Help in choosing?

[mrmerck]

Greetings!

After a teaser of a warm day here in Virginia I feel my itch to own a MD growing.

My choices I have come up with are the M6, MXT, or the MXT PRO.

About me
1.I have never owned a MD
2. I want to own one for coin shooting and possibly work my way into relic hunting.
3.Again, I am a newbie willing to learn but I do not want a high tech piece of equipment that I get frustrated with and it ends up in a closet collecting dust;

What are REALISTIC expectations for my first 6 months of owning one of the above? Do books help or is hands on in the field the best learning tool?

Given what I`ve told youm which of the above 3 would you choose?

Many thanks!

 

[starvin]

As a newbie myself, I have a similar problem. My problem about the choice though was made for me just before Christmas. My wife bought my MXT PRO. It was a birthday present for me. I too was not an MD er. I was on the White's website and my wife noticed what I was doing. She bought the Foster book and the MXT PRO at the same time. Read what you can and if you live in an area where you can get out and use the machine. Ask all of the questions you can and these people, god bless them all, are willing to help. I have had moments of wondering if I hadn't picked up an electronic liar as I have dug like crazy more bottle caps than I ever thought were manufactured. Welcome! It is a real hoot to learn. I just had to learn that knowledge is sometimes not easy to come by. Marv

 

[Hunt4Fun]

Hi mrmerck,

The M6, MXT and MXT Pro are all powerful, easy to use machines. A beginner can quickly learn to use them. However, these machines will continue to teach you for years.

The M6 is a silent search (no threshold) coin & jewelry hunter. It can be operated in single tone or 7 Tone ID mode. The M6 was designed to be a good coin & jewelry detector that can be used as an OK relic hunter.

The MXT is a powerful & versatile threshold based detector. It does not have 7 Tone ID like the M6. At best the MXT has 2-tone ID in one of the Relic Modes. Because of the threshold it will search a bit deeper in both the Relic and the Coin & Jewelry modes than the M6. And, it has a very good nugget hunting Prospecting mode.

The MXT Pro has all the features of an M6 & MXT, including the threshold, combined into the same detector. And, it has the additional features of a Backlight Display, Ground Grab and the ability to be locked into, hands free, pinpoint mode. The display backlight is a big help if you hunt into the evening or do night hunting. The Ground Grab will keep deep targets from being tracked out by the very fast autotrack system. And, if you ever get an in-line probe, pinpointer, the hands free lock into pinpoint mode will be helpful. The MXT Pro is an improvement on an already great detector.

I personally prefer the handle design on the MXT & MXT Pro over the S handle on the M6. The angle of the MXT/MXT Pro handle just feels more comfortable and I can hunt longer.

All three models perform well on dry sand beaches. When properly tuned they will also perform well on wet saltwater beaches. All three must be readjusted and ground balanced each time the wet dry boundary is crossed on a saltwater beach.

I realize you never mentioned gold nugget hunting. However, if you buy either the MXT or MXT Pro, you will have that ability should the opportunity ever arise.

Good Luck with your decision. You cannot go wrong with any of these machines.

Bob

 

[burried gold]

I can not comment on the 3 you listed but I have beem MDing for around 10 years and I have used Garretts, Explorers, and the DFX and I am just now getting around to buying an MXT Pro the M6 looks very easy to use no messing turn on and hunt. the MXT/MXT Pro have a few knobs to mess with which can scare some people. If you can afford to get the MXT Pro get it unless you fustrate real easy. 3-5 hunts of a couple hours each trip should be all it takes to understand what the MXT Pro is telling you. the m6 a little less time. the only problem i can see with the m6 is that it is a mid level machine when it came out and mid level machines are tomorrows low end. the MXT on the other hand has been around awhile and still considered to be one of the best all around machines. with the new enhancemets to the MXT Pro it is even better and will hold a better resale value. the key in my view is when you start coin shooting is to dig all non iron signals and pay attention to what the machine is telling you sound wise and ID wise each time. first time out don't worry about the real deep stuff try to worry about the 3" to 5" range (easy to dig) when you get to the point you know what each item sounds and looks like to the machine you can start going for the deeper stuff. if you only care about coins dig the coin range but you will miss 90% of the gold. if you want jewelry dig the mid range tones too that is where most of the trash is too. that is one thing you do not see very often on the forums is the amout of trash you have to dig to find the good stuff. I have dug thousands of pull tabs and pieces of pop cans over the last couple of years. keep in mind we all have times we get fustraded with not finding anything good. but the times that you do find a piece of jewelry, old coin, or nice relic get you through the dry spells.
do your research on the areas you are hunting to know where the best spots are.
Join a local treasure club or metal detecitng club most are real cheap. mine meets once a month and is $20 a year there is sure to be some one there that would be happy to show you the ropes and teach you how to use your new machine. even if you decide you do not want to keep going $20 is cheap lessons.
Yes get the books or borrow a copy "The MXT Edge" sounds like it is the go to book for the MXT.
Get a pinpointer even if is a cheap one it really helps.
Learn how to cut plugs or horse shoe plugs to limit damage.
Ask permission to hunt private property
Know your local laws (some areas require a permit now) your local club can help you with this stuff too.
And always always fill your holes back in.
As far as expecations for your first 6 months it all depends on how much time you put in and how much you dig. go to where the people are and have been when the run, play and lay down they loose money and jewlery.

 

[Larry (IL)]

Great post Bob, thanks.

 

[Cajuncoinhunter]

The MXT Pro IMHO is one of the BEST all around machines out there. Easy to learn too. Turn on and go hunting after a little bit of practice. Its worth every penny and if you hunt with it, you WILL find stuff worth keeping. Good luck. Cajuncoinhunter

 

[BarberBill]

Mxt/Mxt-Pro - both great machines and easy to get started with. As to the second post, all machines seem to find bottle caps and tabs every where they've been thrown. With a bit of practice you'll be able to identify the trash a fair bit of the time. With the MXT if you ease the coil so the target is at the edge it'll often help to identify bottle caps versus coins.
BB

 

[Hunt4Fun]

Hi again mrmerck,

My club conducts detector classes and I am one of the instructors. Near the start of ever beginner class I warn the attendees that metal detecting can easily become addictive ... especially if they have a detector that matches their needs. Another thing I tell them is that detecting is low impact exercise but the thrill of finding things can lull a new person into detecting much longer than they should. Being on your feet for long periods and doing a deep knee bend for every target you dig can cause even a physically fit person some muscle soreness.

The benefits of the fresh air and exercise associated with detecting is seldom talked about. Many discover after a few months of detecting that they are substantially stronger and their energy level has increased. In addition, it is nearly impossible to dwell on the problems of life while concentrating on detecting.

The book MXT Edge is truly an outstanding text for an MXT/MXT Pro user. However, it will make much more sense to you after you have some familiarity with your detector. As you gain experience, each time you read through the book more things will become clear.

I agree with Cajuncoinhunter and BarberBill. BTW, concentric coils seem to ID crown bottle caps better than DD coils. DD coils are usually better at separating targets near each other.

Happy hunting
Bob

 

[Mat in MA]

It's funny you should ask that question. I asked the same question on this forum just last month. I just couldn't decide which one of the three machines I wanted. I finally decided on the MXT. Since I don't do any night hunting the back light option doesn't do me any good.

Now that I've given myself the MXT Christmas present I've watched the video that came with it and now realize just how simple and great this machine is to use. From everything I see about it, it truely is three machines in one. It really looks like it can keep up with the big boys without the big boys cost.

I can't wait to get out there and give it a try. My problem is that there is 3 feet on snow on the ground and about another 15-20 inches on the way for tomorrow and Wednesday.

Since I can't get out I'll just have to be satisfied with watching the videos again. It's great, because the more you watch it the more you get familiar with the machine without even using it.

Once I do actually get out there and have hands on, I'll know exactly what I'm doing and not have to guess about anything, except maybe where that darn gold ring is buried .

 

[jimmy]

You will never regret getting the MXT, I have owned 30 detectors in 30 yrs and the MXT is overall the best period!

 

[Monte]

the one that you feel you can afford, with the encouragement to purchase the 5.3 Eclipse search coil. It measures about 6