What is the best detector to use in Arizona?

[Cachefinder]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this just joined yesterday, but i have a question for all the experts out there.
I need to buy a metal detector to use out here in Arizona, i live in Scottsdale but can travel
thru-out the state. I mostly want to look for gold and coins,rings ect... So what do u think is the
best metal detector for me to buy? Also please give different price options...


and yes this will be my first MD.

Thank you in advance
Cachefinder

 

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[crazyjarhead]

I'd have to say it wouldn't matter where you are. It's up to your budget and what you want to hunt

 

[Tom_in_CA]

when you say that one of your goals will be "gold", do you mean gold as in "gold nuggets" or gold as in "gold jewelry"?

 

[thompy]

i would have to say mxt, xt 70, f-70 f-75 ot t-2

 

[arizonaames]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this just joined yesterday, but i have a question for all the experts out there.
I need to buy a metal detector to use out here in Arizona, i live in Scottsdale but can travel
thru-out the state. I mostly want to look for gold and coins,rings ect... So what do u think is the
best metal detector for me to buy? Also please give different price options...


and yes this will be my first MD.

Thank you in advance
Cachefinder

For ease of setup for a beginner or Pro and for 3 different programs (Modes), "Prospecting, Relic Hunting and Coin and Jewelry" modes (3 different uses), and since I too faced your plight 2 weeks ago, I settled on the White's MXT. I had an older White's Goldmaster/Vsat for many years and am overwhelmed at the ease and quality of the MXT by the same company. It is an American made machine and service is excellent. I would highly recommend this machine....$719 new at Kellyco and White's is offering a XMAS package for $99.95 that includes a choice (1) of 4 different coils, a pinpointer, and earphones if you have purchased an MXT this Xmas season....happy hunting....jim

 

[Sandman]

First I wish to welcome you to the forum and the hobby. There are many different configurations to these detectors and prices depending on the features. All detectors will locate gold, silver and coins along with iron. A detector that is good at finding gold nuggets however is a little different in that it may not be the best one for coins.

Suggest you check the Whites, Garrett, Minelab and Tesoro websites to learn about their detectors and the features you may want. I don't recommend Fisher anymore as I have gotten nasty emails from folks that now hate the one they bought. An I have six Fishers myself.

 

[Cachefinder]

hey Tom

i mostly want to use it for gold coins and jewelry,...........but i would also like to take it out into the desert and just hunt for gold(if that is possible). otherwise i would just like a great recomendation for a coin/ jewelry finder.

thanks for your help

Cachefinder

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Cachefinder, then if you want something that can "swap back & forth" between gold nuggets and gold jewelry, then as Sandman says: the ones that excell in one venue, aren't usually the best in the other venue, and vice-versa. The reason is simple: naturally occuring nuggets are usually very small. RARELY does any get over pea sized (those are trophy finds). The size nuggets that make up the bulk of weight for nugget guys is pinhead and grain-of-rice sized nuggets. So a machine designed to excell in pinhead sized targets is going to be one-big-headache, for a coin-hunter. The two goals are almost diametrically opposed to each other. A coin/jewelry hunter doesn't want to hear every straight-pin, pinhead, birdshot, etc.... The usual land places that coin/relic/jewelry hunter hunt at will typically have items you elect to disc. out.

And as odd as it sounds, a nugget machine that can pick up a BB sized item at an inch or two, does NOT get a coin sized item deeper than a coin-hunter machine. The coin-hunter machines were designed for coin/relic/jewelry sized items. There are exceptions of course, as some nugget hunters can indeed get a coin at 1.5 to 2 ft. down. But BELIEVE me, you DON'T want to try to use those to hunt for coins, lest you get driven mad (barring using them on the wide-open-clean beach I suppose).

There are a few cross-over machines made that can ..... with changes in settings, be able to do both venues. The MXT is one such machine. But it excells in neither arena. There are better coin machines, and there are better nugget machines. It's a compromise between the two. I guess when they go to design machines, the innards, electronics, windings, etc... are all designed from the ground up to what it will excell in, so it's no easy task to make a machine that can just go back & forth between almost opposed-goals.

For coins/relics, a good machine for a beginner is the 6000 Di pro. They can go just about anywhere, are easy to learn, have a lot of tell-tale audio you can learn, etc.. It's not tone-ID, but you can learn a lot of the TIDs by watching the meter bounces/repeatabilities, etc....

 

[CamoQueen]

In Arizona you need a shovel that will go through ROCK HARD dirt! lol! I hope you find the detector your looking for!!

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

good evening Cache hunter: go to Google and type in "Metal detecting clubs in Phoenix or Scotsdale Az" . you will hit on

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[rmptr]

Cachefinder,

There is a nice family named Gifford that makes top quality machines in Prescott.
Their lifetime warranty is second to none.

My advice would be that you visit with them at the Tesoro factory.
You might ask them if an LST, Tejon, Vaquero, or Silver uMax might suite your needs best.

They'll probably let you try them out right there on AZ soil!

I like my Tesoros very much.
They are my go-to machine!

Lite as a feather, productive, and always reliable.
They offer an excellent selection of coils, also.

Best
rmptr

 

[Cachefinder]

Thank you all for the great advice/help. I have been researching like crazy i am now thinking more alone the lines of a garrett
because they say everyone of their detectors is made to find coins.

 

[Cachefinder]

In Arizona you need a shovel that will go through ROCK HARD dirt! lol! I hope you find the detector your looking for!!

very true--have a pick axe!

cachefinder

 

[Cachefinder]

Cachefinder,

There is a nice family named Gifford that makes top quality machines in Prescott.
Their lifetime warranty is second to none.

My advice would be that you visit with them at the Tesoro factory.
You might ask them if an LST, Tejon, Vaquero, or Silver uMax might suite your needs best.

They'll probably let you try them out right there on AZ soil!

I like my Tesoros very much.
They are my go-to machine!

Lite as a feather, productive, and always reliable.
They offer an excellent selection of coils, also.

Best
rmptr

Thank you ---might take a trip up north this weekend to see them

cachefinder

 

[rmptr]

Mr. Emmons,

If you wish to use this particular thread as a source of information to select a metal detector,
I shall make another addition to the thread...

For a direct assessment of capability and techno function of a number of metal detectors,
here upon Tnet, run a search on the writings of Easymoney. He cuts to the chase.
He is an experienced electronics technician with years of MD repair experience.

Another Tnet member, Tabdog, has done amazing recovery volume and posted extensive finds over at the Tesoro Forum of Findmall Forums. He frequently uses a Tesoro Compadre.

Specific intended use, targets, is of principal consideration when making a selection.
Next in order of importance is budget.

Of course, a new machine with factory warranty is superior to a used machine sans warranty.
(Tesoro has been known to warrant ANY of their products!)

Some detectors are KNOWN to be deeper than others, some are known to be heavy, and some are known to be very complicated, although unsurpassed in the hands of an expert.

Have fun making a selection!

Possibly the best metal detector is one you have in your hand and are very familiar with.

Best
rmptr

 

[ThTx]

I have used Whites, Garrett, KellyCo's Cobra , etc. The best in my opinion has been my Garrett Master Hunter CX+. Great all around machine. I have the 4, 8 & 12 inch coils and the Treasure Hound Depth Multiplier. It is by far the easiest I have used.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

THtx: HI my friend you are correct, for sheer recoveries the Garrett master hunter series can hold it's own in any crowd, and for deeper targets such as cache hunting, the Blood Hound will do that nicely.

As for those that want to use extreme Id, etc., heck, dig up the bottle caps and tabs. Leave the area clean for the next try free of them. THEN use your ID. but then you won't need it . he he he Welcome to true treasure hunting.

Don Jose de La Mancha.

 

[Red_desert]

Arizona ground in some places will give almost any detector fits...coil size is the answer too! I bought 3 coil sizes for my Fisher Gold Bug-2. The smallest eliptical coil worked in some really bad ground around Yuma. I duct taped 1/4" tough foam around the whole coil. Found a whole bunch of tiny bird shot, even split ones that way. Unfortunately, it was my first real nugget hunting trip and I failed to realize, the small bits I kept finding around Quartzite were nuggets. Later at a prospecting shop, they showed me what nuggets look like. You need to clean nuggets in some desert areas. I tried scraping them with a fingernail. hard to see color in a small bit of rough metal in bright desert sunlight. I kept them for a while just in case, but somehow lost them by that time.

Take something for cleaning them before deciding if they really are nuggets. Most usually seem a little longer than wide. The birdshot I found usually where round, unless split (smooth on one side.)