World's Best Gold Detector??

[Lenmcgold]

Of course lots of metal detectors can find gold. If price was "no object" - what is considered the worlds best gold detector? I know price being "no object" sounds ridiculous. Len

 

[steve herschbach]

I assume you mean for gold prospecting? Or did you mean gold jewelry? Gold coins?

Best for what? Best for finding large gold deep? Best at finding extremely fine or wire gold? Best at finding gold in the middle of an old mining camp riddled with a ton of ferrous junk? Best seller by unit numbers? Best seller by total dollar volume? Most expensive (has to be the best, right?). Most bang for the buck?

I am not trying to be difficult. I detect for lots of reasons but job one for me is finding gold. As you can see in my signature I currently use seven detector models by three manufacturers to look for gold, and I can't even swear that selection is a good choice for anyone but me and what I am currently doing. I could argue why most of those units could be swapped for something else and maybe do as good. The mix does tend to change constantly as I try new models to see if I can get an advantage one way or the other.

I promise that if there was any way I could ditch six of them and not feel like I was shorting myself I would. I could maybe let one go but on the other hand I am short an underwater PI unit at the moment.

I guess if you want to really put me on the spot and tell me I need to pick just one, and I am going to have to try and make a living with it finding gold nuggets, I would have to say the Minelab GPX 5000 is the one I would go with. But I would have to concentrate more on situations that favor it and avoid other situations. Areas with nothing but the smallest gold or places with tons of trash targets that I can navigate better with other units would leave me wanting. Much of my jewelry detecting would be shot. But the GPX is the one I would have to bet my wallet on.

Steve Herschbach

 

[au79]

Bang for my buck? I chose the Infinium LS with 8 inch mono coil. I do agree with Steve on his choice of the 5000 but out of my price range. Also, like Steve suggested, I want more than one detector for different situation. My second machine is a Garrett AT Gold (can sort thru trash like no other machine I have had) and I am saving pennies to purchase a GB2. For what I have to spend I feel these machines, for the price, will get me good results in most situations. Of course, the 5000 would get much more depth but you have to be willing to haul it around all day and dig those deep holes. Ouch! a 24 inch deep hole and it was only a piece of copper wire! I'm happy with my Infinium.

 

[Lenmcgold]

Thanks Steve and Ray! As always Steve you ask the right questions. Looking for placer gold, relatively shallow bedrock, hillsides above, alluvial areas, below mines, ravines, washes etc. Not so much jewelry or coins. I have my AT Pro for that. Thanks again, Len

 

[steve herschbach]

After sleeping on it I had to add this note. People have heard me say this before. Metal detectors are just tools. They are not worth all the drama and arguments that sometime flare up over this versus that. Think of them as open ended wrenches in a tool box. Somebody comes along and asks which open ended wrench is best. The answer is it all just depends, and almost nobody can get along with just one open ended wrench unless it is for a very specific task.

So when I talk about the detectors I use it is just me showing you what wrenches I have in my toolbox and I can tell you what I use each one for. You made need an entirely different set depending on what you are doing. Maybe an adjustable wrench works better for you then a set of open ended.

Steve Herschbach

 

[hershey1]

Right On Steve! Have you ever saw a good golfer just use 1 (one ) club? HH

 

[Hoser John]

The absolute best unit on the planet is any of the above that is being utilized properly and NOT a dust covered closet queen-Get up,get out and get it on--John

 

[steve herschbach]

n/t

 

[Lenmcgold]

Hoser - yeah get up and get out is what it's all about. If we don't keep movin we run the risk of bein "couch kings". I'm working on being an "expert" operator with my AT Pro. A "dust covered closet queen"?, I do have one I bought in 1973 - a Garrett Cache Hunter BFO with a combo 5" and 11" coil. Yeah almost 40 years old. Still works great and looks like new.
Someday I may sell it as a vintage sort of collector's item.

 

[Hoser John]

Amen Steve as all units--no matter what insane prices paid-are ONLY as good as the operator a swingn' that thang-John

 

[parrott]

Hoser Ol' friend, ya' have a knack to get to the quick, let me add...also be sure to use it in a metalliferous
area where gold can be found with a metal detector.