i need help!

[iliketofindstuff]

Thanks to a generous forum member I have a pinpointed on the way! Now all I need is a detector...

 

[jb7487]

I have to say that the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is an excellent starting machine for the money. It is pretty powerful and has a great discrimination feature. It is not a great beach machine but you can turn down the sensitivity and take it into the water as long as the control box does not get wet. So if you are primarily hunting water then you might want to spend more money on a better machine (most machines under $300 don't do that well in the surf anyway). But if you are hunting parks, dry sand, some water, and those types of places it really can't be beat for the money in my opinion. I paid less than $100 at Amazon for mine about a year ago. I picked it because pretty much all of the reviews I read were very positive. I haven't been disappointed.

Keep in mind that everyone is going to push their own ideas about what is a good first machine. So you have to take a lot of it with a grain of salt.The Garrett Ace 250 is also mentioned quite a bit here as being a solid machine. But it is significantly more expensive. There are a lot of good choices out there and you can spend countless hours researching them all (I know I did). At some point you are better off just jumping in and getting your feet wet. If you enjoy the sport then your first machine will certainly not be your last so your choice of what to get first is probably not nearly as critical as you think it is right now. Get something that is a good value and will give you a positive first impression of the sport. I think the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV fits that profile nicely.

Good luck.

 

[rginn]

Just a suggestion, iliketofindstuff, check out the pawn shops. Florida probably has a lot of folks who bought detectors with dreams of instant Spanish treasure and then unloaded the detector when that didn't happen. However, you need to probably have someone with you that knows about detectors so you don't get burned. Or if you find one you could come back here and do some research and maybe the pawn shop will let you try it out. That idea may not work for you, but you can get a pretty good deal, sometimes.

 

[iliketofindstuff]

i was going through my garage looking for something for my dad and came across an old Metal Detector!!!!! it's a Bounty Hunter tracker 1-D/505 and tried it out in the yard. all we found is scrap metal though. Too bad this detector only has two knobs and no screen

 

[jb7487]

Congrats! Nothing like finding a "treasure finder" before even starting to look for treasure. I think that is a good sign of things to come. Don't worry about it only having two knobs and no screen. That's all you need to start out. Master that machine first and then you can move up to something else using all of the loot you have found to pay for it.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[iliketofindstuff]

i tried using the metal detector i found in the garage and had an ok first hunt i guess. I had 30 minutes and we found a bunch of rusty stuck-together nails in our backyard then we decided to try the park. We ended up with 3 quarters, a nickel and two pennies! woo! i'm goin rich haha. tommorow we're gonna go to the big park and try! wish me luck!

 

[ds6191]

Good job iliketofindstuff, your off to a good start. I don't know if you'll get rich,but you will be amazed on how fast your money totals go up. This is a great hobby, Good luck. Dan

 

[ivan salis]

first bit of fla history * the spanish ruled fla from 1560ish to 1763 when due to the loss of cuba in war with england --spain swapped florida to england in return for getting cuba back --(the british were starting to see unrest in the "american colonies" and wanted spain away from its "colonies"---florida was actually the 14th "colony" but due to it remaining british loyal is never spoken of **--- after the war ended in 1783 since england had no other colonies left on the mainland --the english gave florida back to spain - the us finally got florida from spain in 1821 --florida finally became a state in 1845 just 16 years before the civil war broke out. spanish "money" was widely used in "american" florida and was commonly used till the 1830 ish time frame.
americans like most "young" break away countries faced money issues since they broke away from the english and had no real "money" of their own --it took the new govt sometime to set up it own money system --the spanish silver was often the money of the day until the 1830's by which there was enough us money moving about that the use of spanish money as "legal tender" was phazed out by law.

so pre 1821 --most of the coinage found will be spanish * ---with a bit of of english in the 1763 /1783 era time frame --- after 1821 some american type coinage should "pop" up with it becoming more common post 1830 ish.

 

[spartacus53]

I would also suggest getting the Garrett Ace 250 which runs about $200, but you can look on-line for demo models that may have a few scratches and they will be much cheaper. You can also check e-bay for the demo models or used models from a reputable seller. Research them on-line, but for the money the Ace 250 is a good machine and I am happy with mine.

 

[iliketofindstuff]

went on another little hunt and found a bottle cap, a dime, two pennies and a washer.