Detector help in WA state

[WAres]

Hi,


Recently i have gotten into locating local ghost towns of Washington state. Last summer I noticed a guy using a metal detector at one of the sites. I thought it was a great idea so started looking into detectors. I want something under $700.00, easy to use, and can get wet. I also want an all around unit. I'm looking at two machines the Garret At-pro and the Minelab X-terre 705. I would like to know which would work better for me in my state if either? thanks for your help

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Tom_in_CA]

It will depend on how iron-riddled the particular ghost-town site, you have in mind, has. If it's littered with lots of iron (typical of board-&-batton wooden shacks/buildings that burned down), and if depth isn't an issue (arid verses lush & moist), then consider a Tesoro Silver Sabre. It does good at sniffing our conductive targets next to, and under iron.

But if it's a regular site, where targets are more separated and iron isn't a veritable carpet, then consider an Minelab Explorer. However, the explorer is a tricky machine to learn, with all it's fluty-tooty tunes. Once you learn it though, it's deadly. And for such a deepseeker, it "holds its own" in junk & iron (albeit not as well as a 2-filter like the Sabre, for very iron ridden sites)

 

[Run4Cvr]

I'm also in Washington State and have recently done alot of research into a new detector. I went with the Gold Bug Pro, but my second pick would have been and Im still looking at, the Whites MXT. Depending on where you go in WA, there is alot of mineralization and I think you would benefit from a machine that has a decent ground balance. You stated that you wanted waterproof? The coils of the Minelab arent waterproof. In my opinion, if you want more of a relic/coin machine with good gold capabilities go with the MXT. If you want more of a gold machine with ok coin and relic capabilities go with the Gold Bug Pro, Teknetics Omega, or Minelab 705, but beware of water with the 705. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Start looking at the Teknetiks G2 , and the Minelab X-terra 705. They are both fantastic machines for your price range.

 

[WAres]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to get an xterra the more i read the more i like. It will be my first so before i hike a few miles into a site I'll practice at local parks to get the hang of it. I'm sure it will work fine at the parks and if it doesn't do the same in the hills I'll just get another more specialized for the area. This is gonna be fun!