Which model to get on $250 budget?

[moderntimber]

Greetings everyone!

I'm looking to get a metal detector that is on the less expensive side and I saw that lots of the Tesoro models had great reviews and were relatively cheap... but that's about all I know about them, so if anyone can recommend one over another please do so. I like detecting on dry sand (and get my toes wet sometimes if the water is warm) but don't mind hitting the parks too. Of course, depth is pretty important when hunting on the beach (well, anywhere I suppose)

The models I looked at were Tesoro Silver uMax, Tesoro Compadre, Bounty Hunter Discovery 1100, Fisher 1212x, mainly because they have high reviews and are $150 to 250 priced.

Ok, Thank you all, hh!!

 

[Rebel1]

NOT The Discovery 1100. For someone new starting out that wants a GOOD little detector that is easy to use and will find you a lot of Good stuff i would go with the Tesoro Compadre with #2 being the Silver Umax. JMO

 

[amcjavelin]

i'm with rebel on this stay away from discovery period!

 

[sqwaby]

Silver umax

 

[dixiedigger57]

Good used Tesoro definitely. Silver Sabre, Cutlass, Compadre, Amigo. Hard times people let go of good units cheap. saw a whites prism go for 25, nib, at estate sale! pawn shops have some good units occassionally, try it out, and talk with them to make sure it works or IF they will let you bring it back if it does not. STAY AWAY FROM FORIEGN NEW JUNK MULTI_PURPOSE JOBS THAT INTERNET IS FULL OF! REFURBISHED ONES CHEAP. THEY ARE TOO NEW TO NEED TO BE REFURBISHED TO START WITH. SEVERAL FRIENDS GOT HOOKED WITH THIS MESS, ALL PURPOSE JOBS, ALL PURPOSE JUNK! Just type in metal detectors for sale, and ebay lights up with them. Big distributors eat up with them as returns, and warranty stuff. they look neat, work like el cheapo kiddie stuff in science kits. My friends hand held pinpointer that works better, because it actually works! some older detectors are cheap, have one, they still have use and a following. Try east texas metal detectors, he has some Troy's sometimes.

 

[Rebel1]

I would check E-bay and see about a good used Compadre or you can buy a brand new one for $151. Then take the other $100 or so and look for a used or new Garrett Pro Pointer. With those 2 items you can find most anything the fellas with the $1000 detectors find and have just as much, or more, fun doing it.

 

[tab-nabit]

Yup - You said what I would have said.

 

[Jay Evans]

The Compadre or an older Amigo & take the rest and buy either a garrets pro pointer or a vibra probe to help you locate targets in the holes you'll be digging with the Powerful compadre!!
Welcome to the Hobby & Good Luck!!

 

[moderntimber]

Thank you all for the input, so this coil is ok in shallow water? I can't believe it only has one button

 

[slingshot]

Thank you all for the input, so this coil is ok in shallow water? I can't believe it only has one button

Yes, all Tesoro coils are waterproof, but NOT the housing. A month ago I would have recommended the Silver umax, but I now have a Compadre and agree with jayevans, it's a killer. You can still set the discrimination like the Silver, but because it doesn't have the low-noise, high-gain circuitry like the Silver, it can work better in iron-infested sites. Not only that, the disc. is so razor sharp, you can set it to just ignore paper clips, small nails and STILL pick up small gold chains that the Silver umax won't even pick up-even in a/m mode! I have the Silver umax, but I'm crazy about this Compadre.

 

[tab-nabit]

No buttons - just one knob.
Simplistic, effective, affordable, lightweight, warranty, quality.
Add the ProPointer and a digger and there's a small package that will give loads of fun. Headphones with volume control would also be on my list.
I don't know what's not to like about the Compadre.... well, interchangeable coil would be nice, but then again I would be using the 5.75 coil 95%+ anyway, as it's a good coil as well as a good match for the Compadre.
I have other top end detectors (F-75, V3i, EX-II, etc) and my Compadre does not sit in the closet collecting dust. I was impressed with what the little things can do and it's just plain simple & fun. Sometimes I'll grab all the bells & whistles, but more often than not I go for the simplistic fun factor and it's usually the Compadre.

 

[BarberBill]

One argument for the Silver over the Compadre is the capability to change coils on the Silver. Other than that either will do a good job in your price range although I have to say that the suggestion to buy a Compadre and spend the difference on a pinpointer is certainly a good way to go IMHO.
BB

 

[Mainer]

Also for the same money, you can pick up a clean, used Bandido II uMax. It's a manual ground balance machine with plenty of flexibility and one of the best Tesoros ever. The above suggested models are good also, I just prefer manual GB.

 

[dmckee17]

As Barber Bill stated about the coil changing abilities, that would be my only complaint. I have a Compadre with the 5.75"(?) "wired in" coil and find myself occasionally wishing for a larger coil. Even though, it "can" be changed with some cutting and soldering. Everything stated above concerning great discrimination, simplicity, being a featherweight and generally a joy to use though rings true.

 

[moderntimber]

Great feedback, thank you!!!
The only thing holding me back is the size of the coil - I played with 8, 10, and 15" coils mounted on a Minelab Sovereign GT and found that for the beach 10" is enough, maybe 12 would be perfect, with 15 being a bit big. So a coil being half of that I think you'd have to do too much swinging. Not sure what it would cost to mount a bigger coil and how it will affect performance, so I'm really leaning toward the Tesoro Silver Umax which has the 8" coil. There are some new ones on eBay selling them for 240 new with free shipping. What kind of depth can one expect from these?

 

[slingshot]

While the Compadre covers the first 4" thoroughly, you can expect the Silver umax to cover the 6" area thoroughly. At a tot lot, I found a couple of pennies at a measured 7", but the audio is really soft-headphones are recommended for deep searching as you may get a really soft signal in the 7-8" range. One recommendation by Monte that has proved true is that the Silver umax is a two-filter design and while it may have fast response, a slower sweep speed will help with the deeper targets.

 

[Sven]

For that matter, you can find many used Tesoro models selling for $250.00. Even a newer (used) Cibolas. If that now
doesn't totally confuse you in making a choice.

 

[Rebel1]

And if you look around you can find an Older Compadre with the 7" coil.

 

[Dave400]

I've had a Silver U-max for 3 or 4 years now,Found couple 1000 coins.Great machine.I use it in the water all the time.Up to the control box.Have since bought a safari.Now i use the silver as a back up.I would say you can't go wrong with a Silver U-max.

 

[slingshot]

I've had a Silver U-max for 3 or 4 years now,Found couple 1000 coins.Great machine.I use it in the water all the time.Up to the control box.Have since bought a safari.Now i use the silver as a back up.I would say you can't go wrong with a Silver U-max.

The great thing about the Silver umax is it's versatility. I put a 4" coil on mine and it's awesome. The 5.75" coil was no slouch, but the 4" coil fit my tight spot applications.