How many of you like garretts??

[timbobwey]

How many of you like garrett's??

I just bought my first detector, a garret ace 250. I have only used it for a total of maybe 2 hours. So far I've pulled up a dime and 7 pennies, and some junk metal. Nothing old, but at least I am pulling coins. I was just wondering how good of a detector they are? Thanks, and good luck. Looking forward to some treasure!

 

[rockyredbaron]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

It's an excellent machine for the money. I have a Garrett GTAx 1000 that I've had since 1998..Love my machine...Recently bought a Whites MXT but always go back to my Garrett !!! The ACE 250 does as well as my 1000 does at half the price.

Good choice

 

[shootist]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

I have a gtax 550 that I swung for about a year,great machine found all sorts of stuff,passed it along to my son and he is great with it and loves it. Ive never heard a bad thing said about garrett they are one of the top dogs and for the price Id say there is no better deal out there than an ace250. My little nephew who just turned 9 has got the fever bad,he walked around with me while I hunted his grandmas(my moms) a couple of times and that was it he had to get a detector. He got a real cheapo nat.geo. detector for xmas but it wasnt enough to sate his fever so he saved up all his b-day money and when I was asked to recommend a detector I said ace 250 all day long,now all he wants to do is hunt night and day bet he will have it paid for in a year,HH...Shoot

 

[sandtrout]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

i couldn't find hardly anything at first, then found these board/forums and listened to what was said. also called garrett for some free advice! here's some of what i was told:
Keep the coil (with coil cover) on the ground….why lose an inch with it hovering above the ground!

Keep the coil flat (even if you have to shorten the sweep to no wider than your shoulders…keep from lifting it at the end of a sweep like a pendulum at the end of each stroke!

Keep the sensitivity as high as you can get it…I turn it all the way up until it crackles at everything, then back it off one piece at a time until it’s silent. Seems to help it go deeper!

Dig everything! Found 2 rings under pull tabs!

Get the Propointer…it will save TONS of time and a LOT Less digging.

Sweep and area from side to side, then up and down…some coins don’t pick up at first if it’s on its edge.

SLOW DOWN!!!! It's not a golf club!

at first i'd do the whole park with nothing to show for it...now i get tons of change (clad), gold and silver chains, rings, kids toys, everthing....and within a few hours can only work a small area. it's a great machine! dan in so cal

 

[timbobwey]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

Nice, sounds like I made a good purchase. Can't wait till my first big find.

 

[treasurefiend]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

I started out with an Ace250 also. It is a good machine, in about a 6 month period I found these items with my Ace250 hunting in "coin mode" only:

1 18k 9.9g ring - came in as a solid penny (bottom of a sledding hill in a park)
1 14k 1.9 ring - came in as a solid nickel (totlot wood chips)
1 14k earring - came in as a solid nickel (totlot woodchips)
18" 925 Fugio chain 33g (Carnival cleanup)
1928 IL Chauffeur's Licence (old closed down boy scouts camp)
15 or 16 silver coins (mostly dimes & just a few war nickels in the woods)
1 Indian Head penny (at a park)
40 or so wheaties (oldest a 1912 in the woods)
and a 3 or 4 Buffalo Nickels (in the woods & at a park)

This year just a few hunts ago I was at a spot hunting with a few other high end detectors (I have an Minelab SE Pro, 1 guy has an Minelab Etrac, 1 has an Fisher F75, and the other has an Whites M6) and a new guy using an Ace 250. I found a silver dime and not 10 min later the Ace250 guy called me over and asked if I could double check a signal that he got. He said he is getting a dime at 6" and I checked it out and I got the same thing, he dug down and found a 1930's merc. We were the only 2 people to find silver on that hunt, so as you can see its not really about what machine you are using but its all about putting your coil over the target first. Needless to say the Etrac guy wasn't too happy.


Just learn your machine like the back of your hand. Here are a few tips that others have told me and they will work with every machine on the market:

*Let your coil glide on the ground - not up off the ground.

*If you get a bouncy signal try to isolate it by "twitching it", meaning try to get as tight as you can on the good signal then swing your coil fast and in short swings just over the target.

*If your getting a bouncy signal and twitching didn't work, stomp on the target then try to "twitch it" again.

When you get your signal, circle around it and see if you get a lock on it - sometimes you will only get a signal from a certain position.

*When in doubt, dig it - you never know until you dig the target.

*If you get a 1/2 or 1 dollar signal, lift your coil up about a foot off the ground and re scan the target, if you still get a strong signal than it probably an old can.

And probably the best advise I could give is don't get discouraged by what everyone else is finding, go at your own pace and before you know it you will have a nice pile of treasure. (I sometimes forget this but some of the people that I hunt with have been MD'ng for about 30 years)

 

[pennyfarmer]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

In answer to your question, No. But that doesn't mean much.
Garrett would not have been in business this long if they didn't make good detectors. It is much like a Ford Chevy argument so it is pretty pointless.

To be honest I recommend the ace to lots of people asking about the machine to start with. I also recommend the Tesoros but lots of people "need" one with a meter and I think that the ace is the best metered machine for the money.

Like others have said. Endure, No, Enjoy your learning curve. Once you learn your machine you will be digging some good stuff. Boy I never thought I would find a silver coin or a wheatie when I started. Then once I learned my machine I was unstoppable.

Learn your machine and don't be discouraged by the lean days, we all have them. You will know you have the bug when your eyes lock on a bulldozer and you take a detour to "see whats going on". (I do it all the time)

 

[Frank1960]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

stomp on the target then try to "twitch it" again.

"stomp on the target"? Explain please! What does this do besides make you feel better?

 

[TheTreasureAddict]

Re: How many of you like garrett's??

stomp on the target then try to "twitch it" again.

"stomp on the target"? Explain please! What does this do besides make you feel better?

Hey guys,

Stomping on the target will some times break the pocket that is created around a taget of corrosion or whatever maybe around the coin. I use this method alot on the beach and after a hard rain when the ground is still a bit damp. I will first stomp then kick a bit of dirt of the top of the iffy target and rescan. I will also pinpoint using the ace and this sometimes gets you a better signal after pinpoint tuning. Another trick with the ace is to actually swing faster, yes I said swing over the target faster and you should get a good idea of where the target is located. These are some of the tricks I use when hitting an iffy taget that may be a bit deep for the ace or standing on edge. Also always remember to circle that target like a vulture to maybe get a better angle on it! Thanks for the love up there guys!

CRACKBADGER OUT!