Want detector need pro advice. New to hobby

WVARelics

Full Member
Jun 21, 2012
102
49
Winchester, Va
Detector(s) used
Garrett Groundhog, AT PRO
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'm new here but been detectin awhile. Welcome!
The experts are gonna wanna know answers to a few questions first.

What is your budget?
What are u planning on detecting?
Where do u plan on detecting?

As far as a pin-pointer...well when u get your first hit on your new detector and start tearing up the ground looking for the source of the beep and eventually cover the hole back up and walk away disgusted you will go to your local hobby shop and buy a Garrett Pro Pointer.

A pin pointer pin points...Seriously though, it will help you find where to dig and once the hole is dug it will help you find the treasure.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,455
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Relics is correct we need to know answers to his questions before we can answer. Imagine someone asking what kind of fishing rod do I buy? Without know what kind of fishing your going to do or your budget no way to answer.
 

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luckyolson13

Jr. Member
Aug 30, 2012
20
0
I make up to 8000$ a month. Don't have alot of time and coins gold silver any thing that makes the hobby fun.
 

ticm

Silver Member
Sep 5, 2007
3,212
790
New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Whites V3i and DFX
Treasure_Hunter said:
Relics is correct we need to know answers to his questions before we can answer. Imagine someone asking what kind of fishing rod do I buy? Without know what kind of fishing your going to do or your budget no way to answer.

I would have said the same thing as you did here, my problem it might not come off the same way. LOL
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,455
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I make up to 8000$ a month. Don't have alot of time and coins gold silver any thing that makes the hobby fun.

That covers budget but still need more info. You hunting land or water, if water fresh or salt? You just wanting to look for gold jewelry or relics too. Detectors are like golf clubs different ones for different situations.

Just so you know there is a learning curve, there is no detector that is going to allow you to dig only gold. Since money isn't a factor perse, do a Google search for Minelab CTX 3030.
 

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luckyolson13

Jr. Member
Aug 30, 2012
20
0
I don't think there are to many relics where I'm from. It would be land. And something I would do in my spare time
 

Dwight S

Hero Member
Apr 26, 2010
558
70
NC
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT-Pro & White's TDI & Tesoro Compass uMax
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Now that you’ve told what you want to find, tell us where you are at, country, state, mountains, desert… Believe me, it’ll make a difference. The more you can tell us, the more we can help... If you have highly mineralized soil, (dark red, iron rich) that CTX-30303 may not be the best recommendation. As others have said, there are a lot of variables that need answering before we can give you a good answer.
OH…. Welcome to T-Net
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,171
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you're not going to do anything in the water except maybe get the coil wet, I'd get the Minelab E-trac or the White's V3i. You can get the Minelab CTX3030 if you like but the extra cost would be hard to justify unless you plan on water hunts too.....or really need a GPS.
 

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luckyolson13

Jr. Member
Aug 30, 2012
20
0
I live in Saskatchewan Canada and travel to Alberta Canada a bit. Saskatchewan BOTTEM half is all flat farm land upper is solid rock. Alberta is farm land forest and rockey mountains
 

gleaner1

Silver Member
Feb 1, 2009
4,491
1,023
Gateway to the 1000 Islands
Detector(s) used
Sometime(s)
Primary Interest:
Other
Well you could not have come to a better place to get good advice. I see where you live and how much cabbage you haul in. You need to order a good machine in the four to six hundred dollar range (US) to start, they are all good. You earn so much money, its just crazy stupid money you earn. Money cannot buy an easy trip at learnin tectin. You gotta put time into it, both in and out of the field. There is so much to learn, two seasons to really get it. Get a mentor. There are plenty of sites you can find treasure in your area. And you dont need an expensive killer tector to find the goods, as long as there are any left to find. Start out small in your friends and family's lawns. Hit the old ball field or park. See if you can find some old stuff. See if you like it. You might. You should spend more time studying tectin videos of different models, recovery tactics, ethics, and researching old sites, than you spend on trying to decide what metal detector you will be buying as you first machine. After you get the machine, read the owners manual twice, and then again for good measure. Good luck to you always.
 

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bacusa

Jr. Member
Jun 25, 2012
41
7
WNC/ETN/SW VA
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, AT Pro, Garrett Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
luckyolson13 said:
Thanks guys for all the tips I'll Use them to my advantage

I just got into this hobby myself, and really love it. I am in the mountains of North Carolina, and take the wifey to the beach a couple times a year. So I needed something that can get we occasionally at the beach, and in the creeks&rivers.
I started with an Ace 350, and that got me hooked. Solid beginner machine from Garrett. I just upgraded to the AT Pro (Garrett) to get wet. And their Pro Pointer, would not MD w/o it. As mentioned, you get a signal, you dig a hole, the pro pointer reads in a 360 degree radius of where to to specifically dig in that hole.

You are way up north & way out west. You may be near gold deposits. Look at YouTube videos of AT Pro and AT Gold, and of course, different brands. Are you hunting wetlands, rivers beds, and creeks? You need a waterproof detector. How about pasture, old homesteads, highly mineralized areas? You need something that Ground Balances, and a Double D type coil.
Find out where you think you will detect, and build your pro & con list for ideal MD from there. Look at Kellyco website comparison charts, very helpful.
The AT PRO and AT Gold from Garrett are solid detectors each with the specific frequency to help you find great things up there.
You have MONSTER white tail deer up there, love to come up and get one of those.

I am kind of new, and recently kind of biased to Garret products, so as stated before, check out YouTube for different brands.
If I didn't have such a love affair with my AT (All Terrain)) Pro, I would probably follow other posters advice, and look at Minelab, or Whites- both are amazing brands.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting.
Hope this info helps.
BC
 

Catobra

Hero Member
Jun 21, 2012
556
114
South Jersey
Detector(s) used
Whites IDX Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
when u get your first hit on your new detector and start tearing up the ground looking for the source of the beep and eventually cover the hole back up and walk away disgusted you will go to your local hobby shop and buy a Garrett Pro Pointer.
Uh, I need a pin pointer : ) Very funny description!
 

spartacus53

Banned
Jul 5, 2009
10,503
1,073
Whiting, NJ
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I make up to 8000$ a month. Don't have alot of time and coins gold silver any thing that makes the hobby fun.

Well, this is your lucky day :icon_thumright: For $1000 a month, I'll let you use my machine and I'll even act as a caddy/personal valet.

You can't beat a deal like this, so act now, before I take the offer off the table :laughing7:
 

Ezkilll

Jr. Member
Aug 20, 2012
21
5
Maple Valley, WA
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Lucky:
I am not an old pro, I am new to this hobby. I will offer you my advice anyways. Given that you plan on doing this occassionally I would caution you to not get a detector so complicated that you never become comfortable operating it or understanding what it is telling you. I suggest you consider some mid range detectors that have both an automatic and a Pro mode. Personally, I use the ACE 250, a lower end detector, because I wanted to learn before selecting a "final" detector. Take a look at a Garrett AT PRO or similar as an option. There are many good choices available.

Enjoy your new hobby.
 

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
Other
Well if you do it once in a while than you need a capable but easy metal detector. Don't go out and buy a top of line detector, it will just be too complicated to learn for a once in a while use.
My personal suggestion is the Whites MXT, or MXT PRO. It's quite easy to learn, it is quite easy to remember how it works, and it can keep up with most detectors in the market.

Metal detecting is not a very expensive hobby, I have other hobbies that cost 10 times more, but that doesn't mean that buying a 2000 detector will give you more satisfaction than a $700 one.

Actually if you start from the very top it can get frustrating, since you will have a very steep learning curve and since you will have no background you will most likely end up selling everything and quit.

Metal detecting looks easy, but it is not. Only experienced detectorists make it look easy, once you try it you will see it takes a lifetime to master.

Good luck on your metal detector choice, and if you do decide to give it a shot, the 2 most important things are to enjoy and learn.
 

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