the searchcoil. Wasted money and time in my opinion. Hope this info helps you in your purchase decisions and good luck and happy hunting.
 

Last edited:

voevoda

Newbie
May 9, 2013
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My choice was Golden Mask 1 -8,2Khz 5 year warranty on electronics
Only for $322.48 + 45$ Delivery from Bulgaria
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I don't know if your 9 function has tone id or not if it does you might be terribly dissapointed by most tesores having only one tone. I know I was going from a bounty hunter with multitone to a single tone costing 5 times more.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,419
30,081
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting

dirtfisher

Full Member
May 10, 2012
100
18
Virginia
Detector(s) used
White's Coinmaster GT, Tesoro Vaquero, Tesoro Cibola, HF9F Metal Detector.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Work some overtime and save up for a Tesoro Cibola! Buy it brand new so you make sure you have the lifetime warranty with it (although sometimes Tesoro will still honor the warranty on the used one). It will hit deep coins all day long way past the 6 inch mark providing the soil conditions are 'perfect' as you say. I own the HF 9F detector too. Although it is cheap, it has some very nice qualities. I like it, my wife likes it, my kids like it, we all have fun with it and that is all that matters. Especially since most finds are shallow anyway. Good luck on your quest for the perfect detector for you and HH. :icon_thumleft:
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top