Gold detector-Garrett Scorpion or Fisher Gold Bug II?

[pyledriver]

Anybody know of any head to head comparisons? These both seem very similar but the Fisher is more expensive than the Garrett.. Not ready to buy yet, but gathering info!

Thanks!

[DanB]

its all a matter of preference........and what you can afford. You pay for what you get.



db

[Willy]

A better comparison would be between the GB II and White's GMT.. maybe even throw in a Eureka Gold. The Gold Stinger is a dinosaur and Garrett really should do an upgrade. I've used 3 of these detectors: GMT, GB II, and Stinger. ..Willy.

[Desert_Rat]

The GPAA is do there annual gold show. I was the GBII as low as $600 new. No one was carrying the Garrett, which should say a bit. Take a look at the Tesoro Lobo also. If I were getting a VLF nugget machine, I would look at the GBII or Eureka.

Here the link to the GPAA http://www.goldprospectors.org Check for the show in your area, you'll come out with some very good deals.

[nuggetshooter323]

Nobody uses the Garrett Gold Stinger anymore. I originally didn't get the GBII because it's only manual ground balance, and that can be a pain in the butt sometimes. I like auto ground balancing, that's why I got the Lobo Super Traq for my first detector, also it has a very large coil selection (about 8). Last year I got the GMT, and I must say that auto tracking feature is the best I've seen. It's also really nice that you can run it in manual ground balance mode. The iron ID feature is really cool because it doesn't take any sensitivity away from the detector like a discrimination mode would.

[pyledriver]

Thanks for the replies! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I usually do feel that you get what you pay for, but still being a noob I'm not sure how to best compare other than the experiences of the more 'learned'! At this point I haven't even found a good place to go for gold, but I want to someday. I did take my Silver Umax on one gold 'venture', but we didn't find anything that day. The guy I was with had a gold detector and came up empty, so I really never got to see if my little Silver would even pick up anything...other than the wheelbarrow full of nails I'm used to finding! LOL..

[Hoser John]

Own the GB2 and Tesoro LST with all coils and ALWAYS have had great results no matter how trashy,hot,or boulder strewn--love them small coils-tons a au 2 u 2 -John

[golddigger14s]

I have the GB2 and it will find very small stuff. I have the 6 and 10 inch coils.

[Willy]

I played around with a GB II and didn't find it to be as sensitive as the GMT in that ground. Sure love the ground tracking of the GMT. One thing I failed to mention is that, like the MXT, the GMT 'Iron grunt' and ID can incorrectly call a good target iron in bad ground. This generally happens with tiny stuff and is not unique to White's detectors. ..Willy.

[Matt (CA)]

I'm kinda new here, but been thinking of getting one of these prospector machines. I read the posts and get sort of confused. People give opinions but don't support them with information.

From what I can understand the GoldbugII sees smaller particles cause it has a much higher frequency. But how small a nugget will the Stinger see? Also, since the Stinger runs at a lot less frequency, would it handle tougher minerals better? I mean, just how good is the GoldbugII in bad soil by comparison?

Has anyone actually done a side by side test that can give some results and tell us what their minerals were at? This sure would be helpful.

[Willy]

I did a side by side test between the XTerra 70, MXT, and GB II, and used a Gold Stinger for a few years. I've already posted my results. Essentially, the MXT came out tops in bad ground. I now swing a GMT. ..Willy.

[Matt (CA)]

Willy can you tell me where you posted that stuff? That ought to be good to see.

I don't get it. The MXT did so good, why do you swing a GMT instead? Geez, this is confusing to a noobie.

[John-Edmonton]

I have used the Gold Stinger for about a year now, and dug thousands of targets with it. I don't have any nuggets in my immediate neck of the woods, so I only used the stinger to find the higher concentrations of black sand in the gold producing river through Edmonton, and that's where I panned for the flour gold. (the pic below is from many years ago of the flour gold I got in Edmonton, before I was metal detecting.)

So my thoughts are, it is an old machine, and it's been around for a long time. Garrett used the same Groundhog Circuitry in the present Stinger as it did in many other machines in the past because it worked well. Now it's not a depth machine by no means. You will have to spend a lot more money to get a machine designed for gold for greater depth, with the top end Minelabs going for over $4,000.00. So what you will get with a Scorpion, is a detector which will find match-sized gold nuggets and larger in lower mineralized soil down to about 4 inches, deeper if they are larger. If you want to get the nuggets which are deeper, you either have to hit a spot which hasn't had much prospecting activity, some luck luck or an expensive detector. The nice thing about the Scorpion is it's price, (will get you into nugget prospecting for less)it's Groundhog circuitry to assist you getting some iffy signals on gold, a manual ground balance to get even greater depth in higher mineralized soil, an auto-turn on and go for both true all metal mode/motion discriminate mode and finally a motion discriminate mode for general coin/relic hunting. It also has a TR mode, which some use to help distinguish hot rocks and also for ore sampling.

I have discovered that the Scorpion really sounds off on gold rings, silver rings as well as the older round aluminum pulltabs. It is the "BEST" detector I have ever used for Canadian clad, as Canadian coinage is made out of nickel, steel, zinc or steel. So, yes it's an older machine. It takes 3 x 9 volts (recharge ables work great) batteries, which can only be inserted after you remove the detector housing. But what you are getting is a good solid built machine, made in USA and designed to get gold and also works well as a coin shooter brand new for less.

[Willy]

The GMT will find smaller stuff than the MXT can. It also has manual GB capabilities and a cumulative iron ID function. That said, I might just get another MXT (or go back to it) since I'm so familiar with it. 1/3 grain (15.4 grains= 1 gram.. 480 grains= 1 oz) is pretty tiny and I could get that with the MXT w. 6x10" DD coil. The GMT will find stuff that's even smaller. It all depends on what you're hunting and where. I'll be picking up a Tesoro Diablo uMax in a bit (pretty stoked with that bit of luck) and will see how it stacks up against the GMT. Should be interesting and those Diablo's are rare as hen's teeth. As for my previous posts.. here's one: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...tml#msg1402065 and that's all the searching I'm gonna do 'cause, at heart, I'm a lazy bugger. ..Willy.

[Matt (CA)]

Well thanks alot Willy, whipped over and read that post. Good stuff. You seem to try out alot of detectors, so I guess you ought to know what works best on your ground. I seem to recall the Diablo name, but its not made anymore right?
Willy how important is that auto ground track? I see even the GoldbugII does not have it, and people seem to like it and think it's a darn good detector for gold huntin. I guess thats a last sort of question, then I gotta figure out everything before going shopping. Thanks very much.

[Willy]

Well, ground tracking can be a real help when hunting variable ground. A good tracking system will smooth out the ground responses and make for a more enjoyable experience. That and a really fast autotune can allow one to hunt some pretty nasty ground. That's why I like the GMT/MXT. When hunting more homogeneous ground (like bedrock) manual GB can be a real advantage, giving that extra bit of sensitivity to small/deep targets. That's why I picked up the Diablo (discontinued but sought after by many). I'm an unabashed detector slut and keep trying out different different units, but the ground I generally hunt is rather extreme. In fact, some places here will cause fits on a PI. Anyway, the way I look at it is that it's better to have ground tracking and not need/use it than to not have it and end up needing it. That statement is, however, subject to price. If I get a good deal on a manually GB'd detector (Diablo), I'll buy and and use it in a red-hot second. Actually, there's a very good reason for a newbe to pick up a MGB detector.. doing all the work forces a person to learn about how a detector operates and can give you a better 'ear' for what's in the ground. Despite all the the advances in DSP and fast CPU's, the most advanced computer (though watching the daily news seems to refute this) still resides between one's ears. ..Willy.

[Matt (CA)]

Thought of something else. When you say the GMT will find smaller stuff than the MXT what does that mean, like into the ground? People here say that sort of thing but they never say if its in the air or ground. In the air don't matter right? People never say what kind of ground neither. Really Willy, whats the practical diff between these two detectors on such small stuff in the ground?

[Willy]

Here's an example: the GMT will sound off on a 1/10 grain bit of gold whereas the MXT will go down to 1/3 grain. Stuff that small will only be found at shallow depths or on/in bedrock (shallow). As for the depth.. depends on the ground mineralization and operator experience; maybe an inch or so. ..Willy.

[Matt (CA)]

That's about what I figured Willy and thanks alot for all your advice on these detectors. Gave me some pretty good ideas so I think I'll see about that MXT. You really helped out.

[Jim Hemmingway]

Interesting read here. Excellent advice.

Say Willy, I recall that Diablo unit being a good performer. I used it briefly and was surprised when it's production ceased, but then, it's what the market will bear. I see you've returned from your trip, hope you had a good time and made some good finds.

Here's something odd. I've used the Goldstinger for larger silver float/ore hunting in the past with the long out of production 12" coil, then the original unit finally quit working. I liked this arrangement because it would still go deep on larger pieces but not be sensitive enough that I had to be bothered with small bits. So I replaced it with a second hand (but brand new) unit found on the classifieds here at a real good price. Testing it with the new stock DD revealed that it was more sensitive to a good range of low conductive sizes than the previous (20 year old unit) DD coil. Still wouldn't be my 5th choice for goldhunting, but I also wouldn't cry in my soup if I had to use it.

Jim.