I want to get into metal detecting... Can you folks give me some advise?

[BuffaloBoy]

Hello all, first off, let me introduce myself.

I have been(and I still am) an avid coin collector. I have been collecting coins since I was 6 years old.
I also love history, and for background info, I am located in the eastern part of America.

I was wondering what a good beginner detector is for me, as I have NEVER been metal detecting before. I would however, love to get into metal detecting.

I know there are many good sites that sell name brand metal detectors. I do want to buy a decant name brand one, not too expensive though. (one perfect for beginners, but also great for experianced metal detectors as well)

I have been doing a lot of research lately on metal detecting, but it all seems confusing to me. Can anybody help?

Thank you, and I hope everybody has a wonderful New Year's!!!
BuffaloBoy

 

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[Cranman]

My advice, for what it's worth as a beginner myself, would be to find a decent used detector and try it out for a few times to be sure you really like the hobby. It's sometimes not as fun as you might think at first, trying to find a good spot to detect, digging alot of trash, nails, pull tabs etc. But when you find cool stuff and know that it's something you want to continue doing, then you can spend a little on a better detector.

If you really want to buy a new one, I hear alot of good things about the Garrett Ace 250 and Ace 350's. I wish I had got one, but I got a good deal on a Whites detector that seems to work ok.

 

[goldentruth]

Buffalo Boy: 1st... You owe it to yourself to go to the youtube site and enter" Metal Detecting & Metal Detecting for Gold. You will see many "Live" videos of people using all types of MD's.
You can imput the type of MD you are thinking of.
2nd... Go on ebay! Check out the prices of New & Used MD Units.
Personally, I bought a used/cheep Radio shack "Famous Trails ll " for $40.00, It is like the bounty hunter in operation. I sold it and went on Ebay and found a vintage Tesoro 1980's Golden Sabre ll VLF with silent search.
This one does not have the needle display (Which many do not mean a thing) learning how the sound reacts "is the ticket" you learn and get good at with experience.
I read 2 days ago here on T.Net a guy was with his grandpaw in Alaska with a $100 MD and found large gold nuggets. Later the son wrote he went back and last year cleared 60 Oz's!
His comment was if you are where the gold is the finder with any MD will find it.
If the person has a expensive MD (thousands of $$) and the gold is not there... it won't matter much.
Sure the expensive MD's work better than the cheeper ones but it is the user and the place that make the difference. a Quote: Gold is where you find it. Amen.
Some places rent out Md's, try it and see if you like it & Check out the finds!
Hope 2012 is the best year for you! Best of luck and Welcome friend.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Hello all, first off, let me introduce myself.

I have been(and I still am) an avid coin collector. I have been collecting coins since I was 6 years old.
I also love history, and for background info, I am located in the eastern part of America.

I was wondering what a good beginner detector is for me, as I have NEVER been metal detecting before. I would however, love to get into metal detecting.

I know there are many good sites that sell name brand metal detectors. I do want to buy a decant name brand one, not too expensive though. (one perfect for beginners, but also great for experianced metal detectors as well)

I have been doing a lot of research lately on metal detecting, but it all seems confusing to me. Can anybody help?

Thank you, and I hope everybody has a wonderful New Year's!!!
BuffaloBoy

Feel free to give me a call. Love to help you!

 

[poorhunter78]

My first detector is Fisher F2, I still find everything with it!!!!

 

[kayden]

Buy a detetctor then watch youtube videos on the detector that you purchased & you will be a pro in no time at all!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Hello from White Plains, New York!

Hey BB! First, how good-a-shape are you in? Can you do 20-jumping jacks, 10-pushups, and 25-situps in 5-minutes? If you can't, that is OK, but you are going to get sore after your first hunt. Metal detecting requires physical skills as well as a machine, headphones, a digging tool, kneepads, gloves and a finds-bag - at the minimum. You can start with a very good VLF (very low frequency) metal detector for as little as $160.00. I have a machine that costs $5,500.00 which I bought for gold nugget hunting. You can spend a lot of dough on our "hobby" (sickness). Be prepared to dig a lot of garbage between fun finds. If you do not love being outdoors, and doing kneeling exercises for six-hours at a time, then don't bother purchasing a Tesoro Compadre metal detector. Good Luck!

Hello all, first off, let me introduce myself.

I have been(and I still am) an avid coin collector. I have been collecting coins since I was 6 years old.
I also love history, and for background info, I am located in the eastern part of America.

I was wondering what a good beginner detector is for me, as I have NEVER been metal detecting before. I would however, love to get into metal detecting.

I know there are many good sites that sell name brand metal detectors. I do want to buy a decant name brand one, not too expensive though. (one perfect for beginners, but also great for experianced metal detectors as well)

I have been doing a lot of research lately on metal detecting, but it all seems confusing to me. Can anybody help?

Thank you, and I hope everybody has a wonderful New Year's!!!
BuffaloBoy

 

[Silver Slayer]

F2 what a coin shooter Great beginners machine!

 

[fistfulladirt]

BB, you will get many replies here "mines the best, brand-X, chevy, no, honda, etc".
I'd say buy a new or used entry model in your price range, in case you find out MDing's just not your bag. I know of several folks that purchased detectors, used 'em once or twice, they now collect dust in a closet. Good luck with your choice. ffd

 

[baldy804]

welcome to the hobby i would just like to say that while your focus is on a detector. proper use in recovery is gonna be key in being able to continue to use our machines in public places like parks and such if your in a grassy area a screwdriver or coin probe works well after you have located the item with you detector instead of breaking out the shovel take your probe or screw driver and gently push it into the ground to locate the target cut a small slit in the sod and flip the coin outthis takes some time and practice but will save you from having to dig a 1x1 foot holeplease fill all holes and pack any trash you mayfind out along with any trash someone before u left

 

[Michigan Badger]

Welcome and detecting is great if you're located in an area with a lot of history and undisturbed properties (undeveloped and much as it was 100+ years ago). If you live in a sparse area with few places that had a lot of traffic 100 years ago you'd do better to forget detecting and go picking (like the American Pickers).

I've always made fabulous finds doing this very thing.

And too the chances of finding valuable items in decent condition are much better when searching the online coin/relic/collectable auctions and doing physical searches on site (locate old junk hoarders). I've purchased coins online for under $10 and resold them for over $100. There are fabulous deals out there but one needs knowledge and patience.

I still do a little metal detecting but I find 1000 times more picking. One can find treasures out there, sell them on ebay, and use the money to buy top notch coins (instead of nasty pitted things of often little numismatic value).

Just some thoughts.
Good luck.

 

[chris725]

Here would be my two cents.... I'm by no means an expert in this field, nor am I a brand lover (White's, Garrett, Fisher, etc.). I started out with a White's in the 80's when I was to young to understand what I had in my hands and lost interest very quickly. It was Christmas gift, so no money loss for me and like I said, I was young. Quite a few years later the MD bug hit me again, so I purchased a Garrett Ace 250 which I really enjoyed and found a good bit coins (mostly newer stuff), but again once the "new-ness" wore off and working as a mechanic in the marina world from April until November, my time was very limited and without having time to truely get to know the machine, I once again sold it off. As of recent things have settled down and I have commited to learning my new F5 and have outfitted myself with the proper tools needed to fully enjoy the hobby (propointer, proper digging tools, knee pads, etc.). I'm really not trying to discourage you from getting in to this hobby, but be prepared to commit to it if you really want to get the full experience from it. It is a great hobby! You get to be outdoors, get some exercise, and maybe find some things that could pay for that new detector in just one hunt? With that said, i'd go for something like the Garrett Ace 250, Fisher F2, or something in the beginner range. Like the others have said you can find used as well. That way you can give it a shot and see if you like it, as well as not spend so much that you can't afford to outfit yourself with the other neccessary items that will make it more enjoyable, so that you stick with it. Good luck!

 

[dogpound]

everyplace has been hunted out.......take up stamp collecting

 

[spartacus53]

BuffaloBoy, these guys will talk your ear off, overload you with info, confuse you, etc...

Use a hybrid of some of these ideas.. This is what I would do. Get a price range for your detector, then print pictures of all the detectors in that price range.. Now tape said pictures on a wall and throw a dart..

The one you hit is the one you go for, and then learn that machine

 

[Michigan Badger]

BuffaloBoy, these guys will talk your ear off, overload you with info, confuse you, etc...

Confusing people is part of being American.

 

[Keppy]

BuffaloBoy, these guys will talk your ear off, overload you with info, confuse you, etc...

Use a hybrid of some of these ideas.. This is what I would do. Get a price range for your detector, then prints pictures of all the detectors in that price range.. Now tape said pictures on a wall and throw a dart..

The one you hit is the one you go for, and then learn that machine

Buffaloboy... spartacus.... Is right on here get a detector from the major brands learn it good and it will be as good as any out there................. When i got my first detector there was no treasure fourms or internet............ THANK GOD .... for one thing they will do is CONFUSE the he!! out of you....... You will not know what detector is best......... Get a detector and learn it and that is the best detector out there..........If you listen to what every one says about there detector....you will be changeing detectors like you change sox..........

 

[gleaner1]

You see, it's madness, your question, you want to get into tectin. Hear now, I give you the best metal detecting advise you will ever get....Get the best tector your wallet will allow and by the jeepers, get a mentor.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Don't buy a cheapo. It's better to buy a good used machine than a cheap new one.

Tesoro has good machines that are deep and simple to learn. They are also 100% covered in case of trouble. In fact most times Tesoro will even fix a machine you bought used (for FREE...you just pay shipping to them).

I know of no other brand that does this.

A great starter detector is the Tesoro Silver uMax. These can be purchased used for about $125 to $175 shipped. Contact dealers selling used machines and post ads at all THing forums (look for the forums specializing in ads).

Detecting is healthy and great fun if you find some decent targets. But like I posted above, if you live in a crapy THing area, and your goal is to build a great coin collection of high value, you'd have a better chance doing that by making sideline money and investing it into coins (study and buy smart).

Knowledge is POWER!

Badger

 

[George (MN)]

If you want to find older coins, you probably have to pay more than for a detector that is mostly good for new coins. Some won't beep deep, or if they do, the ID is poor. The new detectors that offer above average performance (Garrett AT Pro a good example) may cost $500+ new. You might get something decent on the used market for $200-$350.

Many of the older detectors are heavier & require more batteries.

New detectors under $300 will mostly find shallow coins, usually newer.
Coins lost 200 years ago could be 20" deep. Might need $5,000 detector!

Not knowing how much you can spend or if you'd consider used, I'm not sure what else to say. Many more things to consider, too. Features of the detector, the weight, the ease or difficulty of use (trash or treasure?). Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[mramsoil]

Any MD will find targets, better MDs help you sort through the trash. I'm a White's guy mostly because they have excellent service, made in the USA, and they're easy to use. JMO