New to this and trying to decide what to buy. right place to post??

[Wildwest99]

Here's my situation. i'm 100% new at this, but hate "starting out at the bottom". I'm an adventure seeker in Utah and spend LOTS of time far out in the mountains, have ran into many ghost towns, old silver mine sites in the La Plata area. Decided id like to bring a metal detector with me and have some fun. If i'm going 20 miles out into the wilderness to relax and check out some old ghost town sites, i want to have decent mid level equipment. I missed out on a local 300 dollar Xterra 70 last week and and 800 dollar Minelab Etrac as well. I've currently got a local Teknetics Delta 4000 offered to me for 200 even. I'm ok with spending more money for better equipment. Also not enamored with "having the absolute best" haha thoughts?

I was ready to pull the trigger on the 800 dollar Etrac. The 300 dollar Xterra was a no-brainer but i was a day late. Should i just grab the Teknetics and go for it? Or try to find another great deal on a 70/705 or Etrac? My focus will be old mine sites/ghost towns deep in the Utah wilderness along rivers/next to abandoned mines.

Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

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[cudamark]

The 705 would be a good machine in your price range with the type detecting you plan on doing. If you need something waterproof, look at the AT Pro and Gold from Garrett. A used E-trac is a good choice....so is and Explorer and Sovereign GT. Tesoro has a few good choices also if you don't want an I.D. screen. Check your local detector shop if you have one or maybe one of our sponsors here on Tnet. Craig's list and E-bay are also an option but don't plan on any guarantee or hands-on help. I think you'd outgrow the 4000 in short order so I'd pass on that. Good Luck!

 

[SusanMN]

One big difference between an Xterra and a Etrac is weight, with the X being about a pound lighter. Important if you are hiking or out for a full day. I do love my Xterra, but if weight were equal, though, I'd go with an Etrac in a heartbeat.

 

[Fletch88]

The Xterra 705 is a great machine and I really love the prospecting mode for relics and checking targets with iron reject. It's very lightweight ad much better balanced than the Etrac.

 

[Wildwest99]

I just made an offer for a local, 6 month old 705 with transferable warranty and upgraded UR 30 headphones for 500 even. Solid deal?

 

[Fletch88]

I just made an offer for a local, 6 month old 705 with transferable warranty and upgraded UR 30 headphones for 500 even. Solid deal?

That sounds like a good deal. Does it have just the 9" concentric coil? That is my favorite all purpose coin shooting coil. You almost don't even need pinpoint to center coil over target. The prospecting mode is a great feature to have especially if you are in nugget country.
Good luck and HH!

 

[cudamark]

I just made an offer for a local, 6 month old 705 with transferable warranty and upgraded UR 30 headphones for 500 even. Solid deal?

You should be happy with that. That leaves you with extra money for a good pin pointer (think White's TRX) and some digging tools.

 

[Wildwest99]

Is there local places to snag a pointer? I've already had offers from a few friends that live in the avenues of SLC to let me practice on their property/around their homes built in the 1940s

 

[klever]

If you are going to be hiking around to different places I think I would look into Tesoros. I believe they are the lightest in the market and are also very good detectors. Plus they are easy to breakdown and carry with you. I have a minelab Safari but I would not want to carry that for long distances.

 

[cudamark]

Is there local places to snag a pointer? I've already had offers from a few friends that live in the avenues of SLC to let me practice on their property/around their homes built in the 1940s

If you have a local detector store, try there first. If not, there are many sponsors here in Tnet that will mail you one. Learn how to make a clean recovery before you hit those old properties in town or you may not get invited back! The slit method is best if the grass/moisture content it right. A 3 side plug is next best. No full circle plugs! The grass will most likely die if you use that method. If possible, water the area after you're done to help it recover. There are many youtube videos to help you learn how to do it properly.