The best machine made is...

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,713
40,793
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Probably the one you already own. Just for sheer curiosity I looked at the banners as of today, and went to see what machines found them. Here they are in order, from left to right and if the owner listed more than 1 machine in their profile, I listed all the machines.

#1 XP Deus, Garrett AT and Makro Racer

#2 XP Deus and XP Goldmaxx

#3 XP Deus

#4 XP Deus

#5 XP Deus

#6 XP Deus, Minelab CTX 3030, White's TDI

#7 Garrett Euroace, Teknetics 8000 and XP Deus

#8 Bottles don't read on detectors! I love bottles!

#9 Neither do shark's teeth I also love sharks' teeth, and have found a few.

#10 Fisher

#11 XP Deus

#12 Teknetics Eurotek Pro, Bounty Hunter, Tesoro Compadre

#13 Garrett AT Pro

#14 Minelab Equinox 800

Just for fun..
 

creskol

Gold Member
Jan 14, 2007
13,623
22,670
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
5
Primary Interest:
Other
#15 other .. that's my vote
 

lairmo

Silver Member
Jan 1, 2009
2,952
4,890
SW MO
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro/ Fisher M-Scope 1280-X
#16 You forgot Arrowheads.....
 

cactusman

Full Member
Nov 15, 2015
233
541
Western USA
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold, AT Max, AT Pro, Ace 350, GTI-2500, Infinium LS, Scorpion Gold Stinger, Pro-Pointer AT, Fisher F75 LTD2, Gold Bug 2, F-Pulse, Whites 24K, TM-808, Schonstedt Maggie, Falcon MD 20
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That's an impressive list of great machines.

I would say it's impossible to name one single best machine, as many metal detectors are like tools; some are very specialized... I wouldn't want to take my Fisher Gold Bug II and try to detect in the ocean surf!

So my vote for the best machine is the one that you know well and use often.
 

OP
OP
smokeythecat

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,713
40,793
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There is no "best" machine. You have to have the stuff in the ground to begin with. And fairness is not relative here, this is a statistical analysis. All these banner items were found after July 23, 2018 the date of the first banner post.
 

sprailroad

Silver Member
Jan 19, 2017
2,641
4,126
Grants Pass, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garrett A3B United States Gold Hunter, GTA 1000, AT Pro, Discovery Treasure Baron "Gold Trax", Minelab X-Terra 70, Safari, & EQ 800, & Nokta Marko Legend. EQ 900.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
May be time for a field trip Vferrari, the Cat is becoming bored and restless.
 

Ogre1190

Bronze Member
Mar 31, 2015
2,063
2,408
Northern Illinois
Detector(s) used
MineLab E-Trac, MineLab Safari, MineLab Explorer XS,
White's 5000 D, White's 6DB, White's 5000 D GEB
Sunray X-1 for the ML's, Garrett PP for the White's and a Backhoe
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Oh! Thanks for reminding me! 🙌 Need to figure out how to update my Detectors Owned from this phone. Haven't changed it in two years.
 

Harvest

Full Member
Apr 6, 2008
139
101
Daytona Beach, Fl.
Detector(s) used
Whites SL90, Surf PI, Minelab Excalibur 800
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
I have been l detecting since the 70s and have used many metal detectors and the best ones I have ever used and bought ,I still have them today are whites metal the doctors they’re made in Sweet home Oregon and to me they are the best with the best warranty .minelab is the worst metal detector I ever had was a Minelab underwater one 1200 bucks wasted with no help from mine lab when the cable covering fell off
 

OP
OP
smokeythecat

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,713
40,793
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
And the banners after October 23 were found by:

#15 Whites MXT or Garrett AT Pro (he didn't say which one found them)

#16 XP Deus

#17 Minelab Etrac

#18 XP Deus

#19 XP Deus

#20 Teknetics T2 SE
 

pulltabfelix

Bronze Member
Jan 29, 2018
1,011
1,631
North Atlanta
Detector(s) used
Currently have CTX3030 and Vanquish 440.
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
But I will admit I’m getting a Deus for Christmas!!!!!

I have been seriously considering owning the XP Deus. I figure if Calabash uses both the 800 and Deus there must be a real good reason he still uses the Deus. I would like to use both the 800 and Deus in relic hunting and seeing which I like the best. Despite all the good reports and videos on a particular type of detector, you never know until you use one side by side with your current one. Now just have to figure out where to get the $$$ since I don't at this time wish to sell my 800 and not a minor problem, but how to hide the Deus from my wife.

I also wonder if the learning curve on the Deus is a steep as the learning curve for the 800 was for me, which was pretty steep indeed.
 

OP
OP
smokeythecat

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,713
40,793
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There is basically no learning curve on the Deus. I didn't bother trying to tweak it. I run Deus Fast, so the signal will speed down to the coil and back, giving a lightning recovery time. I used the HF elliptical coil, and factory presets, Dig anything over a "45" on the meter. Don't skip cannon balls however. I mainly dig fields and woods looking for relics. Beach is also easy, You can use beach mode or Deus fast.
 

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
Another factor to consider, is that the more-hard-core hunters tend to gravitate to certain machines. It doesn't necessarily mean the individual FINDS themselves are attributed to *just* the certain machine. But rather: The hunter.

Because I'll bet that if you studied the individual signals of the banner finds themselves, that you'd have the guys admitting that perhaps it wasn't a deep or difficult signal. Ie.: a radio shack machine could have found them . So I'll bet that most of our trophy finds were a function of WHERE the person was hunting (and their patience and research level, etc...). Not a function of un-masking, or depth, etc...
 

RTR

Gold Member
Nov 21, 2017
8,180
32,469
Smith Mt. Lake Va.
Detector(s) used
Teknetics Liberator
Falcon MD-20
***********
Blue Bowl
Angus MacKirk sluice
Miller Table
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The best machine is..........The one that buys me a private island in the Carib :)
 

xr7ator

Gold Member
Sep 2, 2011
5,187
7,178
Denver, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT Gold, ATX, MH7 (oldie!) Minelab Explorer SE Pro, EQ800
Hopefully it will be able to pay your ongoing taxes, too })
 

Truth

Gold Member
Apr 13, 2016
14,332
32,142
Abita Springs La....Born in New Orleans
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
EQUINOX 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I have been seriously considering owning the XP Deus. I figure if Calabash uses both the 800 and Deus there must be a real good reason he still uses the Deus. I would like to use both the 800 and Deus in relic hunting and seeing which I like the best. Despite all the good reports and videos on a particular type of detector, you never know until you use one side by side with your current one. Now just have to figure out where to get the $$$ since I don't at this time wish to sell my 800 and not a minor problem, but how to hide the Deus from my wife.

I also wonder if the learning curve on the Deus is a steep as the learning curve for the 800 was for me, which was pretty steep indeed.

I’m exactly EXACTLY in your shoes! Lol same thoughts same situation. But I will have one and I’ll admit calabash makes me wont one more. All I’m saying is sometime next year. I didn’t want to buy one to soon anyway due to want to master the 800 first learning to different detectors come of the AT Max and F75 first things first. But having a 800 and Deus I’d say all bases covered.
 

Truth

Gold Member
Apr 13, 2016
14,332
32,142
Abita Springs La....Born in New Orleans
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
EQUINOX 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Another factor to consider, is that the more-hard-core hunters tend to gravitate to certain machines. It doesn't necessarily mean the individual FINDS themselves are attributed to *just* the certain machine. But rather: The hunter.

Because I'll bet that if you studied the individual signals of the banner finds themselves, that you'd have the guys admitting that perhaps it wasn't a deep or difficult signal. Ie.: a radio shack machine could have found them . So I'll bet that most of our trophy finds were a function of WHERE the person was hunting (and their patience and research level, etc...). Not a function of un-masking, or depth, etc...

I agree but my 800 does smoke my Bounty Hunter I had. But yes location location location. Because t down here hurricane and storm bring in fill so our good stuff left can big deeper than usual in so places.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top