Garrett AT PRO Vs Fisher F70

[CoinHunter4Ever]

i live in florida but occasionally visit georgia so ill need something for bad ground,

these are my options i know there are many more detectors in this price range but these are the ones i like,

which is better? depth. separation. idying targets correctly, etc,

 

[dieselram94]

I see you have a F2 how does it do on the Florida beaches? I can't comment on the other 2 machines but I am considering buying an at pro.

 

[CoinHunter4Ever]

The F2 is Great! on the dry sand, i searched around the valleyball area and found a silver ring (rang 86 as a QRT) and a 14kt gold ring! (rang in the foil)
but it the water/wet sand/ its not good at all and i'll leave it at that.

 

[dieselram94]

I just bought my son one for Christmas so we will have to see what it does in the spring. Which machine are you leaning towards getting?

 

[CoinHunter4Ever]

I'm leaning more torwards the pro due to the waterproof ability, iron audio, and much more reasons
but since i started off with an f2 i'm kinda worried the screen will be so small i wouldn't even be able to see anything,

which is why i'm considering an F70 due to its large screen, but it lacks that waterproof ability which means,

if it starts raining run as fast as you can to the truck

but what happens if you don't run fast enough

 

[dieselram94]

I would think some light rain while you headed for the truck would not bother it much...maybe a rain cover is available? I am cleaning towards the pro as well. The waterproofing is important to me.

 

[CoinHunter4Ever]

Well i'm about 99.99% leaning towards the pro, and i'm getting it from bart at BBH its got a great deal,

FREE Shovel FREE Lesche FREE Coil Covers Free Hat im hooked Garrett AT Pro Spring Special 2 Coil Metal Detector | Big Boys Hobbies

UPDATE JANUARY 4th 2013 WOW i just reread the thread and i sounded like a total sells person here.

 

[slag]

I think the F70 will swing a bit better but is more of a relic detector whereas the AT PRO shines in coin mode and is waterproof.. It is also not a bad relic machine. The F70 will feel better swinging though because it is weighted/balanced better than the AT PRO. Both are great machines though. I currently swing an AT PRO and really like the response and tones.

 

[gleaner1]

I think the F70 will swing a bit better but is more of a relic detector whereas the AT PRO shines in coin mode and is waterproof.. It is also not a bad relic machine. The F70 will feel better swinging though because it is weighted/balanced better than the AT PRO. Both are great machines though. I currently swing an AT PRO and really like the response and tones.

slag what do you mean "more of a relic detector"? Do you mean it's less of a coin tecter? Do you still own a F70 and if not, why did you go to the atpro? Is there any feature that you like more about the atpro that the F70 does not have? Thanks, gleaner.

 

[gleaner1]

i live in florida but occasionally visit georgia so ill need something for bad ground,

these are my options i know there are many more detectors in this price range but these are the ones i like,

which is better? depth. separation. idying targets correctly, etc,

Which is better? Nobody can give a meaningful response to that question. Deeper?.....depends on the coil size. Separation? Depends on coil size, coil type, sensitivity settings. ID targets correctly? Are you asking if a machine can id RING and it will be a ring? Or SILVER DIME, and it will be a silver dime?. Or JUNK, and it will be junk? That aint happening, ever. You can hardly tell the difference between a 5" deep silver dime and a 5" deep copper lincoln cent and a 5" deep silver ring. And even if you could tell the difference, you would still dig it just by the sound alone. You will never dig a gold ring by looking at an id number. No machine can id targets "correctly", especially getting into the aluminum and gold alloys. Both machines have manual gb so your bad ground will not be a problem with either.

 

[mattysee]

Which is better? Nobody can give a meaningful response to that question. Deeper?.....depends on the coil size. Separation? Depends on coil size, coil type, sensitivity settings. ID targets correctly? Are you asking if a machine can id RING and it will be a ring? Or SILVER DIME, and it will be a silver dime?. Or JUNK, and it will be junk? That aint happening, ever. You can hardly tell the difference between a 5" deep silver dime and a 5" deep copper lincoln cent and a 5" deep silver ring. And even if you could tell the difference, you would still dig it just by the sound alone. You will never dig a gold ring by looking at an id number. No machine can id targets "correctly", especially getting into the aluminum and gold alloys. Both machines have manual gb so your bad ground will not be a problem with either.

i can say this.....so far for me the AT doesnt lie when it comes to silver, very crisp! im just not sure about depth, i did get a 1828 half at 9 inches under a stone wall rock that was 2inches thick, but thats a half, i really havent found many dimes over 6inches down

 

[CoinHunter4Ever]

Brought the AT pro 2 coil package from bigboyhobbies i have to say i love the detector a lot better than my F2 and just love it, it gets an honest 4 inchs more than the f2 with a clad dime, AT Pro 12 inches pro mode full sensitivity, F2 11dd coil Full sensitivity 8/inches, so after the test i took it out in my "hunted out" yard that i hit hard with the f2 and bam 3 digs later out popped a 43 merc can't wait to get hunting tomorrow

 

[Dign-nbama]

You have purchased a really nice machine, cannot testify about the F2 or the Sandy soil in Florida, but as far as the machine and the soil in Alabama, this machine with the 5x8 coil is a real combo, especially around trash, you need to be patience with it thou, especially in Pro mode, the tone roll is a great feature also the iron audio has already kept me from digging many of those screw caps that use to get dug a lot with my BH, The videos on YouTube that Garrett has on the AT PRO was really helpful to me,, Congratulations,,, and Big Boy Hobbies is the go to place for good deals,,, HH

 

[mjarvis]

I see you have a F2 how does it do on the Florida beaches? I can't comment on the other 2 machines but I am considering buying an at pro.

Hello dieselram94. Question for you.. What's a better detector the Garrett Scorpion or the Tesoro Lobo Having a hard time choosing one to buy. I'm a newbie in the field any advice would be helpful. Thanks!! Matt

 

[mjarvis]

slag what do you mean "more of a relic detector"? Do you mean it's less of a coin tecter? Do you still own a F70 and if not, why did you go to the atpro? Is there any feature that you like more about the atpro that the F70 does not have? Thanks, gleaner.

Hello gleaner1. What's a better metal detector the Garrett Scorpion or the Tesoro Lobo for a gold prospecting unit?? I'm a newbie at this any info is appreciated thanks!! Matt

 

[Gimpydigger]

I see not many compared your actual original machines.

I have owned both. Very close in depth and will vary a bit on some targets but close enough to be a draw as long as you have an At Pro with the stock dd and the 70 with the DD. Seems to me the 70 with the DD was a tad better at deep stuff but you know not such a difference that it would be a no brainer.
The good on the AT pro over the 70 really is just water proof. The iron audio is nice but you have that o the 70 as it ID's iron as a low grunt...although you do not have the option to adjust the iron ID range like the PRo. But...are you going to need it.
The iron audio option is not great in heavy iron trash it is more for assisting in IDing isolated or less dense iron trash especially bottlecaps. I hunt colonial sites and if I see bottlecaps I am in the wron spot so not a concern for me. I hunt Pro/zero no iron audio because iron trash overloads the tones...just plain old Pro/zero is good.
Now the 70 has way better target seperation no bones about it. I have owned a ton of machines and the Fisher/Tek line is super fast and Garrett has nothing that fast. However there are people who hate the zippy sounds of the Fishers new machines and they really don't need fast seperation. If you need it you already know you need it and if you need it the Pro is not the choice. I need it so I have to have a fast machine for trashy colonial sites. I have run the AT Pro in these sites and it does good but the F5/F70/F75 are better and there is a difference and they can pull out coins easier in trash than the PRO. I said easier not that the Pro can't but again I have run them both in the same site and have to go with the Fisher for picking out stuff in heavy iron celar hole trash.
Now the 70 is not waterproof but the statement that if it rains you have to run is a bit overboard. It is sealed but you can't stand in the pouring rain for hours and expect it to stay dry but a little rain is not going to ruin it that is just silly talk from those that have not used one.
Now if you like to hunt in the rain...I don't....then you would need the Pro..or if you hunt water.
The big knock on the Pro and it is a serious problem is the screen is very very tiny and useless to me. I wear glasses but not when I detect and I cannot see the screen on the Pro...the VDI is tiny to the point of who cares and if I change the iron AUdio, which I do use, I have to hold the detector close to my face to see the number.
The Fisher I can clearly see without glasses.
Is either one bad...nope..are they both good..yep. WHich one is better depends on your hunting needs.

 

[Keppy]

Hello dieselram94. Question for you.. What's a better detector the Garrett Scorpion or the Tesoro Lobo Having a hard time choosing one to buy. I'm a newbie in the field any advice would be helpful. Thanks!! Matt

.... Even though i am a Garrett user most of the time i would say the Lobo Super trac .. or ..the garrett AT Gold ... The Scorpion is not even being made by Garrett any more they have discontinued it ...

 

[mjarvis]

.... Even though i am a Garrett user most of the time i would say the Lobo Super trac .. or ..the garrett AT Gold ... The Scorpion is not even being made by Garrett any more they have discontinued it ...

Thanks keppy for the feed back. What would you suggest??

 

[Gimpydigger]

By the way...if you plan on hunting "bad ground" and that is very subjective....accurate ID may be more or less....not an option. I have detected qhite a bit down in the nasty red clay of Virginia and beyond a few inches ID was all over the place....really you just try to figure out if it is iron or not.
The machines you metioned are good machines for what you want.
The Scorpion is actually a great machine if you do not care about an target ID. A machine that has been ignored by many but really a good little machine.
The Lobo is poorly balanced by todays standards....although I am a Tesoro fan and have owned a Lobo twice as well as a Scorpion. The newer Vaquero built off of some of the Lobo circuitry and unless you plan on gold nugget hunting I would say use a Vaquero if you were inclined to go the Lobo route. Better balanced and uses the same coils I believe. Same depth overall and I have used this one side by side with the Tejon as well. Not a fan of the HOT circuitry in it as it is noisy but that is just me.
Personally I think you were on a good track with the F70 or AT Pro. They are going to be as deep as anything in your range. I have owned all the machines you mentioned and I would much rather run an F70 or AT Pro than a Lobo any day...as long as it is multi use relic machine that is.
If you have some sort of gold prospecting in mind get the AT Gold and you get the At Pro with a true all metal mode and iron ID in all metal. This is going to a better machine than the Lobo by far as it is far more adaptable for different hunting. Unless you were a dedicated nugget shooter in which case I would not use a Lobo nowadays either...then I would go with a GoldBug II or PRO.
By the way not kncoking the Lobo but look at your long term relic hunters in the area and see if they have a Lobo...usually not. Probably running Minelabs/Fishers/ Teknetics and in the $700-$800 range most will probably be like Fisher and Teknetics as MANY relic hunters will use the Gold Bug Pro or Tek G2 ( same machine different paint job). Which is the other machine you should look at if you are considering a good multi use relic/coin machine...the G2 or Gold Bug Pro.
Anyway...whatever you choose is up to you and if you learn it..then it work as good as anything else.

But if I were selling you any machine in your price range and using my 30 years of relic hunting......would say At Pro/AT Gold/ TekG2/Fisher Gold Bug Pro/ Fisher F70.

 

[slag]

slag what do you mean "more of a relic detector"? Do you mean it's less of a coin tecter? Do you still own a F70 and if not, why did you go to the atpro? Is there any feature that you like more about the atpro that the F70 does not have? Thanks, gleaner.

I should clarify. I don't own an F70, I had an F2, but from what I read, the F 70 was more of a relic detector. Just stuff people were saying on these forums. I like the iron audio a lot on the F2 and how it picks up the tone, but can not compare it to the F70 since I have never used one.