Whats the best Metal Dectector for an amateur?

[GoldBack]

I'm new here... Just wondering whats the best MD to start out using? I am thinking about getting the Garrett ACE 250, would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[gambler13]

First off, as everybody will need to know, is what kind and where you are going to hunt. If inland coin and relic, anything from an ace 250, white's coinmaster, and fisher f2 are good as well as the intro. teknetics and tesoros. . It's all a matter of preference and if you want display info. or not. Will tell you that the fishers can seem to be more sensitive and chatty. Any "name" manufacturer makes good entry level machines. It's more about learning your machine than the machine itself. I know this wasn't much help but you really need to research it and make your own choice.

 

[TerryC]

Welcome aboard! The 250, as a first machine is just fine! As you get better, it will become a good back-up. TTC

 

[treasurehound]

First off, as everybody will need to know, is what kind and where you are going to hunt. If inland coin and relic, anything from an ace 250, white's coinmaster, and fisher f2 are good as well as the intro. teknetics and tesoros. . It's all a matter of preference and if you want display info. or not. Will tell you that the fishers can seem to be more sensitive and chatty. Any "name" manufacturer makes good entry level machines. It's more about learning your machine than the machine itself. I know this wasn't much help but you really need to research it and make your own choice.

True. The choices listed are very good intro machines. Asking others which is the best is like asking which is better... ford or chevy? Your die hard ford drivers will tell you get the ford and the die hard chevy drivers will tell you get the chevy. Same with metal detectors. Most manufactures make very good intro machines. If you are going to be doing more beach hunting then there are some machines that work better than others. Some machines have a display that will tell you what it is and how deep and others are just sound only. Again preference on which you want. The most important thing is when you get your machine is to learn what it is telling you. Good luck and we can't wait to see what you find.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Goldback, treasurehound and gambler are right: It depends on what you intend to do, where you intend to hunt, how hardcore you want to be, what your junk tolerance is, what type soil/minerals you have, etc....

To give you an example: If you were to ask: "what's the best motor vehicle for an amateur driver?" The answer might be "It depends: do you want to go real fast? You might consider a corvette. Do you want to carry kids to soccer practice? might want to consider a mini-van. Do you want the best gas mileage? might want to consider a volkwagon. Do you want to haul rocks to the quarry? might want to consider a truck". And so forth, and so on.

So the options for detecting (to continue the analogy), would be things like, are you hunting the beach? If so, wet sand? dry sand, salt beach or freshwater beach? Do you need to knock out iron (bobby pins, nails, etc...) or is your beach non-punishing enough ...... and your patience long-suffering enough, to go with a deeper seeking more sensitive beach machine (yet lacks discrimination)? If hunting land, are you content with shallow clad? Or did you want to be able to score deeper potentially older coins? Or .... if you have access to virgin grounds (where all the shallow easy gimmees haven't been porked out by hobbyist before you going to the obvious spots, beaches, parks, schools), then perhaps depth isn't an issue, as you'll have virgin sites with no competition having preceded you.

Or perhaps you wanted to go nugget hunting (gold nuggets in their natural state)?

Don't get lost in the examples. The lists go on and on. But if you got a little more specific, then there'd be more answers forthcoming.

 

[Sturgell]

My first detector was an Ace 250 which I bought all the coils for, I wish I had listened to the guys who told me to get a Tesoro Silver uMax. I dig more targets with the Tesoro because I am not always cherry picking areas due to a display, as a result I found more silver in one day with the uMax than I had in months of using the Ace. To be fair I probably wouldn't have missed it with the Ace but I also don't have to listen to that bell tone anymore.

My vote is a Tesoro Compadre or Silver uMax, however the Ace is a solid machine and has a good following. Luckily for me I am a convert.

 

[gdawgs]

I'm new here... Just wondering whats the best MD to start out using? I am thinking about getting the Garrett ACE 250, would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

I am pleased with the Ace 250!

 

[Smudge]

Most folks love the Ace 250. The Tesoro Silver u-Max is worth considering as well. It is an audio detector and in my experience performs better than the 250 on the dry sand of the beach.

Its also backed by a lifetime warranty which the 250 is not.

 

[GoldBack]

Thanks for your input. Well I live in Arizona in the mountains in Flag, but I also make trips to lower Arizona in the dry heat, so I guess I will need something that is good in thick brush and able to withstand humidity and heat. Don't have a large budget maybe $300-$350, something for nuggets, coins, and the always welcomed solid gold bars lol. wouldn't hurt if it was lightweight and easy to haul around extreme terrain and of course easy to use.
Thanks again for all of your advice!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

"something for nuggets, coins, and the always welcomed solid gold bars ......"

Hah, I was thinking of adding to my post "... and don't say all of the above" (as this is the usual beginner answer to "what type things are you looking for?"). And sure enough, you said basically the same thing they all say "all of the above"

So I guess, if there were some way to cross a corvette, with a truck, and a mini-cooper, then so too can the day come when a machine does a 2-box unit goal (the gold bars), a nugget specialty machine (for the nuggetts), and a coin/jewelry machine (for the coins)

There are some cross-over machines, but they will excell in none of the arenas. An MXT is a cross-over machine, but you'll get your b*tt kicked in competitive environments, if working tired worked out places where others have already gone. But sure, it'll "find nuggets" (pinhead sized sensitivity), and it'll find coins (with the flip of some switches, you can elect to pass birdshot, nails, etc... that normal nugget machines zero in on), and with some more audio tricks (ignoring small things by ear, desensitizing it, etc....) you can sort of mimick a 2-box unit, and only go for hubcap sized things and bigger. But .......... as I say, you'll excell in nothing.

If you can forgo the desire to go for the nuggets, you can try a Tesoro u-max. It's ok for coins, jewelry, and relicky hunts. Does well in ghost town type iron-ridden environments, gets small whispy jewelry if you want it to, separates targets well, is easy to use, etc... However, it lacks the depth that power-house deepseeker machines have, doesn't have a great deal of TID ability, probably doesn't bode well in mineralized ground, etc...

So again ........ it depends.

 

[Monty]

I have the Tesoro Silver Umax and the ACE 250 and I like both of them. I think you learn more from the Umax if you are a novice because you have to learn to ID tones better. Personally I like the ding ding ding of the ACE. It always excites me when I hear a good solid tone like that. Monty

 

[diggummup]

Unless you actually make a living with your detector then we are all "amateurs" aren't we?

 

[Iron Patch]

Unless you actually make a living with your detector then we are all "amateurs" aren't we?

I definitely don't, but it has been a good part time job at times.

 

[Shortstack]

I would suggest getting a machine with turn on and go capability.........that's with an automatic ground balance design. But, you want to hunt nuggets, too, get a machine that is MANUALLY ground balanced. It's not hard to learn to do, just takes a few seconds. The best all around machine in your price range with the ability to see SMALL items like pennyweight nuggets and bickers; would be a used, but good condition Tesoro Bandido II or Bandido uMax. They are light weight and go deep.

 

[U.K. Brian]

I would go with the Tesoro suggestions. As they still can't make a reliable meter I.D. machine at a $1000 plus then whats the chance at the Garrett 250 price point ?

A non metered Tesoro will be a far better learning tool.

 

[desert dog]

i live in kingman arizona i use a delta 4000 it is a
good detector to use in the desert

 

[birdman]

Tesoro Cibola, Great all around machine. You can't go wrong with the cibola.

 

[Frankn]

I kind of look at things a little differently than most. I started in the '70s with a top of the line Whites goldmaster that I bought used. It was several years old.
Today you can do the same thing and get top of the line used.
I would get the best computer controlled full panel display unit I could find and afford. Get one with basic programs that are turn on and go so you can learn while detecting. Then you can used the more advanced programs. This type of detector is also versatile and can be used for locating anything.
I use a 10 year old XLT that I have peaked out over the years. It has found nuggets, relics and a jar of silver dollars in AZ., mostly in the Quartzsite area.
If you buy basic ,you will outgrow it fast. If you buy the best but older, it just might last many, many years of happy hunting.
That's my view---Frankn

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[gambler13]

Frankn has a valid point. It's kinda a catch 22 situation. On one hand you buy inexpensive entry level machines so in case you find it's a hobby you don't enjoy, you don't have much invested. On the other hand, if you enjoy it you'll be wanting a better detector in no time. If you buy a quality machine and find it's not for you, you can sell it with a minimal loss.

 

[Iron Patch]

Frankn has a valid point. It's kinda a catch 22 situation. On one hand you buy inexpensive entry level machines so in case you find it's a hobby you don't enjoy, you don't have much invested. On the other hand, if you enjoy it you'll be wanting a better detector in no time. If you buy a quality machine and find it's not for you, you can sell it with a minimal loss.

I think many new to the hobby don't make the absolute best choice, because a lot of things change once you actually start to hunt. I started with a high end, but that still didn't stop me from changing to another high end. Money was pretty tight when I bought the first one so I was loked at as a little crazy for sinking so much into something that had a good chance of failure. Lucky for me it all worked out.