Beginner

[Spartcom5]

Hey guys Im from the coin roll hunting thread and wanted to try my hand at metal detecting. I have no experience whatsoever in this. How would i get started? Tips from anyone? Is there a thread Im missing for beginners? The metal detecting im eyeing is this http://www.amazon.com/Bounty-Hunter-TIMERANGER-Ranger-Detector/dp/B00005A3L6/?tag=treasurenet01-20 Ive read great things about it.

 

[TommyB]

You may want to elaborate on what kind of detecting you want to do. What part of the country, beach, turf, saltwater, freshwater, etc. It will make
a difference on the feed back you'll receive. Good Luck you'll get hooked quick.

 

[Spartcom5]

You may want to elaborate on what kind of detecting you want to do. What part of the country, beach, turf, saltwater, freshwater, etc. It will make
a difference on the feed back you'll receive. Good Luck you'll get hooked quick.

I was thinking of historical sites, parks, and beaches. So it would have to be waterproof. One of my main goals Im determined to accomplish is to find something made of gold!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Fresh water or saltwater, the one you linked is single freq detector, it will not work on wet saltwater beaches only in dry sand above the high tide line.....

Only the coil is water proof nothing else. You would be much better off investing your money in a better detector. Decide what you want to hunt the most, you will not find a detector that works on saltwater beaches for a couple hundred dollars... If you want to hunt salt beaches you will spend at least $600....

Remember many historical sites are also off limits.

 

[Spartcom5]

Fresh water or saltwater, the one you linked is single freq detector, it will not work on wet saltwater beaches only in dry sand above the high tide line.....

Only the coil is water proof nothing else. You would be much better off investing your money in a better detector. Decide what you want to hunt the most, you will not find a detector that works on saltwater beaches for a couple hundred dollars... If you want to hunt salt beaches you will spend at least $600....

Remember many historical sites are also off limits.

oh wow i didnt know that haha! Well is the time ranger a good detector off the beach atleast? I was just thinking of trying that and then deciding later on to get a more expensive beach detector. Is there perhaps a detector that is great on and off the beach? Suggestions on some would be very helpful thanks.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

What kind of budget are you working with?

Remember when you buy a good detector you have not lost the money, the resale price on good detectors are high. You can usually get 70% or better on resale if you decide you dont like the hobby down the road and you took care of your detector. Example a Minelab Excal II sells for $1499 new, but you can sell it 3-5 years later for $700-$1000 if you take care of it. Just like other products they increase in price over time.

 

[adamBomb]

oh wow i didnt know that haha! Well is the time ranger a good detector off the beach atleast? I was just thinking of trying that and then deciding later on to get a more expensive beach detector. Is there perhaps a detector that is great on and off the beach? Suggestions on some would be very helpful thanks.

It would be ok on the dry sand only. It will not work on the wetsand at all. You need a multifrequency machine or PI machine for the wet salty sand. But in the dry sand you would be able to find stuff and have fun with it. I started with a bounty hunter on the dry sand and quickly upgraded because i realized that i was missing stuff by not going on the wetsand and dry sand hunting is really really hot. Its cooler on the waters edge I also saw guys with good machines going right over where I was and finding stuff so I knew i needed more depth from a real beach machine. Unfortunately most MDs cannot do everything.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The Nokta Fors CoRe is great at the beach, but is not waterproof so you don't want to take is past ankle to mid calf deep. It is a great land machine and can be used from the wet salt beaches to the gold fields....

 

[BigWaveDave]

What you ought to do is hang out here on Tnet for at least a month or so... and absorb everything the site has to offer. Don't rush into buying a detector for the sake of buying it. There are tons of experienced detectorists on here who swear by different machines, so it will be up to you to decide what to invest in, according to your budget.

Once you think you know which direction your gonna go, use any one of Tnets' supporting vendors. he ones I have dealt with have been outstanding when it comes to service, value, and quality.

All that being said, let me encourage you to research the Garrett AT Pro....
Good luck as the hobby hooks you...BWD

 

[Captain Caveman]

I would suggest that you buy a relatively cheap machine for non-beach areas like parks. Then use that machine to learn how to swing, how to tell the difference in trash and treasure, how to dig, how to research areas to go, etc, etc. The other big thing is determining if this is something that you want to do or not. If it turns out that it is something that you enjoy, then research and buy a better machine that fits your needs.

I started with a Fisher F2 so I am biased to it. It was very simple to learn and was a beast at picking out relatively shallow coins. The new F22 - F44 series seem to be better machines and still good for beginners. The Garrett Ace 150-350 also seem to be good beginner machines, though I have no experience with them. A lot of people like the Tesoro Compadre assuming not having a visual display is OK with you. Whites makes a good beginner machine too I believe. I personally would not buy a Bounty Hunter.

You will also need to buy a good pinpointer. Garrett and Deteknix both make popular ones. I can't stress enough how important a good pinpointer is.
Then you will need a good digging tool. For my money, nothing beats the handheld Lesche digging tool.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Hunting your yard is the best way to quickly get a hang of it. No matter what machine you get. Its good to understand what are the good and trash targets and then what seem like trash targets that you still want to dig

 

[jvav]

My advise to u is don't start!! It's very addictive and you start looking at old houses and parks and wonder how many silvers could be there or would that be the place where that gold coin is hiding. Once you find your first silver coin it's over ur hooked!!!! But if u insist on starting this I would advise looking for a very good used machine of which there are plenty. A good used At pro for instance I've seen for sale around the $350-400 range which gives you room to buy a good pointer and buy a Leche red handled digger for around 40 bucks. I know that sounds high for a shovel but I bought 3 cheap ones before I purchased the Leche. As far as pointers go Garrett makes a good one for around 120 bucks. Get yourself any type of finds pouch u like and u are set. not a Garrett salesman just own an at pro its relatively easy to use, waterproof to 10 ft, and good machine for the money. Hope this helps.

 

[Maurissa]

Thanks for starting this thread, i am a beginner and appreciate all the tips offered!!

 

[Liu21]

Spartcom5, from my own experience. Get the Land Ranger pro, sure it is a little more expensive. However it has all the features of the top line detectors. It would be a great learning machine, at the park. I would not go straight to the beach on your first day of swinging. Ive had the TIme ranger for only 4-5 months before i upgraded to a AT Pro. So this tell yous if you get sucked into the hobby, you will upgrade QUICK. I suggest you spend a little more extra money for a machine that you can grow into.

 

[walnuttree]

I've been detecting on and off for many years. I've always used Whites detectors, from the classic id to beach hunter id. The dry sand of beaches was the easiest for me to dig using a long handled sand scoop (saves your back) and gave quick success. Going from the beach to dirt and lawns took a little while for me to master digging horseshoe plugs neatly so as to leave no trace. Used machines are more affordable. Good exercise. Like fishing you got to be an optimist, extensive reading, researching, and desire will produce results, but if you want to get rich, get a second job, this is a hobby to most.