What is your main detector?

I don't really have a main detector. I enjoy hunting with vintage machines but I guess the ones that I use the most are my 2500, CZ-6 and an original Silver Sabre.
 
favorite detector

I have 2 detectors a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV with 2 coils , and a Fisher F4 with 2 coils . The Fisher is my main detector espically now that i added a 4" coil. I took the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV with the 4"coil to the Philippines this year to hunt in all metal on the beaches there , lots of trash and coins are diffrent metal contents any way.
 
Land is AT pro. From parks to fields in Europe. I have one at home. Leave my 2nd AT pro in Europe for when I am there for work. Store it at a friends.
Saltwater black sand beaches in socal was whites DFPI
Have a sovereign GT as backup for land and wet sand. And just for fun sometimes. Its a solid quality machine
ACE 250 as my first detector. I leave at the ranch in Montana. Great detector for people to try for fun. Though thinking of getting another AT pro to leave in MT.
 
AT Pro, and just picked up an Etrac. I've only used the Etrac for a few hours so far and feel they compliment each other nicely - depending on location/targets. I see myself using both regularly depending on the situation, and will eventually add a PI machine to the rotation for saltwater hunting.
 
I have 2 detectors, a Bounty Hunter Junior & a Harbor Freight 9-Function. :D

They both work great for me and each have different features that the other doesn't have, but I prefer to use the Harbor Freight most of the time. :mder:
 
Tesoro Compadre
Tesoro Compadre waterproofed
BH Prospector

Started with the BH, which isn’t used anymore, love my Compadres.

Considered a Eurotek Pro or BH land ranger pro, but just couldn’t do it

Want a FBS or BBS one of these days for the few times I get out in salt or black sand.
 
Bounty Hunter TK4 for the dry sand.
Tesoro SandShark for the wet sand and shallows.

Since low tide shallows make for the best hunting around here, I guess that makes the SandShark my main, but the TK4 still gets a good bit of use, since the tides aren't always favorable and the dry sand is good for fresh drops.

Neither is top of the line in it's field, but both do their job quite well and I'm very satisfied with them. :D
 
I currently have 5 detectors:
Tesoro Sand Shark for salt water
White's Mx Sport for fresh water
Minelab X-Terra 705 for the dirt
The other 2 I guess would be loaners,
X-Terra 305 and a Fisher F-22, I really like both the X-Terra and the Mx Sport but I am picking up an Equinox 800 and hope it will be my new fresh water and dirt machine.
 
I have five but three just sit in a corner gathering dust(a pair of Bounty hunter 202s and an old Whites classic SL ll)

My main ones I take everywhere are a Macro racer 2 with stock coil only and a Whites MX5 with four coils, a 5.3", stock 9" concentric, 10" double D, and 12" concentric.

The racer is good but I just can't bond with it like the MX5.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk
 
Was the V3i, the past two seasons the Etrac........but I'm moving back to my V3i
 
I only have 2 detectors at any one time, with multifunctional detectors like the Rutus, Impact and the soon to be released Equinox, i don't see the need to own 10+detectors.

My main detector is the Signum MFD, most of my sites are ancient pastures, many haven't seen a plough in living memory, and on these sites depth is king, and from the detectors i've owned the Signum wins this hands down.
I have other sites that have a 1000yrs of habitation and you need an iron sifter here, and i'm waiting to see what the Equinox has in this department, otherwise I'll go back to the Rutus 71 for that purpose.

I don't get it when folk say they take several detectors along for a days detecting, perhaps i just like to keep it simple.
 
'ghound,' I can appreciate your feelings, but I guess I take a little different approach because I'm relying on 53 years of detecting a wide range of challenging sites, as I am sure you do, and through the years of this process I consider not only a detector model and what it can do, but the available search coils for them and how they might, or might not, benefit me where I enjoy detecting.


I only have 2 detectors at any one time, with multifunctional detectors like the Rutus, Impact and the soon to be released Equinox,...
There you go! You have only two but your are going to add a 3rd. No harm-no foul, and I have owned at least 2 to 4 detectors since late '71, simply because some offer a complement to another, and some also have a different search coil I like to use.

Several times, even in this past 10-15 years, I have trimmed my personal arsenal to 2 or 3, or maybe 4 detectors, sometimes for explainable reasons. I worked and that limited my detecting time and opportunities. I had some severe back issues from an injury that limited my mobility, and still does, and I had back surgery in '95.

I've dealt with several other health related issues, like a fall off a ladder that broke four ribs, fractured my skull, cracked two vertebra in my neck and ruptured my right eardrum, and that limited my detecting for quite a while. Two and a half years later they amputated (they call it 'modified') part of my left foot, and it took a few months to walk and move and that cut in on my detecting opportunities.

Add to that I was married and my income was limited compared with today and my 'budget' was spread a bit thinner. I couldn't get out often or for as long as I used to, and my allowable hunt time was more limited. What I had worked for me, and that's what I like to have. A detector battery that works for me and the places I like to search.


i don't see the need to own 10+detectors.
That I understand, and we have to consider our 'wants' and 'needs' when it comes to the selection of metal detectors as well as functional search coils. Since you're kin d of aiming your 10+ detector reference to me and my Regular-Use Detector Team, I can easily qualify my personal 'wants' and 'needs' combined with 'have-to' and 'not-have-to' considerations.

I had a Tesoro stolen in October, but I still own three (3) Tesoro detectors. They all work well and do what I would like them to do. Do I 'need' all three of them? I guess not, however two of them only have one search coil, a 6" and 7" Concentric, and I never change coils with them. The third, a Vaquero, has two coils. The 6" Concentric stays mounted, but if I have a 'want' or 'need' for a larger 8X11 DD, it's at-the-ready on a spare lower rod.

The we come to detectors I really enjoy and that work excellent for me, that feature visual Target ID and audio Tone ID as well as some functional adjustment features. They are the Nokta FORS CoRe at 15 kHz, the FORS Relic at 19 kHz, and the almost year-old Impact with selectable 5, 14 and 20 kHz options.

I have 3 Tesoro's that are non-display detectors that I use for certain applications yet are versatile in performance. My TID battery mentioned so far are three (3) Nokta detector models. Could the multi-feature and versatile Impact be an 'only' Nokta detector in my set-up? Sure it could, but why? The Relic and CoRe provide great performance, for me, as well, and even the CoRe can out-perform the Relic and Impact in some very challenging unmasking tasks, so why part with a proven performer?

So there I have 3 non-display detectors and 3 different models with visual Target ID, and many might think that those 6 detectors would be an ample detector battery, and I would totally agree. However, a detector can only do so much with one search coil, and in many applications we might want to change search coils to better handle site challenges.

Open, sparse target areas with deeper positioned targets, or low-to modest amounts of trash in some areas where a mid-sized search coil is more handy, to places with a very dense amount of discarded trash that includes a lot of nails and other iron in the mix and calls for a smaller-size search coil.

You mentioned two detectors and are planning to get an Equinox to make three detectors. You are only going to have and use one search coil per detector, correct? No optional search coils for different site needs? Just 3 detectors and 3 search coils, one for each unit?

Well, it that works for someone that's fine. I used to do that way back when. But we have more featured and more versatile detectors today, and they offer an assortment of available search coils to enhance their versatility. Maybe you have an Impact Pro Pack w/7X11 DD and 4X7½DD, and added the 7" Concentric to make 3 coils for that detector.

Maybe the Rutus only has 1 coil for it, but you get an Equinox with 2 coils. You still only have 3 detector MODELS, but a more versatile 'package' because you can interchange optional search coils to make YOUR set-up more multi-purpose.

Well, that's what I have and what I have done for many years, and that is have a multi-search coil outfit. What I have done differently, however, is make it easier on me and eliminate a lot of 'down-time' because I have my primary-use favorite search coils along with me AND keep them mounted on a duplicate detector. I have 2 Impact's with different favorite-use search coils, just like 2 Relics and 2 CoRe's with different coils on each.

I simply grab the detector/coil combination I 'want' and 'need' for a site I encounter, and if I want to change to a different detector make/model or change the search coil I use, it is quick and easy. When I am off for a long journey, like a week or two or three, and want to hunt a wide variety of sites, I might take most or all of my Regular-Use Detectors along. However, on a day-to-day adventure I usually tote just 2 to 4.

And my arsenal is growing next year. The 6 Nokta and 3 Tesoro models bring be to 9 detectors, and my new White's MX-7 makes a total of 10 detectors. I really like the 6½ Inch Concentric coil on my MX-7 and it is going to stay mounted full-time. But I'll save up and buy another MX-7 early in 2018, bringing my Regular Use Detector Outfit to 11, but that one will keep the standard 950 Concentric coil mounted.

Very seldom to I make a coil change because I have an arsenal of only 4 TID detector models, but they are duplicated so as to always have one with a favorite useful search coil hooked up and ready-to-go.


My main detector is the Signum MFD, most of my sites are ancient pastures, many haven't seen a plough in living memory, and on these sites depth is king, and from the detectors i've owned the Signum wins this hands down.
Glad you found a make/model that satisfies one of your 'needs' and 'wants.'


I have other sites that have a 1000yrs of habitation and you need an iron sifter here, and i'm waiting to see what the Equinox has in this department, otherwise I'll go back to the Rutus 71 for that purpose.
The bulk of my chosen hunt sites, while not as old as those you have, are terribly littered with a dense amount of nails, smaller iron and rusty tin and shards of tin. That's why I have what I have in the way of detectors and preferred smaller-size search coils. There's no 'perfect' detector ,so I like a set of makes and models that complement each other.


I don't get it when folk say they take several detectors along for a days detecting, perhaps i just like to keep it simple.
I 'keep it simple' ... I don't have to swap search coils a lot, I SIMPLY grab a detector/coil combination that's ready-to-go.

And if I am just heading out to detect today, or I am going to go somewhere on another day, I just take 1, 2, 3 or maybe 4 detectos along. But on a lengthier journey, like several days or a week or two, then I take along more detectors. Why, because I 'want' to and I might 'need' them.

Monte
 
No, i only have 1 detector at the moment, the AKA, but with 3 differing coil sizes covering a variety of frequencies i have most of my scenarios covered, but i don't have a separate detector for each coil lol, am i missing targets by not taking an 'arsenal' of multiple detectors, some the same model with different coils sizes on a hunt? If i am i'd bet the % is extremely low.
One of my sites requires me to hike just over a mile, my rucksack with 2 or 3 coils is easier carried than 2 or 3 similar detectors with different size coils.

If owning multiple machines is your thing and it brings enjoyment, then power to you, personally i still don't get it, folk talking about 'arsenals of detectors' and having separate units for each coil, etc etc, just seems excessive with little gain, but that's just my view of course.
 
Depending on location and conditions my go to detector is a Fisher CZ-21 on the beaches and away from the water or just dry sand I usually grab my AT Pro. Both have paid for themselves several times over.
 
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