Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

lsdig

Tenderfoot
Mar 21, 2009
9
0
Sao Paulo
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra 70
Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Well... i am looking for a detector that will be able to detect small gold nuggets and it can't be much expensive. In my researchs i'd found some models into a range of price between $450 - $600 (that's what i want):

Tesoro Golden uMax
Tesoro Vaquero
Fisher Gold Bug 2
Fisher F-70
Garrett Scorpion Gold Stringer

I'll prospect in mountains and little rivers areas, as well semi-arid-like (both have high levels of mineralization).

QUESTIONS: What would be the best for me? There are any better option??
 

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sherpa t

Full Member
Jan 25, 2005
137
1
Ocala florida
Detector(s) used
Titan / Tesoro SLT/ Fisher F5
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Mmmmmm... OK you have changed the rules, we went from small gold finder to adding relics and moved into TID machines.
I would say the MXT is a LST with a screen and I think they had the same engineer in development, but don't quote me on that that's just a fuzzy memory I have in my head.
MXT is a popular machine and resells (I think) to the high side where the X-70 resells to the low side and for a while about a year ago I remember the very low side. With your budget the X-70 machine and then the coils ( as that is how they hunt different objects ) might be out of your budget unless you find a good package deal.

You will have to think a little on relics, some people dig it all, so to them a TID is of little value. The Tesoro Tejon and Fisher F-75 are popular with relic hunters, no screen on the Tejon,.. fast recover speed on the DD coil with the Fisher. How about trash where you want to hunt, bottle caps , tabs, roof tin etc. , more trash to pick through then TID might be of value.

I can't help you on the X-70, I have zero Minelab experience, but will point out on warranty, Tesoro is lifetime and First Texas products are five years. All the others (to my knowledge) have only one and two year coverage. I have seen alot of complaints about very long turn around times with Minelab repairs.
 

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lsdig

lsdig

Tenderfoot
Mar 21, 2009
9
0
Sao Paulo
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra 70
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

I'll get the X-Terra 70!!! Minelab... welcome.. i'm very happy and excited!!! :)

And good luck to us!!!
 

Ant

Silver Member
Aug 6, 2006
3,389
554
Cali
Detector(s) used
Glold Bug 2 MineLab SE
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

lsdig said:
The GB2 is only for gold nuggets. Some interesting relics will not be detected. :) Runs at 71kHz, really nice for small nuggets!
Now.. i don't want a detector just for gold, but relics too.

Who told you that?

The GB2 is a coin and relic machine too, that's what the manual says, plus I know that for a fact. I use one, and don't use it for nugget hunting. I have found more gold, relics and coins with my GB2 than with my other machine, but my other machine is fun to use.


Links to some of my GB2 finds with links to the original post:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,209322.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,121785.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,209322.0.html
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Yup, one could also use a Minelab SD2100 to find coins/rings/relics.. but would anyone feel comfortable doing so at a public park? The GB 2, and other 'gold detectors' are generally not considered coin hunters because they lack the discrimination capabilities of even the cheapest coin detector. There ARE hybrid detectors that do a great job on both coins & nuggets, and the XTerra 70 and MXT are 2 of them. Don't get me wrong, I've heard of people with vast experience using a certain 'gold detector' being able to mentally discriminate or ID targets, but I can't really see somebody being able to pick up an all-metal (non-iD or disc.) detector and be able to cruise past the garbage. ..Willy.
 

Ant

Silver Member
Aug 6, 2006
3,389
554
Cali
Detector(s) used
Glold Bug 2 MineLab SE
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Willy said:
Yup, one could also use a Minelab SD2100 to find coins/rings/relics.. but would anyone feel comfortable doing so at a public park? The GB 2, and other 'gold detectors' are generally not considered coin hunters because they lack the discrimination capabilities of even the cheapest coin detector. There ARE hybrid detectors that do a great job on both coins & nuggets, and the XTerra 70 and MXT are 2 of them. Don't get me wrong, I've heard of people with vast experience using a certain 'gold detector' being able to mentally discriminate or ID targets, but I can't really see somebody being able to pick up an all-metal (non-iD or disc.) detector and be able to cruise past the garbage. ..Willy.

Not true WIlly. I can rip coins out of the ground with my GB-2 like it's the thing to do, as good or better and faster than the best coin machine. The only thing you can't tell is if weather or not the coin is silver or gold. Plus I don’t' hunt turf.

My typical keeper to trash ratio is 50 to 50 when I dig only good sinnals. When I dig iffy signals my finds look like the targets in the following photo. The GB-2 can detect the smallest gold or gold nuggets too.
From this link:
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,68674.msg498592.html#msg498592

index.php
 

Mick93

Jr. Member
Feb 27, 2008
30
1
MidWest
Detector(s) used
White's MXT
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

lsdig said:
Well... i am looking for a detector that will be able to detect small gold nuggets and it can't be much expensive. In my researchs i'd found some models into a range of price between $450 - $600 (that's what i want):

Tesoro Golden uMax
Tesoro Vaquero
Fisher Gold Bug 2
Fisher F-70
Garrett Scorpion Gold Stringer

I'll prospect in mountains and little rivers areas, as well semi-arid-like (both have high levels of mineralization).

QUESTIONS: What would be the best for me? There are any better option??



You can find good used GMT or Goldbug for around 500 bucks which are both very good for small nuggets in all areas. Even better with a smaller DD coil. But they are only good for a few inches deep on very small nuggets as with any VLF in high mineralzation. Or if you want new,,,the GMT can be had for 678 bucks, not sure on the goldbug. Any of them are only as good as the opperator and how well he has learned his machine.
 

Uncle Willy

Jr. Member
Oct 5, 2005
93
1
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

The only two machines you list that are actually gold detectors are the Scorpion and Gold bug. One needs a detector with a high operating frequency and all metal with manual or fast track ground balancing to pick up the tiny nuggets. Coin machines just don't cut the mustard for small nuggets. Either one of these would be a good choice.

Bill
 

Uncle Willy

Jr. Member
Oct 5, 2005
93
1
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

If you can find a good, used, Diablo - jump on it. I field tested that one years ago ad it's about the best there is and they are tough to find.

Bill
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Not true WIlly. I can rip coins out of the ground with my GB-2 like it's the thing to do, as good or better and faster than the best coin machine. The only thing you can't tell is if weather or not the coin is silver or gold. Plus I don’t' hunt turf.
How 'bout you tell me where I'm lying? ..Willy.
 

RPG

Bronze Member
Jan 10, 2009
2,204
92
Alabama
Detector(s) used
Silver Umax, Compadre, Vaquero
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Willy said:
Not true WIlly. I can rip coins out of the ground with my GB-2 like it's the thing to do, as good or better and faster than the best coin machine. The only thing you can't tell is if weather or not the coin is silver or gold. Plus I don’t' hunt turf.
How 'bout you tell me where I'm lying? ..Willy.

Whoa...I didn't see the part where he said you were lying. ???
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

"Not true WIlly" .. as in 'not telling the truth'. Not, 'I believe you're wrong Willy'. How 'bout somebody parse my original statements and show me the error of my ways. About the only thing that I'd change (and I won't just edit 'cause it's dirty pool) is that I forgot to put in a few words so that the last sentence should read: "I can't really see somebody NEW TO DETECTING being able to pick up an all-metal (non-iD or disc.) detector and be able to cruise past the garbage. Even so, that part is implied by the previous part of the sentence. ..Willy.
 

extractor

Silver Member
Sep 27, 2007
2,941
53
Sal Sagev Adaven
Detector(s) used
E-TRAC,,,, SOVEREIGN GT,,,, GP 3500,,,,
GB PRO.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Isdig, Just pick one, if you don"t like it sell it. . I don't Take my TDI to the parks, and I don't hunt in the desert with my ACE 250. The longer a person is in this sport, the more stuff we seem to accumulate for hunting those metal prizes . Each detector has a use
 

RPG

Bronze Member
Jan 10, 2009
2,204
92
Alabama
Detector(s) used
Silver Umax, Compadre, Vaquero
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Willy said:
"Not true WIlly" .. as in 'not telling the truth'. Not, 'I believe you're wrong Willy'. How 'bout somebody parse my original statements and show me the error of my ways. About the only thing that I'd change (and I won't just edit 'cause it's dirty pool) is that I forgot to put in a few words so that the last sentence should read: "I can't really see somebody NEW TO DETECTING being able to pick up an all-metal (non-iD or disc.) detector and be able to cruise past the garbage. Even so, that part is implied by the previous part of the sentence. ..Willy.

Sorry if I Have ruffled your feathers, but you did forget to say "somebody new to detecting". Ant was not saying you were lying, he was saying that he can find coins and relics with his GB-2 and he provided proof. Can you provide proof he can't?
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Did you bother reading the 'experienced' part of what I posted? There is nothing in what I posted that contradicted what 'Ant' said in his reply, except for being 'not true'. Why would I even want to try proving that he can't find coins and relics with his GB 2, which is a M E T A L D E T E C T O R, which detects metals.. hence the name. What made you assume that I'm claiming that he can't detect coins and relics with the GB 2? ..Willy.
 

RPG

Bronze Member
Jan 10, 2009
2,204
92
Alabama
Detector(s) used
Silver Umax, Compadre, Vaquero
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

You said the "L" word, Ant didn't. Like I said, he showed proof. As far as the experienced part goes, I would think Ant has that. Maybe he's better with it than you are. I'm still waiting for proof. Ant did not say you were lying and you are out of line saying he did.
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Here are some definitions/antonyms for true:Definition: loyal
Antonyms: cheating, dishonest, disloyal, evil, faithless, hateful, untrustworthy

adj

Definition: real, valid
Antonyms: corrupt, counterfeit, deceitful, false, fraudulent, invalid, unreal

adv

Definition: honestly, accurately
Antonyms: dishonestly, inaccurately, wrongly
Now, 'lying' could be considered a bit strong, but here, at the very least, I'm accused of giving inaccurate info. At the worst, I'm out 'n out lying. And what proof are you waiting for? Proof that a GB 2 won't detect a coin or relic? Well, you're going to have to provide that one yourself, since I was never foolish enough to make that claim. Experienced.. I have no idea as to how much he has and how it compares to myself.. and never stated that I did. My post didn't in any way contradict what he posted, except for one thing.. I wasn't telling the truth. You tell me.. if a person isn't telling the truth, what is he doing? You wouldn't happen to be one of those PR type people who consider truth to be relative and subject to negotiation and reinterpretation? That would make the whole exchange pointless insofar as having differing world views. ..Willy.
 

RPG

Bronze Member
Jan 10, 2009
2,204
92
Alabama
Detector(s) used
Silver Umax, Compadre, Vaquero
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

You said the "L" word. Ant only provided proof that you were wrong. He never said the "L" word. You were wrong in saying he did. Your definitions have nothing to do with this. I don't know if your drunk or else, but "YOU ARE OUT OF LINE" and I for one will not tolerate it. If this goes any further, I will report to the moderators.
 

Willy

Hero Member
Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

So, if someone doesn't agree with you, they've gotta be drunk or something else wrong with them, eh? That's coming off rather high and mighty. As for proof.. I figure you've been reading what I'm posting.. but are you comprehending any of it? There was no 'proof' that I was wrong insofar as he possibly fits the description: "I've heard of people with vast experience using a certain 'gold detector' being able to mentally discriminate or ID targets"; so he does what I'm describing.. well golleee, ain't that sumthin'! As for what you will or will not tolerate.. if you were my Dad or Boss I might care, but you ain't and I don't. I suppose you can go running to the moderators and whine about how I upset your tender feelings, but so be it. As for being outta line, well, maybe 'Ant' will chip in when he has the time or inclination.. he's a big boy and most likely doesn't need you to rescue him from nefarious ol' me. ..Willy.
 

jeff of pa

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Dec 19, 2003
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Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Willy said:
"Not true WIlly" .. as in 'not telling the truth'. Not, 'I believe you're wrong Willy'. How 'bout somebody parse my original statements and show me the error of my ways. About the only thing that I'd change (and I won't just edit 'cause it's dirty pool) is that I forgot to put in a few words so that the last sentence should read: "I can't really see somebody NEW TO DETECTING being able to pick up an all-metal (non-iD or disc.) detector and be able to cruise past the garbage. Even so, that part is implied by the previous part of the sentence. ..Willy.

:D trust me Willy He meant He disagreed with you
But was not Calling you a Liar.

If he was I Would have Deleted.

Don't want to Change the Subject
sorry for the intrusion.
 

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