Minelab SDC 2300

Cariboo5

Hero Member
Oct 27, 2011
727
1,154
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Looking for input on this unit such as quality, performance on very small gold and overall opinions. I have not had a PI unit and all input is appreciated.
Thanks in advance to all.........

After more & more researching I've decided to purchase a Garret ATX instead...This should do the trick..
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0

beekbuster

Hero Member
Jan 17, 2015
750
1,676
Detector(s) used
gpx 4500
gpz (died in a fire. rip)
Primary Interest:
Other
i have no complaints. it will hit on 1 grain gold. short learning curve. it just works. headphones are sized for a yeti.
 

OP
OP
Cariboo5

Cariboo5

Hero Member
Oct 27, 2011
727
1,154
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
i have no complaints. it will hit on 1 grain gold. short learning curve. it just works. headphones are sized for a yeti.

"headphones are sized for a yeti.".....Thanks for the chuckle beekbuster.

After finding out what I could online I did buy the ATX Deepseeker package. Up here there is a huge price point difference as the Garrett package
with the 2 coils, case, etc is $1,500.00 less expensive and this helped sway my decision. Thanks for your comment.....
 

IMPDLN

Full Member
Mar 18, 2014
218
431
Central Arizona
Detector(s) used
Minelab SD2100 V-2, Gold Bug SE, SDC2300, GPX4500
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Good luck. Unfortunately with metal detectors like anything else, you get what you pay for. Not that the 2300 isn't a little over priced, and the ATX is a fine unit for the money. I always tell people to buy the best unit they can legitimately afford. Dennis
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,660
6,360
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Good luck with your new metal detector and the always fun learning curve when you tackle getting to know how it works, what its quirks are, etc.

Are you in an area with crazy-hot bedrock? Just curious why you went to a PI machine.

All the best,

Lanny
 

OP
OP
Cariboo5

Cariboo5

Hero Member
Oct 27, 2011
727
1,154
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good luck with your new metal detector and the always fun learning curve when you tackle getting to know how it works, what its quirks are, etc.

Are you in an area with crazy-hot bedrock? Just curious why you went to a PI machine.

All the best,

Garrett has two you tube videos on the ATX part 1 & 2 which are very instructional. With these and some field work I'm hoping the learning curve time frame is cut in half.
I wanted one that is safe and good in water for the river claim. On this claim the low water time frame is short (early spring & late fall) that I can walk out safely just
down stream of the exposed bedrock to detect (picture attached)

On another claim I've come across gossan, hematite and magnetite which to me is encouraging and will be spending all my time this spring/summer there.
Last reason is it was time for an upgrade and this will be my last metal detector purchase and like IMPDLN I'm a big believer in buying quality in one's price range...

As soon as as there is a good day in February 5-6 degrees above freezing I will be out in the water as shown in the picture...

Drop Zone.JPG
 

beekbuster

Hero Member
Jan 17, 2015
750
1,676
Detector(s) used
gpx 4500
gpz (died in a fire. rip)
Primary Interest:
Other
Good luck. Unfortunately with metal detectors like anything else, you get what you pay for. Not that the 2300 isn't a little over priced, and the ATX is a fine unit for the money. I always tell people to buy the best unit they can legitimately afford. Dennis

i was going to purchase a used one, but the dealer made be an offer on a new one i couldnt refuse. my decision was between a used 4500 or a used sdc when i was in the market.
 

Lanny in AB

Gold Member
Apr 2, 2003
5,660
6,360
Alberta
Detector(s) used
Various Minelabs(5000, 2100, X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Gold Monster), Falcon MD20, Tesoro Sand Shark, Gold Bug Pro, Makro Gold Racer.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Good luck with your new metal detector and the always fun learning curve when you tackle getting to know how it works, what its quirks are, etc.

Are you in an area with crazy-hot bedrock? Just curious why you went to a PI machine.

All the best,

Garrett has two you tube videos on the ATX part 1 & 2 which are very instructional. With these and some field work I'm hoping the learning curve time frame is cut in half.
I wanted one that is safe and good in water for the river claim. On this claim the low water time frame is short (early spring & late fall) that I can walk out safely just
down stream of the exposed bedrock to detect (picture attached)

On another claim I've come across gossan, hematite and magnetite which to me is encouraging and will be spending all my time this spring/summer there.
Last reason is it was time for an upgrade and this will be my last metal detector purchase and like IMPDLN I'm a big believer in buying quality in one's price range...

As soon as as there is a good day in February 5-6 degrees above freezing I will be out in the water as shown in the picture...

View attachment 1543525

Well, I've never used one, but I've seen others post about finds with the machine, so I hope you find some good gold with your new outfit. Just curious, is there bigger gold in your area? I'm not sure how sensitive your Garret is to small gold?

All the best when you get a chance to swing that coil over your chosen spot,

Lanny
 

OP
OP
Cariboo5

Cariboo5

Hero Member
Oct 27, 2011
727
1,154
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the chuckle Lanny as I'm certainly hoping for bigger gold. We have too much snow here now so I have been watching videos and from what I have viewed the ATX seems to do ok in finding 0.3, 0.5 grams at certain depths. I'm practicing each learning step from the videos and so far find the learning curve for me has been easy as long as I stay on the same step until it becomes second nature and then I move on to the next.


The deep seeker 20 inch mono coil will be perfect for another claim that did have a hundred years ago some cabins on it. Will be checking out nearby trees for hiding areas.
Their mode of travel was horse & buggy as last year I dug up a metal centre hub for a wooden spoke wheels.

The smaller 12 inch DD coil will be used on the new claim which also has a huge magnetic anomaly.

Appreciate your "best wishes" and the same to you for this upcoming season. What ever the outcome, good, bad, in-between or indifferent I will posts my results by summers end
or early fall...........Best of luck & happy hunting...
 

Horst

Sr. Member
Apr 13, 2017
319
1,206
Germany
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800 + SDC2300
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I made the decision to purchase a SDC2300. I have been using my Whites GMT at Roaring Camp (what a place to visit) last year. The hot rocks and mineralization drove it nuts. A very friendly miner let me use his SDC2300 and it totally ignored the hot rocks and mineralization. My test nugget it always hit. I just wasn't lucky enough to swing the coil over a nugget. One big advantage for me is that the machine is collapsible and waterproof. I could not cross the north Yuba carrying the GMT over as there was too much of a risk drowning the machine. I would have loved to work the bedrock on the other side of the river.9th of March I will be heading to AZ to try it out. When I'm back I will probably know more if I made the right decision on that purchase.
 

bug

Full Member
Jun 5, 2008
236
392
Nor Cal
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The 2300 is the King of detectors for hunting shallow type ground/bedrock, or for dig and detect prospecting. For small gold nothing beats it and its so darn easy to use.
Only thing you may miss is not having discrimination like a vlf, but just dig everything and let the scoop sort it out. But then again half the ground in California is too hot for VLFs anyway.
 

Relichunter1

Sr. Member
Feb 2, 2010
271
282
California
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon,Tesoro Lobo, Minelab GPX 4500.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
sdc2300..............the best choice for hot ground with small gold near bedrock!
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Top