Please Help-Need Advice

go4gold

Tenderfoot
Feb 16, 2007
6
0
Northern-Illinois
Detector(s) used
DFX-M6
I am looking to get in to metal detecting. Last summer I had a new septic system put in my yard & we found several coins, silverware, bottles, horseshoes ect...buried in my yard. My house & all the 17 others in my neiborhood are 50-120 years old & out in the middle of the country in nortern Illinois. Its a small town that had a general store which closed in the 1940's but is still standing & a lumber yard which also closed in the 1950's. I have a good felling that I might be able to find lots of goodies around here. Now heres where I need help. I have never had a metal detector before & im not sure what kind to buy. I would like to purchase a very good one that is easy to use. Could I start with a top of the line model? Is Ebay a good place to purchase? Any help please!
 

Upvote 0

DJ_Quinn

Bronze Member
Apr 25, 2005
1,253
40
Southeastern Ireland
Welcome to the forum. Go back to the home page and scroll down to the topic "Metal Detector Revues". I suppose your choice comes down to how much you are willing to spend. I only paid the equivilent of $200 for my Viking V detector, which I've had almost 2 years now, and its been a great machine to learn with. In teh States, I think the White's 250 or Garret Ace seem to be the most popular choices for first detectors. Good luck!
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You would do well with a detector from a major brand like Garrett Minelab, Tesoro or Whites. Many like the Garrett ACE 250 and it is a great detector for the money. Normally I suggest to just go for the big one, but this isn't necessary just to have fun and collect lots of coins an rings. There is time for the top of the line later if you want.

Check out the field tests that the manufactures have on their web sites. I don't recommend buying from a private individual on ebay as you don't know really why he is selling it. But their are dealers that sell on their too.

Check out Tony's site at http://www.tcmetaldetectors.com/ Tony is very knowledgeable and is very fair. If he had his store near me, I'd work there for free.

HH,
Sandman
 

Eddy1H

Hero Member
Dec 17, 2006
504
1
Rockwall Texas
Detector(s) used
Cz20, Cz6a, 1212X, Minelab, Muskateer Advantage Whites, XLT, Surf PI, Garrett TR
If you are going to get a top of the line detector make sure you have a source to help you out in learning it,, some are a bit tricky to learn how to use all the abilities, if you start out with one of the name brand entry level ones you will find about the same as if you were to buy a high end one, and later when you feel the need for a more powerful detector you will have a back up in your first purchase,,redundancy is always a plus out in the field. Sandmans advice is good, go with one of the name brand detectors and deal with some one with a good rep like he suggested you will be happy with a good dealer and a good detector too boot.
Welcome to the treasure hunting world its great, and tons of good people here to help you out of a bind when you have questions.
Happy Hunting
Eddy
 

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey Gold!. Welcome ! I have an Garrett Ace 250 and an Whites XLT. They are both great machines but I started out with the Ace about a year and a half ago and then bought the XLT because it had more features. I'm glad I got the Ace as a first machine, its easy to operate and yet it offers a lot that most detectors in the $200.00 price range don't. It's a great machine for a beginner or a more experienced detectorist. Oh, and it's fun to use too. :D
Good luck and let us know what detector you decide on and what you find! :)
 

D

dugupfinds

Guest
Welcome to Tnet from the UK.

A couple of people have asked similar questions recently, I will go back & find a link:

updated: I can't find thread with all the useful comments on which detector to get. Sorry.

Make sure you get the right detector for the conditions that you expect to detect in & as others have said, get a mid-range & work up. If you hate it you haven't blown $1000. Don't bother with the bottom range examples as they are 'toy' like.
 

Kas

Bronze Member
Jan 3, 2007
1,565
24
Detector(s) used
Mx sport
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have to agree with some of the above. You don't have to pay a bunch of money to get a detector to hunt coins and jewerly.
But I will say this.

Bet you'll end up buying a high priced detector later. Why not buy the best now, if you can, and save money?
 

fossis

Gold Member
Jan 5, 2007
7,837
96
eastern Oklahoma
Detector(s) used
Whites Prizm 11 & White's XLT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Welcome,& good Luck,


Fossis......................
 

tejon mark

Jr. Member
Feb 9, 2007
26
0
i have used both white's and tejon detectors. if you want an id machine, the mxt, xlt or dfx are great machines. any tesoro detector is fantastic. i have a tejon and eldorado and love both of them. i used to swear i'd never use anything but a white's detector but have found that tesoro makes unbelievable detectors at very reasonable prices. i also live in illinois and if you would like to get together and do some hunting, send me an email or respond to this. i live in central illinois, hillsboro, about 50 miles south of springfield.

mark
 

D

dugupfinds

Guest
tejon mark said:
i have used both white's and tejon detectors. if you want an id machine, the mxt, xlt or dfx are great machines. any tesoro detector is fantastic. i have a tejon and eldorado and love both of them. i used to swear i'd never use anything but a white's detector but have found that tesoro makes unbelievable detectors at very reasonable prices. i also live in illinois and if you would like to get together and do some hunting, send me an email or respond to this. i live in central illinois, hillsboro, about 50 miles south of springfield.

mark

Agreed, I love Tesoro.
 

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