What's a good detector for a beginner?

What's a good detector for a beginner?

  • Tesoro Compadre

    Votes: 81 7.7%
  • Tesoro Silver uMax

    Votes: 48 4.6%
  • Fisher F2

    Votes: 213 20.3%
  • Garrett At Pro

    Votes: 119 11.4%
  • Garrett Ace 250, 350

    Votes: 270 25.8%
  • Bounty Hunter Tracker IV

    Votes: 81 7.7%
  • Xterra 305, 505

    Votes: 35 3.3%
  • Whites Coinmaster, Coinmaster Pro

    Votes: 81 7.7%
  • BH Discovery 1100, 2200, 3300

    Votes: 22 2.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 98 9.4%

  • Total voters
    1,048
I started with a Whites Classic II found some really nice stuff with it, Then I "upgraded" to a Garrett GTAX 1000 never really got the hang of it before my friend and hunting partner passed away and I stopped hunting for alomost 20 years. Just picked up a Minelab Xterra 705 and am loving it I have already made some nice finds in just a few hunts
 
Sorry if you've heard this already, but this poll is going to be skewed because in order for me (a newbie) to view the results, I'll need to vote. Being a newbie, I don't know the best detector for a new user so my input will be bad.

Am I correct in this?

Try logging out. Before I joined and logged in I could see the poll. After I joined and logged in I had to vote to see the poll. Hope that works for you.
 
Tesoro compadre

With out a doubt the TESORO COMPADRE:wow WHERE ELSE CAN YOU GET A NEW DETECTOR FOR $ 160.00 AND a "LIFE TIME WARRANTY"AND LOVES SILVER & GOLD:D---JAMES
 

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I've used Whites, bounty hunter, garrett, minicab, and now xp deus. Nothing comes close to the deus, but, my friend wants to get into detecting and I asked her about her needs. Cost, Light weight, compact for travel, ground balance, ease of use/learning curve were all very important. So, she just ordered the pro find 60 from mine lab. It meets most of her wish list and will give her opportunity to enjoy our hobby
 
Purchasing AT Pro

I will be purchasing my AT Pro in about 3 weeks. Who would i contact on here for a great deal? Here is what I have been offered. AT Pro, Orange Pin Pointer, Coil Cover and shipping - $640.
 
Fisher F2 is GREAT beginner detector as well as useful to veteran detectorists. Sniper coil on F2= deadly coin shooter that can find, coins, jewelry , relics and precious metals... found the gamut with mine and customers that I have suited up with the F2 have all come back and thanked me for helping pick out the perfect beginner detector.

Great feedback from actual users...gotta love it!
 
Bounty Hunter IV

I re-entered metal detecting with the Bounty Hunter IV for a number of reasons:

#1. Cost: The IV can be had at Hobby Lobby for about $60 + tax with their 40% off coupon (on main web page) if you go pick it up.

#2. It had decent reviews; not pro-grade reviews, but a lot of seasoned veterans seemed to think it a capable machine, given all its limitations, so for the price, I thought it a good risk.

#3. Time and energy I could devote to the hobby. Not much, a tad on weekdays and a few hours on the weekend, so investing in a +$600 machine didn't seem to make sense for me at this moment in time.

#4. Limited access to hunting sites; the area I live in is notoriously difficult to get permission to hunt, so I had to weigh cost VS access.

#5. A lower-end, but reasonable machine makes you work harder at IDing the targets, so I thought if I could become fairly well versed in interpreting the signals of a lower-end machine, it would make using a higher-end machine all that much better, provided I do upgrade sometime in the future.

I will say that the meter on this machine is useless; it pegs on every signal, so its only marginally useful as a locating device, but tells you nothing about depth. You're better off listening to the tone to try to determine depth and target composition.

I am still having issues pinpointing targets depending upon the make-up of the target, but that should minimize with more use. Seems the ferrous targets that have been in the ground for a long time tend to throw me off and the location tends to wander around when I dig, but the non-ferrous targets can be located fairly accurate.

It took me a while to understand how swinging velocity could make you misinterpret ferrous as non-ferrous, but now understand that (for the most part) a slower, steady sweep will allow you to hear a ringing tone vs a broken tone. Of course, some targets will fool you if they are large enough and have been in the ground long enough, but as a general rule, if you sweep slow and steady AND the signal appears in both the horizontal and vertical axis of the sweep, it's generally a target worth digging. I have found that tones that only appear in one direction are heavily rusted iron or steel, but that is not 100% true.

I also started out digging way too deep to find most targets; now I only dig shallow or probe to try to find the object before I dig on down. Saves time and effort...

Anyway, the Bounty Hunter IV probably won't stand a chance against any mid to upper class metal detector, but it is a reasonable machine to start or re-start the hobby of metal detecting, and the price is right.
 
I re-entered metal detecting with the Bounty Hunter IV for a number of reasons:

#1. Cost: The IV can be had at Hobby Lobby for about $60 + tax with their 40% off coupon (on main web page) if you go pick it up.

#2. It had decent reviews; not pro-grade reviews, but a lot of seasoned veterans seemed to think it a capable machine, given all its limitations, so for the price, I thought it a good risk.

#3. Time and energy I could devote to the hobby. Not much, a tad on weekdays and a few hours on the weekend, so investing in a +$600 machine didn't seem to make sense for me at this moment in time.

#4. Limited access to hunting sites; the area I live in is notoriously difficult to get permission to hunt, so I had to weigh cost VS access.

#5. A lower-end, but reasonable machine makes you work harder at IDing the targets, so I thought if I could become fairly well versed in interpreting the signals of a lower-end machine, it would make using a higher-end machine all that much better, provided I do upgrade sometime in the future.

I will say that the meter on this machine is useless; it pegs on every signal, so its only marginally useful as a locating device, but tells you nothing about depth. You're better off listening to the tone to try to determine depth and target composition.

I am still having issues pinpointing targets depending upon the make-up of the target, but that should minimize with more use. Seems the ferrous targets that have been in the ground for a long time tend to throw me off and the location tends to wander around when I dig, but the non-ferrous targets can be located fairly accurate.

It took me a while to understand how swinging velocity could make you misinterpret ferrous as non-ferrous, but now understand that (for the most part) a slower, steady sweep will allow you to hear a ringing tone vs a broken tone. Of course, some targets will fool you if they are large enough and have been in the ground long enough, but as a general rule, if you sweep slow and steady AND the signal appears in both the horizontal and vertical axis of the sweep, it's generally a target worth digging. I have found that tones that only appear in one direction are heavily rusted iron or steel, but that is not 100% true.

I also started out digging way too deep to find most targets; now I only dig shallow or probe to try to find the object before I dig on down. Saves time and effort...

Anyway, the Bounty Hunter IV probably won't stand a chance against any mid to upper class metal detector, but it is a reasonable machine to start or re-start the hobby of metal detecting, and the price is right.

Good thoughts on the Bounty Hunter IV !

It is my first detector (brand new) which I should be able start practicing with later this week !

I understand might be a few who might say such a low end detector is not worth getting (and they are entitled to their opinions, no hard feelings to them !) but I have read a lot of reviews where people are happy with their Bounty Hunter IV.

Would it be nice to have a high end super deluxe model ? Sure ! But if someone is starting out on a very tight budget for fun "hobby stuff" and it is what they can afford right now, isn't that better than not getting anything at all ? (and you can always save up for a higher end model to get later on while enjoying the model you can afford now !)

I even looked at used higher end models but even used was much more than what I paid for the Bounty Hunter IV, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I know how to be content and have the most fun with what I can afford at the present time.

I hope this is an encouragement to newbies on a tight budget !
 
Another one I would put in your possible choices is, Whites new Treasure Pro, packed with a lot of the bells and whistles as far more expensive models, but way cheaper, good reviews, I might get one for my Wife.
 
Good thoughts on the Bounty Hunter IV !

It is my first detector (brand new) which I should be able start practicing with later this week !

I understand might be a few who might say such a low end detector is not worth getting (and they are entitled to their opinions, no hard feelings to them !) but I have read a lot of reviews where people are happy with their Bounty Hunter IV.

Would it be nice to have a high end super deluxe model ? Sure ! But if someone is starting out on a very tight budget for fun "hobby stuff" and it is what they can afford right now, isn't that better than not getting anything at all ? (and you can always save up for a higher end model to get later on while enjoying the model you can afford now !)

I even looked at used higher end models but even used was much more than what I paid for the Bounty Hunter IV, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I know how to be content and have the most fun with what I can afford at the present time.

I hope this is an encouragement to newbies on a tight budget !


It's what I started it with and it paid for itself 2 or 3 times over...it really is a solid machine! Take the time to learn it and it WONT let you down!!! I still use it on tot lots my Whites gets very chattery around the playground equipment and the BH Tracker IV doesn't.....
 
Another one I would put in your possible choices is, Whites new Treasure Pro, packed with a lot of the bells and whistles as far more expensive models, but way cheaper, good reviews, I might get one for my Wife.

Sounds good getting one for your wife, my .......wife would enjoy the part of seeing any really good finds I dig up :detector::woot:

It's what I started it with and it paid for itself 2 or 3 times over...it really is a solid machine! Take the time to learn it and it WONT let you down!!! I still use it on tot lots my Whites gets very chattery around the playground equipment and the BH Tracker IV doesn't.....

Sounds very encouraging ! .....if I start finding enough good stuff to pay for this one 2 or 3 times over, it might help me upgrade later on :excited:
 
What i started with, found more coins with the bh than my omega lol. I was so use to the sounds it was like cloxkwork once you learn it.
 
BH Landstar

I bought a used Bounty Hunter Land Star. I got it for 200.00
and it's an amazing machine. I was able to find everything that I find with my high end Fisher and Whites machines now. It just takes some time and dedication to learning it's language. Just look up reviews on it and see. It's a real sleeper.... my son still uses mine on hunts, and has no trouble keeping up with me.
 
A few weeks ago I bought my 12-year old daughter a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV on Amazon.com for like 89 bucks, so she could go with me detecting once in awhile (I have a White's V3i). Needless to say she is killing it--she's drawn "first blood" all three times we've gone out, and one of the three times she beat me on coin count. The machine struggles in high trash areas, but when we go to parks or sports complexes that are typically lower trash, she absolutely cleans up. The machine has two knobs and one switch--perfect for a beginner.
 
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