Advice on buying metal dectector needed

[joyce]

I am planning to buy a metal detector for Xmas gift but going to wait till after Christmas when the good sales start.....what I need is for someone to tell me about them because I know nothing, Whats a good brand, that discriminates, detects deep, and easy to operate? I am planning to spend around $600. to maybe $700.
Any help I can get will be much appreciated!
Thanks, Joyce

[DesertWalker]

White's has some great machines, but the top end ones are a little pricey ($800-$1500). Garret's lower end machines (Ace 150 through 350) work great and are reasonably priced. $200-$400). Of course you can find used or refurbished for less. Check out this place:

Metal Detector Super Store - Kellyco Metal Detectors

[drdave514]

I had some plans to buy one myself and in doing research I found many message boards which recommended one over the other for different regions/soil types. The vast majority recommended Whites for my area so if/when I get one I will probably go with that. The price differences seemed directly related to the depth at which they would search as well as the various features.

[tomclark]

I swear by Tesoro. Currently have Tejon and an old Troy X2. Lifetime guarantees. check the reputable metal detecting boards with used for sale, some by individuals and some from dealers. Great buys. I've sold a few great units for great prices (for the buyer, with extras)
What type of conditions will you mostly be hunting? Curbs? Parks? Woods? Battlegrounds? Camps? Beaches? Sandy, soil, lots of rocks? Metallic ores around? Makes a big difference in choice of machine. Plus, what are you looking for: Coins? Relics? Gold? All around?
I've been detecting a long time and I believe too many bells and whistles and too much discrimination makes for a less enjoyable and less productive time. If you are on a good site you should dig everything that beeps. That means sometimes a less expensive machine will find as much as a monster machine. Though power means something. Tejon takes eight AA's! Troy takes a 9 volt
You must take into consideration the weight of the unit, too. Swinging even a light one can put a hurtin' on you, if done all day or several hours.
How about light, turn on and go?
You may also want to look at a smaller coil to go along with the standard ones. And you need a pinpointer and good headphones. I would not hunt without a pinpointer and a Lesche Digger. Just added another 250 bucks to your total, LOL.
PS: they all lie about depth.

[joyce]

Originally Posted by DesertWalker

White's has some great machines, but the top end ones are a little pricey ($800-$1500). Garret's lower end machines (Ace 150 through 350) work great and are reasonably priced. $200-$400). Of course you can find used or refurbished for less. Check out this place:

Metal Detector Super Store - Kellyco Metal Detectors

Thanks for your help DesertWalker, I checked out that link, looks like they have lots to pick from. Never knew that some cost well over a 1,000 dollars! But I see they have some in my price range. Thanks again for your help! Joyce

[joyce]

Originally Posted by drdave514

I had some plans to buy one myself and in doing research I found many message boards which recommended one over the other for different regions/soil types. The vast majority recommended Whites for my area so if/when I get one I will probably go with that. The price differences seemed directly related to the depth at which they would search as well as the various features.

Hi Dave, I am from Kentucky so I know the ground in some areas are very rocky and lots of clay.
I lived around the Paducah area, some of my family still live there, a brother lives near Franklin, so I go there a lot! Anyway its just nice to talk to someone for my home.
Up here where I live now we have sandy, heavy top soil, and some clay but not alot of rock. I never thought about how much difference the soil would affect it, but now I will know to make sure I find one that works best in my area....Thanks for that info!
Good luck on finding what you want....maybe next Spring we can compare things we found with them on here! Joyce

[joyce]

Originally Posted by tomclark

I swear by Tesoro. Currently have Tejon and an old Troy X2. Lifetime guarantees. check the reputable metal detecting boards with used for sale, some by individuals and some from dealers. Great buys. I've sold a few great units for great prices (for the buyer, with extras)
What type of conditions will you mostly be hunting? Curbs? Parks? Woods? Battlegrounds? Camps? Beaches? Sandy, soil, lots of rocks? Metallic ores around? Makes a big difference in choice of machine. Plus, what are you looking for: Coins? Relics? Gold? All around?
I've been detecting a long time and I believe too many bells and whistles and too much discrimination makes for a less enjoyable and less productive time. If you are on a good site you should dig everything that beeps. That means sometimes a less expensive machine will find as much as a monster machine. Though power means something. Tejon takes eight AA's! Troy takes a 9 volt
You must take into consideration the weight of the unit, too. Swinging even a light one can put a hurtin' on you, if done all day or several hours.
How about light, turn on and go?
You may also want to look at a smaller coil to go along with the standard ones. And you need a pinpointer and good headphones. I would not hunt without a pinpointer and a Lesche Digger. Just added another 250 bucks to your total, LOL.
PS: they all lie about depth.

Hello Tomclark, and thanks so much for all of your help on metal detectors. I learned a lot from you about thinking about the weight, headphones, and never knew you need a pinpointer or lesche digger, as a matter of fact I don't have a clue as to what they are! As for the pinpointer, and lesche digger, can you tell me what they do and why they are needed? Also what kind I should buy? Joyce

[mootsman]

My wife and I have detected for 30 years and used most of the equipment on the market. I agree regarding the Tesoro Tejon which my wife uses -- simple, durable and effective. As Tom said don't get lulled into graphic displays that allegedly demonstrate what's in the ground etc. It's a lot of BS.

Just my dos centavos: I've used lesche diggers but we always go back to the WW II folding trench shovel which is what 99% of the folks I know use. If you don't have to cut roots and really need to stand up the lesche is find. If you have roots to cut and don't mind digging bending over or on you knees the trench shovel is great. I wouldn't sweat a pinpointer with the Tesoro as it is accurate enough without it, IMO. We have hunted fort sites, house sites, civil war camps, revolutionary war camps, road beds, and some of them were extraordinarily trashy but we never used a pinpointer. I know lot's of folks swear by them and folks including me tend to swear by what works for them.

And nothing beats the skill of the operator. Use it, learn from it and it will get better and better. With several Tesoros over the years my wife has found some of the rarest CW buttons around, a Washington Inuagural button, several belt plates, too many 1700's and 1800's coins to mention, and much more.

[jbridered]

Real happy with my garret ace 250. Watch some youtube videos and that should help you.

[arkansas]

If you decide to buy a Garrett I would suggest NOT buying the model GTP 1350. I purchased one brand new for around $500. It is the first model to include GTP (graphic target profiling) and it doesn't help at all. Every little beep and it automatically switches to GTP mode, in which you go back and forth over the same spot to determine size. The feature can't be turned off!!! I have a buddy with a Garrett 1000 and it is a excellent detector. We would find stuff every time we went hunting. I had the GTP 1350 for 3 months and found 1 measly quarter the entire time.