Another newbie here, Need advice ..please

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

Hello all,

I have been wanting a metal detector for years... and after speaking with a novice (who found a diamond ring within his first week)
I have decided to purchase one.
First I am in lower NY (near the city)
At this time I am interested in finding coins & jewelry mostly in parks (a beach every so often)
My budget is about $300

I came across the garrett ace 350 and bounty hunter platinum

but I am open to any suggestions

I hope I helped you help me by being as descriptive as i could

Thanks in advance

dustytrails123 · Aug 23, 2012

If you like bottle caps buy a garrett

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

anyone?

sonofadigger · Aug 23, 2012

i would suggest the ace 250 and the extra money buy a pin pointer

chrisplay2004 · Aug 23, 2012

Dusty hates Garrett, however, I have used Bounty Hunters for years and they are good but are limited.
Garrett Ace 350 is known to be a great MD for the price and has many add on's you can grow into.
Plus if you really get into it you can upgrade to a better MD with little learning curve.

Silverfinder99 · Aug 23, 2012

sonofadigger said:
i would suggest the ace 250 and the extra money buy a pin pointer

I totally agree, the 250 is a great machine I spent my first year and and half on one and found more than my share of gold, silver and relics and yes unless you like spending more time on your knees than actually hunting get the Garrett PRO pointer pin pointer as well It will be the best favor you ever did for yourself concerning this hobby anyways.

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

chrisplay2004 said:
Dusty hates Garrett, however, I have used Bounty Hunters for years and they are good but are limited.

Limited in what way?

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

Silverfinder99 said:
I totally agree, the 250 is a great machine I spent my first year and and half on one and found more than my share of gold, silver and relics and yes unless you like spending more time on your knees than actually hunting get the Garrett PRO pointer pin pointer as well It will be the best favor you ever did for yourself concerning this hobby anyways.

So tough... I keep reading mixed reviews
some saying ace is garbage..some saying its great...some saying bounty hunter is garbage
some great...
I mean I want it to be good for my current intended application (gold/silver and coin)
Maybe they suck for relics or whatever ... but at this time that's not my concern

sonofadigger · Aug 23, 2012

i can tell you from first hand experience the ace 250 is a great machine for just about all applacations

Sandman · Aug 23, 2012

Welcome to the hobby. The ACE 250 is a good starter and many never feel the need to upgrade to more features. If the 250 has a drawback it is because it lacks a groung balance. This is OK if your where your soil is mild. As for Bounty Hunter, all I will say is most that get one want to upgrade very soon.

Silverfinder99 · Aug 23, 2012

aldta said:
So tough... I keep reading mixed reviews
some saying ace is garbage..some saying its great...some saying bounty hunter is garbage
some great...
I mean I want it to be good for my current intended application (gold/silver and coin)
Maybe they suck for relics or whatever ... but at this time that's not my concern

Well each of us is giving you our personal experience and recommendations. The truth is a lot of people only talk about what's familiar to them. I personally know nothing about bounty hunter but I'm not going to say its a bad machine or a good machine. I do however know the Garrett Ace 250 inside and out and it does everything it claims, has a good warranty, is affordable and very easy to learn. I also know that there are several detectors out there that claim to be able to do the same thing as the 250 but some cost far more and some cost far less. You've done the right thing by asking questions but the best way although not very practical is to try the different machines out for yourself. All detectors have their pros and their cons and there is no such thing as a perfect detector but there is such a thing as a perfect detector for you. One thing I can tell you for sure is is that if you decide to go with the Garrett you won't be stuck with a big loss simply because they aren't that expensive and if you take care of it and decide you don't like it it keeps a pretty good resale value. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions you would like answered about Garrett as this is my specialty.

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

sonofadigger said:
i can tell you from first hand experience the ace 250 is a great machine for just about all applacations

What's the difference between 250 & 350?

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

Sandman said:
Welcome to the hobby. The ACE 250 is a good starter and many never feel the need to upgrade to more features. If the 250 has a drawback it is because it lacks a groung balance. This is OK if your where your soil is mild. As for Bounty Hunter, all I will say is most that get one want to upgrade very soon.

Thank you
what is "ground balancing"?
See, I am in NY and I know almost 0 about soil other than soil here sees all seasons ... lol
Plus I do want to use my metal detector at beaches from time to time as well... - does that make the ace "bad" for this?

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

Silverfinder99 said:
Well each of us is giving you our personal experience and recommendations. The truth is a lot of people only talk about what's familiar to them. I personally know nothing about bounty hunter but I'm not going to say its a bad machine or a good machine. I do however know the Garrett Ace 250 inside and out and it does everything it claims, has a good warranty, is affordable and very easy to learn. I also know that there are several detectors out there that claim to be able to do the same thing as the 250 but some cost far more and some cost far less. You've done the right thing by asking questions but the best way although not very practical is to try the different machines out for yourself. All detectors have their pros and their cons and there is no such thing as a perfect detector but there is such a thing as a perfect detector for you. One thing I can tell you for sure is is that if you decide to go with the Garrett you won't be stuck with a big loss simply because they aren't that expensive and if you take care of it and decide you don't like it it keeps a pretty good resale value. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions you would like answered about Garrett as this is my specialty.

Exactly, I am try a perfect one for me now... and if it proves fruitful, I will invest in a higher quality one

Silverfinder99 · Aug 23, 2012

aldta said:
What's the difference between 250 & 350?

The biggest difference is the stock coils and the frequencies. The 350 comes with a DD coil which helps cut through trash and gets a little deeper than the concentric coil which is stock on the 250. The higher frequency of the 350 will also help you find smaller pieces of gold than the 250. The main difference and probably the most important in your case is the price. If you decided on the 350 there goes all your money and then some but if you went with the 250 you'd still have a little to put towards a nice pinpointed that many detectorist will argue is a lot of times better to have than a good detector simply in the time they save digging both good and bad targets.

aldta · Aug 23, 2012

Silverfinder99 said:
...If you decided on the 350 there goes all your money and then some but if you went with the 250 you'd still have a little to put towards a nice pinpointed that many detectorist will argue is a lot of times better to have than a good detector simply in the time they save digging both good and bad targets.

How much are pinpointers?
Can you send me a link?
Are there MD with pin pointer built in?

Silverfinder99 · Aug 23, 2012

aldta said:
How much are pinpointers?
Can you send me a link?
Are there MD with pin pointer built in?

See PM
And yes there are detectors with them built on but I don't know anything about them.

Silverfinder99 · Aug 23, 2012

aldta said:
Thank you
what is "ground balancing"?
See, I am in NY and I know almost 0 about soil other than soil here sees all seasons ... lol
Plus I do want to use my metal detector at beaches from time to time as well... - does that make the ace "bad" for this?

Depends, fresh or saltwater? I'm assuming saltwater. Good question. The 250 and 350 will run erratically in WET sand but will work fine if you stick to the higher ground away from the water. If you're talking freshwater then it's not a problem either way, you can actually submerged the coil in the water just don't get the control box wet.

chrisplay2004 · Aug 23, 2012

aldta said:
So tough... I keep reading mixed reviews
some saying ace is garbage..some saying its great...some saying bounty hunter is garbage
some great...
I mean I want it to be good for my current intended application (gold/silver and coin)
Maybe they suck for relics or whatever ... but at this time that's not my concern

I never said the Bounty Hunter was garbage. I have found many great things with my BH'rs. I agree with sandman that I always wanted to upgrade while using them.
The main drawback of the BH is if you want to hunt in all metal mode, i.e. playgrounds, you only get a single tone. The only way to get a multi tone to help decipher your targets is to turn disc on. With disc on you tend to lose gold and all fake jewelry. I have a F2 that I use now but still wish I would have bought an Ace 250 or the 350 with 8.25 kHz. But now I am saving my money for the AT Pro.