3-400 dollar area entry level recommendations?

[gentleone444]

I had an Ace 250 and really didnt care for it...Im wondering if it was the ground balancing or lack of it. I had thought maybe high mineral content in the ground.
Anyways I sold the 250 and am looking to try a different machine. I like simplicity. Any advice would be appreciated!

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[Cuttin Plugs2]

I'm looking into a Teknetics T2 SE, I hear it is deep machine, but the price is 699.00..... Also I may wait for the Garrett AT Max coming out in August....Hard decision to make so many out there. I need something simple and deep....

I hope you can find the right one for you.

 

[digger27]

All kinds out there nowadays, you got the Fisher F22-F44, Land Ranger Pro, Euro Tek Pro and more.
Right now the Ameritek Patriot is one of the best values going right now at $400.
NOT an entry level unit...Way more advanced than that.
Built on the exact same platform as the T2/F75/F70, handles mineralization well, can be super deep, is as simple to use or as involved as you want to make it.
It is a renamed $700 F70 at a much lower price.
Factory settings work great right out of the box, in problem soil the adjustments you can do might really matter.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Don't forget the Tesoro detectors with the lifetime warranty. You've used the Ace250, and stepping up to the Vaquero (at just a little more than your price range) offers great flexibility in settings and adjustment. Jumping to a machine like that can take the science of use to a level far higher than the 250.



I realize you're looking for a simple beep & dig machine, and this is a little more than that - but an evolution in your methods.

 

[gentleone444]

That vaquero looks great! I love the knobs and no screen! It appears that the adjustable ground balance is important for highly mineralized ground?

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[gentleone444]

I need to get more info about ground mineralization. The ace 250 was not fun. It would pick up ground foil as gold and then bounce to trash...back and forth. Many many times it would pick stuff up and nothing would be there...seriously. Of course you can chock it up to operator error and inexperience. But still Id like to try again with a different model.

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[gentleone444]

Yeah turns out ace 250 has a fixed ground balance.

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[gentleone444]

The fisher f44 looks good too and has ground balancing at a slightly lower price point. Any one like that model?

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[digger27]

The fisher f44 looks good too and has ground balancing at a slightly lower price point. Any one like that model?

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Many have, for an upper entry level machine it has good reports plus it is weatherproof.
The Land Ranger Pro is also popular for a little less.

In my dirt I started with a cheaper BH unit, a Pioneer EX, this is a Wally World version of the Quicksilver.
I had a chance to swing one once in much better dirt out west and it worked perfectly well and as it should.
Here in this dirt mine was a nightmare and couldn't handle my soil at all with falsing on literally every swing.
Maddening, especially being brand new and trying to learn even just the basics of this hobby.
I contacted BH once and asked for info on adjusting the GB so I could get it to work better and Felix answered, he was nice but couldn't help me out at all because the electronics on these products are proprietary.
Company secrets.
I was going to dive in and try to do it myself anyway but soon after I bought a Vaq and then put that one away forever.
Months later I bought an F2 which also had a preset GB but that one worked wonderfully in this same problem dirt, no falsing or other issues at all except not a ton of depth which is common for all detectors around here.
That tells me that brands matter, or at least specific products within those brands, anyway when it comes to dealing with certain kinds of problem soils.
Sounds like your Ace is having the same type of issues in your dirt.
Another brand or tool might be a much better experience for you even if it a preset GB type but if you can get into one that can be manually adjusted or has auto tracking it can't ever hurt and might really help in some cases.
That F2 did more than shockingly well for me in several states and all kinds of conditions, paid for itself more than 10X's over in 3 years use, but when the going gets tough or I want to get the deepest or need to deal with the most challenging sites and conditions my F70 and all its extra top line features gets the call.

 

[Terry Soloman]

The Tesoro Vaquero may be the most underrated $500.00 or less metal detectors on the market today. Easy to operate and learn; light; sensitive; and excellent depth for the dollars, competing with machines costing as much as $800.00. My Vaquero machines have paid for themselves - and a few other machines through the years!

Manual Ground Balance is VERY important in hot ground. It tunes out the ground so the machine doesn't see it as one big target, masking goodies as shallow as 4" deep. The Vaquero is one of the easiest machines to ground balance.

 

[gentleone444]

Well cheap old polock that I am I opted for the mojave...I think its a good choice still though...it has high and low ground balance and I just love the fact its all knobs and no screen. Well in theory that is. Ill let you guys know my impressions when I get her and thanks for all the sound advice!
Happy hunting!
Gentle josh

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[Terry Soloman]

 

[digger27]

Good choice.
Mine found me an extremely masked silver dime in an area I scoured uncountable times previously with many detectors and coils and it did it before I even swung it for my first hour.
And it found a silver bracelet easily, chains ain't easy to see for some detectors but not this one.
Also a few surprising other great targets I missed before and just recently some big silver within one minute in a new neighborhood lawn I just started hunting.
Like all the other Tesoros it works and works well plus has a little extra of that fun feature built into all their models.

 

[gentleone444]

Im really stoked to get it

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