Newbie treasure hunter in need of guidance/advice

Archetype

Newbie
Feb 28, 2015
4
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have recently delved into the "hobby" of treasure hunting and I have a few specific places I would like to investigate. What I basically need is a detector that would tell me
location of gold/silver metals and of hidden rooms, graves, tombs or underground cavities in depth up to 25m.

I have been having an argument with a friend who claims that according to an expert he knows none of these commercially available and relatively "cheap" metal detectors work
well enough to justify their price. Basically his thesis is that they are a waste of money and only a military grade detector that has been recommended to him, that costs 60,000 euros,
can do the job properly and accurately.

Now, granted that you get what you pay for however I find his claim untenable. First of all, sometimes, the argument from authority may bring impact into a debate but not always substance and hence
I like to investigate things on my own.
Secondly if all detectors available are pants how come the companies selling them haven't gone bust? Particularly I've heard that OKM detectors are awful. One reason being that if lets say a gold metal
is buried inside a cavity/tomb made of rocks the detector goes widely inaccurate. Another thing i was told is that commercially available detectors aren't good for all types of soil/ground and therefore can prove useless though this is not stated when buying them.

Is there any detector (not very expensive) that can detect and reasonably pin point accurately to what I am after without costing the world? I would highly appreciate some experts advice so that
I don't waste my money buying something that won't work.
 

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wyattearp

Greenie
Dec 24, 2011
14
3
South Alabama
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Fisher CZ-7, CZ-3D, CZ-70 Pro, F75, F2
Primary Interest:
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Sure do have to stay away from graves tombs that's a NO NO. What your in need of is Ground Penetrating Radar might find a used one at a descent price. Do a google search and see what you come up with. That's about only thing to find what your looking for.
 

OP
OP
A

Archetype

Newbie
Feb 28, 2015
4
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for your replies. I won't be digging graves, just some places I know with underground cavities. Any suggestions on Ground Penetrating Radars?
Any magazines with reviews? How do I educate myself on which would be my ideal detector model?
 

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OP
OP
A

Archetype

Newbie
Feb 28, 2015
4
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I am looking for an impartial advice. I know where the shops are. With respect.
 

TheRingFinder

Bronze Member
May 22, 2013
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Hey Arch - What you are looking for will be a tough find, most people here are just land and water detectorists using metal detectors. I looked into ground penetrating scanners and there is ALOT of debate on how and IF they even work. Plus they are very expensive, getting into the $10,000 <- American dollars area. All I can say is; be very careful as there are a lot of scammers out there. You could try hitting the "Dowsers" area of TN -rent one of those guys service for the day and let us al know how it turns out. The debate over dowsing can be finally put to rest ???
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
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archetype, there is nothing "magical" about what the military has, versus what's on the private market. You're buddies are waaayy-too-into conspiracy theories if they think there's some sort of grand-coverup that the govt/military has superior detector, that mere mortals can not have. Trust me: If there were a "better mousetrap", the private consumer market would have been "All over themselves" to develop it for for the evil profit motive to be selling. The military mine detectors are simply nothing more that super high-powered sensitive pulse (or GPR as discussed) devices. You can buy whatever is on the private market, paint it with camo green colors, and presto: you now have a "military" detector. Doh!

And to the extent that possibly there is something "newer and better" that the military has, versus what's currently on the consumer market: TRUST ME: it's not going to do ANYTHING better, for the type pursuits you are talking about.

Lastly: when you say "up to 25 meters", that's 80 or more feet !! You will NOT find "gold and silver" at those depths, unless it was the size of a mack truck. Good luck .
 

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OP
OP
A

Archetype

Newbie
Feb 28, 2015
4
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for your replies.

So for detecting underground cavities there is nothing that stands out that could be recommended?
I do see OKM geophysical devices on kelly website but then i read terrible reviews about anything thats
OKM.
 

G.A.P.metal

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Jul 5, 2010
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Land or Sea Pointer
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L
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Yes if there metal in the cavities.... a 2 Box will do ya to maybe 7 ft. depending on size.
There are guys running them on here " Franklin" runs a 2 box, and is a cache hunter,and Pyeldriver is holding one in his profile on here ....hope this helps .
Gary
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
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Salinas, CA
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Yes if there metal in the cavities.... a 2 Box will do ya to maybe 7 ft. depending on size.....

For a 2-box unit to reach to "7 ft.", the object would need to be the size of a toaster oven or larger.
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
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First off, what specifically are you looking for? If you don't want to sink a lot of money into a detector, just think what it would cost to dig down to 25M!

OK, to get some idea of equipment check out accuratelocators . They have the equipment between regular detectors and GPR.

Frank five star.png
111-1 profile.jpg
 

Slingshot

Bronze Member
Apr 3, 2004
1,074
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25 meters!?!?!? I'd check the Oak Island threads out for that kind of depth, maybe you will find out something there that might work for you. Otherwise dowsing would be your only means of location at that depth that I know about. Then you will need some big $$$$$$ to get the heavy digging equipment to get that deep, and plenty of stout shoring. Good luck!
 

BosnMate

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Sep 10, 2010
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Metal detectors detect metal, not voids. I don't think anything will detect a void, except perhaps ground penetrating radar. Most of the people on this forum aren't looking to dig deep holes, and you will understand why after you've dug several holes a couple of feet deep only to find a soda can. The larger the metal object the deeper it can be detected, within reason. Most of us would get rid of any detector that would hit on a hole in the ground, that would be called falsing and you can only take so much of that. I don't know of any civilian or military detector that will locate a cave or void. If it's a concrete reinforced bunker, then a metal detector would pick up on the re-bar in the concrete, not something inside the bunker.
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
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Actually, a 2 Box will detect a void if you set the null on the negative side of 0. The sound you normally hear is the ground. It goes silent over a void. Some 2 Boxes even have a setting for cave or void. Just a thought. Frank five star.png
 

Mackaydon

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Oct 26, 2004
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Archetype,
Notwithstanding the vagueness of your phrase: "not very expensive", allow me to opine that seeking high definition of objects down to 25 meters IS an expensive venture. GPR is the best method that I am aware of. (Of course, if you are a believer in dowsing, that source would be cheaper.) I suggest you contact various GPR companies and inquire about their LEASING alternatives--and their costs. And do your researching about the process, techniques and costs before you talk to them.
Don....
 

Silver Searcher

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2006
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UK
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I have recently delved into the "hobby" of treasure hunting and I have a few specific places I would like to investigate. What I basically need is a detector that would tell me
location of gold/silver metals and of hidden rooms, graves, tombs or underground cavities in depth up to 25m

No such machine exists, because if they did.. it wouldn't matter how much they cost, they would pay for themselves almost straight away.

SS
 

cw0909

Silver Member
Dec 24, 2006
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answers for the GSSI system F&Q
How deep can GPR “see” to locate targets?
Depth of GPR penetration depends on the material being surveyed and also upon the antenna frequency being used. For instance, GPR will penetrate ice, rock, soil and asphalt differently due to each material’s unique electrical properties. Lower frequency antennas will generally penetrate deeper, but there is a loss in resolution with the drop in frequency.
Soil conditions can vary greatly, which in turn affects GPR penetration. In general, dry sandy soils with little salt content return excellent survey resolution, but heavy clay-based soils are difficult to penetrate with GPR. In some situations, penetration depth may be limited to a few feet or less within clays, whereas pipes residing in sandy soils could be detected at depths up to 30 feet.
Can GPR be used to find gold?
While GPR is in use with many professional mining companies, the technology is not well suited to finding coins, gold nuggets or buried treasure. Metal detectors are more suitable. GSSI recommends checking with local, state and federal laws before beginning any treasure-hunting activities.
http://www.geophysical.com/gssifaqs.htm

sorry thought the Q headers were links
 

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