Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

[lsdig]

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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[brokenarrow]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

first welcome to family here at Tnet and to answer your question for the price range and quality i would 1st go for the garrett stinger and 2nd the tesoro u-max. i dont any exp. on those other machines.hope this helps. keep up your research and study the features of each machine and just se which one fits your needs and ease of use. good hunting

 

[sherpa t]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Tesoro Lobo super trac,... if your looking for small gold do yourself a favor and get a "gold " machine. VLF's are in your price range, LST , whites GMT, gold bug and scorpion.

 

[golddigger14s]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Gold Bug2 JMHO

 

[extractor]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Gold bug 2

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Oh thanks for the welcome! =) ...
Well... Gold Bug 2 and Garrett Scorpion are really the options i liked more.

Brokenarrow, thanks! I can't find many reviews about the Tesoro uMax, and the few that I found was saying that machine is not sooo good for the smallest pieces (when i say "small" have in mind something like 0,1 grams).

Sherpa, yes i know that... but i listed the machines that i'd found to be good for gold nuggets... or am i wrong? Due to high mineralization levels i guess the best options are the PI ones... but they are very expensive to me at this moment. Do u prefer Tesoro Lobo than GoldBug and Garrett Sc. Stinger?

Thanksss for the fast replies guys!

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Wow... i am reading about the Tesoro Lobo Supertraq and it appears to be the best on finding gold nuggets in mineralizated soils (it have three ground tracking modes: Normal, Alkali and Black Sand)

Now i am between these, in order:

1* Tesoro Lobo Supertraq
2* Fisher Gold Bug 2
3* Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger

 

[Keppy]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Wow... i am reading about the Tesoro Lobo Supertraq and it appears to be the best on finding gold nuggets in mineralizated soils (it have three ground tracking modes: Normal, Alkali and Black Sand)

Now i am between these, in order:

1* Tesoro Lobo Supertraq
2* Fisher Gold Bug 2
3* Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger

All i can say is good luck on what ever you get they are all fine detectors . but the Lobo is the most versatile detector....

 

[Rick K]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

there's a Diablo MicroMax for sale in the classified at a great price ($275).

It's a great detector for gold - light, long life 1ea. 9v. battery - Monte loves it - just google monte, diablo detector.

 

[Cynangyl]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

The Tesoro Lobo and the Fisher Gold Bug 2 are both great machines for finding match head size gold but as was stated before the Lobo is a more versatile machine. The ground balancing on the Lobo is far easier to work with for someone that is not used to manually ground balancing a machine as well. Whichever you choose I wish you the best of luck! Most of all, have fun!

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Rick,
i cant use the "search" option, so.. can u give me the link for the thread you're talking about?
Is the Tesoro Diablo uMax as good as a Tesoro Lobo?? There is a Lobo on eBay used only twice for $400 and the auction will end in 1 hour!!!

Thanks people!! Good huntings and good luck for us all!

 

[paratrooper]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

LST vs. GB2 . Quite simply put , the GB2 will find smaller gold closer to the surface as in hunting bedrock along a stream . LST will find larger stuff deeper as in the desert . The GB2 is manual ground balance and the LST has auto ground balance . You are correct about the LST having 3 modes but remember that by accepting the more complex ground it will cost you on smaller targets deeper . The GB2 can be tweaked also but not as easily . Not to mention that the LST will work well in wet black sand at the beach with fewer adjustments . Both are good machines , so what's the difference ? Quite simply put ... you . It has been said that the best machine is the one you're swinging . What this means is that you gotta go out there and do it . No machine will find anything unless you put the coil over something worth finding . Get one or the other and get out there . Good luck .

 

[Rick K]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

The Diablo is all metal only - no discrimination.

It's in the Treasure Related Stuff for Sale part of this forum from yeaterday

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

The Diablo is all metal only - no discrimination.

Is that a bad thing on prospecting gold nuggets in soils with high level of mineralization Otherwise I realized that Diablo have manual GB... so what is better on gold prospecting: discrimination or manual GB

 

[brokenarrow]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

yea i forgot about the lobo.that ia also a real good machine for the price and for your particular soil types.
good luck,im sure you will make a wise choice...either way you cant go wrong just fine tune your decision to your needs.

 

[sherpa t]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Isdig
No I was not indorcing one over the other, just pointing out gold is a bit specialized and most good gold machines run a higher gain than general use metal detectors. (VLF ) yes their is a lot of high end PI gold machines that are very nice, but they have their own pro/con lists too. ( and were out of your stated price range )
Now if you are looking at the Tesoro LST make sure you see the difference between Lobo and Lobo super Trac, you will see cheaper Lobos for sale, but they are not auto ground tracking.

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

Hey there!
So... i'm really thankful for all the help i got here!!! Your opinions were very important!
Now i am understading much more about detectors and their features, gold prospecting, etc. And now i have a certain target: Minelab X-Terra 70.. that offers both manual GB and auto tracking, good for both relics and all sized gold nuggets including the small ones! Any White's MXT also will be veeery welcome!

 

[Ant]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

For small gold, Gold Bug 2 for me too.

 

[lsdig]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

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.

 

[Daveak]

Re: Good and "cheap" nugget finder?

I would go with the LST or MXT. Both good for gold and other stuff.
Dave