HELP!!!!! A Metal Detector for a Retiree

[brvan71]

My father is retiring in May. My family is going to surprise him with a new metal detector and I (the eldest son) have been nominated to buy him the best possible in the $700-750 range. For years he has owned cheaper machines and has marvelled at the way my old White's Eagle Spectrum has performed. Anyway, I was all set to order him an xlt when my local barber who has a DFX said that if he were in the market to get a new machine he would get a minelab. Now, I am really confused. My dad's primary hunting will be coinshooting but might do occasional relic hunting in an area where Civil War soldiers camped. He will hunt parks and homesites primarily. (My grandmother owns an old place but there seems to be JUNK everywhere...he would like to be able to hunt this yard.) Anyway, I know I will get mixed responsed from everyone, but I need some good advice. I am not considering anything but a White's or Minelab. Now, which way do I go? By the way, I am probably going to be upgrading when tax money comes, and need some personal help in this decision making also. God bless, and thanks in advance.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

depending on what you mean by his previous "cheap" machines, any step up is going to take getting used to. I mean, the DFX, XLT, Explorer, etc... sometimes confuses the heck out of people, if they only used simple machines previously, and/or never hunt side-by-side with someone who is proficient with each of those, to trade off marked signals to compare. Ie.: so they get the hang of "x-marking the spot", "repeatability" as it pertains to audio, swing speed, etc... For example, I kept getting my b*tt kicked by an Exp. user in the turf. He was routinely getting 8"+ silver dimes with ease, while for me, they were "grasping for whispers". So I gave the Explorer a try for myself. Initially, I hated it! Later I found out that it was only because I was morphing my Whites sounds/feel/experience with what I was expecting the Exp. to do. Once I went out with this Exp. ace, and had a few deep silver signals pointed out to me, did the "lights go on". All of the sudden, the tooty-fluty made sense

So whatever you choose for him, he'd do well to either go with someone to a prolific site (lots of coin signals, even if they're clad), *just* to practice. If he wants to be casual, the 6000 Di pro. is a good all-around machine. If he wants to eak out another inch or two on coins, but with a bit steeper curve, the Explorer can usually be had for your price range, in the used market.

 

[thompy]

the minelab xt 70 is a versitile machine, and the whites m-6, mxt or xlt are good coin hunters as well, dont think you will go wrong on any, personally the xt-70 would be my choice, its also much lighter to swing

 

[Sandman]

As was suggested the Minelab X-terra 70 would be a fine choice but, I also think you should also think about the Tesoro line up as they won't have the tooty-fluty sounds he'd have to hear with the Minelabs though once you get used to them they are great. The Tesoro Vaquero is light weight for us old guys to swing all day and easy to use, plus they come with a great lifetime warranty. But the Vequero has no display that your father might like, even though the display can lie to him about what is really down there. But it is fun to watch and the X70 has a display too. It might help him for you to get him a subscription to Western & Eastern Treasures magazine too so he can get more out of the hobby.

 

[TimC (North Alabama)]

Here's my suggestions

Dad's in good strong physical health

1. Whites MXT 300
2. Xterra 70
3. Minelab Sov. GT (fluty sounds. but will find them deeper)

Not very good physical condition

1.Tesoro Cortez
2.Tesoro Vaquero or Tejon

 

[brvan71]

Here's my suggestions

Dad's in good strong physical health

1. Whites MXT 300
2. Xterra 70
3. Minelab Sov. GT (fluty sounds. but will find them deeper)

Not very good physical condition

1.Tesoro Cortez
2.Tesoro Vaquero or Tejon

I have received some good answers, but here's my question. Only one has mentioned the White's Xlt, but almost all have suggested the minelab xterra 70. Is the xterra 70 that good of a machine? I can get it a bit cheaper than the xlt and that would be great but I don't want to go cheaper and compromise quality. God Bless!

 

[WV Hillbilly]

CZ3D Tips - Dave WVAdirtdigger

Raymond’s comparison

Hi. I am sneaking onto my wife’s computer again! Doesn’t happen often. I am a occasional forum lurker. Can’t stand typing! And I mostly lurk the Minelab forums. Got several experiences that I want to share, so I must type. I’m a recently retired civil attorney on a fact finding mission.
Personally, I needed burden-of-proof to know which of my 3 detectors shined the most. I’m probably going to bash all three, and also praise all three. I have the most hours, probably about 650 hours, on the Explorer. This makes me more partial towards the Explorer. Sorry.

Cut to the chase. Took all three detectors to several areas during the past 2 weeks. A good friend came along a few times with his CZ-70. The first area, I found eleven targets that I marked with poker chips. Found these targets with the CZ-3D with sensitivity on 5, volume on 3, enhance mode, and ground balance on 5. The first target was 8 inches deep and registered coins-all. The Explorer said 8 inches deep and upper-right coin reading. The C$ said 16 for signal strength and the ID numbers were bouncing between 16 and 51. The CZ-70 said coins-all and also 8 inches deep. Recovered the target. A 1944 wheat penny. All detectors made a good call.

The next target was awesome! The CZ-3D said 9 inches deep nickel, hi-tone. The CZ-70 said it was foil, medium tone. The Explorer also said about 9 inches, but ID‘d the target as something just barely above iron, not where nickels normally hit. The C$ was weird. I was on the 5/25 setting and could not detect the target. Jumped to 7/25. No target. Jumped to 9/25 and still no target. Jumped to 9/5 threshold. Now I was occasionally hearing something, but nothing I would dig. Then I changed to a threshold setting of zero and kept sensitivity on 9. Now the Coin$trike would see the target every time, but the numbers were jumping between negative and positive. Still nothing I would dig. Sensitivity on 10, and still no change of status. Switched back to the CZ-3D and recovered the target. Turned out to be a 1889 V nickel. Wow! The CZ-3D trumped all the other detectors and got one!

Next target turned out to be a 3 inch deep aluminum screw-cap off of a soda bottle. All of the detectors called it a coins-all. Not good!

Next item read nickel at 7 inches on the CZ-3D. The Explorer said it was about where a aluminum tongue off of a ring-tab would be, and also about 8 inches deep. The CZ-70 said 8 inches deep, but was bouncing between foil and nickel. The Coin$trike gave a signal strength reading of 30 and the ID numbers were bouncing consistently positive and between 04 to 29. The target turned out to be a 1936 buffalo nickel. I failed to try the CZ-3D in the Salt mode when the target was still in the ground. I did air test the nickel with all of the detectors once it was out of the ground, and all detectors reported nickel.

Next target. CZ-3D reads about 11 inches deep and zinc penny. Explorer read the target as a soda tab, except the ID would occasionally drop down into the foil range. Explorer was in manual sensitivity 32 and Audio 1. The CZ-70 barely gave a reading, but was indicating a relic beyond 10 inches deep. The C$ would never detect the target, I tried all setting combinations again. With a 10/0 setting, I would occasionally receive a audio burp, at best, but never a ID. Recovered the target. Turned out to be a copper token about the diameter of a nickel. Don’t know what to think. Hung jury.

Next target was another eye-opener. CZ-3D consistently reads zinc penny at 7 inches. Coin$trike bouncing between 06 to 51. Explorer is bouncing between soda tabs and about a zinc penny. CZ-70 was almost always reading a relic soda tab. All detectors had a fairly strong signal. Recovered the item. It’s a 1928 mercury dime! What’s up with that? Out of the ground, all of the detectors read the silver dime perfectly. The CZ-3D takes the cake again.

Next target was a 1920 wheat penny at 6 inches. CZ-3D said coins-all. CZ-70 read zinc penny. Explorer registered good coin. C$ said 18 to 31. Good detectors, good calls. No complaints.
Next few targets were clad coins about 4 inches deep. All detectors came clean with correct ID. Seems anything beyond about 6 inches is where different things start to happen. With these 4 inch deep targets, the C$ numerically locked on to each target nicely.

Next target was a bronze washer the diameter of a penny and about 8 inches deep. The CZ-3D reported zinc penny and the Explorer called it a soda tab. The CZ-70 reported a relic reading. The C$ was bouncing between 14 to 30. Don’t know what to think. Could have been a Indian head penny. I think that I would want a coin reading on a round bronze disc the size of a penny. I am also curious why the Coin$trike does not numerically lock on to targets a bit better, especially when they are 6 inches deep, or deeper.

Several other days, and several more comparing hunts, I continued to have similar results. Found another silver dime that read coins-all on the CZ-3D, but the Explorer and Coin$trike were bouncing between soda tab and zinc penny. Not sure why this is happening. Also found a pair of Indian head pennies stuck together that the CZ-3D was bouncing between zinc penny and coins-all, and the Explorer and C$ were reading soda tab. Recovered a silver Washington quarter that was on edge where the CZ-3D was a constant hi tone, but the Explorer and C$ were jumping everywhere on the meter, except iron.

I did find a few other aluminum trash items that fooled all of the detectors, but really not enough to be concerned about. The Coin$trike seems to find more tabs than nickels, when looking for nickels. Marked a bunch of nickel reading targets with the C$. The Explorer was fooled on a couple of them, but the CZ-3D called every one of them a soda tab. Dug every one, and the CZ-3D gets a 100% score in this local test. All were tabs. Now I am beginning to understand why some folks choose to not say anything about the CZ-3D. Don’t want to let the opponent know about the defendants trump card!

To the best of my abilities, it appears to me the CZ-3D is only about an inch deeper than my Coin$trike. The Explorer and the CZ are nearly identical in depth abilities. At times, I thought the CZ has a slight edge over the Explorer, but, in a court of law, the evidence is weak. The Fisher coil actually measures 7.5 inches and the stock Explorer coil is 10.5 inches. I am not sure how much difference 3 inches makes for depth performance. I do not own a 10.5 inch CZ coil yet.
I have a buddy who exclusively hunts with a Coin$trike. He digs all positive ID numbers. Sometimes he finds great stuff. Most of the time, he recovers junk. Couldn’t I do the exact same thing with my CZ & Explorer by digging everything except iron? Or, seems to me, you could buy a cheap, deep detector, set the discrimination to reject only iron, and dig everything else. Though, I believe the CZ and Explorer would handle bad minerals and trash better, and maybe go a bit deeper, IMHO.

Love how the CZ-3D locks on to targets, yet I have a complaint. When the depth needle is pointing on the upper half of the number 8, the target is usually 8 inches deep. When the needle is centered over the number 8, the depth is actually closer to 10 inches deep. When the needle is pointing on the lower half of the number 8, the target is closer to 11 inches actual depth. When the needle is below the number 8, no telling what the actual depth really is, usually it’s about a foot deep. Inaccurate depth needle. I know; moot point.

My Explorer gives much more information compared to all other detectors, but now, I question its accuracy. The CZ-3D trumped it on more than enough occasions to be more than just a mere coincidence. Yet, would you believe that I still feel more comfortable with my Explorer! Maybe more time with the CZ-3D, and I may have a change of heart. NASA tom, I know you invented the CZ-70 and the CZ-3D. No insult, but the CZ-3D trumps the CZ-70 with more accuracy, especially with the deeper targets.

 

[thompy]

i like whites machines, and they are tough, im 265lbs 6ft and plenty of muscle, i still like swinging a lighter machine, the whites i would have to switch arms after a while to give the right a litltle break, not a bid deal. the xt 70 is light, has a good asortmant of coils available, lots of options on adjustment , but easyer to learn than the xlt, and the faster audio recovery speed, the only thing i dont like about the whites 6.59 khz frecueny machines is a lack of a good DD coil. i personally preferd the QXT pro over the XLT, but i am into relic hunting. either is a good choice and think you father would be happy with either

 

[brvan71]

i like whites machines, and they are tough, im 265lbs 6ft and plenty of muscle, i still like swinging a lighter machine, the whites i would have to switch arms after a while to give the right a litltle break, not a bid deal. the xt 70 is light, has a good asortmant of coils available, lots of options on adjustment , but easyer to learn than the xlt, and the faster audio recovery speed, the only thing i dont like about the whites 6.59 khz frecueny machines is a lack of a good DD coil. i personally preferd the QXT pro over the XLT, but i am into relic hunting. either is a good choice and think you father would be happy with either

THOMPY,
Can you tell me if you can create your own programs with the xt70 like with the xlt? Thanks so much for your hrlp. So, if YOUR dad was the one retiring you would lean towards the xt 70 for him? For your above stated reasons...ease of use and weight? And it will do wel for both coisn and some relics? God Bless,
Bryan

 

[thompy]

actualy my dad retired 3 yrs ago and has the xlt, tryed to talk him into the mxt, he misunderstood and bought the xlt, i not sure about the program i think you can, my thought on the xlt is you have more of a chance of screwing your self on settings, if you donnt fully understand whats going on, i bought the xt 50 for my son this spring, i use the t-2 and love it, talked my buddy into the 70 last year, and have limmited time on it, but compares well to my t-2 as far as target ID, sensitivity, and depth, avantages over mine are the excellant ground tracking and nocthing abilitys, it impressed me enough to buy a 50 for my 10yr old son, and a back up for me. i need a machine with ahigher freq, because of the gold possibilitys here. like i said either would be great, your exp on the xlt would cut down on his learning time, but if he gets the xt you may be wanting one for your self down the road.

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

My two cents on the Whites XLT. Yes you can program various settings for whatever hunting type you might be into, but the XLT has factory programs and is a turn on and go type machine.

I have used this machine for quite some time and I do like it. Lots of choices out there. You have to decide what is best for you and your hunting area.

HH

Ray S

 

[ks_hunter]

Brvan,
I'll plug tesoro for ya..

$400'ish - Deleon $479.50(lcd no notch disc) / Vaquero $420.00(has GB)
$500'ish - Tejon $559.50(has GB)(w/manual duel disc)
$600'ish - Cortez $679.50(has GB)(lcd w/notch disc)
Made in America, Lifetime Warranty

 

[DanB]

try the gold bug II it works great for all. the price is right and it works well in mineralized soils, at least here in AZ. good luck

db

 

[Larsmed]

HI

I would save your money, unless money is not an issue. some of these high end machines are practically the same as the low end unless the user knows how to properly operate them.

Larry

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I don't think his father would have any problem learning the ones mentioned.....He has been using the cheaper detectors for years, give him something nice to learn and grow with.

I will be 60 on my next birthday and I still would rather have something I grew into, rather then out of...........

This applies to cars, computers, detectors and wives.................

 

[bedpanmoneyman]

White's MXT...and have fun

 

[liftloop]

call kellyco theyll help there the best.