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Truly can't decide. Minelab, Garrett or Fisher.

CerealEyes

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2017
Messages
43
The Xterra is $600, ATP around $550, and the f70 is $499.

The Xterra seems comparable in quality and options to the ATP but isn't water proof. The reviews are generally favorable.

The f70 is a great deal, but isn't water proof and the reviews on YouTube and forums seem mixed. But some people love it.

The AT Pro is clearly very popular but is that just good marketing? Time and again you see "can't go wrong with atp!" But is that mostly because everyone and their dog has one and it's generally good so people don't really know?

I'm a strong beginner but super committed and just want to make a good purchase! It seems like the general rule of thumb is any machine learned well, will work.

But we're still talking hundreds of dollars! So I want to make a wise purchase.

Then there's coils. Would any of these not work great with their stock coils? Should I care that much at this stage?

Such a difficult decision :(

Sincerely,

Confused in Utah

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(Talking about the Xterra 705 in all cases).

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Also a local dealer told me he only does whites because Garrett's has a published 1/4 return rate.

That seemed like salesman hype but it definitely didn't help!

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Do you know anything about your soil mineral levels in general???

If they are medium high or higher,,this does make some detectors better choices.
 
Do you know anything about your soil mineral levels in general???

If they are medium high or higher,,this does make some detectors better choices.
Hmm, great question. I'm in salt lake City, but I don't know whether we're mineral-y or not. Roughly 5% of my hunting will be at one of the saltiest beaches in the world, but that is definitely the exception, not the rule.

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I think you'll find that all those machines are just fine. They will all find metal. The AT pro is more than just great marketing. You should swing all three at a dealer and see which one you like in regard to ergonomics and tones. If you intend to do any water hunting your choice among those three is obvious.
 
I have an AT Pro & love it in my moderately mineralized ground. I found a clad dime 7" deep that IDed as dime on every pass.

I used to have a Fisher F70 that would give me beeps that sounded like coins & gave me coin #s, but nothing was found. These signals were not present with any other detector. I remember 1 review saying it would probably pick up hot rocks at 10", not sure if that is what I kept hearing, & I kept threshold at minus numbers & sensitivity way below max.

I used a Minelab X-Terra 70 & it requires a slow sweep, which is harder on my back, and nickels were IDed correctly to only 1" in my moderately mineralized soil. Never found a coin beyond 5" & getting wrong IDs at that depth. Others who've done better may have different soils.
 
The AT Pro has been the leading seller for years, BUT Garrett is about to announce a new machine and it may be a replacement/upgrade of the AT Pro. You might want to wait a few weeks before making the decision.

GL & HH
 
At pro is the best all around.....Xterra has many great features,but forget the frequency change,you'll go broke buying coils...Fisher probably the fastest and deepest of the three but a bigger learning curve.
I like them all,and have owned them all.My money would be on the at pro,but a hard decision,that's a tough one with three great units...good luck
 
Really, it depends on a number of things. Type of soil & mineral content, what you're wanting to find, and the sort of sites that you will hunt should all be considered (among other things) when making your selection.
 
Also a local dealer told me he only does whites because Garrett's has a published 1/4 return rate.

That seemed like salesman hype but it definitely didn't help!
Salesman hype? Possibly, but if he/she states it is a 'published' return rate, find out the source and check it yourself.

Also, verify what is meant by "return rate" as that could mean returned to the factory for service/repair, or it could mean returned to a major detector dealer/distributor for a trade-up to something different.

Also, check when this 'published' information was printed as it might have been from a decade or two back where some of the Garrett products were not in the upper class of quality and performance at times.


I'm in salt lake City, but I don't know whether we're mineral-y or not. Roughly 5% of my hunting will be at one of the saltiest beaches in the world, but that is definitely the exception, not the rule.
I am a native Utahan and have hunted that 'salt zone' a fair amount in years past. I also am familiar with the ground mineral make-up of many parts of Utah and it varies, but is generally more mineralized than places I have hunted in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and elsewhere.

There are a lot of avid detectorists along the 'front' and quite a few novice beginners who come and go. I live in Eastern Oregon, just across the Idaho border, but I will be passing through Utah on my way to a Welcome-to-Hunt Outing held out of Wells, Nevada.

That outing, open to anyone who wants to hunt some old sites and try to find some decent older coins, trade tokens or artifacts, will be May 18th thru the 21st. You could meet a lot of people there and get some answers from many savvy detector users, and join in the fun as well.

Also, I will be in Ogden on Monday, May 8th for a metal detecting club meeting, Trails West Artifact Society, and if you wandered up there to that club meeting you would, once again, meet a lot of interesting detection hobbyists.

I'd be glad to meet up with you on my trip through, before or after the club meeting or perhaps the next day or two as I plan to get in a lot of metal detecting in and around Ogden as I make my way to see some of my kids and grandkids, then head to the Nevada Outing.

If you don't have a detector yet, I wouldn't mind showing you my 'Regular-Use' detectors and helping to answer any questions you might have about the models you've mentioned you have an interest in, or others. I have owned F75 but not the 70. Just used one. I had three Minelab X-Terra's and used the newer versions, and have had and used the Garrett AT Pro.

Like every other detector user I have formed my own opinions about them, but it is also dependent upon the type of detecting you plan to do. Let me ask, what detector do you have now or have you had? How much experience do you have in metal detecting? What types of sites do you plan to search for what type of hunting? Urban Coin Hunting? Older rural sites for Relic Hunting?

If you can make the meeting, let me know so we can meet up. Interested in the Outing or have any questions I might help you with directly? Just send me an e-mail.

Monte
 
The Xterra is $600, ATP around $550, and the f70 is $499.

Then there's coils. Would any of these not work great with their stock coils? Should I care that much at this stage?

Such a difficult decision :(


All of those are single frequency machines with software to help compensate for heavily mineralized soils. On paper, if you compared all three units with the same size coil and same settings, the differences would be marginal at best.

ATP is waterproof so that is pro if you want to hunt creeks, lakes, or just get stuck in the rain.

Coil size is the biggest factor in depth. All have aftermarket coils.


Now if you were comparing any of those to a multi-frequency detector like the Safari, CTX, Etrac, Excalibur, CZ3d, CZ21, or V3i, then there will be a noticeable difference in performance when you are hunting in heavily mineralized ground or salt water. In those challenging conditions, these detectors work with little to no change. Meanwhile a single frequency detector will require the sensitivity to be reduced to avoid false signals and irradic behavior. Anyhow, you are in Utah, so a multi-frequency machine is probably not necessary.
 
Salesman hype only lasts a few months once a detector hits the market. The AT Pro has more than proved itself a true contender and not just hype.
 
I have swung the AT Pro for nearly 4 years now and the only problem I've had with it was a blister under the decal on the panel faceplate.
I called Garrett and they sent me three new decals with instructions how to remove the old and apply the new.
They also sent me some neat Garrett hat patches and a really cool Garrett Jacket patch.
As if that wasn't enough they also sent me a book on gold panning and a DVD on using my metal detector.
I have hunted with people swinging etrac's and Minelabs and my AT Pro has matched or outpaced them find for find.
I did ditch the awkward 8 1/2X 11" coil three years ago and opted for the snappy 5X8 DD, and never looked back.
I don't have another machine to compare the AT Pro to, but I will say for the money and the performance, the next metal detector I buy to replace this AT Pro will be another AT Pro.

AT Pro/GPP-AT/Fiskars Diggers
 
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