Hello New Member here

[piepaco]

Hi everybody.. I'm David and just joined this great site. I have two quick questions .. The first is that I was wondering what would be a great starter metal detector for someone who doesn't have a lot of money..and second ..I live in California!! is there anything worth looking for here being that we lack a lot of the history that many of our other states have.. Thanks in advance..David

 

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[Sandman]

Welcome to the forum and hobby. There are many good starter detectors from the major manufactures. Whites, Garrett, Tesoro and Minelab, and yeah I almost forgot Fisher. Visit their websites to learn more. Subscribe to a treasure magazine. These list many treasure books by state too.

Your state is rich in history too, don't sell it short.

 

[johnnycat]

Welcome to the forum and hobby. There are many good starter detectors from the major manufactures. Whites, Garrett, Tesoro and Minelab, and yeah I almost forgot Fisher. Visit their websites to learn more. Subscribe to a treasure magazine. These list many treasure books by state too.

Your state is rich in history too, don't sell it short.

The machines quoted above pretty much sums it up for different price ranges and abilities. I know money is tight everwhere but, get the best machine you can afford. Check out the countless posts, there is a virtual jackpot of information on most any detector made. Also, I used to live in Bishop, Ca. Believe me, there are hundreds of places to detect in California. Good Luck.

 

[radarwill]

Welcome to Tnet and thehobby.
Sandman always gives great advice and this time is no different.

I'd just add that you have to ask yourself the question, "where am I going to hunt, on land or at the wet sands of the beach?".
Wet sand can drive most cheap detectors crazy. You can fiddle with the adjustments but you'll never get the performance out of a detector that was not made for that environment.
You guessed it; usually a detector that can deal with the wet sand and mineralized dirt equally as well costs more.

I hear the ACE250 works great for the inland beginner and runs around $220.
I can tell you from experience a Minelab Sovereign will work anywhere great but costs a little more and can be hard to learn for a new swinger.

Read some reviews on these two detectors and you'll pickup on some of the things you need to consider.

Good Luck

 

[FCCDFEd]

Question #1 answer is ditto on all the advice above and Question #2, yeah we got history but not near the amount that the right coast has. What part of CA. are you in?

another Californian
fccdfed

 

[piepaco]

Thanks so much for all the great replies! A lot of knowledgable people here! I'm in Los Angeles County...The San Fernando Valley

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Welcome aboard. The rules are quite simple here: Pay me half of all your finds, and you will be allowed to continue to detect. Consider it a sort of "tax"

There's lots of potential here in CA. But to get coins lost before the 1850s is very difficult. There wasn't a whole lot of population here before statehood, besides ranchos and missions. I got a half reale from the 1700s today (needs some cleaning to see the last 2 digits still), so it can be done!

Old-town urban demolitions are a place to score seateds, barbers, and such. Beach storm erosion is good for jewelry, etc... There's a local CA forum with So. CA folks who post: "Kinzli's California Metal Detecting forum"

 

[Ramapirate]

Listen to Sandman, he knows of what he speaks. Buy the most detector you can afford and you'll be happy with it. This is a great hobby, and California from what I've seen and heard is a great state to practice it in.
Just have fun with it!


HH,
Ramapirate

 

[Detectingfreak]

Hey dude! I have heard numerous good things about the Ace 250. Its cheap and reliable. If you live in california you are most likely able to get all of the old silver coins like captian SE can. Check out some of his posts to see the incredible finds that you can make in Cali. Also I would check out crackbadger's profile. He gives instructions on the Ace 250 and finds most of his gold rings with the ace 250.