Getting a new detector for my birthday... suggestions?

[SpencerK]

My wife said she will get me a new metal detector for my birthday since my minelab go find 60 was stolen and I had to resort to buying a $20 bounty hunter recovery system off of craigslist today... She said she would get me one in the $200-300 range.

After reading a lot of reviews I have narrowed it down to just a couple. A bounty hunter LRP or a Fisher F22. That being said I’m open to suggestions and will gladly take more expierenced detectors advice.

I will be hunting around a lot of freshwater so it would be nice to be able to do some shallow water detecting.

So please, what should I get? I miss having a nice entry level detector. I really liked the fact that my go find 60 was able to handle saltwater and heavily mineralized beaches. But I really do t want to get another one because the depth wasn’t all that great and it felt really flimsy. The fact that it could fit in a backpack was nice but i also really didn’t like how it sounded when swinging it. It was inconsistent but would readily find things.

Are either of the detectors I listed suitable for dry sand?

 

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[Loco-Digger]

The LRP is the best bang for the buck, it has many features of higher end machines. I am partial to the DD coils and the LRP comes with one and it's a bigger coil than the F22's 9" elliptical. The F22 is a good machine, but it has less features than the LRP. Make sure you have some money to buy a good pin pointer. I hunted my 1st 6 months without one, but won't hunt without onne now.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting.

Both will work in the dry sand. The LRP allows for ground balance which might get you into the shallow wet sand at the ocean. I hunt fresh water here in OHIO, both detectors can be used in shallow water.

 

[eman1000]

The only issue I've had with the f22 is the pinpoint button seemingly disappeared. I've thought about sending it in for repairs but Its been collecting dust for the past 2 years and I never used the pinpoint anyway I always wiggle the coil back to the sweet spot and dig.
The little 9" inch coil is actually pretty good at getting in tight spots and I like it on the Tot-lots because you can turn the sensitivity down to 3/4 and get right up near the metal poles and under slides and find quarters & dimes. It's no depth machine but its pretty good on the ID at 6 to 8".

I highly recommend you get a decent pin-pointer it's worth the $75.
If you want a F22 even though the pinpoint button doesn't work PM me and I make you a great deal. I might be easier for you to send it in for repairs if you want since your already in Texas.

 

[RTR]

Lot a machine for the money https://www.tekneticsdirect.com/products/metal-detectors/liberator#hikashop_show_tabular_description

 

[SpencerK]

I’m piece decided to go with the LRP. I’ve seen a lot of reviews where people prefer it over the gatrett AP pro which really shocked me.

My go find 60 was able to detect to about 7 or 8 inches but really sucked for pinpointing and had a notification tone delay.

I already have a Garrett carrot knockoff that I absolutely love. I actually just attached it to a stick to detect coins at my apartment complex and it worked fantastically. Lol. Got about $14 worth of quarters in a few hours.


What I really want from the LRP is it’s depth. I almost always hunt in all metal mode unless the area I’m hunting is too trashy for it. Detecting the beaches in California made me realize how much stuff I was missing because my machines could never penetrate the loose sand deep enough to find jewelry. I went detecting with a guy I met on a beach and he had the LRP and he was constantly detecting the areas I had already scrutinized and he was pulling so much stuff up that my detector couldn’t locate. He had me go over his targets with my detector before he dug them up. He got a huge 18k gold bracelet at 12”-13” that my detector couldn’t locate. Really ticked me off since when I bought my go-find 60 it was the same price as an LRP.

I think for my needs the LRP will be ideal. The depth will be very convienent and the functionality will be very useful.

 

[Iffy Signals]

Congrats im sure you will love it.

 

[devldog]

Best of luck to you with your decision.

 

[against the wind]

Save the money and go for the Equinox 800

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Please check out the BH Discovery 3300, currently available at COSTO for $99.99 (Tampa Fl area)! Others have it for as high as $300s. Saw it, researched it and liked it so much that I just bought one. And, my current go-to machine is a CTX 3030 w 17" coil. I keep it in my truck (hidden). Just used it once so far in a friend's yard and IDed several coins, but the number of features is amazing. You never know when a detector might be needed.
FYI
Happy Hunting