Choising a detector

[tweeta_bear]

Hello yall
Well here in a few months in coming into a large chunk of money and have found out that my atgold is lonely and wants a friend so i figured i would buy a PI detector to keep him company. I plan on taking a trip this coming yr to a remote area where i believe through some research that i will be able to find some decent size nuggets. The area i will be hunting in is a steam that has massive gravel bars on it (no sand 1 1/2" size rounded rock. Ive even found in some old books that say if you hike to the headwater and sluice you can get some good size nuggets. So my plan was to get a PI detector to scan these gravel bars. I dont believe there is a lot of scrap iron in this stream as it is high in wilderness area. Ive researched the ATX which i like. Ive seen some on minelabs GPx, Ctx, Sdc but not a lot. Then i ran across videos on a makro deephunter metal detector, it detected a large object at 190cm (6.2 feet) when they dug it up it was a radiator out of a car. I guess its also suppose to detect open cavities in the ground. So im a lil torn as to which one to get and no i dont want the most expensive one oh here is a small section of stream im talking about. These are the gravel bars im talking about scanning and there is miles of stream and the second pic is of the headwaters. I have found out that there was 2 gold mines up this draw at about 13,500 ft from way way way back in the day. Now its about an 8mile hike into wilderness area. Please Let me know what your thoughts are on what ive presented

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Go with the Minelab GPX 4500 - You will get a sweet deal on the machine right now. Make SURE to get a lesson in the field from your dealer no matter what machine you buy.

 

[Hamfist]

Cost no object...GPZ 7000. It's the Lamborghini of metal detectors, in my humble opinion.

If being able to fold up the detector and slide it into any backpack is of great value, the SDC 2300 is your best bet. It's more compact than the ATX and a bit better on small gold, but more expensive, and you can't swap out the coils like you can on the ATX. Given that you are looking at an eight mile hike, I would consider something that's easy to get to your spot.

 

[tweeta_bear]

Ive watched comparison vids of the atx vs the minelab 5000. The atx would detect a .1 gram nugget at a 2" depth but the mine lab wouldnt. As for the 7000... Im not coming into that much money! Lol i dont need a lambo, i will settle with a Ferrari! Lol thank for the input guys. I already have an atgold so im kinda familiar with the garrett setup.

 

[beekbuster]

i am curious too, im itching to get a pi, but dont have a clue on which is the best deal? can an atx outperform a gpx5000? given the price tag i wouldnt think so. how much difference is there between the 4500 and 5000 other than 1800$. waterproof is a big + but not a necessity. anyone have input on the atx? thanks

 

[Terry Soloman]

Ive watched comparison vids of the atx vs the minelab 5000. The atx would detect a .1 gram nugget at a 2" depth but the mine lab wouldnt. As for the 7000... Im not coming into that much money! Lol i dont need a lambo, i will settle with a Ferrari! Lol thank for the input guys. I already have an atgold so im kinda familiar with the garrett setup.

Again, when you watch a video of one machine outperforming another, you have NO IDEA if the person doing the comparison knows what they are doing or talking about. Did they set both machines up correctly? Are both power packs fully charged? Are they using comparable search coils? Are they shilling? Are they complete morons? There is NO WAY the ATX finds something the GPX will not - PERIOD. If you are going to spend a couple-thousand dollars on a machine you expect to perform in the field and make you some money, you NEED to go talk to a dealer that will take you out in the field and teach you how to use it!!!! Some dealers, like plumbers, are better than others. Do your homework.

 

[Hoser John]

Rent, borrow and share as your dream can/will become a nightmare. You always try out a car, bike, atv, etc etc prior to buying so detectors the same. One mans wonder is yet anothers nightmare- Don't run to spend cash as a long winter ahead so time is not of the essence-lotza luck-John

 

[tweeta_bear]

Terry here is that vid. Yes he goes through all the settings. Here is that vid check it out.
https://youtu.be/v0nALoYUf24

 

[bcfromfl]

One PI that doesn't get a lot of coverage, but is an excellent budget choice, is the White's TDI. There is an aftermarket coil to add to its depth capabilities if necessary.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Terry here is that vid. Yes he goes through all the settings. Here is that vid check it out.
https://youtu.be/v0nALoYUf24

Yeah, I know the video. The way he tries to work the GPX proves my point. The ATX is a cheaper "alternative." He is "not selling" his GPX. When he learns how to use it a little better this video will embarrass him.

 

[tweeta_bear]

Will have to see if i get enough money. Ive got some time to research some more... I will try out them out before purchase tho... Thanks.

 

[emptyhole]

I use an atx and I am real happy with it .I do a lot of metal detecting in water on bedrock, so waterproof was a must have for me.I am real pleased with the electronics and the way they perform, but I don't care for the shaft and the way the coil connects to the shaft, although the new ones are supposed to connect more traditionally like most other detectors.As I said waterproof was a must and it works very well in the water, I have found a couple of ounces with this detector so it has paid for itself.If you shop around you can beat the list price by quite a bit.
also you can't beat garrett customer service they have replaced a couple of coils for me no questions ask. I have never used a GPX so I can't compare. For me and the way I detect I think I made a good choice although the main thing is to get the coil over the gold and most top detectors will find it.Good luck in what you choose.

 

[californiagold]

Im not sure if you have found gold before with a detector, but if you havent , you allready have a detector, you should get where you consistently find gold with what you got first. Then remember where it was then you could come back in the future with a deeper detector and find the rest. I see lots of people online and locally go out and spend alot of money on detectors and never have any luck. The greatest detector is no good if you dont know where and what your doing. Research is the best equipment you can own.
If your research says the old timers were finding nice size nuggets, in alot of cases they removed several feet of overburden to get down to where the gold was. And nowdays alot of that is reburied under several feet of gravel again. If the gravel is 4 feet deep or deeper, you might get lucky and hear a huge nugget. You would be best to detect near bedrock as close as possible. If it was a great placer gold location then get up on the sides of the canyons and look for high channels of the same creek. Look for the cobbles and gravels. There is still alot of gold to find shallow on the sides of the hills above gold bearing creeks. And a side note, if you are trying to dig up targets in deep overburden in the creek, it is a pain in the but. As all the rocks and gravels keep falling back in. Also just when you think an area is really remote and there shouldnt be any trash metal. You would be surprised. Especially if the old timers were there. There usually is junk metal abound.
As far as a pi detector. I havent ran anything from garrett. But I have a gpx 5000 with the newer Coiltek mono elite camo coils and they are very awesome. Way better then previous coils. I haven't tried the new nuggetfinder evo coils, but my friends in Australia say they are about the same as the new Coiltek mono elites. I know some time ago, the gpx 5000 new price was lowered to I believe $4000 instead of $6000. And a gpz is alot more so youll have to decide that.
Not sure if your talking about detecting for gold in California but if you are there is a good research place called CDNC it is the digitalized newspapers collections for California. Go to there homepage, use the search box. Try typing in the county name with words like lump, nugget, rich diggings, coarse gold. And youll find some nice old newspsper articles about that area and the gold they found. I have found lots of places that nobody knows about from old articles and went and found gold at those places. Good luck

 

[tweeta_bear]

Im in colorado

 

[MXT SNIPER]

I am with Terry Soloman and if you want to to buy now, I would buy the gpx4500 as well as a couple high tech new coils to go with it, maybe a Coiltek Elite 14" round and a Nugget Finder 14x9, these new coils give an additional couple inches depth over standard Minelab coils of any brand. Or if you got a lot of money to burn maybe a Minelab GPZ7000. If you have the time before spring I personally would wait awhile, there are a couple new detectors coming out soon, A Whites Half Sine Wave Constant current nugget detector as well as a more budget minded Fisher CZX nugget detector with some new form of ground balance, I think both detectors will be on the market before springtime hunting season. The Whites new detector has been under construction since 2014 and has had some recent revisions in May of 2016, one prototype was being tested in Nevada in summer of 2015, the tester had some great comments about it. Might be worth the wait.

 

[tweeta_bear]

Does minelab offer a coil for the 5000 that is water proof?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Does minelab offer a coil for the 5000 that is water proof?

Coiltek offers waterproof coils for the GPX.
Coiltek | Metal Detector Coils | Metal Detector Accessories

 

[Lanny in AB]

Im not sure if you have found gold before with a detector, but if you havent , you allready have a detector, you should get where you consistently find gold with what you got first. Then remember where it was then you could come back in the future with a deeper detector and find the rest. I see lots of people online and locally go out and spend alot of money on detectors and never have any luck. The greatest detector is no good if you dont know where and what your doing. Research is the best equipment you can own.
If your research says the old timers were finding nice size nuggets, in alot of cases they removed several feet of overburden to get down to where the gold was. And nowdays alot of that is reburied under several feet of gravel again. If the gravel is 4 feet deep or deeper, you might get lucky and hear a huge nugget. You would be best to detect near bedrock as close as possible. If it was a great placer gold location then get up on the sides of the canyons and look for high channels of the same creek. Look for the cobbles and gravels. There is still alot of gold to find shallow on the sides of the hills above gold bearing creeks. And a side note, if you are trying to dig up targets in deep overburden in the creek, it is a pain in the but. As all the rocks and gravels keep falling back in. Also just when you think an area is really remote and there shouldnt be any trash metal. You would be surprised. Especially if the old timers were there. There usually is junk metal abound.
As far as a pi detector. I havent ran anything from garrett. But I have a gpx 5000 with the newer Coiltek mono elite camo coils and they are very awesome. Way better then previous coils. I haven't tried the new nuggetfinder evo coils, but my friends in Australia say they are about the same as the new Coiltek mono elites. I know some time ago, the gpx 5000 new price was lowered to I believe $4000 instead of $6000. And a gpz is alot more so youll have to decide that.
Not sure if your talking about detecting for gold in California but if you are there is a good research place called CDNC it is the digitalized newspapers collections for California. Go to there homepage, use the search box. Try typing in the county name with words like lump, nugget, rich diggings, coarse gold. And youll find some nice old newspsper articles about that area and the gold they found. I have found lots of places that nobody knows about from old articles and went and found gold at those places. Good luck

Wow! This is some golden advice that's worth mining!!

Nice reply, and I hope you'll spend some time reading and rereading it; I see you're in Colorado, but a lot of the advice he's giving you is solid gold advice that applies to anyone that's out hunting gold in former placer areas.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[californiagold]

They probably have old newspapers for Colorado online. They do for alot of states. Just try doing a search for Colorado digitalized newspapers and maybe youll have some luck. Good luck

 

[Rege-PA]

Look into Detech Coils for the GPX detectors, fully waterproof, many sizes, Mono or DD.
New 11in and 14in Mono Ultra Sensing and 15in Ultimate DD. Very popular in the Australian and W.US Goldfields.
Two year warranty.