Looking for a 1st metal detector

[E92FF]

Hi All. I was recently in our local sporting goods store with my 10 year old and she came across the metal detectors. They had to have made some kind of impression on her because she wont stop talking about them. I have decided it would be a fun hobby for the two of us so I've been researching detectors. With all of the different options and features, coils, frequencies, etc I have more questions than when I started! I am hoping to get a little advice from people with knowledge of all these things.

We go to the beach quite a bit so a lot of our treasure hunting will take place in the sand. I would also be interested in searching the shores of our local rivers which vary between sand, rock, and dirt depending on the river. For our first detector I am looking to spend around $300.

I thought I was set on the Minelab X-terra 305 but this seems to be an older model and I'm wondering if there is something more current that would be a better option for us. Another that interested me is the Fisher F44 although I can't find any reviews on it.

Any advice whether it be a specific detector or just a feature to look for would be appreciated!

 

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[BobbysFace]

Both my dad and I use Garrett Ace 350's with a Garrett pro pointer. Easy to use and can discriminate the junk metals. I got a package deal on mine and the equipment for under 300. I did a lot of research and YouTube watching before I decided. You won't be diappointed. Garrett Ace 350

 

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[Rce777777]

DD coils are better in trash. Give better target separation and a little more depth. Most of my sites are loaded with nails and tin So I use a 5"dd most of the time. Just takes longer to go over a spot.

 

[high_sierra_yj]

I would suggest the new Go Find 40 from Minelab as well. Its pretty much the latest technology in a MD. It can adjust to a really short length for small kids and has a backlight, bluetooth, pinpoint, and other features that a higher end MD would have. And with a $229 retail price you still have room to get a Pinpointer. I would reccomend something like a Deteknix x-pointer. It would put you a little above $300 but those are two great instruments.

 

[Ashman]

My first machine was a F2 that my brother handed to me on my birthday and I wore that machine out. There is a lot of great advice and comments above.

If you want to take a look at my signature you will see a link to my friends website who is legally blind and runs a Metal Detecting Talk Show. It is called Beyond Sight & Sound. His show is tomorrow night and he is going to be giving away a New Minelab Go-Find 40. Who knows you might be able to win your first machine. My daughter who is 6 hunts with me when I hit the parks, she is almost tall enough for me to get her a machine, we both can't wait till then.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting...

 

[E92FF]

My first machine was a F2 that my brother handed to me on my birthday and I wore that machine out. There is a lot of great advice and comments above.

If you want to take a look at my signature you will see a link to my friends website who is legally blind and runs a Metal Detecting Talk Show. It is called Beyond Sight & Sound. His show is tomorrow night and he is going to be giving away a New Minelab Go-Find 40. Who knows you might be able to win your first machine. My daughter who is 6 hunts with me when I hit the parks, she is almost tall enough for me to get her a machine, we both can't wait till then.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting...

Thanks Ashman! I'll be working tomorrow I g during the broadcast but I registered with the site and will listen if I can!

 

[SouthFLdigger]

I would suggest the new Go Find 40 from Minelab as well. Its pretty much the latest technology in a MD. It can adjust to a really short length for small kids and has a backlight, bluetooth, pinpoint, and other features that a higher end MD would have. And with a $229 retail price you still have room to get a Pinpointer. I would reccomend something like a Deteknix x-pointer. It would put you a little above $300 but those are two great instruments.

I would not recommend a new machine that has 0 market existence and has not been tested and tried by many detectorists.This machine needs to prove itself like the others before even considering.

 

[high_sierra_yj]

I would not recommend a new machine that has 0 market existence and has not been tested and tried by many detectorists.This machine needs to prove itself like the others before even considering.

It has been out and tested for a few months actually. Besides its a Minelab haha. Of all the companies out there I can say that they put out some quality detectors. Here are some recent tests.

https://youtu.be/HeYXzkpmQ5k

https://youtu.be/v__SY7YofrQ

 

[SouthFLdigger]

It has been out and tested for a few months actually. Besides its a Minelab haha. Of all the companies out there I can say that they put out some quality detectors. Here are some recent tests.

https://youtu.be/HeYXzkpmQ5k

https://youtu.be/v__SY7YofrQ

Sorry but even though Minalab does have quality equipment, all first revisions of any detector no matter the manufacturer will have bugs, including software issues and mechanical. Not to mention that Minelab went with a completely new user interface and graphical layout with this machine. Like any other manufacturer it needs time to be tested by a LARGE CONTROL group not just a handful of reviewers. To suggest otherwise is inane, have nothing against Minelab or other manufacturers as i like all metal detectors from all manufacturers. To recommend such a new machine to a new user is silly, there are much more mature/proven detectors on the market that can be safely recommended to a new detectorist.

 

[high_sierra_yj]

Sorry but even though Minalab does have quality equipment, all first revisions of any detector no matter the manufacturer will have bugs, including software issues and mechanical. Not to mention that Minelab went with a completely new user interface and graphical layout with this machine. Like any other manufacturer it needs time to be tested by a LARGE CONTROL group not just a handful of reviewers. To suggest otherwise is inane, have nothing against Minelab or other manufacturers as i like all metal detectors from all manufacturers.

I totally agree with you but having a background in computer programming and software i think with these go find models, minelab would surely be able to detect any bugs early on since the interface only has four ID's. That means a set number for each id along with an auto ground balance which has been the same as many other models. And the bluetooth feature shouldnt interfere with anything since its just another output to the signals its already giving. If the 20 40 and 60 had a lot more features then I would wait but these are quite basic even though they look fancy. And yes there are many others that are a lot more proven but none of those are really kid friendly unless you modify the shafts. This one can be used by him and his kid, so thats why i suggested this one or i would suggest something else. I just got a BH Land Ranger Pro two weeks ago and love it so far. It has been very accurate when it comes to ID'ing the different coins on the screen as well as depth in inches. It ground grabs very well on different soils and I only paid $280 otd but it is just too tall for a kid.

 

[Randyg12]

Lots of good advice, going to throw my two cents worth in (everyone take with a grain of salt, just my opinion.)

Just think your child will stay more interested and have more fun looking at the digital reading of what could be under the coil. Also since your going to be digging mostly beaches the name of the game is coverage, so I would highly recommend at least a 10" coil and if it doesn't add too much weight the 11" would be ideal. Can't remember which one but one of the Fishers come with the 11" coil for $299.

The new minelab go pro looks like it would be ideal but I wouldn't want to be one of the first batch of people buying one. I'm a huge Minelab user and have had very little problems with new ones I've bought. But since this is a lower end Minelab and they need to make money I would wait to see how the reviews come in. Nothing personal against Minelab, just my own thinking.

If not having digital readings to look at and coverage doesn't make a difference to you then I'd go with one of the Tesoro's

Good luck

 

[E92FF]

The GoFind40 looks like a great option but I am reading very mixed reviews. The biggest issue seems to be it's ability to see deep. Some say it does fine and others not so much. We will be using this a lot on the beach so I would think things could get buried pretty quickly and I won't mind digging a 10" hole. I would love to hear from anyone who has used one!

 

[SouthFLdigger]

The GoFind40 looks like a great option but I am reading very mixed reviews. The biggest issue seems to be it's ability to see deep. Some say it does fine and others not so much. We will be using this a lot on the beach so I would think things could get buried pretty quickly and I won't mind digging a 10" hole. I would love to hear from anyone who has used one!

Remember that working the wet sand where a good portion of the jewelry and coins are, requires a completely different type of machine than any mentioned so far ($600-$2500). The dry sand has lots to offer especially by the towel line, but you will need a detector than can go down a fair depth (9+ "). Amongst the deepest detectors for your dollar for mild soils are the Teknetics Greek series, ETP with11" dd, the ACE Series with the 9x12" coils, Tesoros with large coils/ or modified internally, the Fishers F2/F4 with large coils will go deep in dry sand as well. But none of these will work the wet sand effectively or deep, just keep this in mind. I live on the beach (Miami Beach) and metal detect it 3 times a week, i have found a ton of items and jewelry. Believe it or not most of my time is spent in the dry and wet sand with my DFX, Nokta and Gamma. When i do go in the water i use the CZ, BHID and others, wading with a metal detector requires certain experience and patience so don't even think about it yet.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I've only been MDing for about a week now. I did a decent amount of research before I started on what beginner model to purchase since I knew nothing of the hobby. I finally settled on the Fisher F2 and have been very happy with it. I feel like I have improved two fold everyday. Yesterday, I found 16 coins in 90 minutes at a public boat launch. Also, I would suggest a good pinpointer. I just got the Deteknix X-Pointer for $90 and it has been a tremendous improvement over the free one that came with the F2. If I had it to do over again I would have bought it with the initial purchase.

I hope this helps.

 

[E92FF]

I actually found an X-terra 505 on CL locally for $275 with two coils. I might go check it out over the weekend.

 

[Johnny Hall]

i cut the head from a small rip type hammer and have best digging tool i could want , i love it , i also love the tesoro compadre for 160 bucks and free shipping , i dont need a screen to watch i cant see well anyway but i can hear well with these giant ears and learning curve is not bad on tones and i learned what my previous compadre was telling me pdq too . im disabled aka poor now so if i can do well with 160 dollar detector thats what im getting again too. its great fun even my gf that rarely wants to go outside liked the compadre plus she is heart patient and was cool with small size and could swing it long time hahaha. good luck and i hope you find gold and silver really soon and post pics , best regards john

 

[E92FF]

The guy with the e-terra says he has the stock 7.5kz coil and a 3kz coil. What would the 3kz coil be used for?

 

[Phantasman]

3 khz goes through the ground easier than the 7.5 khz (little deeper). Better for relics and seeking larger objects, especially caches.

 

[E92FF]

So I got the x-terra with both coils for $275. The guy I bought it from was really nice, showed us all of the functions and how to set it up. Explained both coils and gave us a few pointers on searching.

When we got home we had it out in our front yard and it was going berserk. I think because of our power line, I turned the gain down and it calmed down. I made a couple sweeps and hit something. Turned on the pin point mode and zeroed in on it. My niece is in a play in a couple hours so I'm getting ready for that but my daughter and I are pretty excited to get this thing out and learn all it can do!

 

[Phantasman]

You got a GREAT deal. Plus the guy trained you a little. Even if you find the XTerra isn't your cup o' tea, you should make money on that deal. Or trade up to $500 detectors.

 

[E92FF]

So we have played with it a little in the yard. So far we have dug up a handful of nails, a bolt, the hook off of a tie down, and a diet coke can that was about 6" deep. How does something get buried 6" deep in the time diet coke cans have existed?

Anyways it works. Now we've just got to find someplace with stuff worth digging!