So... Please tell me Why does a metal detector cost $2499 again?

[dieselram94]

I don't mind paying up for quality. There simply is no comparison between a Minelab and a cheap bounty Hunter. My time is valuable, I don't want to waste it with a toy...

sent from a potato...

 

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[el padron]

I don't mind paying up for quality. There simply is no comparison between a Minelab and a cheap bounty Hunter. My time is valuable, I don't want to waste it with a toy...

sent from a potato...

Off course your time is valuable. Thats why it shouldn't be indirectly squandered buying overpriced cheaply made tools.

Kelley co sold 800 to 1000 metal detectors EVERY DAY last December. Thats just one distributor...
Two years ago it was estimated that there were about 100,000 hobby metal detectorists in the USA....

In December of last year alone that many or more metal detectors were sold to the general public.
Actually possibly up to 300,000 or more metal detectors were sold in December 13.
The vast majority were sold to people that had never metal detected before. The machines are now being churned out with specifically that demographic in mind.
The Minelabs are built to very minimal standards also. I use a relatively new seasoned model. It works well.
About as well as it would have ten years ago.
It feels cheap and I'm constantly worried about getting it wet or cracking the case.......

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Off course your time is valuable. Thats why it shouldn't be indirectly squandered buying overpriced cheaply made tools.

Kelley co sold 800 to 1000 metal detectors EVERY DAY last December. Thats just one manufacturer....
Two years ago it was estimated that there were about 100,000 hobby metal detectorists in the USA....

In December of last year alone that many or more metal detectors were sold to the general public.
Actually possibly up to 300,000 or more metal detectors were sold in December 13.
The vast majority were sold to people that had never metal detected before. The machines are now being churned out with specifically that demographic in mind.
The Minelabs are built to very minimal standards also. I use a relatively new seasoned model. It works well.
About as well as it would have ten years ago.
It feels cheap and I'm constantly worried about getting it wet or cracking the case.......

I own 2 excals, a Sovereign GT and an Etrac I do not worry about cracking or breaking them at all....






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[el padron]

I own 2 excals, a Sovereign GT and an Etrac I do not worry about cracking or breaking them at all....






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

In a $1000 SGT housing, The coil cable exits the case from the middle of its bottom surface in a completely exposed unprotected perpendicular fashion from where it screws in, then winds down the shaft. They call this "the plug on the rear of the control box" in the manual because they want to keep it "real simple".
If you put your detector down while in storage or actual use it is very likely that where the coil cable exits the control box is the exact place that will bear the brunt of the entire weight of the unit.

Now look at the location just described. Where your coil cable leaves your SGT you will see at best a very small fracture line. At worst you have already made a temporary repair on a very bad design.
If your machine is used often enough you will feel the cheap plastic giving way right around this area.
Also getting water on the control surface at all, (of any kind) according to the manufacturer completely voids the warranty.

Thats right, getting any water at all on the face of arguably the best black sand saltwater land detector will void the warranty. (Its a land version Excal 2 right?)

Why argue?, A fifty dollar power tool is made so much better..... and probably costs more to manufacture....

Almost all detectors I have worked with share a variation of this circumstance. One or two models have been an exception partially because the US government versions would not have been purchased with characteristics of such shoddy workmanship.

 

[Deerhunter24]

I've told this story before to many people...I'll try to make it short as possible, but it won't be.


FACTS:

I hunt with 2 older guys...I'm 33 now (born 1980), these guys are in their 60's. These guys have been detecting since the late 70's and have much more experience than I do when it comes to detecting. They have 30+ years experience each. This is my 11th year detecting. Just setting the back drop that none of us are rookies.

When I met these guys back in 2004, I was a rookie using a Garrett GTI 1500.
Rick was using a White's DFX at the time. Jim was using the First model Explorer.

They pretty much outperformed me everywhere we went from 2004-2007, but I WAS guessing a lot had to do with experience. We hunted a lot of fairgrounds with high amounts of trash where you really didn't even detect targets past 5-6 deep. I mean...those were deep finds for those places. But since most finds were 4" or less we all made decent finds. They were just faster at locating their targets than I was as they had more experience.

However, Jim was getting better with his detector and when we hunted he was making deeper finds on average than us.

Anyway, in 2007, we found an old fairgrounds that didn't have nearly the amount of trash as the others we had detected.

It seemed most of the targets were either shallow (3" or less) or deeper.

First day we were there, Rick (DFX) and myself (GTI 1500) were convinced after digging 1 silver coin, a wheat penny, and few clad coins that this place stunk. All the good coins were gone.

Jim (Explorer) strolls over and shows us 30+ wheats and 8-10 silver coins. Tells us all the coins were 6" or deeper, some as much as 9-10" deep.


Jim would get these deep signals...point them out. DFX and Garrett would swing over them...not even make a sound. Complete silence. He'd swing the Explorer over it and it would scream.

This didn't just happen once. This was every Wednesday all summer long...same place...8 hours detecting...Jim kicking our butt.

The Garrett and the DFX had settings changed too...no coins being found over 5-6" deep there by us. Jim was averaging 6-8 silvers every week and probably 30+ wheats with an Explorer 1.

That fairground is where we all learned the capability of finding deep coins with an Explorer.


TRUE STORY:

End of summer, Rick buys and Explorer II. Rick gets Jim's settings, but programs it to the equivalency as Exp I and Exp II are a little different. Jim walks out...locates deep whispers (as he calls them)...calls Rick over. Rick swings Explorer II over the ground...ahh...what do ya know Rick's Explorer II makes the same sounds.

Rick goes detects all day there...his 1st day using the detector and rips it up. Finds 6-8 silver coins, buffalo nickel, indianhead, 30 wheat pennies.

The next spring I bought a Minelab SE.

My first week with a Minelab SE I dug a Mercury Dime at 8" deep with 2 nails in the hole. My GTI 1500 would never have found that coin. I dug over 5,000 coins with my Garrett and only 1 was over 6" deep.


IMHO, A Garrett GTI 1500 feels like a cheap detector. It has a lot of good qualities. It has target imaging and exceptional pinpointing, especially when compared to a Minelab Explorer. And its pretty light weight. I'm not bagging on a Garrett GTI.

However, in 4-5 years using it...I saw nothing that made me believe it was capable of CONSISTENTLY detecting coins at ranges beyond 6." Minelab Explorers will do this.


So when someone says that a cheap detector will find the same things as expensive detectors...I find that EXTREMELY short sighted.

They might make the same kinds of finds, but if you digging at places where good coins are 7+ inches deep. There is no way that cheap $300 detectors are going to find coins consistently at those depths.



Sure, if targets are shallow...then every detector has a great chance of making good finds.

But if you are talking deep, small targets, no way to convince me Minelabs aren't worth the extra money.

 

[el padron]

I've told this story before to many people...I'll try to make it short as possible, but it won't be.


FACTS:

I hunt with 2 older guys...I'm 33 now (born 1980), these guys are in their 60's. These guys have been detecting since the late 70's and have much more experience than I do when it comes to detecting. They have 30+ years experience each. This is my 11th year detecting. Just setting the back drop that none of us are rookies.

When I met these guys back in 2004, I was a rookie using a Garrett GTI 1500.
Rick was using a White's DFX at the time. Jim was using the First model Explorer.

They pretty much outperformed me everywhere we went from 2004-2007, but I WAS guessing a lot had to do with experience. We hunted a lot of fairgrounds with high amounts of trash where you really didn't even detect targets past 5-6 deep. I mean...those were deep finds for those places. But since most finds were 4" or less we all made decent finds. They were just faster at locating their targets than I was as they had more experience.

However, Jim was getting better with his detector and when we hunted he was making deeper finds on average than us.

Anyway, in 2007, we found an old fairgrounds that didn't have nearly the amount of trash as the others we had detected.

It seemed most of the targets were either shallow (3" or less) or deeper.

First day we were there, Rick (DFX) and myself (GTI 1500) were convinced after digging 1 silver coin, a wheat penny, and few clad coins that this place stunk. All the good coins were gone.

Jim (Explorer) strolls over and shows us 30+ wheats and 8-10 silver coins. Tells us all the coins were 6" or deeper, some as much as 9-10" deep.


Jim would get these deep signals...point them out. DFX and Garrett would swing over them...not even make a sound. Complete silence. He'd swing the Explorer over it and it would scream.

This didn't just happen once. This was every Wednesday all summer long...same place...8 hours detecting...Jim kicking our butt.

The Garrett and the DFX had settings changed too...no coins being found over 5-6" deep there by us. Jim was averaging 6-8 silvers every week and probably 30+ wheats with an Explorer 1.

That fairground is where we all learned the capability of finding deep coins with an Explorer.


TRUE STORY:

End of summer, Rick buys and Explorer II. Rick gets Jim's settings, but programs it to the equivalency as Exp I and Exp II are a little different. Jim walks out...locates deep whispers (as he calls them)...calls Rick over. Rick swings Explorer II over the ground...ahh...what do ya know Rick's Explorer II makes the same sounds.

Rick goes detects all day there...his 1st day using the detector and rips it up. Finds 6-8 silver coins, buffalo nickel, indianhead, 30 wheat pennies.

The next spring I bought a Minelab SE.

My first week with a Minelab SE I dug a Mercury Dime at 8" deep with 2 nails in the hole. My GTI 1500 would never have found that coin. I dug over 5,000 coins with my Garrett and only 1 was over 6" deep.


IMHO, A Garrett GTI 1500 feels like a cheap detector. It has a lot of good qualities. It has target imaging and exceptional pinpointing, especially when compared to a Minelab Explorer. And its pretty light weight. I'm not bagging on a Garrett GTI.

However, in 4-5 years using it...I saw nothing that made me believe it was capable of CONSISTENTLY detecting coins at ranges beyond 6." Minelab Explorers will do this.


So when someone says that a cheap detector will find the same things as expensive detectors...I find that EXTREMELY short sighted.

They might make the same kinds of finds, but if you digging at places where good coins are 7+ inches deep. There is no way that cheap $300 detectors are going to find coins consistently at those depths.



Sure, if targets are shallow...then every detector has a great chance of making good finds.

But if you are talking deep, small targets, no way to convince me Minelabs aren't worth the extra money.

Yes, most high end detectors work well for their intended purpose, (so does a condom). The point is that for $1000 or $2500. when compared to other modern consumer electronics, they are relatively crudely designed, manufactured from the absolute cheapest material possible and the technology they utilize is sold for hundreds of times more then if it was applied to almost any other consumer electronic application.

 

[Deerhunter24]

As far as saying your paying for a name...

Had the same people talk smack about by Colt 1911's or AR's.

Had a guy who owned a Bushmaster & S&W AR and who tried to tell me that I overpaid for my Colt. His Bushmaster and S&W were just as good and cost half the money.

When we got to the range...I shot a 10 shot groups that were 1.5" in size. He struggled to get 3" groups at 100 yards with 4-5 shot groups.

I also once shot a 30 round group that was 2.5" in size at 100 yards. Shot all 30 rounds in under 5 minutes.

Sorry, but just because something has a good name or is expensive, does not mean that its inferior or overpriced, or is of the same quality as lower priced items.

In some cases it may be true, but a lot companies earn their respect due to producing products that actually work well and function as advertised.

 

[Fletch88]

In a $1000 SGT housing, The coil cable exits the case from the middle of its bottom surface in a completely exposed unprotected perpendicular fashion from where it screws in, then winds down the shaft. They call this "the plug on the rear of the control box" in the manual because they want to keep it "real simple". If you put your detector down while in storage or actual use it is very likely that where the coil cable exits the control box is the exact place that will bear the brunt of the entire weight of the unit. Now look at the location just described. Where your coil cable leaves your SGT you will see at best a very small fracture line. At worst you have already made a temporary repair on a very bad design. If your machine is used often enough you will feel the cheap plastic giving way right around this area. Also getting water on the control surface at all, (of any kind) according to the manufacturer completely voids the warranty. Thats right, getting any water at all on the face of arguably the best black sand saltwater land detector will void the warranty. (Its a land version Excal 2 right?) Why argue?, A fifty dollar power tool is made so much better..... and probably costs more to manufacture.... Almost all detectors I have worked with share a variation of this circumstance. One or two models have been an exception partially because the US government versions would not have been purchased with characteristics of such shoddy workmanship.

El Pardon, I have to disagree. I've owned Garrett's, Fisher, Tesoro, Teknetics, and Minelab. The Sovereign GT being the first ML ever bought. I was amazed at how well built and solid everything was from the packaging, the rod assembly and control housing felt when assembling it compared to anything I had ever owned. I was even more amazed at how well it performed at any kind of detecting you can throw at it. I've taken mine through everything from relics, coin shoots, beach, hiking and camping etc, etc and haven't had any problems with cracks anywhere. I do keep the control box cover on at all times, but can't understand why you say it's so poorly built.

 

[Deerhunter24]

Yes El Padron, I agree with that.

My comments aren't really directed toward you as much as the few comments basically saying that a Bounty Hunter is gonna make the same finds as an Explorer.

I've personally witnessed over 100 hours in real life time of watching an Explorer kick the crap out of quality products made by Whites and Garrett. At the time, the DFX was White's best model and GTI 1500 was Garretts probably 2nd most high end model.

If the Explorer smoked those machines, I cannot imagine how bad a Bounty Hunter would have looked.

That's the only point I was trying to make.

 

[el padron]

As far as saying your paying for a name...

Had the same people talk smack about by Colt 1911's or AR's.

Had a guy who owned a Bushmaster & S&W AR and who tried to tell me that I overpaid for my Colt. His Bushmaster and S&W were just as good and cost half the money.

When we got to the range...I shot a 10 shot groups that were 1.5" in size. He struggled to get 3" groups at 100 yards with 4-5 shot groups.

I also once shot a 30 round group that was 2.5" in size at 100 yards. Shot all 30 rounds in under 5 minutes.

Sorry, but just because something has a good name or is expensive, does not mean that its inferior or overpriced, or is of the same quality as lower priced items.

In some cases it may be true, but a lot companies earn their respect due to producing products that actually work well and function as advertised.

Completely off subject here, I was a Garrison Military Policeman on Fort Campbell Ky in the 80's. We were issued 1911 colt 45's and invariably whenever we qualified with them they would jam mid cycle several times during the only 50 round qualifying cycle.
We hated them. We complained so loudly and so often that at about the time of my discharge the Army transitioned to 9mm.
I know what a stellar reputation that weapon has.
What we carried on the other hand was garbage.... I was there, I lived it every day for 11 hours a day. Just about the entire of both Military Police Companies (The 101st and LEA) agreed.
Now the original weapons we could have purchased and were offered for $75 each typically run about $3000.00 or more if you can find one. Everybody wants one . "It was the finest weapon colt ever made"

We felt very vulnerable Patrolling Fort Cambell on the mid shift while carrying 1911 Colt 45's. They are absolute trash.

 

[el padron]

El Pardon, I have to disagree. I've owned Garrett's, Fisher, Tesoro, Teknetics, and Minelab. The Sovereign GT being the first ML ever bought. I was amazed at how well built and solid everything was from the packaging, the rod assembly and control housing felt when assembling it compared to anything I had ever owned. I was even more amazed at how well it performed at any kind of detecting you can throw at it. I've taken mine through everything from relics, coin shoots, beach, hiking and camping etc, etc and haven't had any problems with cracks anywhere. I do keep the control box cover on at all times, but can't understand why you say it's so poorly built.

Fletch, I love the machine, Its my main detector... I will never be without one,
But as a consumer electronic it is overpriced and cheaply made!!! I will try to post a photo of what I am trying to illustrate pertaining to the poor design of how the coil cable leaves the machine.....
That said.... I still love it....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Strange, I gave gotten years of service out of my " cheaply made" detectors..... I am very happy with them......






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[Deerhunter24]

Completely off subject here, I was a Garrison Military Policeman on Fort Campbell Ky in the 80's. We were issued 1911 colt 45's and invariably whenever we qualified with them they would jam mid cycle several times during the only 50 round qualifying cycle.
We hated them. We complained so loudly and so often that at about the time of my discharge the Army transitioned to 9mm.
I know what a stellar reputation that weapon has.
What we carried on the other hand was garbage.... I was there, I lived it every day for 11 hours a day. Just about the entire of both Military Police Companied (The 101st and LEA) agreed.
Now the original weapons we could have purchased and were offered for $75 each typically run about $3000.00 or more if you can find one. Everybody wants one . "It was the finest weapon colt ever made"

We felt very vulnerable Patrolling Fort Cambell on the mid shift while carrying 1911 Colt 45's. They are absolute trash.

How old were those Colt 1911's you were issued? My guess is 20-40 years old or older with THOUSANDS or rounds ran through it. Taken apart and cleaned how many times? The army most likely issued something old and beat up...which is common in the military

Yes, several of those have all sorts of collector value because of the HISTORY of the firearm, not necessarily its mechanical function now...50,000 rounds later.

What you may have been issued might have been a worn out piece of crap. The 1911 is not a "trashy" platform.


Lets assume that a Chevy Impala has a decent reputation as a reliable car.

If I buy one used with a rusted out bottom and 200,000 miles it and dies in 5,000 miles...I shouldn't declare that to be trashy, its just worn, abused, and worn out.


So, the 40 year old 1911 you may have been issued in 1980 might have been garbage, but my Colt GC National Match isn't garbage.


Also, my points about the both the AR and the 1911...I never once mentioned reliability. I was talking simply in terms of accuracy.

 

[Deerhunter24]

Also, my neighbor is 77 years old. He said the Colt 45 he was issued during the 1950's, shortly after the Korean War, was garbage as well. Worn out and very abused. Its a military item, made to be used and abused but it can only take so much. FACT...its not going to last forever.

He wasn't a fan of the 1911 until about 10 years ago, when he started shooting newly produced ones that actually functioned properly.

 

[el padron]

Strange, I gave gotten years of service out of my " cheaply made" detectors..... I am very happy with them......






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

So have I, and I'm not....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sounds like a personal issue, all my hunting partners also use Minelabs and they are happy as well.

I have owned Whites, Troy, and Tesoro, for me personally I enjoy the Minelabs.






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[shepcal]

Read thru all the posts, see 'excuses' of people who can't afford a better machine, others? don't know where their head is.

Are the detectors out now adays overpriced? Yes of course! because they can! Are they worth it? If one learns the machine-yes!

My Minelab gold machines have paid for themselves many times over, and no a bounty hunter wouldn't even come close, nor a whites or garrets (ATX is another story, I want one).

Coin machines, I've had whites, Tesoro, fisher and explorer. Only basically use during off season for gold. I now have a CTX30-30, hasn't paid for itself yet, but know it will. I love it. My home is 50 years+ old. I detect it with every new detector I get. A lot of trash, the 30-30 gets between the trash. Is it worth the extra bucks to me? yes

Is it overpriced? yes, but it's nice to get what you pay for.

Just say'n, Shep

 

[el padron]

Sounds like a personal issue, all my hunting partners also use Minelabs and they are happy as well.

I have owned Whites, Troy, and Tesoro, for me personally I enjoy the Minelabs.






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

Its not a personal issue at all... Compared to modern consumer electronics all but a very few of the most popular detectors are hugely overpriced and extremely cheaply made. That is a fact. It doesn't matter that some people are happy to pay thousands of dollars for something that costs so little and is so relatively inadequate. That is irrelevant.
What matters is that in spite of their huge relative cost and when subject to a reasonable amount of care and use, they are still very unnecessarily vulnerable to failure. Some may be OK with that.
It just further illustrates the age old adage, that "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"

 

[dieselram94]

Its not a personal issue at all... Compared to modern consumer electronics all but a very few of the most popular detectors are hugely overpriced and extremely cheaply made. That is a fact. It doesn't matter that some people are happy to pay thousands of dollars for something that costs so little and is so relatively inadequate. That is irrelevant.
What matters is that in spite of their huge relative cost and when subject to a reasonable amount of care and use, they are still very unnecessarily vulnerable to failure. Some may be OK with that.
It just further illustrates the age old adage, that "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"

I'm not worried about durability. All my machines are quality and I take care and do not abuse my stuff. I don't care how it's made if it is going to be lightweight and you fall on it or use it for a pry bar any machine is going to fail. About the only point I agree with you is I too think they all should be water resistant. I know a guy who breaks every pair of prescription glasses he buys. Why? it's because he is a sasquatch who doesn't care. It doesn't matter if he spends $30.00 at Walmart or $500.00 at the eye doctor, the result is always the same...They break! The point is they are built very durable unless you abuse them. Is the real issue you think the manufacturers make to much money? You really seem stuck on this? Just wondering...

 

[el padron]

I'm not worried about durability. All my machines are quality and I take care and do not abuse my stuff. I don't care how it's made if it is going to be lightweight and you fall on it or use it for a pry bar any machine is going to fail. About the only point I agree with you is I too think they all should be water resistant. I know a guy who breaks every pair of prescription glasses he buys. Why? it's because he is a sasquatch who doesn't care. It doesn't matter if he spends $30.00 at Walmart or $500.00 at the eye doctor, the result is always the same...They break! The point is they are built very durable unless you abuse them. Is the real point you think the manufacturers make to much money? You really seem stuck on this? Just wondering...

Well yes, they can certainly afford to increase the quality and value that they offer. No one is using a metal detector as a pry bar.
You have to understand how little they respect you as a consumer. They market $1200 machines that feature technology they stole or patented 15 years ago as new and revolutionary. Then they subliminally insult you..... They get away with it by telling you that they found the lost arc of the covenant on Cocoa Beach with their latest model.

BUT!!!!!!!! Don't get the control unit wet at all. It will void the warranty......