Best Detector For Newbie To Look For Gold & Possible Artifacts

[Samauri-Ray]

Hello All,

I do not live in the US and where I live there are not many people involved with prospecting or treasure hunting.

I do not have a lot to spend, but I have been thinking about doing some metal detecting on my property for gold and possibly might find some other pretty cool stuff.

What is a good gold detector that will not break the bank and that I can order on Amazon? I have Prime and can get things shipped for free to my US Mail box.

I will be doing most of my metal detecting in a really large gravel / sand beach area where the river takes a sharp turn. I have done some quick panning here and every time I get 6-10 flecks of color. So I know that the gold is here.

Thanks for the advise.

Cheers

Ray

 

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[bcfromfl]

Hi Ray --

Welcome to the forum!

In the streambed you described, it's unlikely...not impossible...but unlikely, that a metal detector will find the pieces of gold they are capable of finding, unless there are also exposed areas of bedrock. In areas of cobbles and sand, the larger pieces of gold (even sub-gram sized flakes) have already sunk further than a metal detector can locate.

Is there exposed ancient river channel along the banks of the river you describe? If so, this might be a spot where a detector could be used, because it will allow you to get deeper (and closer to bedrock and/or clay layers) than you could otherwise get to.

There are some good, relatively inexpensive detectors out there that could fit the bill for what you describe, like for relics (and gold). However, if you buy on Amazon, you'll be paying almost full retail for a new unit. If you're just starting and your budget is limited, you may want to consider a used unit, like what you would find on eBay. If you spend a little time evaluating just what you want to use a detector for (i.e., gold, coins, relics), you'll start narrowing down the various models pretty quickly. Most units available can do a pretty good job on just about anything, but there are compromises if you use a detector for something other than what it was primarily designed for. Check out Steve Herschbach's page for an excellent overview of gold detectors: Steve's Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors

Another thing to consider, if in each pan you are getting 6-10 colors, you may want to get a stream sluice instead. As you dig deeper, you're bound to find more. The PVC "hand dredges" available could be very useful for someone on a budget, when collecting material from deeper water.

Hope this gives you a couple things to think about. Good luck!

-Bruce

 

[huntsman53]

There are a lot of metal detectors on the market that are cheap, that won't break the bank and can find some Gold but most of these cannot handle the highly mineralized soils of the well known Gold locations nor will they handle the mineral feedback from the water of rivers, streams, creeks or even wet sand. I would recommend the Whte's GMT or the original Fisher Gold Bug or Gold Bug Pro but there are others. These can often be purchased off eBay or Metal Detecting/Treasure Hunting Forums at prices that won't break the banks per se and they will do the job they were intended for and that is "find Gold". You might want to check the "Charter Member Classifieds" Forum right here on TreasureNet from time to time, as you can often get some great deals.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/charter-member-classifieds/


Frank

 

[Terry Soloman]

Whites GMT
Tesoro Lobo Super Traq
Fisher Goldbug Pro
Garrett AT Gold
Teknetics G2

 

[Grumpie]

Just watched a YouTube vid on the tesoro compadre. The store owner was showing how well the little tesoro was picking up small test nuggets.
It's priced at $160 I'll be buying two one for each grandson at Xmas

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Good choice to start out in the parks, certainly not the top as others have mentioned for pure nugget shooting but at 12KHz can find small fine gold nuggets and even jewelry at reasonable depth for the price you are looking for. Good choice! Later if you find a used Vaquero with a smaller widescan coil your in business as well for around $350-400 range.

 

[wingmaster]

I would sluice for sure you'll get the nuggets plus all the smaller stuff which the small stuff will be the most of it and more weight. With the detector you won't find the most of it and with a sluice you'll get pretty much all of it. HH