Trying to figure out what detector is good for me...

[MDawn]

After many hours of searching around I had settled on getting a Garrett ace 250 just because they seem to be reasonably priced and i liked the digital display, But then read posts about the performance decline in wet sand/salt water use. I also read that the newer 350 with DD coil is better is salt water now ??..

Is there something similar in price/style to these (used or new) by a different brand that is known to be good in wet sand/water?
Or should i just go with the Garrett 350?

I thought this would be an easy decision heh

Thanks for any input.

-dawn

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

After many hours of searching around I had settled on getting a Garrett ace 250 just because they seem to be reasonably priced and i liked the digital display, But then read posts about the performance decline in wet sand/salt water use. I also read that the newer 350 with DD coil is better is salt water now ??..

Is there something similar in price/style to these (used or new) by a different brand that is known to be good in wet sand/water?
Or should i just go with the Garrett 350?

I thought this would be an easy decision heh

Thanks for any input.

-dawn

Dawn,

Wet saltwater sand and in the water is probably the hardest area to hunt due to the minerals in the water.... You can hunt it with an ACE 250 and 350 but you have to turn the sensitivity down and when you do this your losing depth, depth is something you don't want to lose a lot of when hunting beaches....

What you can get is dependent on what your budget is.....a good saltwater detector is going to cost you at least $800 and up new...You could get all your investment back with one find, or never get it back....Detecting is something you want to do because you enjoy it, not to get rich...Don't buy a detector thinking I will get all my money back quickly, buy it because you enjoy the hobby.....

Something to keep in mind is the money is not lost if you buy a good detector, you can always sell your detector down the road and get 70% or maybe more of the money back if you take care of it and it is a good detector....Your going to also need a good scoop and they are not cheap either... Starting at about $125 and up to $200+ depending on size of scoop, and style and if aluminum or stainless steel....

There are some good buys used but you have to be careful and know what your doing...Many are sold here from very honest members, so look here and then ask around see who else has bought from them if your buying used..... I would recommend you not look on EBay unless you know what your doing...... I have bought at least 8 used detectors and everyone worked perfectly and I saved thousands, but some who bought used were burnt on their first used detector.....

If you really want to look for a good used salt water detector, I would look at Minelab Excal, Whites Beach Hunter ID, or 300, Garrett AT PRO, you can get them used for $400 to $800....There are also some nice pulse detectors, but I will not recommend them to someone who has no experience and no one that can help them learn them...

Lookup Mike with Woodland detectors here on this site, he is a dealer and can be trusted as can Poppa, Bigboy Detectors and many other of the fine dealers and members here.....

Good luck...

 

[MDawn]

Thanks for the solid advice.
There is an amazing amount of brands/functions out there and it gets to be a real task trying to sort that out. (thank you for not adding pulse MD's to the mix LOL)
Minelab brand was my very first choice but the prices killed it for me (had been looking for 2 months for a used one that i liked)
I guess i will have to do more shopping around and see what pops up, Now i have a bigger list of decent machines to look for.
You did help me increase my budget a little b/c i did not think of selling what i already found, Typical hoarding behavior HA.

I had been using someones exterra but they took it back and I'm itching to go back to hunting (or should i say beach cleaning?) I think of metal detecting almost the same way as going to the casino- Don't expect to get jack! Pure entertainment

Eventually i would like to wind up with something new that i can travel with and use when snorkeling but that is passing the 1k mark for sure and definitely requires a few decent gold finds first.



I really appreciate the help! Thank you.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Thanks for the solid advice.
There is an amazing amount of brands/functions out there and it gets to be a real task trying to sort that out. (thank you for not adding pulse MD's to the mix LOL)
Minelab brand was my very first choice but the prices killed it for me (had been looking for 2 months for a used one that i liked)
I guess i will have to do more shopping around and see what pops up, Now i have a bigger list of decent machines to look for.
You did help me increase my budget a little b/c i did not think of selling what i already found, Typical hoarding behavior HA.

I had been using someones exterra but they took it back and I'm itching to go back to hunting (or should i say beach cleaning?) I think of metal detecting almost the same way as going to the casino- Don't expect to get jack! Pure entertainment

Eventually i would like to wind up with something new that i can travel with and use when snorkeling but that is passing the 1k mark for sure and definitely requires a few decent gold finds first.



I really appreciate the help! Thank you.

The ones I mention are all good for snorkeling, the Whites Beach Hunter and AT PRO are only water proof to about 30 feet, the Excal is waterproof to several hundred feet, which I suspect is deeper than you want to go....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sorry, I mislead you, two I listed I removed because they are actually pulse detectors, pulse detector are great detectors, but they can be very frustrating for someone who doesn't know them and doesn't have a partner who knows them to show them the ropes..........You would be digging big, deep holes for tiny pieces of iron....

 

[cdv1]

Dawn, I don't want to sway your opinion OR the good advice that everyone here will no doubt give you on your purchase. I own a 350 along with a pulse detector. My wife and I both detect when we go to the beach, I hit the wet sand/water with the PI and she does the dry sand with the 350. We have been out twice (two weeks) and the first time the dry sand and damp/wet sand drove my wife nuts trying to learn how to use the 350 at the beach over use at home. I helped her play around with the settings and made her aware that in extreme iron or minerals she would have some falsing of signals and to not concern herself with that, only worry about the repeatable signals. She ended up the first week running at 70% sensitivity and did quite well (jewelry and coins). On our second trip, she was a pro with the 350 and found this beach to be a better beach for the 350, not near the mineral/iron content and was actually hunting at 100% sensitivity most of the times (dry sand) and having to lower it in the wet sand to about 80% while still having very little falsing. So, alot depends on the beach and content in the sand/water.

I had a heck of a time believing her running at 100% so on our last morning I took it out for the first time on the beach and indeed could run at 100% sensitivity in the dry (minimal if any falsing) and could work all the way down to the water only having to drop the sensitivity down to 80%.

So, it will depend on the beach and the water but it will work quite well. Now, am I completely satisfied with the 350 at the beach? NO, but it does work.... I am looking at upgrading for a better vlf beach machine and possibly keeping the 350 for detecting around my landlocked home, it really works quite well if you take the time to actually learn the machine.

Good luck with your purchase but what ever you decide, take the time to learn the machine and what it is telling you. Good finds will come but quicker IF you really learn what the machine is telling you.

Cliff

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Dawn, I don't want to sway your opinion OR the good advice that everyone here will no doubt give you on your purchase. I own a 350 along with a pulse detector. My wife and I both detect when we go to the beach, I hit the wet sand/water with the PI and she does the dry sand with the 350. We have been out twice (two weeks) and the first time the dry sand and damp/wet sand drove my wife nuts trying to learn how to use the 350 at the beach over use at home. I helped her play around with the settings and made her aware that in extreme iron or minerals she would have some falsing of signals and to not concern herself with that, only worry about the repeatable signals. She ended up the first week running at 70% sensitivity and did quite well (jewelry and coins). On our second trip, she was a pro with the 350 and found this beach to be a better beach for the 350, not near the mineral/iron content and was actually hunting at 100% sensitivity most of the times (dry sand) and having to lower it in the wet sand to about 80% while still having very little falsing. So, alot depends on the beach and content in the sand/water.

I had a heck of a time believing her running at 100% so on our last morning I took it out for the first time on the beach and indeed could run at 100% sensitivity in the dry (minimal if any falsing) and could work all the way down to the water only having to drop the sensitivity down to 80%.

So, it will depend on the beach and the water but it will work quite well. Now, am I completely satisfied with the 350 at the beach? NO, but it does work.... I am looking at upgrading for a better vlf beach machine and possibly keeping the 350 for detecting around my landlocked home, it really works quite well if you take the time to actually learn the machine.

Good luck with your purchase but what ever you decide, take the time to learn the machine and what it is telling you. Good finds will come but quicker IF you really learn what the machine is telling you.

Cliff

Like Cliff says every beach is different, dry sand is usually not an issue, it is when you hit the wet salt sand it becomes an issue, and how much minerals and black sand there is there....... No, all saltwater is not equal, who have ever thought that, not me before I took up detecting. Even the Excal will false in the saltwater if the water is rough, many new hunters buy the Excal thinking it will run perfectly smooth and that is not always the case, you have to learn the machine, doesn't matter if it is an Ace 250 or ML Excal.....

CrackBadger has proven beyond a doubt the Aces will work on the saltwater beaches....You can check his videos out by going to Youtube and use crackbadger as your search word....... He has an amazing collection of gold found, and some great finds. Anyone who doesn't believe his finds or videos is just jealous, I am proud to say him and I are friends...... His detector of choice is the Minelab Excal, but his videos prove the Ace 250 will work on the beach too....

Buy what your comfortable with......I own 2 Excals with custom coils, 2 Sov GTs one has been custom waterproofed, a ML Safari, and a Fisher 1235X....... I have just found another Excal on sale that is in hardly used and in mint condition for a great price and I will probably pick it up. That would give me an Excal with the stock 10 inch coil, Excal with a custom 15 inch WOT coil and an Excal with a custom 12x15 inch SEF Butterfly coil all hardwired on......

I don't know how long I will be able to put up with the 10 inch coil, I prefer the largers coils so I may put a WOT on the new Excal and sell my older Excal with the WOT already on it, I don't think I will have much trouble finding a buyer for an Excal with a WOT already wired on it. I will probably sell it for $750 plus shipping.........

 

[sgratrider]

Here's a link for some good used detector deals. I have bought off of here in the past and had no problems. With that being said, each transaction could be different. But alot of happy transactions have taken place there. Gonna post two links for you. First being the classified. The second being a xterra 705 that looks to be a hell of a deal. The one thing i have noticed on this site, alot of times you had better act fast. The good things sell pretty quickly. Good luck in your quest.

Todd

http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds_config.pl
http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds_config.pl?read=176767

 

[MDawn]

Thanks Cliff
Taking the nearest beach into consideration (the one i will likely go to most often)
Its pretty much all dry sand hunting or you are in the water.. Ft laud beach doesn't give much low tide ground and the wet sand that you do get to hunt is almost never cut down. Its the farthest thing from a natural beach i have ever seen. And i have been to beaches from Maine to Key west/gulf/Alabama. That is really what sways my opinion. If i have to hunt in water I think i would rather get a machine that is water proof.
But you are right, what ever i get i have to learn it.

Treasure hunter- It is amazing how the water is different all over.. Esp the salt content!
When fishing/swimming in the gulf you almost get crystallized with salt LOL But NY/NJ its almost nothing in comparison. I love the punch of extra salt down here.. it does wonders for the skin!

You tube vids on metal detecting have been a big help for me.. From people digging to just flat out explaining different machine functions.. I am glad people take the time to make those videos. I will definitely look up crackbadger's.

Tod- Thanks for the links, I'm going to check them out now.



Thanks for the help guys!