I am lost.

[swinging4gold]

Instead of all this pressure on yourself, see if there is a nearby place where you can rent an MD, so you can see what you want.

Either that, or buy one of those less-than-100-bucks machines. For that cheap, you can go ahead and EMBRACE Upgrade Madness....

 

[PlutoBlue]

That is a good idea. I may just do that.

 

[Irons]

check your local craigslist, a bounty hunter is an effective yet inexpensive way to find out if chasing beeps until you are ready to collapse is right for you.

 

[Glimflashy]

Thank you for the information about the Garret Pro Pointer. I wouldn't have had the knowledge to even think of such a thing. But, I looked at some youtube videos and I saw what others have said about them so I will save some moolah for it. Thanks guys.

I'm glad that this site has some nice people on it. I was about to come on and post something to the fact that you can all suck it! But, this was only after my original post garnered something of a jerk response (the 3rd or 4th one down). Plus on top of that, others were saying <<<<deleted by admin>>>>But, after seeing that there ARE nice and helpful freindly people. I may just stick around. Thank you all for your advice. I will try to post a pic or at least let you know what I ended up with.

His reply wasn't bad, you're a bit to thin skinned, apparently. Yes, the "jerk" was right.
Some friendly advice, unlike other forums on the 'Net, the mods here don't put up with any, I repeat, any kind of member abuse.

 

[PlutoBlue]

Well, no I didn't like the way he put it. I thought doing research WAS asking others about their experience, but the elete member took this as an opportunity to bash the newbie. I guess that since this was my first post here, I was a little taken aback to get such a response right away from such a simple question. I wasn't made to feel very welcome until later posts came in, most were freindly, but that post just put a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, it's not bothering me whatsoever. I would appear that the same can't be said for the mods on this site. Editing out the word "jerk", is quite a cencorship abuse IMO.

 

[swinging4gold]

PlutoBlue, I'm a newbie, too. I got my Compadre on 2/21 and haven't really put it down since then. I think I've missed two days actually.

What I'm learning is that there seems to be two motivating forces for MD-ers: Money or History.

With a sensitive machine like a Tesoro, an MD-er is able to sniff out small jewelry. Since gold is at premium right now, this can mean much more money than just what you find in clad... The Compadre is really sensitive: I've got tiny bits of snaps and zippers pieces from coats to prove it! Soemtimes I never find with my eyes what my Compadre is telling me is there... Very sensitive.

If you like history and collecting old coins, maybe a deeper machine is what you want. I'm kind of in a Clad-Ghetto right now: I keep hoping for silver, but I discriminate out junk pulltabs, nickels, foil and iron when I'm trying out new parks, so my Compadre isn't able to "see" down to its 6 inch or so maximum depth. My problem is that all parks are new to me, since I'm new to the hobby. I'm just hitting these parks for the first time, therefore, I'm skimming them with discriminating out all the deep signals (along with the trash) and possibly missing deeper silver. Even if I dug used zero discrimination and dug every junk target, I'm pretty sure the Compadre isn't deep enough to hit on the deepest silver... if I go back over my parks in a month, having gotten all the surface clad, I may just find some silver.

So, what is most important to you? Historical coins and deep relics, or recently lost jewelry and pocket change?

My budget wasn't as large as yours, so I was kind limited, but I feel like I made a good choice for the time being. The day may come when I want a deep machine.

If you want depth, I bet a member will suggest something, or probably already has. Some people unashamedly use Bounty-Hunters, which I've guessed are budget-priced. My own research has led me to believe that Whites, Tesoro, and Fisher are better higher priced machines. I hear "F2" a lot on the forum. Tesoros are different: they don't "interpret" the signal with a visual screen that tells you what type coin it is detecting. The user does the interpreting, which is more of a purist stance, and I can tell you from experience that it works! The more I use the Compadre, the more I can identify trash by the sound... By God, something sounded "bright" to me today and it was an untarnished quarter! It's weird, but fun (and accurate).

The X factor for you is what kind of parks of beaches you have at your disposal. You won't really know what a high-trash, heavy clad area is like until you go detect one. And only your own research will tell you the age of whatever park is in your area, or historic homes, or whatever....

BTW, I've been on a gold prospecting forum for a long time and I know that cyber-bullies really don't dwell on forums like these. Whoever bothered you was an oldtimer that wanted YOU to laugh, not get a laugh at your expense. If you read old posts, you see that people here have long histories with each other, and they get overly-comfortable with joking. It extends into all posts. What you don't get on a forum is someone's tone of voice or an inflection. All we have are these smilies to give us "tone." I wouldn't take it wrong....

And:

 

[Silverado6x6]

I lurk on no less than three different MD forums, yes I post on them occasionally.
After a couple of weeks I see a pattern than most successful hunts happen with a MD that is slightly better than the popular ones and that means looking at the ones above $500 and usually under $1500. If you are going over areas like popular beaches if you have a MD that goes a little deeper and discriminates slightly better OR handles wet saltwater beaches better you have an edge.

The technology is pretty amazing on some of these, especially the ones that use different frequencies all at once and have a lot of automatic ground balancing features, of which loyal purists will dismiss naturally.

Its also a competitive market with some forums supported by a certain brand name and so its like asking what model Chevy to buy on a Ford forum.

Keep digging on the web, I am. Frankly I am not rushing out to buy whats being recommended to me but I look at what others are using more successfully. Garrets seem pretty popular but others like Whites seem to have better modern tech.

What to do? Well in my case I usually buy two of everything in my life being that I live in Alaska, buy a popular budget unit but also get a more advanced one, I have a son who wants to start MD, I probably will get him a Gold Bug 2 while I may get a PI unit, two separate types of MD.

 

[AIRFORCEMIKE]

Maybe thats why Gauntlet makes his own Headphones so he does not have to listen to his wife..if they work well bud..I might be buying some from ya!!!!

Pluto best advice from someone who is sorta new to the detecting world is wait, watch and read a lot. So many machines to pick from. You live on or near the ocean so I have no advice on that type of hunting. Call a sponsor..Andrew from NED has got me in the right direction many of times. But best advice is take you time and you will enjoy the hobby and forum.

Good Luck my friend,
AFMIKE

 

[Glimflashy]

I did research for a couple of months before making the choice for Tesoro. I talked to sponsors about detectors, not just prices. I looked for comments on the forum and reviews and comments on other forums and on uTube.
I'm now in the same quandary about buying my first hand gun Been looking for about three months, now.

 

[Cfmct]

Well, no I didn't like the way he put it. I thought doing research WAS asking others about their experience, but the elete member took this as an opportunity to bash the newbie. I guess that since this was my first post here, I was a little taken aback to get such a response right away from such a simple question. I wasn't made to feel very welcome until later posts came in, most were freindly, but that post just put a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, it's not bothering me whatsoever. I would appear that the same can't be said for the mods on this site. Editing out the word "jerk", is quite a cencorship abuse IMO.

Not when its directed towards another member... we don't tolerate that here...

 

[Silverado6x6]

Since I posted my comments I settled upon a MD that had what I needed, not what I wanted because frankly I did not know being a newby what I wanted.
I wanted the Garret AT Gold, but after some research I bought a new in the box Whites Goldmaster GMT, its very sensitive to small gold with its 48khz frequency and has both an auto and manual ground balance, it has distinctive tones for iron.

And I thought all headphones were equal, they are not, so tomorrow I'll be picking up a pair of Sunray Pro Golds.

 

[GoBanana]

If it were me, I'd try to locate a local detector shop just to get a feel for different models, as well, have you considered purchasing a gently used unit, maybe you won't like the hobby, and spending $500 might be a purchase you will soon regret. Just saying sometimes we get into hobbies we think we will like and soon after purchase, we find out it really wasn't our cup our tea.

I'm pretty sure you can get into the hobby for around $300 with a really decent detector that will do the exact same thing as it's more expensive brothers, who needs bells and whistles as long as it beeps. Then as you grow into the the hobby you will have a second detector to pass on to a girlfriend/wife or a friend when you upgrade.

Seems like you got off on the wrong foot with your post, happens to everyone at one time or another, put that behind you now, there is a ton to learn on this forum and hobby. As well they have excellent sponsors here who can get you rigged for whatever your needs are.

 

[biliff1]

Thank you all for your help. I was just getting overwhelmed by so many detectors on the market.

To answer your questions:

1. I will be using it mostly (or always) on the dry part of the sand.
2. I will use it on a salt water beach.
3. I am from San Francisco California.
4. My shoe size is 11 1/2 to 12 1/2 (depending on the manufactuer)
5. I am not married. (She is too fast and knows my hiding spots by now)

What do you think? And yes, I will do my own research as well. I just had hoped you guys could help me narrow the search a little bit.

Thanks!

While I agree with doing your own research, I think that you did the right thing in asking the forum members for thier opinions. There is a wealth of knowledge here and it will help you to, at least, narrow the field a bit. There are a lot of detectors out there but word of mouth is the best advertisement!
I started out with an ACE 250 (pre-owned) and it was a great detector! I could hunt the woods, tot-lots, parks and dry sand with it. I decided to give it to my son, so he could go dirt fishing with me and I upgraded to an AT Pro. Wow! the learning curve was not bad, since it had a lot of the same features of the ACE and then some! Another great machine! The only problem was that it was not good when I got into wet sand (salt). I saved the AT Pro for a backup/loaner and got the Minelab Sovereign GT so I could hunt wet sand, but found out that it was killer on dry land as well! I don't know if the soil/sand conditions are the same on the east coast (Connecticut) as on the west coast, so I can't comment on what's right for you. Look around the forum, take note of people's locations and equipment they use and above all, talk to our sponsors. I am sure you will pick the right one for yourself! After all, a detector is only as good as the man swinging it! Good luck and keep us posted on your successes.! HH

 

[Michaeltime]

If you can find a good used Eagle ll

If you can find a good used Eagle ll by White's and can confirm it is in good working condition and want deep coins buy it. You will have a great time at little cost and be able to not loose a dime on it. They sell for $250 to $400 are over 20 years old and people who have had one want one again. People who have them and used them won't sell them. But if you get one someone got passed down to them they don't know how good they are. I got dimes at 10 plus inches in the ground . They are programable you can find programs to put into it manually and go hunting for just rings. Not saying you won't find coins along with rings it is to aid you in getting more rings. But if the detector is not functioning like it should don't buy it . You will have time of it if certain pairts fail . I am waiting for them to get more Display Pod parts if that is my problem . If it is a trigger problem on it I think they can fix it or maybe I can. One drawback is around power lines they act up. They are very sensitive and you have to back off the sensitivity. You will think you found a area full of silver coins.
M6 Mike

 

[PlutoBlue]

I ended up going with these 3 detectors:

- Garrett ACE 350
- Tesoro Compadre
- Garrett Pro Pointer

This way, a friend and I can go out together and search.

I can't wait to start digging!!!!

Now, does anyone have any advice for picking out places to go dig? Is there anything that I may not be aware of? I know that in some places there are laws. And I know to ask permission before going on private property. But, anything else? Like how to pick a prime spot?

Edited to add: And the grand total of the price was $595.20

 

[Silver Strike]

All I can say is do your research for your area. Find old maps online where you can see what was there in the 40's or earlier. Look for old map books. Where I live I have an atlas for 1864. I have found many resources online as well. When you put in research time (which is, as if not, more important than swing time) the goods will find YOU! You made some good detector choices and the "upgrade bug" will hit soon enough. Just learn the machines you have and they will "talk" to you. Since you are new and I had seen no one mention a digging tool or proper digging technique please look on you tube for proper digging instruction. I use a Lesche digger and alway carry a towel to put the dirt on, cut a U or V shaped flap, flip it up retrieve your target and flip it back over and push it down. When done right it looks like you were never there at all. Remember whenever you are out, you reflect upon all of us in your behavior. Happy Hunting!

 

[Glimflashy]

I ended up going with these 3 detectors:

- Garrett ACE 350
- Tesoro Compadre
- Garrett Pro Pointer

This way, a friend and I can go out together and search.

I can't wait to start digging!!!!

Now, does anyone have any advice for picking out places to go dig? Is there anything that I may not be aware of? I know that in some places there are laws. And I know to ask permission before going on private property. But, anything else? Like how to pick a prime spot?

Edited to add: And the grand total of the price was $595.20

My suggestion would be to read the Research section of this forum. There is a ton of good information there and some of that info may lead you to other places on the 'Net.
Happy Hunting! Glad to see you're still here, by the way!

 

[bigstemz]

ok well

first off a propointer is not a necessity, its a luxury. guys had been detecting succesfully for years before pinpointers were big on the market. He especially doesnt need one if he's on the beach. Ive never seen anyone hunt a beach with a pinpointer and i never will hunt a beach with a pinpointer. A scoop is way more a necessity for a beach than a pinpointer, common guys! but seriously

As far as detectors go, id recommend something simple and strong for your first detector. If you gonna be hunting a beach why not get something that will allow you to hunt the wet sand as well. Tesoro widescan coils are great for mineralization and will allow you to hunt the wet sand effectively with not to much interference from black sand and salt water. Also consider a used PI machine, possibly a Garret Seahunter mark II. It may not be able to hunt on dry hard pack soil, but you mostl ikely will be able to do better with it in the dry and wet sand. They sell on an average for 450$ off fleebay.

Personally id reommend:
1) Tesoro Cibola
2) Minelab Soverign (maybe the best option)
2) PI machine
3) minlab excalibur

and then get yourself a killer scoop from stavr, best out there in my opinion

 

[ohiochris]

Dont worry about getting a pinpointer right away as some have suggested , spend your money on the best detector you can get. You can , and many do , hunt without a pinpointer....you dont necessarily "need" one , BUT you do need a good detector , use your available funds for the detector and get a pinpointer later if you want one. Do plenty of research , but stick to one of the major brands....whites , tesoro , garrett , minelab , fisher , teknetics. The kellyco detectors website lets you compare detectors side by side.

 

[JohnH]

I had the same problems with all the different detectors and all the features. Confusing as hell to someone who knew, and still am learning, anything about these creatures. I knew I would never be satisfied with a low end detector and didn't want to spend a ton of money either right now. I buy the best I can afford with anything I buy so as to make sure the limiting factor is not my equipment and I have a decent reputable item that I will be happy with and be smarter than me. golf clubs come to mind but that is another story.

Anyway, I finallywent to a store that had all the ones in my price range (over 500 but less than 750) and the models I thought would be ok. There were not that many. I held them all knowing that i am no spring chicken anymore and strengh is failing. A few I discarded simply because they were not comfortable to me.

I then came back to this site and others and started reading the pros and cons of the 3 or so I had narrowed it down too. I tried to find what others were saying given they were doing the same things I wanted to do. I wanted flexiblity and quality.

I finally decided on the new AT Pro soon after it first came out. Yes, I knew there were some problems with the first ones and yes I had to return it. But it was a pretty good machine and knew the problems were being straightened out. It was fixed and it has turned out to be a very good machine FOR ME and I would not part with it now.

Next came the problem. I decided after detecting that I really liked doing this but I also want a machine for gold nuggets when I go out west in May and also be able to use it for general detecting. Again more research. My problem immediately became a top notch gold machine was very expensive and would only be good on gold nuggets as it was designed. And I wanted it for other things too.

Ended up, after my experience with Garrett service, on the AT Gold. Is it perfect for gold-no. Is it a fairly good machine for gold-yes. I didn't care about getting those tiny tiny flakes, I wanted bigger honkers. And it can still be used for coins and relics. Not perfect for gold but good enough.

And that is my point. I got detectors that met MY wants and no one elses. You will find what you want. It won't be perfect, hell, see how many detectors some of these folks have. And they all fit different wants. Take your time and soon you will have one coming in the mail to you. Use the sponsors here too. Call them, talk to them. Expain what you want to do and then research the recommendations.