Good afternoon,
I'm 53 and live in a house built in the 1870's continuously in my family for over 70 years in a small iron mill town in Western NY on the shore of Lake Erie. We moved here about five years ago. Judging from the amount of iron trash I've gotten out of the ground just doing the odd gardening, I doubt anyone has ever searched here. (I've also found multiple marbles, game pieces, small pottery pieces, and even a nice glass bead.) I will get plenty of practice in no time just with my own and my local family member's yards.
I've wanted to metal detect off and on for decades, but one thing or another always held me back. I'm finally ready to take the plunge. Knowing myself, I'll be all in for a year or two and then it will become something I will occasionally come back to for months at a time before turning to another hobby like photography. I like to buy quality gear and I take care of it. I will undoubtedly be doing some detecting on the lakeshore, local parks, as well as taking it to South Carolina beaches where my parents live, as well as some farms near Nashville when visiting my son.
My max budget is around one grand. The two main detectors I'm looking at are the Garrett AT max and the Minelab Equinox 800. The only thing that bothers me about the Minelab is the proprietary rechargeable battery. I can foresee three years from now being frustrated with a dead battery and hard to find replacements. (I just upgraded my camera after over a decade with the same cannon body.) I've already started watching videos and will probably download and read the manuals even before I make a final decision. I want gear I won't outgrow.
My main quarry will be old coins, hopefully silver, and iron relics. While I don't expect to be searching obsessively for gold, that will be mainly what I will be looking for on the shore. I am excited to hear any thoughts or suggestions.
Grizz
I'm 53 and live in a house built in the 1870's continuously in my family for over 70 years in a small iron mill town in Western NY on the shore of Lake Erie. We moved here about five years ago. Judging from the amount of iron trash I've gotten out of the ground just doing the odd gardening, I doubt anyone has ever searched here. (I've also found multiple marbles, game pieces, small pottery pieces, and even a nice glass bead.) I will get plenty of practice in no time just with my own and my local family member's yards.
I've wanted to metal detect off and on for decades, but one thing or another always held me back. I'm finally ready to take the plunge. Knowing myself, I'll be all in for a year or two and then it will become something I will occasionally come back to for months at a time before turning to another hobby like photography. I like to buy quality gear and I take care of it. I will undoubtedly be doing some detecting on the lakeshore, local parks, as well as taking it to South Carolina beaches where my parents live, as well as some farms near Nashville when visiting my son.
My max budget is around one grand. The two main detectors I'm looking at are the Garrett AT max and the Minelab Equinox 800. The only thing that bothers me about the Minelab is the proprietary rechargeable battery. I can foresee three years from now being frustrated with a dead battery and hard to find replacements. (I just upgraded my camera after over a decade with the same cannon body.) I've already started watching videos and will probably download and read the manuals even before I make a final decision. I want gear I won't outgrow.
My main quarry will be old coins, hopefully silver, and iron relics. While I don't expect to be searching obsessively for gold, that will be mainly what I will be looking for on the shore. I am excited to hear any thoughts or suggestions.
Grizz