Need help finding a good Metal Detector..

[GySgt Born]

Hello everyone,
I live in Yuma, Az. and I have been wanting to treasure hunt for as long as I can remember. I am fasinated about old lost memorabilia...
The problem I have is that I dont know what is a good detector, and does price really matter.. I know the more money you spend on an item the more gadgets you get, but does that go for a metal detector as well? I want a good one, but dont really want to drop a load of cash on it.. Since I'm not paying top dollar for it, will that not allow me to find the good honey?
Any advise will do...

Thank you

 

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[airscapes]

Yep, the more you spend the more bells and whistles you get..
What is a boat load of money...$200 or $400 or $600 or $1000 or $1500.. that is sort of the price ranges with each manufacture having one or more models that fall in those price ranges
I started with my first in Nov and went with the $400 range.. Got lots of B&W and still really simple to use.. A $200 unit in capable hands that have learned the machine well, will find as much if not more than a $1000 unit in the hands of someone who does not take the time to learn it. Most of the high end machine have a steeper learning curve..
Just about any unit made will beep if there is metal under the coil..

 

[GySgt Born]

Thank you Doug,
I see some people selling them for under a $100.00.. I saw a Fisher M-95 for $65.00 someone was selling, good deal but how well will it work I'm skeptical..

 

[cudamark]

What is your budget? I'd get the best I could afford, even it it's used machine. So you're going to concentrate solely on relics?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Buy an Arizona made Tesoro detector! Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water. Best of luck!

 

[roadrunner]

What I would do first is get a sheet of paper, and write down any models that have a Manual Ground balance. Be it knob, or push button control. In Az you will need it at some places. More than you think. This will eliminate probably 75% of what you buy. The ground in Az has a lot of mineralization, and that is why a manual GB is needed. Read up on it first. You can get a great deal on a used one with this feature from Ebay. If you need some help in choosing one from there, I can look and send you some to chose from. I would stick with Whites, Tesoro,Fisher, and only 1 model of Bounty Hunter that I know of has a manual GB. The Landstar, or LS Camo.I have one. I picked it up for free when I bought a used sluice. Had to send it in and for $25 dollars, BH put a brand new coil and control box and sent them to me. Other than that, it is price, or frequency concerns and what you want to find. Keep reading in this forum for best frequency. But basiclly,lower freq, goes deeper. Higher freq, finds smaller, but does not go as deep.

Also,how much do you want to spend, the highest, and what do you want to strickly hunt for,or general purpose.
I can send you some links after you send me your email in a PM, and if you do not like it, I will buy the detector if you decide to quit.

 

[GySgt Born]

What ever I can find in the Yuma, Az. sand.. Every little beep noise I will be digging like crazy to see what I found.. Lol
My budget is no more than $300.00 starting out..

 

[GySgt Born]

Thank you I think I will have to look into that one..

 

[GySgt Born]

Sounds good.. I really want to find pretty much anything that is burried in the sand minus all the bottle caps and othe useless stuff.. The excitement of the hunt is what I'm after..
Thanks again..
I will PM you..

 

[RobRieman]

I agree with roadrunner. GB is a must have feature if your serious about detecting.

 

[cudamark]

Sounds good.. I really want to find pretty much anything that is burried in the sand minus all the bottle caps and othe useless stuff.. The excitement of the hunt is what I'm after.. Thanks again.. I will PM you..

The better the machine, the more likely you'll be able to discriminate out the junk. You'll want a pin pointer and some tools too, so keep that in mind when planning your budget. Frankly, you're not going to get a whole lot in that price range but there are a few choices that should work. Maybe a used Tejon if you're lucky enough to find one in that price range. You may have to save up a bit more to expand your options.

 

[roadrunner]

Ok. Gb and Discrimination. Plus less than $300. That is doable easy.
Used is definitely in the game for a Whites, or a Fisher.
I own a Garret Groundhog, and a Whites goldmaster.
Garrett is not bad, but in my opinion, not much to choose from and I don't like a couple of their set ups. Like replacement of batteries. I will go look at Ebay tonight.

If it is something I Would Not want to own, I will not suggest to you to buy it.
I forgot, Tesoro Compadre is around $170 dollars brand new but I would have to see if it has a ground balance on it,but I think not.
Maybe Terry S will chime in on that model for Az since he knows it and detects here. Compadre has no GB. Here is what I suggest best of all.

Go to this club, talk to the people, and see about joining, and see what metal detectors they use, and try some of theirs if they will let you. Get the feel of different detectors and see what actual users say by showing you how they work.

South West Treasure Hunters Club
Bob Haynie,
13592 E. 46th Drive
Yuma, AZ 85367

 

[TallTom]

The Tesoro Compadre does NOT have manual ground balance. It's fixed only.
I think the lowest priced new Tesoro detector with manual ground balancing
is the Vaquero, which sells for $446 new. (I just bought one recently.)

There might be another brand and model with manual GB for slightly less,
maybe for $400 or so, but not for a lot less. To get something for $300, I think
you'll need to buy a used model. Good luck!

--Tom

 

[gunsil]

Sounds good.. I really want to find pretty much anything that is burried in the sand minus all the bottle caps and othe useless stuff.. The excitement of the hunt is what I'm after..
Thanks again..
I will PM you..

Forget about not finding the "useless" stuff. There is no detector out there that can tell the difference between a gold ring and a pull tab off a beer or soda can. If you don't dig a lot of junk you will miss a lot of good stuff. The only 100% way to know what a detector has sensed is to dig the target up. Craigslist is a good place to find used detectors, I got my Garrett AT Pro, a great all around machine for $300 on craigslist. All more successful hunters dig a lot of trash, lead bullets and fishing sinkers also will signal the same as gold in many instances, and there are zillions of them and the miserable pull tabs in the ground. Many machines are good about accuracy on silver since it is a very high conductor, but most have a hard time telling whether a coin signal is a modern clad coin or a real silver one. This hobby, or lifestyle to some, is a lot of fun for those with patience, and yes, the more you spend the better the machine will be. I hope you find a good machine, practice, and practice some more, learn it well, and find some great things!!

 

[fireguy]

He said he wants to find the good honey. Someone watched Diggers on TV and decided to get a detector. Lol Nothin wrong with that.

There are a lot people with good opinions on it so I'm not going to go in depth but I will say look for something used. The supporting vendors here have a lot of good used stuff for great prices. You'll be able to get more for your money. Post a wanted add saying a max of $300 in the market place and one of the supporting vendors will most likely message you with some options. I did that for some stuff and worked out great.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby. Watch out though the excitement of the hunt can get addicting haha