New to Detecting--seeking advice!

[Martoch]

Hello!


My wife and I are just starting metal detecting (day 2) and we're using my old Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 for the time being. It's a decent detector, but we've found (as many here have as well) that the depth meter is off and it doesn't exactly pinpoint very accurately. We stopped at a local detecting shop here in Fort Walton Beach, FL, and the owner recommended a White's Prizm III.
http://www.whitesdetectors.com/prizm3w.php

What do you guys think of this detector? We really like it and are seriously considering buying one...the pinpoint feature is great and the detector requires very little motion.
Is there a better detector for around $300?

We're rookies to detecting, so we'll take any/all advice you can give us.

Also, we live near the beach but would like to find other places to detect as well. Can you recommend any to us? Ballparks, fairgrounds, etc.

Thanks for your time!

Oh, so far we've found $0.51 and a bunch of rusty nails.

 

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[stoney56]

Welcome martoch! Like the name BTW. Reminds me of a Klingon general.
The Prizm III seems to be a good machine and have not hreally heard anything bad about it. There is another one out there that seems to be outstanding and well thought of as well and about $100 cheaper called the Garrett Ace 250. I don't recall how well it does in wet salt sand though. I'm sure others here can help give pointers as well. Good luck and HH

 

[bk]

I won't recommend which detector to buy other than to say both are reputable company's.
The key is to become proficient with whatever you decide on. Practice, practice, and practice.
Just use it and you will make some good finds.
Good luck!

BK

 

[Martoch]

Thanks for the name comment, I actually created "Martoch" before I ever heard of the Klingon general...just sounds like a cool warrior name.


And for the detector...we definitely need something that we can use in wet sand as we live in Fort Walton Beach, FL, and there are a TON of beaches within 5 minutes of our home. I keep reading about the ACE250, but I've never seen it in person...only reason I asked about the Prizm III is because I got to play with it at our local shop. You know that goes...once you use it for a bit, you want it NOW!

 

[dudes2112]

I have personally used the ACE 250 in wet sand and it's no good for that, false signals everywhere. If you move back a bit to the dry sand it does great.

Dudes