Are these good choices?

[chef440rt]

Hi, I'm new to metal detecting and I am about to buy my first one. I was thinking of getting 3 different detectors over time.

For the 1st one, I was going to get a detector that was good just for underwater/freshwater, freshwater beach and general land or woods use. For this application would the Garrett AP pro be a good choice? I was hoping to find lost coins and jewelry up to 10ft underwater and on the beach.

For the 2nd one I was going to get the Fisher CZ-21 only for salt water beaches.

And for the 3rd one I was going to get the gold bug 2 just for small nugget hunting while gold prospecting.

Please let me know your thoughts on these choices. What would you get if you had 3 dedicated detectors. My budget would be about $1000 for each one. Thanks, -Bryan

 

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[Hot zone]

I love tesoro... lifetime warranty...
Tiger shark (has a salt mode too) Fresh water
Sand shark ... Salt water
Lobo ... Prospecting

 

[redcobra8u]

I have an AT pro and it's great for dry sand and fresh water. I bought an Excal II to get into the salt water and wet sand. I love both machines and they work very well in they conditions they are best suited for....plus I like having a VLF machine (AT Pro) to hit local parks etc around the house. If I had to do it all over again, given the few times in California I would actually take it diving, I would buy the CTX3030 and have one really awesome machine. That being said, the Excal II has been an awesome machine to use and I have ZERO complaints and since I can take it 200ft under, I am going to be more motivated to dive since I have it.

There are many knowledgable people who will offer great advice. Most own more than 1 machine and we all have our favorites. If you stick to any of the great brands and don't expect things from machines that they are not capable of (VLF machines in salt water for example), you'll have a great time. More important than the machine is taking the time to learn to use it and DIG everything. You will be rewarded with good stuff in between the pull tabs and zinc pennies but it takes time. I think it was 25-30 hours or more before I hit gold for the first time. Now that I know my machine, I hit gold about every 5-8 hours if there is good beach weather.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Hot zone]

My Quattro is worth half of what I paid... Minelab could have easily called the safari a Quattro Two and my Quattro would have better resale... I saw a used CTX 3030 for $800 less than new... If you end up not liking an expensive detector you can loose a lot ... On the other hand Excals have proven themselves!

 

[chef440rt]

Hi thanks for the replies. I have one other question, would the Fisher CZ-21 work well in the freshwater? Or should I get the CZ-21 only for the saltwater and buy a dedicated freshwater detector. Thanks, -Bryan

 

[cudamark]

With your budget, it hard to argue against any of your choices although the CZ21 is a bit over. The Excalibur is another fine choice if you can stretch the budget a bit farther or get a used one. The CZ21 will work fine in fresh or salt water but it's not a particularly good park/school/sod detector. With limited target I.D. and no depth meter, it kinda sucks in a park.

 

[chef440rt]

Thanks for the reply. Would the Excalibur work good for the salt/fresh water beaches and the parks or only the beaches?

 

[Sandman]

The CZ-21 or Excal would work great in either fresh or saltwater as they have more than one freq. The Excal won't have to be ground balanced but neither would work well in a park mainly because they are built like tanks and heavy. For land I would not get the AT Pro as they are chatty. The Vaquero would be the one you to use on land and has a lifetime warranty.
The Fisher 1280 is a great freshwater detector and cheaper than the CZ-21. With the money you save you can buy a Sunspot Stealth scoop and other equipment.
Amazon has a great book out on Mastering the Tesoro Tejon and Vaquero.

 

[Fletch88]

X-Terra 705 Gold Pack and an Excalibur or CZ-21 will cover all your bases you are wanting to hunt.

 

[Tom Slick]

First, I'd want to know what part of the country you live in. When you say Saltwater beaches, do you mean the wet sand, dry sand or actually in the water? Without this info, it's hard to make a good recommendation.

 

[Normsel]

Hi, I'm new to metal detecting and I am about to buy my first one. I was thinking of getting 3 different detectors over time.

For the 1st one, I was going to get a detector that was good just for underwater/freshwater, freshwater beach and general land or woods use. For this application would the Garrett AP pro be a good choice? I was hoping to find lost coins and jewelry up to 10ft underwater and on the beach.

For the 2nd one I was going to get the Fisher CZ-21 only for salt water beaches.

And for the 3rd one I was going to get the gold bug 2 just for small nugget hunting while gold prospecting.

Please let me know your thoughts on these choices. What would you get if you had 3 dedicated detectors. My budget would be about $1000 for each one. Thanks, -Bryan

Look at an AT Gold it will cover all your needs. To be truthful there are many good choices out there.

 

[Hot zone]

I would shy away from any detector with an ID screen until they make a bullet proof, scratch proof screen, and install toggles and potentiometers in place of all the programmable buttons! Then I would ignore the ID and dig the sound!

 

[chef440rt]

First, I'd want to know what part of the country you live in. When you say Saltwater beaches, do you mean the wet sand, dry sand or actually in the water? Without this info, it's hard to make a good recommendation.

I live in central MA so I was planning on going to New England beaches. I would like to detect in mostly wet and dry sand and on occasion I would like to dive in 10 ft or less sea water. I was thinking of getting the Fisher CZ-21 for this task.

But most of all, I wanted to start out doing the same thing as the above statement but in fresh water. This is the kind of detector I wanted to get first but now, I'm not sure what one to get. I thought A freshwater beach detector would be good on land as well but from what I understand it is best to get a detected detector for each environment.

Sorry for the confusion, (I even managed to confuse myself) now that I learned a little more about detectors, let me go over what I wanted to do. I am in central MA right now but I will be travailing the country in a few years. By that time I would like to have the right detectors for each job, unless there are detectors out there that can do a great job doing two or more tasks. So listed below is what I wanted to do in order.

1st. I wanted to go to local fresh water beaches and detect dry, wet, and under water to 10ft or so. to mainly look for lost jewelry. (I already have an air supply)

2nd. Mostly to get outside everyday for exercise and fresh air, I wanted to go to local parks, woods, sports fields ect. for an hour or two.

3rd. On weekends I would like to hit the saltwater beaches on nice days and go over wet and dry sand and on occasion go underwater.

4th. A dedicated gold nugget/picker detector to use while gold prospecting to have a little fun in between dredging.

At first I thought one really good detector would do all of the above but I learned that is not true. From what I understand to be successful over time the best thing to do is get a dedicated detector for each of the jobs listed above. If this is true what ones would you get? I hoping to keep it around $1000 for each one.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Sounds like you've done your homework on detectors and know what types you want, just having a little trouble choosing between the different ones. If there is a place that's sells detectors near you, maybe you should go do a little hands on testing. Feel the weight, hear the tones, get a feel for the sweep speed, see if you like one more than another. Maybe after a little hands on you will have more questions that will help you decide. Just a thought.

 

[lookindown]

Ive got the AT pro and the CZ21. I use them exactly the way you intend to and Im very happy with both. Got the CZ21 on EBAY, new in the box for $750 and the AT pro new for $490...good luck.

 

[cudamark]

Look at an AT Gold it will cover all your needs. To be truthful there are many good choices out there.

The AT Gold it pretty unstable in salt water unless you turn it way down, which defeats the purpose.

 

[Tom Slick]

1. Fisher Gold Bug Pro or Teknetics G2 (same detector in different packaging) Great Saltwater dry sand machine and also very good nugget detector. Used $400, New $650
2. Minelab Excalibur for the Saltwater wet sand & water hunting and also freshwater hunting. Used $1000, New $1500
3. White's M6 for coin and Jewelry hunting. Used $400, New $600

 

[mitchellf]

[AsTTACH=CONFIG]1004029[/ATTACH]It depends on the person and their income. I'd say that,for yfou, go ahead and get all 3. How am I making a recommendation personalized for you? Cause I am a stalker and I know who you are. Proof? Well is that picture of you sufficient?

 

[mitchellf]

Many people would say that he must be made of money if he can spend that much. That odd moment when I jump in on the conversation and exclaim "he is! That's EXACTLY what he's made of!!!!!"

 

[Tom Slick]

Edited my post above to include approx. new and used prices.