Need help to choose gold detector from little options.

[JJYacu]

Hey,

I live in South America and im getting into prospecting.

I have only a few detectors availible, way more expensive than in the States, so I cannot really buy higher end detectors.

I will be doing detecting in very little water creeks 1-3 ft deep and dry bedrock and wet sand. I am not looking for any relics, coins, I am only looking for gold. The are some big nuggets around here but I am mostly looking for smaller size nuggets. Most gold is flour - flakes and is also working with sluice, pan, and crevicing tools.

Heres the list of the detectors I can buy around here:

Garrett Scorpion
Garrett Ace 150
Garrett Ace 250
Garrett GTI 1350
Minelab CTX 3030
Minelab Eureka Gold
Minelab Xterra 705

There you go,

Thanks for tips and advice!

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Only two on your list worth buying are Minelab Eureka Gold; and the
Minelab Xterra 705 w/ goldpak.

 

[romanf]

Yep, totally agree!!

I like the eureka best because it has three frequencies to choose from without changing coils....

Only two on your list worth buying are Minelab Eureka Gold; and the
Minelab Xterra 705 w/ goldpak.

 

[JJYacu]

Thanks,

I am not sure about availibility of spare coils etc,

I also found an Garrett AT Gold for 1500$... Price isnt firm... I guess I could get it for 1300$ which is still a lot and kind of out of my range.

The Xterra 705 is about 900$
The Eureka gold is about 1200.

I am really having a hard time finding a rock hammer and chisel.... Haha

 

[romanf]

Can you buy from the US and have it shipped to you?

 

[JJYacu]

Shipping to where I am is very difficult cause of the import policies.

I had a gold cube shipped to me for about, 1100$...

Same goes with detectors, the shops that sell you those detectors sell them expensive for the shipping and duty fees.

It would be possible...? but also expensive.

Same goes with sluice, tools, etc.

Amazon or Ebay wont send here, Mike from gold cube sent it, else, would need someone to buy it and send it from Usps or Fedex directly, not from online.

But possible, if Im really better off with a Gold Bug Pro - 2 or something similar.

 

[romanf]

I have had good luck with gold bug 2, very high frequency so it is very good on small shallow gold.

 

[cudamark]

Only two on your list worth buying are Minelab Eureka Gold; and the
Minelab Xterra 705 w/ goldpak.

The problem with those two is they don't come with submersible coils. The Gold Bug 2 would be a better choice in that price range for small gold nuggets but it's not fully waterproof either. The coil is but if you drop the unit in the creek, it's dead. If you can get one down there, get the AT Gold. The price is right, it's waterproof, not too heavy, and is decent on the small nuggets. You might also look into a Garrett Infinium LS for a waterproof machine that won't break the bank. The ATX and SD2300 are better but at a much higher price tag.