Beginner here with a few questions

[MrGneissGuy]

Hey guys. My wife bought me a metal detector a few years ago and now that I'm finally getting into the prospecting hobby I have questions about some specifics.

1) Do you need an expensive metal detector? (I am only interested in searching for gold (natural gold preferably)) I don't plan on walking beaches ever, but who knows.

2) Why are there so many different coils and do I need like one of each?

3) What's the deal with pinpointers like the AT pro? It almost seems like I could get one of those, attach it to a stick and call it a metal detector. I know that won't work but I don't know why.

4) Is there anything I should know about my beginner detector? It's "The Outback Bounty Hunter". I know for certain that it can find iron and old tires but beyond that I have no idea.

 

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[xr7ator]

You need to start watching a lot of utube vids on detecting, then get out there and get dirty.
The pinpointer will speed up recovery time allowing more targets to be dug.
I live in Colorado and have never had any luck detecting natural gold but...gold is where you find it. If you get out and start finding a lot of brass and lead, welcome to the reality of detecting where many have used firearms over the years.
Get with someone who already knows the ropes. Best advice I can give.
GOOD LUCK! and.....HH ALL

 

[victhedog]

if your looking for gold your best to get a high freq detector made to find gold not a all medal unit

a pinpointer on a stick would work for shalow targets ,but would be slow going


think your best starting place is to read your manual a learn how to use your detector

 

[Terry Soloman]

The Outback Bounty Hunter, is not a good machine for gold nugget hunting. Nugget hunting machines operate at 17kHz or more, and start at around $600.00
Your machine will not find a 3-gram nugget, 4" deep. Do some homework and good luck!

 

[trdking]

1) Do you need an expensive metal detector? (I am only interested in searching for gold (natural gold preferably)) I don't plan on walking beaches ever, but who knows.
Yes, If you are after gold specifically See comment above about frequencies. If you want to specialize, get specialty tools.

2) Why are there so many different coils and do I need like one of each?

Coil size increases the target path but has limitations and you can miss things with large coils. For gold hunting you will want a small coil. You do not need all of them. See above on Google and read up on your subject

3) What's the deal with pinpointers like the AT pro? It almost seems like I could get one of those, attach it to a stick and call it a metal detector. I know that won't work but I don't know why.

You will need a pinpointer to find small nuggets. See comment above about google and watch it in action. Pinpoints will not go below 2" depth in most soils. It is an aid to find the object once your main detector has spotted it and you have made a hole.

4) Is there anything I should know about my beginner detector? It's "The Outback Bounty Hunter". I know for certain that it can find iron and old tires but beyond that I have no idea.

​See comment above. This is not the detector for you, or really anyone for that matter. Good luck and happy hunting. Hope to see you in front of a seven pound nugget in International news.

 

[cudamark]

Hey guys. My wife bought me a metal detector a few years ago and now that I'm finally getting into the prospecting hobby I have questions about some specifics.

1) Do you need an expensive metal detector? (I am only interested in searching for gold (natural gold preferably)) I don't plan on walking beaches ever, but who knows.

Define 'expensive"? IMO, a $750 Gold Bug 2 would be the minimum I would use. It's great for small (read tiny) nuggets that aren't terribly deep. When you get serious about prospecting, you can look at the Minelabs.

2) Why are there so many different coils and do I need like one of each?

Big coils for coverage and depth, small coils for tiny nuggets and junky ground.

3) What's the deal with pinpointers like the AT pro? It almost seems like I could get one of those, attach it to a stick and call it a metal detector. I know that won't work but I don't know why.

Most of your pin pointers won't sound off on a tiny nugget (say smaller than a grain of rice). They do help cut down on recover time for ones they can detect. Your main detector will get you close to the target, the pin pointer will get you right on the target without having to wave handfuls of dirt over the coil (the way we used to do it before they were available).

4) Is there anything I should know about my beginner detector? It's "The Outback Bounty Hunter". I know for certain that it can find iron and old tires but beyond that I have no idea.

As mentioned, forget the Bounty Hunter. Get a dedicated gold machine based on your mining area and the type of gold found there. Also, the degree and change of mineralization and number of hot rocks in a particular site should factor into your decision. Some of the better and more expensive machines deal with those conditions easier and more accurately.

 

[MrGneissGuy]

Thanks guys, very helpful tips. Time to do some studying!

 

[Honest Samuel]

Best of luck to you.

 

[GA_Boy]

A Gold Bug II was perfect for me back when I was physically able to prospect. I enjoyed working the crevices. If the GBII said gold was there I would collect all the material around and put in my pan and move to the next crevice. It adds up by the end of the day.
You don't show where you are but if you were close to me, you could borrow mine to see if you like that model machine. I don't use it anymore since I'm older and weaker. I just got a new toy to use in the parks, etc, where the ground is flat.
Marvin

 

[oldkoot]

MrGneissGuy I would take a look at the new mine lab GM 1000 its the easiest detector I have ever used it is completely automatic specifically designed for detecting gold 45KHZ yes it will still find lead bullets aluminum foil and anything else that is a non ferrous item but it is extremely sensitive to the smallest of non ferrous targets,it has a all metal program and a discrimination program,up until I purchased the GM 1000 i had been using a Xterra 705 which is a great all around detector but since purchasing the GM 1000 the Xterra has not seen much use as I like you am detecting pretty much for only gold if you want a detector that's simple to use check out the GM 1000,the next step after that is to look at a P I machine which are vary expensive also like GA Boy stated the GB II is another option and a well proven G detector which I have no experience with as I chose to go with a machine with newer technology just my two cents worth