A couple questions for the experts

[Acablegypsy]

I've decided to get back into the hobby after a 25 year break. Things have changed alot. I dug out my old 2900d coinmaster and hit the woods behind the house only to find big rusty chunks from old farm equipment. In one hole about 4in i dropped a penny and covered it. I couldnt get a tone to save my life. I decided a new detector was in order, checked ebay and holy cow! Each brand has 20 different units! I looked around a bit and have determined that a ace250 or coinmaster pro might be a good choice in my price range but couldnt tell you why other than i saw the names come up alot. I decided to check with the experts before taking the plunge. I am in south central virginia atm. I plan to hunt in the woods around old homesites which are plentiful here. I also plan to goto arizona later this year and would like to search for little gold nuggets and some meteorites. Im not trying to turn a profit. I wont be going to beaches or parks. Mostly interested in finding 'cool stuff'. Depth is an issue for me in the woods. I got a couple faint tones with mine and after raking off 3" of leaves and pine needles i had solid tone on the dirt. Cant rake the whole woods though haha. So i know the 2 units i mentioned are good but are they good for me? Also any other suggestions would be great. I found a used cm pro for $150 locally so am leaning towards that one. Thanks and happy hunting!

 

[BarberBill]

If your budget is limited, I think you'd be well advised to buy a used, higher end detector than what you mention. The units mentioned are fine for the the price, but the hunting you describe sooner or later will require a detector with either manual ground balance or true auto ground tracking. The two machines you list are factory ground preset models which can give you fits in more mineralized areas (prospecting for certain). If you forego the need for target ID, a clean used Tesoro Vaquero, Tejon, Bandito II umax, Eldorado umax and a few others are out there that all have ground balancing capability. The two detectors you're considering are designed primarily for the type of hunting you say you're NOT going to do. My two bits.
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[Acablegypsy]

That is exactly why i ask when i dont know. Thx for that info and saving me from making a big mistake. I will look into the units you suggest. Would still like to hear from some others on good models for my needs. The more names i have, the e. Thanks again!asier it will be to find a used one.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes, the 2900D is a dinasour by today's standards If you're going to add "nuggets" to your wish list, of what to be able to hunt for, just be sure that the machine you get is able to go back and forth between regular detecting (coins/jewlery/relics) to nuggets. There are a few machines (like the MXT ... for instance) that are designed to be able to do both venues. But just be aware, that any machines that try to be made to do both, will excell in neither arena. There will be better coin machines, and there will be better nugget machines. Because when you think of it, the goals of each type hunting are practically diametrically opposed to each other: The coin guy DOESN'T want to hear every speck of bird-shot, every staple, pin-head, etc.... Yet the nugget guy DOES want to hear those tiny fleck and grain-of-rice sized stuff. So when machines are designed from the ground-up for their specific purposes, I guess it's no easy task to make one that will do each type, and do it efficiently. As I say, there's a few, but they'll excell in neither.

So if you're wanting to get really hardcore, you can invest in 2 different machines. But if you're just going to fool around in spots that aren't super heavily worked by others, then there are machines that will do both types.

 

[REVIER]

In that beginners price range the F2 is a great one and mine has found me enough clad, silver and gold to pay for itself many times over, but as was previously stated for the hunting you plan to do and in Virginia soil that I have heard can be "challenging"...you need something higher end.
I might suggest a Vaquero, new or used, because of the manual ground balance and depth capabilities.
There is a reason lots of hunters in soil that is not perfect use this one, several that I know in Georgia, for instance.
Add a sniper coil into the mix and I bet it would be great at finding nuggets, too.

I know you said you won't be hunting parks or beaches because you only want to find "cool" stuff, but on that point we disagree.
I have found a few relics and some old coins myself, but for me finding something that can pay for everything I have invested in this hobby or buy me a new top end detector with no money out of pocket can be cool, too.
Nothing cooler than finding gold as far as I am concerned, but all hunters are different and we each have that special thing that turns us on.

 

[BarberBill]

Revier makes a good point on the park etc. hunting. When I started I was strictly a relic or whatever hunter, but evolved into a serious coin, jewelry, park hunter and would hunt more beaches if I were close to the ocean.
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[GunnarMN]

sounds to me like you need an AT gold, by garrett probly one of the best detectors for the price, that what i would get if I was U.

 

[Acablegypsy]

Thanks for all the replies. One thing i dont understand is why a standard detector isnt that great for gold. You find gold rings at the beach so why not gold nuggets in the desert? I could see it if you were looking for dust that you intend to pan because of the tiny size. Also, does the size of the coil affect more than the area you cover when swinging?

 

[Nauti]

It depends on the size of the nuggets....if it is a large nugget any good detector will find it.Larger coils cover more ground and can get a little more depth.However,they are also affected more by mineralisation and are of little use in areas of high trash concentrations.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Acablegypsy , the answer to your question is, that you are right: Coin and relic (standard) machines do just fine on "gold", just as they do on any other types of metal. But in the realm of naturally occurring nuggets in nature, RARELY are nuggets larger than grain -of-rice sized. In fact, even a grain of rice sized nugget is a prize (because they're frequently only pin-head sized )

So the comparison from nuggetts to rings, is apples to oranges. Coin machines excell in coin-sized things (relics, coins, jewelry) at depth, while nugget machines excell at nugget sized things at depth .

 

[BarberBill]

Tom said it well. As Tom mentioned earlier detectors designed for gold (prospecting) will do better than coin macnines and coin machines well excell on coins etc. Even though there are a few detectors out there that do fairly well at both, dedicated gold machines operate at higher frequencies and sensitivity levels which are a great boon for small nuggets or pickers, but not particularly desirable for most general detecting.
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[reddirtfisher]

If you are looking at the Garrett Ace 250, you should consider the Ace 350 because it discriminates out iron stuff better.

 

[Acablegypsy]

Ok. I understand now. I'm not really interested in finding pinhead size gold. Of course, i wouldn't turn my nose up at a whole handfull of them ;-) i had something more in mind like a grape or maybe pea sized that i could make a piece of jewelry out of. So i guess i should focus more on a relic type machine and hope i get lucky. Irony meteorites should be no problem with a standard machine, right?

On another subject, i did some research on our area and learned this was an old plantation at least as far back as 1788. The area i was searching was where the wheelwright, carpenter and blacksmiths were located so some of the stuff i found might be older than i thought. No civil war battles were fought here though and the train that runs through here wasnt put in until 1890 so i doubt i'll find any war relics. I went back out yesterday and found a spot with enough square nail to fill a coffee can. Some were at least 6", much longer and thicker than i've ever seen. I also found a couple mini railroad spikes. With a good detector, who knows what i could dig up back there! I got permission to search around our church too. 1789 is when the first one was built. A couple have burnt down. If i uncover any cool stuff, i'll share some pics on the forum.

 

[Wooden Nickel]

A...gypsy - go to the Tesoro forum. Tesoro makes great machines at decent prices, and their lifetime guarantee is second to none. And, their service is great.
There is a lot of experience on the forum and people are not shy about telling it like it is. Give it a shot.

wn