Budgeted Beach Detecting

[MetalKid]

Hey everyone, I've had my Ace 250 for about a year but I just moved to Hyde Park in Chicago so I want to get a machine that can function in wet sand. I found someone selling a Bounty Hunter 2200 for 60$ but I'm not sure if it is a good beach detector.

Any detectors that work well in wet sand that I can get for a decent price used? My budget is probably about 200$ if I want to sell my Ace 250.

Thanks!

 

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[Indian Steve]

If you are going to be hunting in fresh water wet sand, your Ace 250 should work fine. If you are hunting Lake Michigan beaches, I would go for it. Salt water wet sand would require something a little more expensive.

 

[Terry Soloman]

A quality sand scoop is going to cost $150.00 - $250.00 all by itself. Beach hunting is expensive. The most inexpensive waterproof FRESHWATER detector is the Garrett AT Pro ($555.00).

 

[Indian Steve]

Spend the extra few bucks and get a Tesoro Tiger Shark if you are going in the water. Tesoro has a Lifetime Warranty. I used my Tiger Shark for 5 years and ended up with a leak at the coil. I sent it back to Tesoro {$17 shipping}. They replaced the coil & headphones and recalibrated the box and shipped it back for free. Good Luck doing that with a 5 year old Garrett.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

A quality sand scoop is going to cost $150.00 - $250.00 all by itself. Beach hunting is expensive. The most inexpensive waterproof FRESHWATER detector is the Garrett AT Pro ($555.00).

Terry is correct, something to keep in mind, that $150 scoop can be sold 5 years from now for $100-$125, the $250 can be sold 5 years from now for $200-$225. As long as you take care of scoop they lose very little value. Twice I have sold $200 scoops for $175 used.

 

[BrettCo124]

My personal suggestion is getting a used Tesoro sand shark. May be able to get one for 350-400 on eBay. Try letgo too. Or the marketplace.

 

[Indian Steve]

A Sand Shark in fresh water would drive you crazy digging 3 foot deep bobby pins. Stick to the Tiger Shark for fresh water.

 

[adamBomb]

As others have said, keep your ace 250 until you have enough cash to get a AT Pro, Tiger Shark, Equinox. For now get a good sand scoop and yea they are as much as your ace 250 but man they are worth it.

 

[johnwon2]

A Sand Shark in fresh water would drive you crazy digging 3 foot deep bobby pins. Stick to the Tiger Shark for fresh water.

As a long time Tiger Shark owner I agree here.

 

[tamzin]

Keep your ace 250 until you have enough cash to get a AT Pro, Tiger Shark, Equinox

 

[GA_Boy]

I can't imagine anyone paying $250.00 for a sand scoop. My idea is to have one that has NO METAL in it.
I put a broom handle on a plastic scoop for my use. Plastic ties and JB Weld to hold the handle.
Note: I do not go in the water--------------just sandy beaches. I want to be able to scoop while standing and then run my detector over it. I see VIDS of guys W/Metal scoops shaking out the sand and really not knowing whether they have anything or not.
For me a metal scoop would be a time killer.
Marvin
https://www.amazon.com/Garrett-Plastic-Sand-Scoop/dp/B000RZC5AG

 

[Normsel]

A sand scoop doesn't have to cost $150 you can get hand held scoops from $9 to SS for $37 from garrett

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I can't imagine anyone paying $250.00 for a sand scoop. My idea is to have one that has NO METAL in it.
I put a broom handle on a plastic scoop for my use. Plastic ties and JB Weld to hold the handle.
Note: I do not go in the water--------------just sandy beaches. I want to be able to scoop while standing and then run my detector over it. I see VIDS of guys W/Metal scoops shaking out the sand and really not knowing whether they have anything or not.
For me a metal scoop would be a time killer.
Marvin
https://www.amazon.com/Garrett-Plastic-Sand-Scoop/dp/B000RZC5AG

Scoop your describing is okay in dry sand but not very good at all in hard wet sand or water. I find far more gold rings in the wet sand and water than I ever find in the dry sand. Try standing on a plastic scoop to push it in deeper in the hard wet sand and see how long it lasts. I see guys at the beach with the plastic scoops digging and I can dig circles around them with my metal scoop recovering a lot more targets a lot faster.

I see VIDS of guys W/Metal scoops shaking out the sand and really not knowing whether they have anything or not.

You take a scoop of sand and re-scan target with your detector to see if target is still there, if no response from target that is when you empty out the scoop.

 

[biyaa]

Ace 250 is pretty good detector. If you decide wet sand detecting then there isn’t much a budget detector. Once you start detecting near the wet sand at beach, you gotta have the right tool for the job. I would stick with the Ace 250 on dry sand. Once you have a set cash on side, then invest a decent beach detector (sand shark, minelab sov, and etc). If your in this hobby for long run, it will pay itself off sooner or later. Best luck on your journey. [emoji1303]

 

[against the wind]

Recovered quite a few gold and silver rings at fresh water beaches and lakes using the AT PRO. Over the years I have accumulated 4 or 5 scoops. Plastic or small basket scoops for shallow dry sand targets. Heavier 2 pieces metal scoops for in water recoveries.
They don't go bad.

 

[adamBomb]

I can't imagine anyone paying $250.00 for a sand scoop. My idea is to have one that has NO METAL in it.
I put a broom handle on a plastic scoop for my use. Plastic ties and JB Weld to hold the handle.
Note: I do not go in the water--------------just sandy beaches. I want to be able to scoop while standing and then run my detector over it. I see VIDS of guys W/Metal scoops shaking out the sand and really not knowing whether they have anything or not.
For me a metal scoop would be a time killer.
Marvin
https://www.amazon.com/Garrett-Plastic-Sand-Scoop/dp/B000RZC5AG

I don't really understand. How does a plastic scoop dig through hard sand, shells, etc without snapping into pieces? Also, shaking out the sand can save a huge amount of time. You are saying you run your detector over your scoop and then try to find it by eye/hand? That would take forever. I dig, check, dump. Assuming the target is in the dump I take the small section where it is and shake till the target is there. Takes a few seconds. I don't need to bend over and I can move on. I don't see how it can be done faster than that and I have tried everything over the years.

 

[BeckySpencer]

ANTP, Tiger shark, and Equinox are worth a lot of money to own

 

[pulltabfelix]

not to mention rocks and packed shells on fresh water beaches. I hunt on a large lake in Georgia and it is not always pretty white sugar sand like you find at the Destin, FL area. You need hard stainless steel and a very good handle.

 

[Treasure-coast-steve]

Do your self a favor and find your self a whites surfmaster pi used and older model I live in Florida and all I do I beach hunt it the best machine I have ever touched but it totally a dig all machine

 

[NWMP]

One option is to save as much clad as you can. At end of year you may have enough to buy a used AT Pro, along with your set aside cash. A lot of machines end up getting dumped at year end as folks lose interest for various reasons. I go into fresh water lakes up to my neck and get better at finding gold and silver rings etc., every year with the ATP. These days the ATP seems to be viewed as an average mid range, but quite capable machine. If you can hang on and reach up to this machine you will have a very capable performer for lower cash outlay. Another option is the Nokta Simplex that just came out. I recently bought one as it tests out as an amazing performer for surprisingly little cash. If you are really into keeping costs down you can think out of the box for scoops etc. I think that I saw a thread once where a fellow used a galvanized hand held feed scoop that he drilled a bunch of holes in. The options are only limited to imagination. But in my experience, buying inexpensive junk just leads to buying better stuff later anyway. The better stuff is much nicer to use and usually lasts for many years. Buy used if you have to, but go for the better stuff.