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Best detector for under $300

W

will2993

New member
Hello newbie here looking to get a detector for under $300 and wanted some opinions on what to purchase. I will mainly be going after coins at schools, old home sites and parks. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
most all the american mfg have good starter units. I prefer whites/garrets but thats just me. Talk to a forum sponsor, the region where u will search can make a difference (ground minerals). ur personal style,(like to cover ground or search methodically) can also
 
Hey there. IMHO a Garrett Ace 250 or a Fisher F2 would be decent. Don't forget you'll want a good pin-pointer too. Good luck and happy hunting. Matt
 
Go to the Teknetics Forum here and check out
the EuroTech Pro...The machine is new and in
the price range you mentioned. The machine is
getting good reviews.
Robr2300
 
Just turned a friend onto the Garret Ace 250 and he is quite happy with it. There are other machines out there that a lot of people like in that price range. Make sure you budget for a nice pinpointer and digger too. Those would be the Garret Propointer and the Lesche digger, respectively.
 
Keep one eye on craigslist.
There's been a Garrett Ace 350 and pro pointer on sale here for 2 benjamins. Lot's of lightly used machines will show up before Winter.
 
I would recommend the Tesor Silver uMax. About $250. Good depth. Set the disc. just before Zinc penny and dig coins all day. If you want a display I second the EuroTech Pro.
 
I would highly recommend Tesoro, they have lifetime warranty. If you want to start of with an optimum detector, I would suggest a used Tesoro Vaquero on e-bay for around $ 300.00. Happy hunting.
 
A Tesoro Compadre ($165) + a Garrett Pro Pointer ($125) is a duo that's hard to bet.

I know that I did really well with that combination when I got started and still do today.

A Tesoro Silver
 
It's not the newest unit, but you can get a Teknetics Gamma 6000 for $200 on eBay if you're patient. I got one for that price and it was almost mint, teh box was opened but nothing was touched inside. I've been happy with the unit so far.
 
This vs That detector and so on.....

get a good digger (like a Lesche) and a pin pointer (like a Pro Pointer) and spend the rest on the detector.

less time spent looking for the find or in a bad plug is time lost scanning for more treasure!

Within no time you'll be upgrading on what you found. I have a Etrac, V3i, and AT Pro that have paid for themself 10-fold!
 
GoVidGo said:
This vs That detector and so on.....

get a good digger (like a Lesche) and a pin pointer (like a Pro Pointer) and spend the rest on the detector.

less time spent looking for the find or in a bad plug is time lost scanning for more treasure!

Within no time you'll be upgrading on what you found. I have a Etrac, V3i, and AT Pro that have paid for themself 10-fold!
Click to expand...

GoVidGo, What are you finding that is worth that kind of money? In the last 3 years my finds may cover the cost of one or two coils that I bought used.

Ron in WV
 
WV62 said:
GoVidGo said:
This vs That detector and so on.....

get a good digger (like a Lesche) and a pin pointer (like a Pro Pointer) and spend the rest on the detector.

less time spent looking for the find or in a bad plug is time lost scanning for more treasure!

Within no time you'll be upgrading on what you found. I have a Etrac, V3i, and AT Pro that have paid for themself 10-fold!
Click to expand...

GoVidGo, What are you finding that is worth that kind of money? In the last 3 years my finds may cover the cost of one or two coils that I bought used.

Ron in WV
Click to expand...

I too have had mine for three years next month and NO WAY I have even paid for half of my V3i. The clad, which I've yet to cash in, makes the difference over time. I suspect that the only people paying for their detectors with finds have to be beach hunters finding jewelry. Come to Texas(non-beach) and try to pay for a detector with finds. A day finding $3 of simple clad is a good day around here.

Back to the point though, do get the ProPointer and a good digger and THEN as much detector as you can afford. It'll make all the difference in the world if you do it first off.
 
He must be finding gold nuggets all over the place,thats where I want to hunt so I can pay off my one detector
 
pax said:
He must be finding gold nuggets all over the place,thats where I want to hunt so I can pay off my one detector
Click to expand...

It takes longer to pay off an expensive detector in finds. I paid off my Tesoro Compadre in just a few months in clad coins alone.

The gold wedding bands were the icing on the cake. The Compadre will find the good stuff that other detectors can't.

The Compadre my be a good starter detector, but experienced users still use them, because of how well they work.

tabman
 
tabman said:
pax said:
He must be finding gold nuggets all over the place,thats where I want to hunt so I can pay off my one detector
Click to expand...

It takes longer to pay off an expensive detector in finds. I paid off my Tesoro Compadre in just a few months in clad coins alone.

The gold wedding bands were the icing on the cake. The Compadre will find the good stuff that other detectors can't.

The Compadre my be a good starter detector, but experienced users still use them, because of how well they work.

tabman
Click to expand...

I second this^ I have found $500 scrap value in gold rings alone(10 of them) in the past 3 months with my compadre. I could have sold them for more if I went through Ebay but with the quick cash I added another Compadre to my arsenal and some left to play with.

I recommend Compadre(watch craigslist i got all of mine under $100 worse case scenario $165 new) a propointer $125 and a digger. I use a simple $8 Fiskar from walmart they have a lifetime warranty(simply upload picture if it breaks)

I have found enough to buy a Silver uMax and a Lobo ST with my findings in the past year.
 
You may find this funny but I got my first detector, 2 years ago, by trading my World of Warcraft gaming account (I had it maxed out pretty good) to someone who, according to him 'had the money, but didn't have the time to build one to play with his friends'.
He gave me his Minelab Xterra 705. I hit some sites in around some old areas of PA like Punxatawney, Indiana, Homer City, and Blairsville. I got lucky and found a few rings, silver and a gold on the beaches of parks where people lay out and tan, and found a pretty hefty 14kt gold necklace that was broken in the beach volleybal court, plus part of a gold watch near the Pitt campus. The gold/silver values bumped me up from my 705 to an Etrac.
With the Etrac I hit those areas, some 1800's areas, and found some great silvers including my best coin ever, a 1889 morgan cc... and add to that other rares like us cav civ belt buckle, WWI german iron cross, etc... and add to that more jewelery finds off the parks and beaches that no one ever hits, and I got my AT Pro.
My success is hitting the hot spots that people lose stuff today and the old spots that no one hit yet.
I do a lot of research into old areas, many untouched by any detectorist, and don't mind an adventure like a 4 mile mountain bike ride, with my gear, down an old railroad trail, to the Eliza Furnace, an 1846 iron furnace in PA.
I will admit I am a little obsessive-compulsive, but am very disciplined and patient, and hunt that way.
Most of the time I hunt alone and it is 'all-business'.
Research....plan....permission.... prepare...GPS coords and mapping...analyza site layout.... analyze conditions.... and then the detecting starts!.... effective target analysis.... efficient digging... quick target retrieval... next target!
I have a friend that hunts with me and he told me: 'going out with you is like I am on some kinda Special Ops Mission or something'....LOL
Right now I am working on some Pittsburgh area locations, one of a wealthy business man who was friends with Andrew Carnegie in the late 1800's, and more sites near Fort McIntosh (the 1770's fort which was commissioned by George Washington and the Continental Army and the first fort north of the Ohio River) and other sites.
Hopefully it will pay for a new F75 for next year! Anyone is always welcome to hunt with me too. I don't mind sharing sites with people who respect them, and I enjoy seeing people dig awesome finds just as much as I like digging them.
 
GoVidGo said:
You may find this funny but I got my first detector, 2 years ago, by trading my World of Warcraft gaming account (I had it maxed out pretty good) to someone who, according to him 'had the money, but didn't have the time to build one to play with his friends'.
He gave me his Minelab Xterra 705. I hit some sites in around some old areas of PA like Punxatawney, Indiana, Homer City, and Blairsville. I got lucky and found a few rings, silver and a gold on the beaches of parks where people lay out and tan, and found a pretty hefty 14kt gold necklace that was broken in the beach volleybal court, plus part of a gold watch near the Pitt campus. The gold/silver values bumped me up from my 705 to an Etrac.
With the Etrac I hit those areas, some 1800's areas, and found some great silvers including my best coin ever, a 1889 morgan cc... and add to that other rares like us cav civ belt buckle, WWI german iron cross, etc... and add to that more jewelery finds off the parks and beaches that no one ever hits, and I got my AT Pro.
My success is hitting the hot spots that people lose stuff today and the old spots that no one hit yet.
I do a lot of research into old areas, many untouched by any detectorist, and don't mind an adventure like a 4 mile mountain bike ride, with my gear, down an old railroad trail, to the Eliza Furnace, an 1846 iron furnace in PA.
I will admit I am a little obsessive-compulsive, but am very disciplined and patient, and hunt that way.
Most of the time I hunt alone and it is 'all-business'.
Research....plan....permission.... prepare...GPS coords and mapping...analyza site layout.... analyze conditions.... and then the detecting starts!.... effective target analysis.... efficient digging... quick target retrieval... next target!
I have a friend that hunts with me and he told me: 'going out with you is like I am on some kinda Special Ops Mission or something'....LOL
Right now I am working on some Pittsburgh area locations, one of a wealthy business man who was friends with Andrew Carnegie in the late 1800's, and more sites near Fort McIntosh (the 1770's fort which was commissioned by George Washington and the Continental Army and the first fort north of the Ohio River) and other sites.
Hopefully it will pay for a new F75 for next year! Anyone is always welcome to hunt with me too. I don't mind sharing sites with people who respect them, and I enjoy seeing people dig awesome finds just as much as I like digging them.
Click to expand...

You sound like the same hunter type as me lol "all business" here too I would love to join you someday if I get back East lots of treasures there :)
 
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