Pre-Beginner with MD question

G

gregma

New Member

Joined

Mar 19, 2006

Messages

4

• Mar 19, 2006

• #1

Greetings everyone!

Well, I have always been interested in getting involved with "treasure hunting" and metal detectors and finally am ready to take the plunge and get to it.

My budget for a detector is around $500 (I'm willing to go a hundred or so higher for a significantly better detector)

My interests are:

70% land based (parks, farms, etc)
15% slightly wet (freshwater beaches, saltwater beaches above the waterline)
10% more wet (both freshwater lakes and beaches, no more than a foot or two deep)
5% prospecting for gold, silver.

What we'd like to search for (in order of priority) is: jewelry, coins, relics, gold.

I'm going to be mainly in the western washington state area, if that matters (this probably means lots of rain work )

Any advice, opinions, websites, hints, etc are VERY welcome!

 

hoser

Forum Supporter

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Jan 10, 2006

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8,097

Location

Grayling, MI.

• Mar 19, 2006

• #2

Hiya Greg, and welcome to the forum. Most all detectors will work in shallow water, the only concern is if you drop it, or get it significantly wet the electronics will short out, and then your in a world of hurt. Whites makes a very good land beach detector the BEACH HUNTER(around $630). Garrett also makes one, around $600+. Fisher also makes one. I use my land detector in the water, but I'm REALLY careful as to not get it wet, not even a little. I would say its up to you. If you feel confident you won't drop the machine, you can get a very nice machine in that price range. GL& HH

 

WThesing

Elite Member

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Jan 10, 2006

Messages

992

Location

Montgomery County, Pa

• Mar 19, 2006

• #3

Greg,
The best advice is to read this forum and get a picture of machines. Most all of them will do what you are looking to do. Once you start narrowing them down, download the manuals to the ones that interest you. You will gain valuable insight on operation and capability. Stay with the name brands such as Minelab, Fisher, Garrett, Tesoro. Decide what features you want. Ask questions of the other forum members. DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO SPEND YOUR CASH. TonyinCt (TC Metal Detectors) is a dealer, and sponser of this board. He is very helpfull and trustworthy. I have bought several detectors from him. Stay away from the detector superstores they will rip you off.

Regards,
Bill

 

T

TonyinCT

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Jan 11, 2006

Messages

1,899

• Mar 19, 2006

• #4

Hi Greg. Since you already have a good idea of where you want to hunt and how much you want to spend , I would suggest you look at the following ; Minelab Xtrerra 50 , Whites M6 , Tesoro Tejon and Fisher ID Edge. All of these will do nicely for your needs. Let me know if yu need any more help in your decision.

 

G

gregma

New Member

Joined

Mar 19, 2006

Messages

4

• Mar 19, 2006

• #5

Thank you for all the replies. I have been reading as many posts as possible, and I think am narrowing things down.

Tony has confirmed most of what I was thinking, the X-Terra 50, the Tesoro Teja, the Fisher ID Edge. I was however thinking of the White's MXT not the M6. Tony, is there a reason you suggested the M6 over the MXT?

So, in order of top to bottom:

MXT (M6?)
X-Terra 50
Teja
ID Edge

I need to narrow these down to 2 so I can concentrate even further. Does this sound like a good first selection?

 

G

gregma

New Member

Joined

Mar 19, 2006

Messages

4

• Mar 19, 2006

• #6

TonyinCT said:

Hi Greg. Since you already have a good idea of where you want to hunt and how much you want to spend , I would suggest you look at the following ; Minelab Xtrerra 50 , Whites M6 , Tesoro Tejon and Fisher ID Edge. All of these will do nicely for your needs. Let me know if yu need any more help in your decision.

Click to expand...

I had one more question Tony. Any opinions on the Sovereign Elite?

 

G

gregma

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Joined

Mar 19, 2006

Messages

4

• Mar 20, 2006

• #7

Final choices

Ok, I have narrowed down further to the two I think would best suit my needs. A little over my $500 budget, but hopefully the two are good choices. Can anyone assist in narrowing this down further to the one?

Whites MXT
MineLab X-Terra 50

Thoughts?

 

T

TonyinCT

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Jan 11, 2006

Messages

1,899

• Mar 21, 2006

• #8

I suggested the M6 since it was closer to your budget. Of the two remaining , go with the MXT. Overall better performance and depth.
Talk to you soon.