i need a big boy detector

Brother Al · Jan 27, 2014

What got me hooked on this hobby (addiction

) was finding a 2 carat emerald in a platinum setting 30 years ago. I found it with a radio shack cheapo machine and dug it with a spoon....But, #1, it was there. #2, I passed the coil over it. 2 weeks later I found a half carat diamond with four baguettes. Again because it was there and I passed the coil over it.
Anyway all the above is great advice IMHO....God bless and HH!

detroitdigger · Jan 28, 2014

The minelab safari is a great machine, or if you save about $500.00 more you could get a minelab E-Trac, or a Garrett AT Pro, all are great machines, I would personally go w/ the minelab safari if you want to stay within your budget.

treblehunter · Jan 28, 2014

For the money, can't beat the AT Pro, you don't have to worry about water (rain, or otherwise) it works (finds stuff good) How well did your 250 do for you? I had the 250, when I got the AT pro, I really started to find some great stuff, I hear the recovery speed on them is very good also.

Ahab8 · Jan 28, 2014

I have a Teknetics T2 SE and it's very deep and great at picking stuff out among the trash. It comes with a 5" coil as well as the standard 11". It's not waterproof so if that's a factor you can rule it out. If you want to get to depth that most can't, it will certainly do that. I will tell you that it takes a bit to get dialed in with it but once you do it's amazing. With all that said, the most important part of being successful is doing great research and putting your coil on the right soil. Good luck out there whatever you decide.

G.A.P.metal · Jan 28, 2014

I second the Teknetics T2 SE/ great machine !
Gary

HenryWaltonJonesJr · Jan 28, 2014

detroitdigger said:
The minelab safari is a great machine, or if you save about $500.00 more you could get a minelab E-Trac, or a Garrett AT Pro, all are great machines, I would personally go w/ the minelab safari if you want to stay within your budget.

Out of curiosity, what about the minelab safari makes it worth being twice as much? I'm also in the market, upgrading from my Garrett 150 and having spend about 80 hours on a borrowed AT Pro. From what I can see Minelab machines have very different displays.

Thommy · Jan 28, 2014

I bought a Tesoro Vaquero and a Garrett pinpointer, and I have had way more success than my pals. Even digging in Germany with the locals there (and their 2k Euro machines) I still dug more good stuff than anyone. Good for relic or coin-shooting. Great machine. That's my recommendation. Less expensive than most upper-end detectors.

Mach1Pilot · Jan 28, 2014

Good morning neighbor-

You are getting a lot of good suggestions here.. but to answer it more accurately could you give us an idea of what you might be hunting for, and in what conditions? That would help to narrow it down.

If you are strictly looking at that price range there are the Minelab Safari or X-Terra 705, the Teknetics T2SE, Tesoro Tejon, Fisher F70 or F75 just to name a few. I have my favorites, but they may not work in your conditions.

Keith

CRUSADER · Jan 28, 2014

Beat the competition & get an XP :thumbsup:

FreeBirdTim · Jan 28, 2014

Hard to argue the point with someone who has 17 banner finds! Wow!

Mach1Pilot · Jan 28, 2014

CRUSADER said:
Beat the competition & get an XP

They certianly are awesome... not sure we can get him into one in that price range, though!

ThTx · Jan 28, 2014

I have owned White's, Garrett, Tesoro, Teknetics and Fisher. My favorite all around detector is still the AT Pro. After I got the ATP, I sold off most of my other personal detectors. The ATP does so much and does it so well I didn't feel I needed all the redundancy in the other machines. JMHO

Ahab8 · Jan 28, 2014

I hate to say it but all that this topic is going to do is confuse you more. You might have had a few in mind before and now you're going to have 10 or 15 options. Were all partial to our machines and it also depends what type of sites you hunt. I hunt 17th and 18th century sites and that's why I love my T2 SE. It is very deep and is awesome at finding relics. If you hunt parks and newer sites you can probably find a less expensive machine that will do what you need. I have a friend with an AT Pro and he's tenacious and puts himself in great spots. He finds awesome stuff. But he also sometimes asks me to scan a signal because it's just a whisper on his machine and it's clear on mine. Buy a quality machine, do the research and put in the time learning whatever machine you get. I promise you will do well. There are lots of high quality machines in your price range!

Pointman · Jan 28, 2014

Ok, I am going to chime in. For the money and because it is more of a natural transition, I would recommend an AT Pro, but then also get the smaller 5 x 8" coil for it.

The only thing that I have to say concerning the AT Pro and some of the more expensive detectors (e.g. CTX 3030, Deus) is that they will pick a few coins out that may be missed by the AT Pro, but when I had an AT Pro I was still able to find 90% of the coins and it is a very good detector.

I just sold my AT Pro to a man who had a lot of experience with the 250. From what I could tell, he had more of a learning curve going to a DD coil, then learning all the extra "bells and whistles" of the AT Pro. It took me about 3 hunts to learn from a concentric to a widescan coil, and now I am better for it.

So, I would ask myself: Would I save the $1000 plus a little more and hold out for an Deus or do I want to jump straight into another detector and have to save another $1000 because I will eventually get a high end detector anyway?

Someone said it best in an earlier reply that it is best to try a detector out before you buy. For example, I heared good things about the Fisher's. I was going to throw down $1000 for a F-75 almost two years ago. Earlier this past year, I traded for an F-4. Once I set it up it was a great detector, but I didn't like the coil shape or the graphics. In hindsight, I was glad I didn't purchase the F-75 based upon suggestions ONLY. Just buying a detector by word of mouth you could end up hating the sound or the graphics. A lot of people hate the bell tones of the AT Pro and 250, but I personally like it. A lot of people hate the sounds of some of the Minelabs (I thought that I would to), but I'm OK with it. I actually traveled to a club in another state and tried out the CTX before I bought mine. I was impressed by the feel and it felt lighter then I thought it would be.

One last thing, call or email the dealers on Treasurenet to get the best deal. I have bought from most of them, and they are all negotiable and have pluses in their own way. Price shop, essentially.

CRUSADER · Jan 28, 2014

Fort Bedford Detectors said:
They certianly are awesome... not sure we can get him into one in that price range, though!

Should be able to get an 'XP Goldmaxx Power', I don't have the Deus yet! (with a 11" coil for depth & 9" for trashy areas)

goldkey · Jan 28, 2014

If you're looking for more depth with the Ace 250 get a detech 13" coil and save the rest of your money to purchase other things.....pinpointer...etc.
The 13" coil will take you as deep as anyone else can go. The Ace250 really is a good machine. After you have mastered it with a deep coil...what more could you want....unless you need to go under water.
The AT Pro would be a good choice if that's what you need......and the 5 x 8 coil is good advice.

Deleted member 70749 · Jan 28, 2014

I would recommend you go for either the Minelab X-Terra 705 or the AT Pro. Both are very excellent machines. Obviously if you're used to the 250, then the ATP will come a lot easier to learn, BUT, if you learn on the 705, then it will open new doors for top of the line detectors like the Explorer or Etrac.

I made the switch from the 305 to the Etrac which is a massive jump in quality yet I learned the machine so much faster because I am familiar with Minelab and their sounds. Yes it can get annoying but there is an optional 4-tone setting which will eliminate the fluctuation of tones as of R2-D2 was talking.

Clearly, you're going to want to buy a detector that costs around $700 so you can use the rest towards a pro-pointer and quality digging tool. Owning a pinpointer myself, I can't ever go back to hunting without one. Believe me and everyone here who probably has one, it is worth it.

Good luck on your decision and I hope my advice helps!!