A question...

austin_hunter

Jr. Member
Jul 18, 2011
30
0
Austin, Texas
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1266-X, Bounty Hunter 101
I was just wondering - now I am woefully behind on the current technology in metal detectors, but I wanted to ask y'alls opinion... Is there really any machine out there that does better than any other when it comes to identifying gold?

Since I'm primarily a coin hunter, though, I tend to disc out some aluminum, so I'm also not the best at determining myself what's good or not, but... and this leads me to my point (which it is just my somewhat uneducated guess), that no matter what machine you have or how much you paid for it - a pulltab and a ring are gonna look a helluva lot alike...

The way I look at it, the best discriminator you have is between your ears... it all comes down to 2 things:...... drumroll......

Dig it, or not.

Some days, I feel like diggin every signal; most days (especially now here in Texas), I don't, but I have recently been purposefully looking for gold here lately, and I'm learning a lot.
 

lookindown

Gold Member
Mar 11, 2010
7,089
4,936
Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
ACE 250,AT PRO, CZ21...RTG pro scoop...Stealth 720
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

mfitzy111

Hero Member
Mar 6, 2011
572
8
NEPA
Detector(s) used
garrett ACE350 (traded off!), minelab E-TRAC, AT-Pro
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
best to talk to Mike (4H) from woodland detectors. he's on this board a lot...run what your looking for in a detector by him. he's got great prices, and the best customer service around.

as far as gold goes, I can't talk too much about it - my mine lab finds silver pretty darned good though..my last gold ring was found with my Ace 350-
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,410
30,022
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
austin_hunter said:
I was just wondering - now I am woefully behind on the current technology in metal detectors, but I wanted to ask y'alls opinion... Is there really any machine out there that does better than any other when it comes to identifying gold?

Since I'm primarily a coin hunter, though, I tend to disc out some aluminum, so I'm also not the best at determining myself what's good or not, but... and this leads me to my point (which it is just my somewhat uneducated guess), that no matter what machine you have or how much you paid for it - a pulltab and a ring are gonna look a helluva lot alike...

The way I look at it, the best discriminator you have is between your ears... it all comes down to 2 things:...... drumroll......

Dig it, or not.

Some days, I feel like diggin every signal; most days (especially now here in Texas), I don't, but I have recently been purposefully looking for gold here lately, and I'm learning a lot.

A Minelab GPX 5000 is THE best gold finder on the market, but bullets and pulltabs sound just like gold - even to this US$5,500.00 machine. Discrimination is for the ederly and handicapped, not for the treasure hunter.. :headbang:
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
If anyone tries to answer this question, by saying they have a machine that can ...... with any degree of certainty, tell aluminum apart from gold, then do this: Quickly take them down to the nearest inner-city blighted ghetto park, and turn them loose. See how much gold they dig, while leaving the aluminum behind. I think you (and they) will soon see that ...... their ratios will turn out to be nothing much more than random chance.

The only reason they might *think* gold rings "sound different" than the 1000 pieces of aluminum they just dug, is the pyschological trap of "selective memory". Whenever we finally dig a gold ring, we selectively remember our premonitions, and think "aha! I KNEW it sounded different". But when it turns out to be junk, we subconsciously think "yeah, come to think of it, it DID sound kinda junky". ::)
 

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
Using a Gold Bug DP I found my first gold ring today, at a cellar hole site. There is a grove at the creek that runs through the same woods. Which I hunted on my way out, I found (3) aluminum can scraps that all had me thinking wow another ring? The numbers were different, but the ring is aged alot more and they were only off by 4. Sound, if there was a difference it was minimal. So safe to say I am in agreement with the other replies...although that trip to the ghetto...........
 

Smudge

Bronze Member
Jul 9, 2010
1,532
44
Central Florida
Detector(s) used
A Propointer tied to a stick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I would say that a dedicated gold detector running at a much higher frequency will give your machine more sensitivity to small gold.

Beyond that, you are correct. You simply run your discrimination low and be prepared to dig every signal you get.

You already know that gold runs all over the conductivity scale, so anything set above "IRON" is going to cost you some of that yellow stuff.

That's my two cents on the matter. ;D
 

pastorals

Jr. Member
Jul 12, 2011
53
1
E. Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
:tongue3: "Discrimination is for the ederly and handicapped, not for the treasure hunter." so says the White Plains Wimp! :headbang: PARDON ME Terry for having an opinion. Discrimination might very well be for the lazy, infirm or coins only shooter! But I am 72...almost elderly ... and I dig all hits (and I know how to spell!) :laughing9:
 

lookindown

Gold Member
Mar 11, 2010
7,089
4,936
Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
ACE 250,AT PRO, CZ21...RTG pro scoop...Stealth 720
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Tom_in_CA said:
If anyone tries to answer this question, by saying they have a machine that can ...... with any degree of certainty, tell aluminum apart from gold, then do this: Quickly take them down to the nearest inner-city blighted ghetto park, and turn them loose. See how much gold they dig, while leaving the aluminum behind. I think you (and they) will soon see that ...... their ratios will turn out to be nothing much more than random chance.

The only reason they might *think* gold rings "sound different" than the 1000 pieces of aluminum they just dug, is the pyschological trap of "selective memory". Whenever we finally dig a gold ring, we selectively remember our premonitions, and think "aha! I KNEW it sounded different". But when it turns out to be junk, we subconsciously think "yeah, come to think of it, it DID sound kinda junky". ::)
Your right, when I finally find a gold item I say "That was the best sounding target Ive had all day" I seem to forget I thought the same thing about the 20 pulltabs I dug before that.
 

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