First time out yesterday-want new machine

[pcpacker]

I borrowed my in-laws whites 4900 yesterday. I found 4 coins, some old tractor parts, and about 50 nails. I want a machine that will discriminate out nails. My yard is full of them (built in late 1800s). Can anyone give advice? I have heard about the Tesoro Cortez and the Whites XLT both having that ability. Any comments?

 

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[lab rat]

Different machines discriminate in different ways. No machine is 100% perfect-- that is, even with a very good unit with excellent discrimination, you will probably still dig a nail or two. When discriminating, the likelihood is that you will pass over some nice targets too, at least on occaision. Discrimination tends to reduce the effective depth of the machine.

That said, in an area with lots of nails good discrimination is practical, and you can find it on most higher-end detectors, especially mutli-frequency (White's DFX, Minelab Sovereign, Fisher CZ series, etc.) detectors.

If you're serious about the investment and are willing to dig some trash over time, any machine can pay for itself. My experience is that more expensive machines tend to pay for themselves quicker, but that depends on your willingness to practice and the nature of the areas you hunt, too.

 

[southern gent]

I may become unpopular for this but , I've tried the new whites against my old whites eagle II xl.
I find twice as much with the old one. Many times when me and my buddies go I use the old xl and I end up rechecking finds for them. I may just be used to it though. The other suggestion I would have is minelab's soveriegn xs 2 a pro. I would try it without the meter for a while to get used to the tone changes. ( I use mine like that all the time ) Then afterward you can get used to the meter.
The only complaint I had with my soveriegn and the factory meter was that it dropped my signal strength a bit. I switch to a sun ray meter and was back on top.
The minelab actually worried me for a while in one old spot since I thought I had hunted it out, but I still came up with some wheaties and a 51 quarter.
Any way. Hope I helped.

 

[pcpacker]

I am hoping to find only have as much - nails that is.

 

[lab rat]

I used to have a Tesoro Lobo that discriminated pretty well against nails. They would give a 'scratchy' or 'double-blip' sound, and I could avoid digging those targets. The downside is that every tiny piece of foil above a certain size would sound like a good target. Is there a lot of foil where you are? Or just nails? That might affect your choice of machine.

 

[elkboy]

I cannot speak for the Tesoro but I do have a Whites XLT E-Series and love it. I also Have a Classic II that I bought back from a guy I work with for high trashy areas (smaller coil). Just my 2 cents, I would get a medium grade to start. I started with the Classic II and then upgraded. I learned allot while using the medium level detector which helped me transition over to the XLT with very little learning curve. I have been to other forums where guys have dove head first into buying an expensive detector, not understand how it works, get frustrated and quit. Good luck and HH Dave

 

[pcpacker]

Thanks you guys. I am still trying to decide. It sounds like there are a lot of choices in machines that will discriminate. I noticed that the Garrett 1500 and 2500 even tell you the approximate size of the object. Any users out there that can comment on how it sees a nail versus a coin?

 

[Lowbatts]

No machine will see that fine dime that's under that nail that you didn't dig! But all the machines mentioned are excellent choices. I use Fisher machines and having found the good coins under or adjacent to nails I can tell you leave the nail, lose the potential.

 

[long_gunr]

I just purchased (1 month ago) a Tesoro SilverMicroMax and can tell you it does an excellent job of discriminating nails. I have tested it out at the beach around fire pits and such.

 

[podog]

Hey pcpacker! Heres some practical advice-Buy a easy to use, major brand, in the $200-$400 range and learn it and learn it well-for its NOT the machine, but the man behind it.Try not to get too caught up in all the hype bells & whistles and brand names.None of them will pull you around to treasure like a magic wand.YOU and YOU alone have to put your machine over treasure to find it.

 

[DemonOutlaw]

well still have a whites 4900 which is a good detector for parks but I now use a minelab advantage and I find its great at disc out nails but it is a no frills deepseeker....