Which metall detector for newbie ring hunter? Advice?

[E59]

Hii, I live in rural Iowa with lots of abandon, torn down houses on my families property and I want a metal detector. My father in law will chip in half. What would be the best model if I want to hunt jewelry and I'd like to see what it's chirping at? Do the Whites with the picture screen work well? Also, would it be an unwise move to buy it on ebay?

 

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[jeff of pa]

WELCOME SARA, You don't say How Much between the 2 of you , your willing to spend. Whites has some nice detectors. E-bay, IF you know what your doing, Kellyco or a Local Dealer If Not. SORRY this is all I can say, Till you give a little more detail. ; jeff

 

[E59]

I was thinking we could each chip in 2 to 3 hundred if we needed to. I just really want to see what I'm going to dig or are these not as accurate? Is it best to get the kind with no screen because the other could be wrong? Thanks, Sara

 

[jeff of pa]

It Dosn't hurt to have a screen, because in some cases Pinpointing & Depth are also on the screen. ID is never 100% so Id is only necessary if you like to "Cherry Pick"? for $400 to $600. will get you a very nice detector. spending that much, I'd depinately be carefull if buying from Ebay & would personally recomend a dealer. IF you Click the Kellyco Icon above, you can inspect the different brands & Prices & this may help you decide, better. I would recomend, WHITES, GARRETT, or TESERO. for your first unit. but I can't recomend any particular model, As , I use a Minelab, which I wouldn't recomend, simply because of weight. if your not shure you have a local dealer in your area you can click on the icons for the different brands above & go to theur Home page & check if there is one near you. This whould be the best thing to do, as then you could handle before you try. GOOD LUCK, if you have any other questions , don't hesitate to post them. ; jeff

 

[Lowbatts]

Hi Sara, there's a couple good dealers in Iowa and I think one or two post on the board now and then. You could always check-in with them if they're in decent driving range. Go to the MFR's website and look up nearest dealers to find one. Try the websites for Fisher, Whites, Garetts, Tesoro, Minelab and see what you are getting first, make sure you compare them in your hand if possbible first. Then let your budget decide.

 

[foolserrand]

Everyone gave you good advice.... I just wanted to add that IF you are going to be looking for gold rings & jewelry then you will have to dig a lot of trash items (like aluminum screwcaps, beercan/sodacan pulltabs/poptops, misc. aliminum & foil trash bits). Gold pretty much registers the same as metal trash items (mostly aluminum trash) on all metal detectors. Silver jewelry is much easier to find as a lot of it registers the same as coins. Also if you are looking to find jewelry then homesteads arent always the best sites as there hasnt been as much activity there compared to schools, parks & the like). You CAN find jewelry at some old homesteads, but you are more likely to find coins. Also...keep in mind that old abandoned homesteads can be hard to hunt IF there is a lot of brush & weeds because the detector loop needs to be as close to the ground as possible.

Note: be sure to get a detector that tells you what approximate depth the target is at.

 

[bobcat]

I am from Nebraska which is kinda close to you. Perhaps some of the sites you have to hunt are similar to mine..soil...rural ..small city.. etc... My advise to you is this...If you really got a passion to metal detect, you can visualize yourself metal detecting even when it's been a long time since you found something, and you won't let your metal detector stand in a closet after a year.....Get the best metal detector you can afford. If it is just a flash in the pan thing you would like to try then you might not want to spend a lot of money. Some cheaper metal detectors may not give you the success you would like and quickly end your interest in the hobby. I use a White's DFX, Spectrum XLT, and a Eagle Spectrum. All do a real nice job. But they are top of the line metal detectors and cost more. I have never used anything else but I know other manufacturers detectors are great too. I suggest you buy a good metal detector. Not a cheaper (not to use this term "cheaper" loosely) detector that will not do good. You may find a cheap metal detector that is a good one. If you would like to keep in contact through this forum I can help you with a lot metal detecting topics. I have metal detected for a while and love the sport. Bobcat

 

[PAmike]

you could each get a garretts ace 250 and cover more ground.

mike