Hi, I am totally new to this and am looking for advice on my first detector. I live in the Calhoun Ga area and looking for someone to hunt with and teach me the ropes.
You are not too far from me I live in Rome, I'm also a newbie I should be getting my metal detector within the next few days I got off ebay. So I'm pretty new to this also.
From making several mistakes in the past, I would advise that first get the most detector you can afford. Everyone who had been in this hobby for any length of time swears by the brand of detector they use. The common thread among all the "experts" is that they have made the purchase and then stuck with it. Each detector has it's high and low points, and the trick is to become so familiar with the machine that you can take advantage of the high points and work around the low points. I wouldn't go with any brand other than Whites and if you ask a long time Fisher user or Garrett user or Tesoro user, you would have a hard time getting them to change. Buy it and use it. And continue to use it.
I agree 100% with JunkMonkey. Get what you can afford and stick with it. Every model/brand is the same and unique at the same time. In short, you have hours and hours of getting aquainted with your detector. If you have never detected before keep in mind that it is not for everybody. It takes a patient person to spend hours looking for something you can't see!