Can someone tell me why I should buy a better metal detector

[littledmac]

Hello all,

This is my first post to the site although I have been lurking for a couple of months. I have always wanted to detect, but was intimidated with all the different models, and frankly the high prices of detectors, so I never bought one. A friend at work recently asked me If I wanted a detector that her husband never really used, as she was thinking of donating it to a local thrift store. I told her I absolutely would take it, not knowing if it was a good one or not. (hadn't reasearched them in years). I got it, and didn't bother looking up if it was a good one or not. My 5 year old son and I just decided to hit the beach. I live on the Outer Banks, and can walk to the beach. My son and I have detected maybe 7-8 times with it since we got it.(for an hour or so each time) We have found clad with it every time we have gone out. On the 4th or 5th time out we found a 22k gold ring!!! We were jumping up and down on the beach like idiots. I decided since then, to look up the detector to see if it was a good one or not. Here it is just a cheapy beginner model. It is a Bounty Hunter Tracker ID 505. I can say that I have read many many threads now, saying how bounty hunters are great at finding silver but not gold, and that all these expesive detectors will pick up so much more.

My question is, if this cheap Bounty hunter can find a small womens 22k gold ring, (in wet sand) why would I possibly spend more money on a "better" unit? I have also read countless times, that "you should dig every beep" as you never know. And reading many posts tells me that many times the expensive ones will say its one thing and its something entirely different. With that in mind, what do all those fancy bells and whistles get you, if you are digging every time anyhow? I would buy a more expensive model (now that I am hooked on the hobby) but I don't know if I can justify it, knowing what the cheap model is capable of. I might go ahead and get a water proof model, but other than that, can anyone help me understand what is so much better in the more expensive models? Is it simply like a staus symbol or something? Like the difference between a Ford and a Cadillac? They both get you from point A to point B, or is their really more to it? If you really are gonna dig every time, I don't get it. Also, If their really is no discriminate out the pull tabs, Which I have found is everybodies arch nemisis, why bother paying more? Someone please help me understand?!

Thanks

 

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[SteveDodds]

How about I say "To each his own." Or how about "Whatever floats your boat." I started off with a bounty hunter pioneer 202. Which I believe is a lower model than your 505. After I used it for awhile I decided I wanted (notice i said wanted instead of needed) a better more expensive one. So I went and bought a Fisher F5. Did I need to? No. Could I have found just as much with the Bounty Hunter? Probably. Did I want something nicer? Yes. I think if you are content with your BH then you don't need a different one. Also you need to learn your detector no matter what kind you have. A newbie with a $1000 detector is gonna do a lot worse then a person with a $100 detector that has used it a lot and knows what it is telling him. I rehunted an abandoned baseball field with my F5 that I had hit really hard with my BH. I found one wheat cent with the Fisher that I had missed with the BH but my BH did a lot better job of discriminating out pulltabs. I dug about a dozen pulltabs with the F5 that the BH didn't tell me was there. But after using my F5 for awhile I am a lot happier with it then I was the BH. Why? I don't know.

 

[Goodyguy]

I have a low end Bounty Hunter Tracker IV detector with no bells or whistles. However I get a lot of good finds with it. And my buddies who have the high end detectors, that do everything except dig the hole for them, wonder how I manage to find just as good of targets as they do with a detector that cost less than their headphones.

The secret to my success is that I use all the power my detector has to offer by hunting in all metal mode with the discrimination turned off. I have to dig more, a lot more but I like to find what ever is there and even if it's trash I don't really care because I'm digging a target. I'm not out to win a coin contest I just want to see what all different kinds of things I can find, coins, rings, gold, relics, artifacts, chains, anything metal. Sure I dig a lot of trash but I get a lot of good stuff too. Of course I try to stay away from the really trashy areas when hunting parks by keeping away from the picnic tables, shelters, restrooms and swings etc. But then, I hardly ever go to a park to hunt in the first place. ( I'm really not into finding lost change)

Don't get me wrong the high end machines are capable of much better results than the cheap ones as long as you learn how to use them properly. However, some high end detectors are just too complicated for the novice, therefore they don't get full use of their detectors maximum potential because of it.

I also use a Whites twobox detector when I am looking for a cache deeper than the range capable of any metal detector designed for coins and relics no mater what their cost.

However, when I am looking for small gold nuggets in gold country I use a Whites Gold Master Two (GMT) designed especially for finding gold, so you see, the right tool for the right job is the only way to insure success. But there is no substitute for learning everything about your detector whatever machine you choose to use, and to do that, takes lots and lots of practice.

HH,

GG~

 

[jeff of pa]

BETTER Detector ?
as long as you don't live in my area go for it

Seriously it isn't better, as much as new to the area
that you want.

fact is every detector out there is slightly different.

say an area has been hunted with
every type of Whites, Minelabs & Garrett detectors
and nobody is finding anything any more.

you buy a Tesero, Fisher, or other
brand odds are your going to
find something they missed.

not because they are "Better" but because
they are Different then what was used there so far.
may be a simple as a Tone Change.
or New set of Different Headphones.
or Ears(Havn't found where to Buy those Yet )

 

[ivan salis]

the 505 is no "toy" or piece of "junk" as some"detector" snob types would have you think ---modern bounty hunters are not the ones of 30 years ago -- while "affordible" they are quality made machines that used properly by someone that taken the time to learn HOW to really use it can find a lot of quality stuff ( now of course a 1000 buck machine --SHOULD get a bit more depth (a extra inch or 2 ) and have more TRASH VS TREASURE IDing bells and whistles ) but unless you really are going to spend a lot of time and hit the hobby "hard core" --do you really need a $1000 machine --nah --- now do you want to show off to to others or gotta have the latest and greatest "thing" out there ? and want a lot of complex bells and whistles on a machine to figger out & deal with? ---then by all means get a $1000 machine .

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

We are not the ones to tell you why you should buy a better detector, that is something you have to decide yourself.


If you like to beach hunt then look at it from a beach perspective.

How many gold rings did your 505 miss in the sand?

How does it act when your chest deep in the water where the majority of the good finds are?

How does it react to iron?


For what it's worth, none of my detectors are for "showing off", mine are for hunting. I love to water hunt so half of my detectors are what I consider the best for water hunting. I have 3 water detectors, (2 are back up detectors or if someone wants to hunt with me) a Excal 1000 with 10 inch coil, a Excal 1000 with a 15 inch WOT coil, and a custom water proof Sov GT with WOT coil, 1 competition detector, a Fisher 1235X, and 2 land detectors , a Whites 6000 XL PRO and another Sov GT with 15 inch WOT coil.

Of the 6 I currently own, 5 of them I bought used. I can sell every one of the used detectors for what I paid for them, and a couple for more then I paid for them so as far as I am concerned they didn't cost me anything, the money isn't spent, it is just invested....I let the original buyers absorb the deprecation on the detector. The dividends are paid in gold and silver jewelry and in money found. The benefits is paid in exercise, stress release, and pure enjoyment.

Why do golfers take more then one club with them when they go golfing? It only takes one club to hit the ball. Are the rest for showing off or for status? My detectors are not status symbols, detectors are like golf clubs, different detectors for different conditions.

 

[ivan salis]

now as treasure hunter said --going into water ?--then of course as he points out you really "need" a water proof type machine --which are not cheap (and he is quite right I might add) --- and on the beach --you could get a extra inch or two of depth * that could find you a ring or two more over time , from a better machine. --

now for the amount of metal detecting you do , and how much it cost vs how much more you will get from it --is it "worth while" to do it to you is the real answer.

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

You have just proven the First Maxim of treasure hunting.
You do not need a Cadillac detector to make good finds.
The Second Maxim is that as long as you buy your new
detector with your finds it doesn't matter that you spend
that much money. Most folks buy their expensive detector
and hope to recover the money from their finds but many
never do. To put it in perspective ... are folks willing to dig
120,000 zincolns to recoup the cost of a nice detector?
Do you think they can find that many before the Cadillac
is replaced by a new and improved model? That same
detector will be available somewhere used for 50-75%
of list price within a few months. siegfried schlagrule

 

[paratrooper]

If you are just interested in beeping with your son then that machine will do the job . Kids are excited about finding virtually ANYTHING . The more you spend "usually" produces more depth . I call it "Dollars for inches". Beaches are a world of their own . As a desert beeper I know guys that have really high dollar units . Why ? Because they can revisit old nugget patches that have produced in the past and perhaps find a few nuggies that were just a tiny bit too deep for their previous unit . Not to mention patches of guys they know that HAVEN'T stepped up their equipment . The only thing I can say with confidence is that a unit that will work in black sand will allow you to work shallow water where MANY rings are lost by people waving their arms to dry off and little kids ripping gold chains from mommys neck while being walked around in 2 or 3 feet of water . Low tide can open up a treasure trove . I have such a unit . A Tesoro Lobo Super Traq . It has a BLACK SAND setting . Used are about $500 . You might do better in the winter when beeping is not as popular back east what with inclement weather and people lose interest in the hobby . Good luck .

 

[Jimmy(PA)]

Buying a better detector is like buying a better computer, tv....hands down all else being equal such as the location and ground conditions a better detector will generally find you some more items. Granted most detectors can find 90% of finds but generally that deeper 10% is older. Also a better dual frequency or multi frequency machine will work much better on beaches and go much deeper such as the DFX, CZ series from Fisher, and Minelabs also your target ID will be better at depth. Check out some used Fisher, Whites, Minelabs on the forum you can usually get some good deals and resale is great if you find that its not much of an improvement. But starting from lower end machines and working my way up through mid range and now using the top end detectors I wouldnt go back.

 

[Jimmy(PA)]

Oh and also your detector is not a bad machine, im just saying I feel you will find a higher end machine much better from personal experience.

 

[littledmac]

Thank you all for your input.

I am greatful for this site and your knowledge. You have convinced me to step up to a better machine, when I feel I have completely mastered the one I have now, and figure I will pass along the Bounty Hunter to my son, so he can stop being my digger, and hunt and dig with me. He is now 6 years old, and I figure b the time he is 7 he will be ready for his own.

I am very pleased with the Bounty Hunter thus far. I have had great success with it on the beach. I did take it to my home town in Pittsburgh, and went nuts with all the garbage it picked up, so I hope a better machine will help with that, when I visit that area. Other than that, it is only used as a beach machine for me, so I will probably get a decent water detector like some of you have suggested.

Thanks again for your input, and I did not intend to insult anyone about more expensive metal detectors just being a status symbol. I really am new to the hobby, and don't know a whole lot about it. I feel I have learned a great deal from this site, and from the hours I have used my machine. I am comfortable with it, and feel confident in using it. I will be using for a good while to come, until my son is ready, and hes strong enough to use it.

HH