Whats the best treasure hunting equipment money can buy?

[StevenEleven]

What's the best treasure hunting equipment money can buy?

Hi,

I wanted to open a discussion based on a question my friend asked me: If you have an open budget and you want to invest in treasure hunting what equipment would you buy? Since there is a lot of scams out there that promise you almost xray visions, and there is also the different opinions concerning this technology and that company and all sorts of preferences. So I wanted to pose two questions actually to all the experienced treasure hunters in this forum:
You have a white check what would you buy as a treasure hunter?

My first thought was GPRs which led me to the second question:
What's the best Ground penetrating radar out there?

I would like the answers to be specific if you may. I mean I would like you to mention the specific model of the equipment and the specific manufacturer. I would also like the answers to be based on personal experience if possible because not all reviews out there can be trusted.

 

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[jeff of pa]

Tuff one to answer by 90% of our members I'm afraid.

to Answer correctly each member would have to become an expert on every machine out there.

in most cases I would say top of the line detector & learn it.

personally that would be Minelab 3030 or the new one soon to be released.
But I'm partial to Minelab.

A garrett user will tell you Different, as will the other brand users who know their equipment

 

[releventchair]

Knowledge.
Through research and/or proving a clean truth; knowledge trumps many equipment choices.
A G.P.R. for deeply buried things perhaps; but is there something buried deeply, where is it; and how do you know?
Need solid leads first; then legal access,possible permission; proof of claims by others ect. and then chose tools for recovery depending on the who why how when and where.
Digging up something that someone is watching,or owns or that others have legal claim to may be counterproductive.
A prybar used in a recovery could prove more valuable that any other tool. It depends on what is being recovered and where.
Treasure an over used description sometimes.
If you hid something with the intent of foiling a detector of any kind could you?
Even long ago there were claims of dowsing; and what other methods of recovery?

 

[hvacker]

Best might be a genuine treasure map.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Depends on what one searches for.
Please provide your interests and the list of equipment will narrow.
Peace ✌

 

[RustyGold]

The one that you can best understand for your hunting environment.

 

[Argentium]

This question is way too broad - What's the best treasure hunting equipment money can buy ? what kind of treasure are you
seeking ?- For example placer gold prospecting equipment is very different from relic hunting equipment on a battlefield site .
Gold ring hunting at the beach may require different equipment than coin shooting at the urban park . I think you get my drift.

 

[StevenEleven]

Clarification

OK fair enough. Treasure is an ambiguous word. So let me define what treasure means for me. I mean cache. A lot of civilizations have passed through our land. Most of the treasure we're digging up either belong to the Romans, Byzantines, Ottoman and a couple more. During each period a lot of treasure have been left behind. From a civilian hiding his stash of hard earned gold, to a soldier burying stolen goods to get back to it later, travelers, rich people buried with their fortune.

Over all, we're talking about hidden cache that is at least 1 yard and a half deep. It could be a sealed jar, a chest, or any other container you could think of. Some of them are found with the help of maps, some was found by decrypting signs carved in stones, some was found by blind luck while digging for construction projects. Some was even found using sorcery. Roll your eyes all you want -haha- I know for a fact it's real and it worked for a lot of people but I personally am against it.

So as a summary, we're talking cache of gold and jewelry that are deep underground, from 1 yard deep up till 10 yards deep sometimes -but rarely-. It could be an underground chamber, a secret entrance in the bottom of a well, an old fashion grave, could be also embed inside a big rock and covered with special mud that works as a decoy. When lucky sometimes people drop golden coins from found treasures and you found them pretty close to the surface like 2 inches deep or less but you gotta be way too lucky.

Why I was thinking GPR is that sometimes, when the treasure is inside a hidden chamber, you can't dig your way directly to it because the structure of the ceiling is too solid. An-excavator-breaking-a-tooth kinda solid. So the only way is to find the right entry door which will take you to the chamber through a short tunnel. In those cases GPRs could have come in handy.

So what kind of equipment should someone buy with an open budget?

 

[Frankn]

You must state the target you seek to determine the proper detector.
You don't need the best detector, only the proper detector.

I am basically a cache hunter and for my situation I have the best equipment.
I don't need a GPR that penetrates 20 or so feet. I have never seen a cache with more than 2' of earth on top of it.
In fact the smaller caches like jars of coins usually have only several inches of soil on top of them.
A lot of people are addicted to the"MORE" problem. Frank

 

[releventchair]

Hoping some users chime in. A two box comes to mind but the right one does not. Your soil types there would be my biggest question as to whether those used here would suffice.http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting/245812-best-two-box-detector.html

For a g.p.r. unit perhaps local archaeologists or police have tested some in your area of intended hunting? Utilities locating devices not quite the same for what you are after.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...bronze-age-settlement-using-google-earth.html

Despite costs.; g.p.r.'s ,at risk of debate; are really used for locating more than searching. A known target is fleshed out,usually.
Mineralisation a foe, mobility another; though some units are made quite portable,reviews are few.
A manual probe might detail outlines of covered areas.

 

[bzbadger]

I'd say a two box detector would be your best bet for several reasons. First..price, compare a two box to a GPR and its a no brainer. Second..recovery speed, a GPR is slow and hard to use especially when you're getting into rough terrain,a two box you can detect and quickly start digging. I could go on and on but if you want to cache hunt two box is way to go. I'm a Garrett man but I don't like their two box, it isn't very accurate and relies too much on some quirky technology. I have a practically brand new fisher Gemini 2 and its a beast at finding deep stuff. A fisher Gemini was used to find a car that had been swallowed up in a mud slide or flash flood and it was over 20 feet deep, shows it can do the job.

 

[Frankn]

I use the Hays 2 Box. I picked it up for about $250, That's about the normal price for a used one in good condition.
The thing about the 2 Box is it doesn't pick up small junk targets like nails that would drive you crazy in some locations.
I usually run it on the low setting that is good for over 6'. I prefer the true 2Boxes that are composed of a transmitter box on one end and a receiver box on the other end of a pole. It is a very basic unit but adjustment is critical. I usually run mine waist high with a shoulder strap so the hand just hangs below it as a safety guide, that is no actual force on the hand. In this manner, I can operate over a lot of overgrown areas. Let me just say it has more than paid for itself. Frank

 

[StevenEleven]

Very grateful

Thanks guys. There is a lot of valuable info in those responses. Much appreciated. So to summarize what I got from my research on best treasure hunting equipments money can buy for gold and jewelry cache that is more than 1 yard deep, I gotta say the following:
For close to surface (down to 25 inches): CTX 3030, Garret ATX, GPX 5000. Some seem to think that the gpx doesn't belong to the top 3.
For deep and big objects ( more than a yard deep) Hay's 2 box if you can find one or the second best Fisher gemini 3.
For GPRs (big projects like finding tunnels and entrances and chambers): GSSI seem to have the best reputation. Their latest product is sir 4000. Their 200 mhz antenna seem to do the trick since it can reach down to 9 m. GPR are relatively easy to use however you need to read a book or two and have some field experience before you can interrupt their data correctly.

Over all, for me, best hunting equipment money can buy could be one device from each of the three categories to cover all bases. Some could think it's an overkill, but I think such set of equipments won't allow you to miss much. Remember that we're talking about open budget. But it goes without saying that the operator skills is a golden factor in the equation. If you don't have the brain for treasure hunting, doesn't matter how much you spend on equipment.

What I mentioned above is the result of some googling and a couple of threads I posted here and there. I'm an absolute noob, the only detector I've ever held in my hand is a fisher f75 special edition which is a beauty. So if you think that there is something utterly misleading in my conclusion, please do point it out for the benefit of the treasure hunting community. Thanks again for all the input. Hope more people contribute to this discussion.

 

[Higgy]

I urge you to also investigate the Xp Deus.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

I once witnessed an 11 year old boy accompanied by his dad find an $8000 tennis bracelet with a $25 radio shack metal detector at the beach. Go figure.

 

[TerryC]

The best PI machine (beach machine) you can find then hit the beaches. My Fisher Impulse 8 has paid for itself (if I were counting) about 4 times. I still own it but don't get out like I did in the 80's and 90's. The Impulse is over 20 years old and going strong. TTC

 

[Frankn]

The best PI machine (beach machine) you can find then hit the beaches. My Fisher Impulse 8 has paid for itself (if I were counting) about 4 times. I still own it but don't get out like I did in the 80's and 90's. The Impulse is over 20 years old and going strong. TTC

The J W Fisher pulse 8 is probably the best PI ever made. Still making them and the only thing they changed is the battery compartment. Quality lasts. Frank

 

[gollum]

Lasik and Lumosity. Keeps your two best treasure hunting assets sharp.

Mike

 

[sailaway]

Makro JeoHunter 3D System
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[NWMP]

I once witnessed an 11 year old boy accompanied by his dad find an $8000 tennis bracelet with a $25 radio shack metal detector at the beach. Go figure.

Yup. Myself and many others have found some really wonderful items with an ACE 250. Do I still want one after playing with my Tejon and AT Pro ?, no. Would I like a top of the line Minelab ?, sure, but I can't afford one. So I appreciate what I have and concentrate on locations, as opposed to Jonesing over another machine.