Help a beginner chose a MD please!

[chip_gilkey]

Hi im new to the hobby of metal detecting, i have been using a bounty hunter pioneer 101 and decided its time to upgrade as it does the job but can be a little frustrating at times.

I have done some research and ive narrowed down what detector i want to 3 choices: The White Coinmaster, Garrett 250, and the Fisher F2. Im thinking its down to the Coinmaster or F2, with the F2 in the slight lead but i want expert advice.

Im mainly interested in finding coins (hopefully older ones) and gold in the form of jewelry and coins. Depth is important to me, i dont want to miss out on stuff 7 or 8 inches deep. as far as discrimination goes, ive heard that unless you have over 100 "notches" you wont want to use it as it can block out gold. As long as i have the option to block out annoying iron nails (which i probably wont even do that) ill be happy.

Thank you for any and all advice you can give me on these machines, your helping a beginner get his foot in the door.

 

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[comfortablynumb]

Personally, I went with the Garrett Ace 250 after using a BH4. Really enjoy it. No manual balancing required.

I have mine set to notch out iron, pull tabs & zincolns, and it does the job!!! If I get a signal now, it's worth digging.

 

[gambler13]

Kinda in the same boat and did plenty of searching and here is what I found. These are opinions so take them for what they are worth and I'm not trying to steer you one way or another. I narrowed my search down on entry level machines to the Ace 250 or Fisher F2. I contacted 4 salesmen about this and they are divided. 2 favor the Ace and 2 favor the F2 although they all said it's close. An experienced detectorist on another site did a comparison and he rates the F2 slightly over the Ace. A buddy of mine has the 250 and it a nice, easy to operate machine, but if I go with an entry level machine I personally would pick the F2.
Know matter which one you pick, get to know it real well with practice and by reading the manual more than once. You have to be the one who figures out what it's showing and telling you. Good Luck.

 

[gambler13]

One more thing. Invest in a good pinpointer. The Garrett pro-pointer seems to be the one of choice. Pricey, but good. Read forum members opinions and make your own decision. I used the Garrett pro-pointer my friend has and ordered 1 the next day. I have a BH pinpointer and it's a piece of crap.

 

[comfortablynumb]

One more thing. Invest in a good pinpointer. The Garrett pro-pointer seems to be the one of choice. Pricey, but good. Read forum members opinions and make your own decision. I used the Garrett pro-pointer my friend has and ordered 1 the next day. I have a BH pinpointer and it's a piece of crap.

I second this motion!!!

 

[lennon631]

Everyone has their preferences and comfortability. I'm a Whites guy all the way and just recieved my M6 about two weeks ago. It also all depends on budget! I love my M6 for it is a workhorse and vacuums coins to the point of becoming a snob and passing up pennies. Yeah yeah, foolish, I know, but ANYway, the M6 has produced tons of coins and two gold rings already. WELL worth the mid-range price of $600. I can boldly say it will pay for itself in NO time...anyway, thats my two cents, Paul
P.S. Welcome to the forum

 

[chip_gilkey]

Ok so heres my next question, after calling fisher to inquire about the standard depth ability of the F2 he said a quarter sized target at 7 inches is the norm. He then asked what ill be using it for and i said mainly looking for old coins and jewelry, then he said that if im looking for old coins i probably wouldnt find them till around the 8 or 9 inch mark and i should really consider going with the F5.

Now ive always had the budget mark of around $500 in my mind and this one seems to align perfectly with that, however, i not sure if what hes saying is true or if this is a case of the salesman trying to get me to buy more than i need. Is the older stuff really that deep and if so is the F5 the best choice for that price or are the better ones? Thanks again for any and all help!

 

[wwace]

Haven't used an F5 but the whites M6 or used explorer is what I would buy in that $ range. I find that my XT-70 is tempermental trying to use to high of sensitivity(in disc patterns) in my ground anyway. XT-70 in prospecting though is super sensitive but then you have no discrimination. Any of the mid range machines will mask out better targets if you use disc. Pick something where you can hunt in all metal mode so you hear ALL targets. Good luck hunting

 

[chip_gilkey]

So i went with the tesoro cibola, its on its way now i cant wait! i think i might take the day off work when it arrives haha.

 

[marinedad]

of those choices go for the coinmaster pro model and garrett propointer.

 

[comfortablynumb]

You're going to have a blast dirt fishing no matter the machine. Happy Hunting.

 

[GibH]

So i went with the tesoro cibola, its on its way now i cant wait! i think i might take the day off work when it arrives haha.

Good choice IMO.

 

[mrwilburino]

So i went with the tesoro cibola, its on its way now i cant wait! i think i might take the day off work when it arrives haha.

 

[UncleVinnys]

Check out how discrimination works.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37883443/Before-You-Buy-a-Metal-Detector

 

[RebelRod]

After a long time away from the hobby I returned recently and after reading the reviews and doing a lot of research I settled on the Ace 250. Joined a club and started hunting with others most of whom use White's. I have to admit that I was/am having a lot of problems with target identification and pinpointing with the 250. Now I know a lot of people have good luck with this machine but I was not and I put in plenty of hours giving it every opportunity to impress me and it never did. So looking around for another detector about the same price I chose the Bounty Hunter 505. What a world of difference. Able to pinpoint easily, identification of the targets was way more accurate and the depth is amazing. My usual hunting partner has a White's MXT and his finds are usually more numerous than mine but I usually am still competitive with the 505 and getting better with experience.

My next detector is probably going to be a Fisher F4 just because of my positive experience with the Bounty Hunter. I also like the price of the extra coils compared to the Garrett machines. The Garrett seems to be a more sturdy detector but I find it more tiring to swing than the BH.

I concur with the opinion though that the Garrett Propointer is a great investment and it certainly helped speed up my recoveries and reduced the number of abandoned targets.
======================
Just a little update on this comment. I recently purchased a White's Prizm V because it became available at an excellent price. My first trip to the park and I dug a ring in response to my very first signal with this machine. I realize I could have found this ring with most any detector but it was still quite a thrill. Currently I like the Bounty Hunter 505 for depth and the Prizm V for covering a lot of ground quickly.

 

[Smudge]

Chip,

I've played with the Ace 250 a bit and just personal preference, I didn't care for it. A lot of folks do though, so I'm not going to knock it at all.

One thing you will notice about TID machines is that those screens are often inaccurate both in identifying the item you have found and the depth you are likely to find it at. Even with TID machines, most people are really paying for the technology behind them and end up relying almost exclusively on the tones they are receiving. They stop looking at the screen. But it my book, why pay for something you won't use and likely can't trust?

If you like TID, definitely go for the 250. The screen will be accurate about the half the time and some folks just like screens. To each his own!

A few people have posted on YouTube describing various solutions to the pinpointing problem. Check them out if that's the way you want to go.

I also agree with everyone else, the Garrett Pinpointer is an excellent device, probably the best made, and worth the investment. It really, really cuts down on dig time.

If you are learning towards a tone only machine, may I humbly suggest looking at the Tesoro Silver uMax? Its less expensive than the 250, comes with a LIFETIME warranty (no one else offers that), and the stock coil will give you about 6"-8" in depth. That depth is where you are going to find about 80% of your targets anyway, regardless of which machine you use, unless you're a relic hunter.

Other coils you can get for the uMax, like the 10x12, can go even deeper. It is very simple to operate (2 knobs: discrimination and sensitivity; and one switch that gives you an "all metal" mode option). I'm not exaggerating when I say a lot of people who started with the uMax continue to use it as their one and only detector.

Whichever you choose, invest in a good digger too. The Lesche is one of the best out there.

Best of luck to you. Enjoy the hobby and happy hunting!

 

[Smudge]

Oops! Just saw that you bought a Cibola.

Excellent choice also!!

Enjoy that Tesoro lifetime warranty.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Good choice Chip!

Good Luck!

 

[aranger]

I’m a newbie so I hope it is ok to post this question here. But when it comes to looking for gold with a detector, I was wondering what a good metal detector would be. I like the one posted on this page in the second video http://gold-mining-silver.blogspot.com/2010/12/hobbyist-gold-mining.html which seems to be a Coiltek 14” elliptical. Is the metal detector brand and so on that important? Basically can I get way with a cheap metal detector (I saw one on Amazon for 69.00) and still find gold nuggets?

 

[ivan salis]

psst miejiers has got a online only deal going on --on BH time rangers with both a standard coil --and a 4 in gold nugget coil-- formely one of BH top of the line $379.95 models * -- their discontinuing them and their only about $150 as they are being cleared out -- $150 is as cheap as many lesser machines -- its quite a deal -- i got one as a high quality back up machine