spending $500 or $600 - what metal detector to buy for beach (not in the water)?

[EMTFlorida]

Alright, so I've gone back and forth for months and what I want to get and what I plan on doing. I'm in St augustine so hunting in the water is a no no.

I'm looking to spend $500 or $600. Maybe $700. I considered the Deus detector but it's at $800...not sure if that's necessary.

I'll be hunting on the beach, not in the water. Mostly looking for coins and jewelry. What detector would you recommend? I want to make the purchase today so I can finally get out there (been dreaming about this for MONTHS)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

quick edit: I'd prefer not digging up a ton of trash, so I'm guessing the $200-$300 are not a good idea. Will the $600 models still be giving me aluminum tabs and other trash?

is the garrett 350 ok for beach? decent detector?

another edit: I might be steering away form this and just shelling out the cash to get something that goes DEEP. Depth is important to me

 

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[EMTFlorida]

The dual field is a super chatty machine and is really never stable. Here is what mine sounds like and apparently this is pretty calm for the machine compared to what others have told me theirs sounds like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_QmSkJJgY0jNktBVEozbmF4UGs/view

Its going to take you some time to get used to it. You need to learn to pick out targets, pinpoint, and dig...so many things. Its not a beginner machine but its one of the best out there. When I first got all of my machine my first few times out were a disaster and it just kept getting better and better each time. Read as much as you can about your machine and reflect on what you did today so that you can improve. Its going to just get better. The DF is a complicated machine but if you learn it you will be happy you did. The ace250 isn't even in the same ballpark.

Thanks for that. That's exactly how mine sounds. Glad to know that's normal and I'm not doing something wrong.

I have no clue which detector to keep. I don't want to dig trash all day. At the same time I feel I probably won't find as much gold with the Ace 350 as I would with the DF, since it's much deeper. I, also, think I need to invest in a much better scoop. Right now I'm using a handheld one with no long wooden pole; so I'm bending down and scooping, and doing that multiple times, still not finding the target.

Thanks for your help.

maybe I should keep the DF for hunting in the wet sand and keep the ace for hunting on dry sand?

 

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[adamBomb]

maybe I should keep the DF for hunting in the wet sand and keep the ace for hunting on dry sand?

That sounds like a plan. And you need a good scoop. Digging in the wetsand with your current scoop just sounds like a nightmare. No wonder you had such a difficult time lol. Get a stealth scoop, stavr, RTG or another good brand. Dont look for cheap because it will break. My stealth scoop was like $250 but its got a lifetime warranty and should last forever.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I tried a bunch of machines at the beach and most work descent to good in the dry sand but on my beach you need something to help ID those beer caps! In the wet sand the Sand Shark was deep but dug alot of trash...DEEP! The best machine BY FAR that i have ever used on a beach....wet sand or dry is the Sovereign GT. You will dig very little iron trash or bottle caps. 10 minutes into my first hunt with it i had a 14K wedding band at 8 inches in the wet sand.

 

[Larsmed]

St augustine beaches You should go out after a storm. Due to the amount of hunters out there.

 

[RustyGold]

I tried a bunch of machines at the beach and most work descent to good in the dry sand but on my beach you need something to help ID those beer caps! In the wet sand the Sand Shark was deep but dug alot of trash...DEEP! The best machine BY FAR that i have ever used on a beach....wet sand or dry is the Sovereign GT. You will dig very little iron trash or bottle caps. 10 minutes into my first hunt with it i had a 14K wedding band at 8 inches in the wet sand.

Same here! The sand became the only screen I needed with the way the Sovereign ID's targets. Clear as a bell.

 

[EMTFlorida]

I tried a bunch of machines at the beach and most work descent to good in the dry sand but on my beach you need something to help ID those beer caps! In the wet sand the Sand Shark was deep but dug alot of trash...DEEP! The best machine BY FAR that i have ever used on a beach....wet sand or dry is the Sovereign GT. You will dig very little iron trash or bottle caps. 10 minutes into my first hunt with it i had a 14K wedding band at 8 inches in the wet sand.

I wanted one of those but couldn't find anything NEW, only used (found one used on ebay, but I want the ability to return it in case something is wrong with it).

I ended up ordering a garrett AT pro. Hopefully that works out well.

 

[EMTFlorida]

That sounds like a plan. And you need a good scoop. Digging in the wetsand with your current scoop just sounds like a nightmare. No wonder you had such a difficult time lol. Get a stealth scoop, stavr, RTG or another good brand. Dont look for cheap because it will break. My stealth scoop was like $250 but its got a lifetime warranty and should last forever.

lol right, it was definitely a nightmare haha. I bought a decent scoop with a long metal handle on amazon for $100, has good reviews

 

[Fletch88]

Glad you at least got an ATPRO! It is ok in wet sand but not ideal. You may find some fresh drops 6-8" deep but not 12-15" deep stuff.

 

[clv]

here is the best advice i can give you.
1. Take all those detectors you bought so far and sell them on craigslist or ebay.
2. Buy the minelab safari or etrack, and really learn the machine.
3. Get the RTG 6" water beach scoop with the S.S. tip (you can go almost a foot down in one one scoop).
4.If you do the above, stay off my beaches, as I don't need any more competition.



As a side note yesterday I ended hunting behind two other detectorists and pick up 13 nickles, one dollar coin (14" deep), and several dimes that they missed. This was just the dry sand as the tide was high at that time.

One was swinging an Ace 350 the other had a fisher goldbug (older unit).

 

[adamBomb]

I wanted one of those but couldn't find anything NEW, only used (found one used on ebay, but I want the ability to return it in case something is wrong with it).

I ended up ordering a garrett AT pro. Hopefully that works out well.

The Sov is no longer made but its still a great machine. Its one of those machines that was built well and will last forever and a beach machine at $450 is a steal. The AT Pro will work fine on the dry sand but its a single frequency detector so it won't work on the wetsand. Maybe you can squeeze out a few inches but I wouldn't count on it. Beach hunting is expensive, there are no intro machines for it because the machine needs to have multiple frequencies and usually waterproof. Here are the machines in production that can handle the wetsand (not counting PIs here):

White V3 series
Fisher CZ21, CZ3D
Minelab Safari, Etrac, Excalibur, CTX

I seriously think thats it. No other companies make machines that can handle the wetsand unless you go with a PI. And only a few of those listed are waterproof. The cheapest of those start at $800 and go to $2500. This is why when you gave us your budget we all immediately went to the sov because it works as well as those others, is in your budget used, and lasts forever.

I bought a decent scoop with a long metal handle on amazon for $100, has good reviews

I would stay off amazon when buying metal detecting stuff...go to the vendors. You will get better prices...just call them. Get an RTG, Stavr, or Stealth Scoop. Cheap scoops are known to break. Remember the saying which you see on these forums very often...buy once cry once. Search through here and you will see so many people who bought cheap scoops only to have them break. I love amazon and buy everything from there...except metal detecting stuff like detectors/scoops.

 

[clv]

Welp. You guys are right. I spent the morning digging two-three foot holes in the wet sand at the beach today and wasted so much time finding nothing. Literally nothing.

I'm just going to return the DF and go with the ace 250 and hunt in the dry sand. This went from excitement to frustration lol

Buying a plane won't make you a pilot, nor will buying a detector make you a detectorist, you need to learn how.
Take the advice you were given. From what you wrote so far it seems that you are doing the opposite.