Do you use different machines for different types of hunts ?

[Foxtrot197]

I see many of you have several machines. We have 3 now the reason being is to upgrade a bit little by little as we have a limited budget . I am sure as we work our way up to more modern and reliable MDs and get better supporting equipt (pointers ,GPS etc) we will have less use for our older ones which I plan to pass down to newbies that may show interest that are also on limited income like ourselves . One I thing I did wonder as on another thread it was suggested by a BIGFOOT (hairy looking avitar) to me to make sure we get to know our equipt well. What I was wondering is do you guys use different MDs for different types of searches ? Like do you set up and have a favorite for sand searches then another one for say hard dirt or woods and so on ? Would I be better off setting up a machine designated for sand and one for woods and so on ? I have every intention to donate my older equipt on to others wanting to enter this field as I myself have so much to obtain (i can see nessity per our seriousness) and it is not cheap for just all the smalls required . I was lucky to have the resources of people whom could take older good MDs and supe them up for me so to speak. Many on Disability and Pention can not afford this stuff and I am around people like this alot. It took me a while to get the little I have together together but if its SOP to have a couple machines for different types of fields then I would like to know that as at this point it is My wife and myself and I was thinking 1 extra machine would be standard good as we go together and as I worked my way up machines I would donate the lesser machines to those in need (most likely wounded warriors as I plan to take them to beaches as we do a little now when i am able with them when its a good month) . So what is your set ups and for what ? also any suggestions on a adequate pointer that is inexpensive but will do the trick in a good manner ? remember I need to buy 2 so nothing top shelf.a good generic may be good if any suggestions out there it would be a great help.

 

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[Sandman]

Golfers use different clubs for each shot but you don't need many detectors. Forget about what i have. You don't need a detector with a screen that will lie to you. So long as it has zero motion pinpoint your good to go. Tesoro makes many great detectors that won't break the bank.

Give Bart a call. http://www.bigboyshobbies.net/ His prices are great.

 

[kcm]

Some people swear by their $2,000 machines. Others swear that for "THEM", their $200 machine works best.

Which is best? Chevy, Dodge, GMC, Ford, or any of the many imports? There is no right answer - the same as there is no wrong answer. Someone who has a $200 machine and knows it very well will outhunt someone with a $2,000 machine who doesn't take time to "listen" to their machine - and this will happen every single time! That said, there's also no actual proof that the $2,000 machines actually can outperform $200 or $500 machines.

...Look at it this way: Put a baseball in the hands of a major league pitcher and they can throw really well - even if the ball isn't of the quality they're used to. Put the best ball in the hands of, well, ME, and there's gonna be a window getting broke close by!! Yet the best baseball pitcher will not be the best quarterback and vice-versa.

 

[Foxtrot197]

good analogy

 

[Terry Soloman]

Yes, I do use different machines in different situations.

Farm fields and deep woods relic hunting - Tesoro Tejon
Wet saltwater beach sand and water - Tesoro Sand Shark
Freshwater lake and river - Tesoro Tiger Shark
Everyday dirt fishing - Tesoro Vaquero
Tot lots and City parks - Tesoro Compadre
Gold nugget hunting - Tesoro Lobo Super Traq / Minelab GPX 5000
Meteorite hunting - Minelab GPX 5000 / Fisher Goldbug II

Pinpointer - Garrett Pro Pointer

Sand Scoop - RTG Monster

 

[adamBomb]

Some people swear by their $2,000 machines. Others swear that for "THEM", their $200 machine works best.

Which is best? Chevy, Dodge, GMC, Ford, or any of the many imports? There is no right answer - the same as there is no wrong answer. Someone who has a $200 machine and knows it very well will outhunt someone with a $2,000 machine who doesn't take time to "listen" to their machine - and this will happen every single time! That said, there's also no actual proof that the $2,000 machines actually can outperform $200 or $500 machines.

...Look at it this way: Put a baseball in the hands of a major league pitcher and they can throw really well - even if the ball isn't of the quality they're used to. Put the best ball in the hands of, well, ME, and there's gonna be a window getting broke close by!! Yet the best baseball pitcher will not be the best quarterback and vice-versa.

Not really...You can't take that $200 machine in the water no matter how much of a pro the person behind the detector is because its not waterproof...and you probably cant take it on the wet salty sand no matter how much of a pro that person is either because it will just false because its not multifrequency...there are different machines for different types of hunts for a reason. So no the person with the $200 will NEVER out hunt someone with an expensive waterproof machine in the water.

I have different machines for different hunts...

Ocean - PI or Excal/CZ21
Beach - CTX
Land - CTX

 

[Frankn]

The target you are looking for determines the detector. It's that simple!
Here's my method. For fun in the park, or more serious hunting in OLD back yards where the rich have lived in the past I use my Whites XLT.
For cache hunting large caches (larger than a softball), I use my Hays 2 Box.
For hunting on beaches or prospecting, I use my Whites Surfmaster PI.
For searching inside old building walls, I use my Vibratector.
Yes all of my detectors are about 16 years, but they produce results equal or better than new units.
Just my method of operation. Frank

 

[Xraywolf]

Yes, I carry the Ace 250 in my truck all season long so it sees the most general use, tot lot killer and if I find a promising land area [a silver done], then I might come back with my Ace 400 or F75 to explore it in more depth. If the worse happened and my truck got broken into, at least I wouldn't be losing a $1K machine. 250 is a great machine but not exactly a beast on depth, as you'd expect for a low/mid range detector.

For water AT pro is my go to, though I just acquired an MX Sport which hopefully will excel on both land and water.

 

[cactusman]

For me what detector I use depends on what I am looking for and where I am looking. Basically it's all about the right tool for the job. Obviously one doesn’t need an arsenal of metal detectors to make tons of really great finds, but since it is one of my two main hobbies (motorcycles being the other), I keep several detectors on hand for my searches.

Park hunting: Garrett AT Gold -- excellent target separation, sensitive to jewelry, loads of audio that helps me to separate trash from treasure. I also have a Garrett ACE 350 on hand with the 4.5-inch sniper coil for teaching others, such as my wife, as it is easy to use, very lightweight, and can easily make great finds.

Gold prospecting: I either use my Garrett ATX for deep large nuggets, and my Fisher Gold Bug 2 for the really small shallow stuff. My Garrett AT Gold being waterproof to 10 feet makes it my choice in rivers. I also use a Falcon MD20 for ore sampling for *really* fine gold.

Meteorite hunting: I usually use my Fisher Gold Bug 2, although my trusty Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger is very hot on chondrites so it still has its place.

Beach hunting: I use my Garrett Sea Hunter MKII for the wet sand and in the surf, and I use my AT Pro in the dry sand. I want the depth and ability to handle salt water that the Sea Hunter provides and I can deal with digging junk, but in the dry stuff with the ability to knock out iron and accurately ID most (modern) pulltabs from rings, and audio that keeps me from digging bottle caps makes the AT Pro my choice in the towel line, and if there is a particular item that I keep finding I have the ability to knock it out with notch discrimination, although I rarely ever use more than iron discrimination on any detector I use.

Relic Hunting: I use my Garrett GTI-2500 with the 9.5 or 12.5-inch imaging coil, or 10x14 DD coil if the soil is really hot. If I’m going for deep iron, my Garrett ATX or Infinium LS works great.

Ghost Towns: My Garrett AT Pro shines here, as the ability to knock out .22 shell casings etc with notch discrimination can save much time, although, again, I rarely ever use more than iron discrimination.

Cache Hunting: For most items I use my Garrett GTI-2500 with the 12.5-inch imaging coil, and my Whites TM-808 for large items. When I need more depth on smaller objects, I use my Garrett ATX Deepseeker, although my trusty Garrett Infinium LS is much lighter than my ATX, so it still sees plenty of field use.

Pinpointer: Garrett Pro-Pointer AT -- great depth, waterproof, and the ability to just use it in the vibrate mode to keep from attracting onlookers makes it my first choice for rapidly locating/retrieving items and saves me countless hours recovering items.

 

[Xraywolf]

I'll just add for the benefit of noobs - Pass on all targets that you think are pulltabs/bottlecaps, you'll be passing rings as well on occasion. I just dug a target out of the sand the other day that I would have bet 50 to 1 was a pulltab and in fact I was about to save myself the bother of bending down to confirm, was a nice gold ring [top left].

There are clues that people proficient in using the machines can pick up on that reduce the possibility, but they tend to ring up in the same range, no way around that until they come up with a machine that gives you an actual visual of the target profile [which I think is a matter of time]. At the beach I tend to dig it all since its so easy vs the ground, gives you a chance to clean up so there is not so much junk next time you detect, though of course junk replenishes just like anything else. Wish they'd start making pulltabs and bottlecaps so that they stay attached to the container.

 

[RustyGold]

Just like there are different surfboards for different surf conditions so it goes with metal detectors.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I have the patience of buzzard. I am also price conscious (cheap) and keep my eyes open for great deals. I bought my 1st detector new and in 60 days I upgrdaded to a mid level detector for over $100 under retail. I also ran into a deal where a fellow MDer was leaving the hobby due to health concerns and got $1600 worth of gear for 50 cent on the dollar. My last big score was an XP Deus that I have under $500 invested for a $1200 set-up when I traded some items (no longer needed nor used).

I do have different detectors and coils for a variety for hunting conditions. I use the F75LTDSE as my go-to for most land hunts. The 1280X Aquanaut is used in the local beaches and the Deus is used to re-hunt previously pounded sites since I am still a novice on the machine.

I recommend you get the best detector you can afford that has optional coils available through the manufacturer and or aftermarket vendors.

I was brought up with the motto "Why by new when used will do?" Let the other guy take the depreciation hit.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Well said Loco Digger!

I too watch and listen for detectors being cheaply sold. There are great deals always online, yard sales and thrift stores...just have to know what you are buying.

Regards,

Doc

 

[Foxtrot197]

hmmm you just made me aware as we do go to streams in the boonies that are untouched and also as we are in rocky areas also untouched that we need to learn Meteiorites if they are of value only as I do not collect them nor am I interested but they may be good for others on here as gifts or swaps if they have interests. What would be a good but quick reference to learn the metiorites and identify them in a book type reference form ? good food for thought your post is..
THIS WAS TO CACTUSMANS POST

 

[Foxtrot197]

I fully agree and have learned that for myself !!!!!! I noticed on even the cheaper unit and the supped up unit (its an old expensive unit as our budjets low) both indicate either with sound or display 18k thin objects and 24k thin objects as pull tabs or foil . My wife and myself came up with the same solution that we would crank the sensitivity the highest possible and clean up whatever trash would be in the ground whilst there as the next time we would go that would be eliminated plus we clean up the enviroment at the same time . Our original plan was to use 2 different set ups on 2 different detectors at the same time over the same area but at this result we just crank them up and cover twice the area I will attest however if people went by the the indicators for foil and pull tabs and bottle caps they would just pass the very good stuff by . Not that I have found the great stuff yet but I make it a point to check each machine with a sample of each material I am looking for in the sedimentry ground area I am searching for a finer tune on the older Garret machines we have. I put down my necklace in a small hole I did and its 18k then I place its charm down thats 14k and I have a ring thats 24k i also place in that whole with a small silver coin also on its own. I adjust the machines to the ground earth I am going to be scanning in that area with each sample object prior to our search journey and that way I am almost assured I miss less and get a better tune . I am thinking of making a sample item set in acrylic that the samples can be seperated for testing for people and then offer them up to members here and if I find they like them then maybe market them as I truly think its a great Idea but maybe not for those with more expensive machines. I am not really sure as Ive not have one of them as of yet . great food for thought brother.. THIS WAS TO XRAY WOLFS POST

 

[Foxtrot197]

sorry all I click quick reply and it puts my responces at the end of the thread and not right below the subject I was commenting on.

 

[Foxtrot197]

AGREED DOC THATS WHY I POSTED THIS THREAD.. I AM ALSO OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE OF WHATS GOOD AND PROVEN OUT THERE AS THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT MANUFACTUERS AND DISTRIBUTERS AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE SCHEMATICS OF SOME OF THE UNITS THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME MODELS JUST WITH DIFFERENT DISPLAYS AND PLASTICS ETC.

Well said Loco Digger!

I too watch and listen for detectors being cheaply sold. There are great deals always online, yard sales and thrift stores...just have to know what you are buying.

Regards,

Doc

 

[Foxtrot197]

i WILL NOT BUY NEW MDS AS I JUST DO NOT HAVE IT IN OUR BUDGET . YOU BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ON COILS . CAN ANYONE SUGGEST THE BEST COILS FOR MY UNITS AND EXPLAIN WHAT THE GAINS AND LOSSES ARE BY CONVERTING TO THEM ? I HAVE 2 GARRETT AM 2S THAT THE GUYS SUPPED UP AT MY OLD WORK BUT THEY HAVE THE STOCK GROUNDHOG CO-PLANER COILS. THESE THINGS REALLY PICK UP AND THEY SPENT ALOT OF TIME WITH THE O-SCOPES TUNING THEM UP MY ONLY HEADACHE IS THE CONSTANT HUMM SOUND WHEN TUNED DOWN COMPAIRED TO THE OTHER UNIT THAT OPERATED IN QUIET MODE. THE OTHER UNIT IS A GARRET ACE 250 THAT HAS A LITTLE STOCK UPGRADED COIL THATS EGG SHAPED CALLED A PRO FORMANCE THAT I WOULD GUESS IS ABOUT 6 BY 9 INCHES AND NOTHING SPECIAL. OH I ALSO HAVE FOR WHEN I TAKE A GUEST FROM WOUNDED WARRIORS TO TALK TO THEM A MD CALLED A DISCOVERY 1100 BUT THE GUYS AT MY OLD WORK SAID ITS NOTHING SPECIAL AND THEY CAN NOT TUNE IT UP NOR THE ACE 250 CAN THEY TUNE UP. WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD UPGRADE FOR THE ACE 250 AND THE AMERICAN AM 2S ? DEPTH WITH THE ACE 250 I FIND LACKING AND I HAVE CONCERNS OF SUBMERGING THE AM2S AS THEY DO NOT PLAY WELL IN WET WATER IT SEEMS AS THEY INDICATE ON EVERY ROCK WHILEST SUBMERGED EVEN IF I RETRACT THE SENSITIVITY. tHANKS

I have the patience of buzzard. I am also price conscious (cheap) and keep my eyes open for great deals. I bought my 1st detector new and in 60 days I upgrdaded to a mid level detector for over $100 under retail. I also ran into a deal where a fellow MDer was leaving the hobby due to health concerns and got $1600 worth of gear for 50 cent on the dollar. My last big score was an XP Deus that I have under $500 invested for a $1200 set-up when I traded some items (no longer needed nor used).

I do have different detectors and coils for a variety for hunting conditions. I use the F75LTDSE as my go-to for most land hunts. The 1280X Aquanaut is used in the local beaches and the Deus is used to re-hunt previously pounded sites since I am still a novice on the machine.

I recommend you get the best detector you can afford that has optional coils available through the manufacturer and or aftermarket vendors.

I was brought up with the motto "Why by new when used will do?" Let the other guy take the depreciation hit.

 

[kcm]

sorry all I click quick reply and it puts my responces at the end of the thread and not right below the subject I was commenting on.

Yes, that's how it works. Newest posts always go to the end of the thread.

 

[spyguy]

i WILL NOT BUY NEW MDS AS I JUST DO NOT HAVE IT IN OUR BUDGET . YOU BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ON COILS . CAN ANYONE SUGGEST THE BEST COILS FOR MY UNITS AND EXPLAIN WHAT THE GAINS AND LOSSES ARE BY CONVERTING TO THEM ? I HAVE 2 GARRETT AM 2S THAT THE GUYS SUPPED UP AT MY OLD WORK BUT THEY HAVE THE STOCK GROUNDHOG CO-PLANER COILS. THESE THINGS REALLY PICK UP AND THEY SPENT ALOT OF TIME WITH THE O-SCOPES TUNING THEM UP MY ONLY HEADACHE IS THE CONSTANT HUMM SOUND WHEN TUNED DOWN COMPAIRED TO THE OTHER UNIT THAT OPERATED IN QUIET MODE. THE OTHER UNIT IS A GARRET ACE 250 THAT HAS A LITTLE STOCK UPGRADED COIL THATS EGG SHAPED CALLED A PRO FORMANCE THAT I WOULD GUESS IS ABOUT 6 BY 9 INCHES AND NOTHING SPECIAL. OH I ALSO HAVE FOR WHEN I TAKE A GUEST FROM WOUNDED WARRIORS TO TALK TO THEM A MD CALLED A DISCOVERY 1100 BUT THE GUYS AT MY OLD WORK SAID ITS NOTHING SPECIAL AND THEY CAN NOT TUNE IT UP NOR THE ACE 250 CAN THEY TUNE UP. WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD UPGRADE FOR THE ACE 250 AND THE AMERICAN AM 2S ? DEPTH WITH THE ACE 250 I FIND LACKING AND I HAVE CONCERNS OF SUBMERGING THE AM2S AS THEY DO NOT PLAY WELL IN WET WATER IT SEEMS AS THEY INDICATE ON EVERY ROCK WHILEST SUBMERGED EVEN IF I RETRACT THE SENSITIVITY. tHANKS

With the coil try to get one that's 'closed' b/c 'open' coils are harder to drag back and forth across the ground. I see so many people swaying their 'open' coils back and forth several inches above the ground. Not only is this limiting their area range, but it also obviously limits their depth dramatically too....
HH
-spyguy