Easiest to set up and use all-around metal detector with great depth? $800 to spend.

[Gosh_Dangle]

Hey everyone! I've searched everywhere, but all I can find is the ones people prefer, not the most easy to use. What would you guys suggest to a newbie? I don't want the easiness to affect performance, mind you. I just want something that I can put together, press a few buttons, get up and go metal detecting. Maybe something that starts out really easy, but as you get better at it, you can make it do more? I don't know. I just don't want to buy one and then get in over my head and get burned out because it's too complicated. I don't follow instructions really well, or rather, I am a very forgetful person, so if it's super complicated and requires a bunch of configurations, chances are I'm not going to be able to figure it out. Aside from ease of use, what I'm looking for in performance is depth and the ability to find everything. Like, if there's a gold bracelet in the ground, I want it. If there's a silver or gold dollar in the ground, I want that too. And if possible, I'd like one single coil to be able to find them all. I can't really afford multiple coils for a looong time.

But depth, in addition to ease of use is the main issue here. I'm not sure what kind of depth I can expect in the $800 range, but the deeper the better! Basically, what I'm after is coins and jewelry, but relics are nice too. I want to find it all on one coil if it's possible.

Thanks everyone, and sorry for making a "please decide for me" thread. I want my first one to be really great, and I don't trust myself to make the decision.

 

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[fella]

Well they don't get ANY easier than a Tesoro Compadre. Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.
One knob, no display and a hardwired coil. Turn it on and set to desired discrimination (with the same knob) and you're off! And it's inexpensive!

Another easy machine to learn would be the Tesoro Silver umax. Tesoro Metal Detectors - Official company web site with metal detector models for treasure hunting land or water.

Or maybe Whites M6. It's another really easy detector to learn. White's Metal Detectors - M6 Metal Detector
The M6 would arguably be the deeper more powerful unit.

All three are turn on and go. Both Whites & Tesoro have excellent customer service.

 

[Peyton Manning]

check profile for 'williamsingr' send him a pm for advice, he helped me a lot

 

[Pulltab Parson]

IF your looking for simplicity, the Compadre is as simple as it gets, but don't let the simplicity fool you, it's an adult machine. but if your looking for something with a little more umph, you could go with Tesoro Silver umax, which would be a good choice and a machine the works well in all situations, or even the Tesoro Cibola, it's great, has a wide range of coil choices and it's one you could grow with, I think you would be happy with anyone of these.

If your looking for a whites, I have swung a few, I currently have a Prizm III, Its the exact same machine as the new Coinmaster and does a great job at finding coins, though it in no way has the depth of the Silver, and the Cibola. I got it to keep in my trunk for those boredom killing times and the opportunity presents itself and i have a few minutes to kill.

What I have noticed and I'm sure there are a few here who can back me up, you can spend a lot of money on a machine and not find much of anything, or you can spent a decent amount of money on a mid-range detector, really take the time to learn it and know what it's telling you, and you will be successful. No matter what detector you buy, there is going to be some learning involved, it just depends upon how much time you want to invest and how much you want to learn. A visual display detector is a nice thing to look at, but your going to pay for it, and in all honesty, and in my experience, they won't keep you from digging trash, so why spend the money. You can get a machine without a display that will cost you less, and go as deep as any of the VID, if not deeper. I ran a Tejon for a while and it's a deep machine. The club I hunted with, everyone of them ran a Whites DFX, great machine, but it had some weight to it. I would usually follow behind them, and there wasn't many targets they got that I couldn't get, and using the dual disc, I was able to, for the most part, know what was in the ground just as well as they could, and my machine was half the price and didn't have all those bells and whistles you don't want. But again, it's personal preference.

What ever you choose, learn it, know it, love it!

that's my 2cents,

Happy Hunting,

PTP

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

I'd recommend the Garrett At Pro, there is a great package now called the AT Pro Adventure Package in your price range. It is easy to use, goes deep, and is waterproof, too! And you will have money left over for a good pinpointer.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[treasurehound]

Welcome to our great hobby. For $800 you can get many great machines. Do you want a machine that has a display that shows you VDI numbers (great for coin hunting) and a depth meter? Your profile does not say where you live so location is another thing to look at. If you are going to hunt beaches then there are machines just for that. Some very good machines that will work for you are the AT PRO, Tesoro's, MXT PRO. I would look at the MXT PRO (display) or the Tesoro models (no display) as far as easy use and powerful. Both are turn and go machines. Personally for coin hunting I like the VDI screen and tone id. Coins will give a high tone and trash will be a low tone. Coins will usually be above high 50's on VDI screen and trash below that. Will save you a lot of time digging in a trashy park. For relic hunting I hunt by tones only and rarely look at my VDI screen. Continue to do your research on machines. What works for one person may not work for others. Try to visit some dealers and get a hands on and see what you like. Choosing a metal detector is like buying a car. Some will recommend Fords and others Chevy. The final decision is what you like.

 

[stickyfingers427]

I just got a used vx3 for $700 only 10 months old so it's still under warrantee ... Might take a bit more learning but its nice.....their on eBay and I was checking every 5 min til a good one came up.... Good luck

 

[Rawhide]

While Utube has many folks making it look easy. Even with a simple detector, it isn't easy. You may wish to get a detector that fits your type of hunts. There is many types of hunts, meteorite, cache, coins, nugget shooting, relics, and so on. Also your location such as beach hunting may make a difference in your choices. Even my Fisher F75 has factory settings that do well. I am slowly dabbing with all the settings and getting good results. You may want all the features you don't buy now, later. So unless you have a unlimited supply of money, take your time before you buy. One detector that I never owned but may purchase is the Garret At Pro. Its water proof, a proven machine here in the forums. It is a good price too. My next detector will be in the $2500.00 dollar range. While taking it slow is a good idea, don't let a learning curve discourage you from a good detector. There is sponsors on here who can help you. I only mentioned two machines, there is several. Good Luck.

 

[pwcguy]

A used E-trac would be a good choice. It's not as hard to learn as you might think.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Tesoro Vaquero. Best of luck to you!

 

[Mzjavert]

I've used White's, Garrett, and Tesoro machines. Of the three brands I love Tesoro, like White's, and hate Garrett's. I won't bore you with the reasons. I've noticed that of people who have a brand preference, Tesoro owners are probably the most loyal. White's also has exceptionally high brand loyalty. But every brand has good machines and loyal followers as you've noticed.

From what you've said you want in a machine an M6 or many Tesoro models will probably make you happy. One thing you need to do though is read the user manuals. If the manual makes your brain hurt, then that's probably not the machine you want. Plus you'll learn things that just are not in the ads.

A couple things to keep in mind. You aren't sure yet if you'll love MDing. So you are much better off not spending $800 on a machine. How much time are you going to spend in the field? If you are only going to get out 10 or 20 hours a year, spending $800 also does not make sense. No matter what machine you get you are going to dig junk. Some days all you will dig is junk. (Six hours at a park yesterday and not even a Zincoln to show for my efforts.) Other days you'll come up with so many cool things that you won't believe your luck. If you want gold, you are going to have to keep your discrimination down and dig tons and tons of pull tabs.

Also as mentioned a ton of good used machines are available. Many people buy a machine, don't put the time and effort in to be successful, and after the machine sites in the closet for a few years onto the used market it goes.

 

[Longhair]

If you are looking for the MOST versitile and easy to use machine in your price range, look no further than a Minelab Xterra 705.
It has a number of Auto/Manual features that allow it to be as easy or as complicated as you desire. It can run one of three frequencies selected by coil choice, meaning that you can take one machine with an 18.75kHz 6" coil to the gold fields nugget hunting, and then put a 15" 3kHz coil on and go ripping deep coins along side of E-Tracs without having to learn another machine. Like beach hunting? No Problem for the 705, which has a Beach Mode. Weight an issue? Again, no problem....the 705 is under 4lbs.

The 705 is w/o doubt the most flexible, capable, under-rated machine in it's pricepoint. Compare it side-by-side against anything, and feature for feature there is simply nothing that can do what it can w/o spending much more money.
FWIW, I try NOT to recommend a machine to anyone, in part because I don't want the competition, but also in part because I don't want to be a shill for any.