Need help selecting a Metal Detector.

[Shaen9319]

Hello, so I will start out by saying I am mid-level experienced in Metal Detecting. It's time to move up in the field and I want the best one out there for what I do, I don't only want the best but I want the one that goes the deepest. So my budget is $2,000 I want to stay below that.... so what do you recommend for a Metal Detector that goes very deep and finds the real things. I will not just be digging in one place, I am talking Beaches, Forts, Relic Areas, Antique area, many different places so I cant just have a metal detector for one area. I heard the Minelab Excaliber is one of the best ones out there that can do everything including beaches is it true? let me know thanks!

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Welcome! If you want to hunt wet saltwater sand you'll need a multi-frequency VLF machine like the Excalibur. It is NOT an "all around" machine. It is too fragile - in my opinion, to be used as a land machine. If MOST of your detecting will be done on land, get the E-Trac. If you can swing a few more dollars, get the CTX 3030.

If you want to spend about $1,000.00 - get Two machines. The Tesoro Sand Shark (pulse Induction) for the wet sand and water at beach (deeper than the Excalibur), and a Tesoro Vaquero for the dry sand and land detecting.

 

[Shaen9319]

Thank you that is very helpful so there is no metal detector though that can do everything for under $2000? Can the CTX do everything?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Not Everything, but it can do beaches both salt and freshwater, rain, dry sand and dirt very well. If you decide to go gold nugget hunting though, you'll need a different machine.

 

[Shaen9319]

Yeah this is a hard thing to choose with... all I have is to spend $1000 if I can even make that... I have a Bounty Hunter Lone Star right now its an $80 machine and I found more relics and treasures than most people with Excalibers even so I mean I know even cheap machines can find stuff its just I want to get a better machine than that, and plus I used the Bounty Hunter in water many times, perfectly fine and its not even water-proof. I was told any machine can detect gold, because gold is a metal, and its what metal detectors do so... I only want to use one metal detector that would be able to find Gold yes but Relics as well... we don't need the whole under-water thing I suppose since I am not looking forward to scuba diving.. so maybe just a Relic/Gold finder only and forget the Water.

 

[Shaen9319]

I know the ATX will find any Relic that is out there and Gold but that thing is crazy expensive... $2,000 I mean I could try to save up for that but a $2,000 metal detector... eh it better find whats out there then if I am paying that much money. Not to mention the ATX can do underwater I believe AND both types of beaches... I am almost talking myself into that one but then I get worried what's better than the ATX in the $2000 range lol

 

[Shaen9319]

So yeah I looked some stuff up I found out pretty much if I want a Land/Sea/Gold/Relic hunter the best is the Garrett ATX vs Minelab CTX 3030. It's hard to choose from that.... I mean Minelab makes some of the most advanced MD I have ever seen, but Garrett has a good Detector.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Take a look at the XP Deus. I am in agreement that the CTX 3030 would fill all your needs and is a great machine, but the Deus is also a great detector. I enjoy my F75 LTD SE, but many people don't like a chatty detector. I mainly hunt permissions so both the XP deus and F75 do good for me. I also have a water detector that is good for freshwater and is what I use when the soil is too dry for permissions.

 

[Shaen9319]

Thanks