Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Should I upgrade?

Donneybrook

Donneybrook

Elite Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
4,340
Hey guys, so I've been metal detecting for 8 years now. From 2011 to 2014 I used a $74 Barska Pro, from 2014 to present I've used a $200 Fisher F2. Should I upgrade to a Garret AT Pro? Is it worth the money?? Will an AT Pro be so amazing that it'll make up the money spent/save a lot of effort? They are waterproof too right?
 
It just depends....In your AO, I figured you'd be a waterbaby or a sandpiper?
That F2 is a money maker in parks and whatnot..It has a decent reputation of being one massive clad hammer and jewelry finder...So its ROI positive in a very short time nearly everywhere....

You should check to see if any members live nearby you that own a Pro and meet up and give it a swing or two...Its not as comfortable rig to run compared to your F2...The Pro sure kills gold in fresh water, and we have a few parkies and cladders that kill gold/clad/silver in the dirt with it as well..so its a viable rig that in the right hands and right AO it can easily pay for itself year after year.......

It just depends on how fast you paid off that F2 or what your hunting options are there in Tallahassee...:?:
 
Mud-puppy said:
It just depends....In your AO, I figured you'd be a waterbaby or a sandpiper?
That F2 is a money maker in parks and whatnot..It has a decent reputation of being one massive clad hammer and jewelry finder...So its ROI positive in a very short time nearly everywhere....

You should check to see if any members live nearby you that own a Pro and meet up and give it a swing or two...Its not as comfortable rig to run compared to your F2...The Pro sure kills gold in fresh water, and we have a few parkies and cladders that kill gold/clad/silver in the dirt with it as well..so its a viable rig that in the right hands and right AO it can easily pay for itself year after year.......

It just depends on how fast you paid off that F2 or what your hunting options are there in Tallahassee...:?:
Click to expand...

Well thats the thing, i found this one place that is virtually untouched and i'd love to hunt it better cause i know there's gold out here. My biggest thing is will it help me discriminate better than the Fisher F2 or not. If its discrim is extremely superior, then id probably buy it in a heartbeat. I just want to know is purchasing the machine justifiable when i already have a good F2. It would be nice to be able to hunt water/beaches for once too.
 
Theres a few really clean used AtPros for sale on the Forum right now...If I had to sweep a large salt beach dry sand towel line, I'd be swinging that F2...its just a whole lot more ergonomic and fast...FWIW, I have the F70 and the AtPro, and they do make a really well rounded team for just about anything I'm liable to get myself into up here in Michigan...I sweep the big sand beaches here with the 70, and then into the water with the Pro...
 
Mud-puppy said:
Theres a few really clean used AtPros for sale on the Forum right now...If I had to sweep a large salt beach dry sand towel line, I'd be swinging that F2...its just a whole lot more ergonomic and fast...FWIW, I have the F70 and the AtPro, and they do make a really well rounded team for just about anything I'm liable to get myself into up here in Michigan...I sweep the big sand beaches here with the 70, and then into the water with the Pro...
Click to expand...

is it worth it for the discrimination though?
 
I've not used either of the detector.
But I have been around many different people running different detector.
And what I can tell you is, that using MORE discrimination typically gets you LESS trash and LESS gold.

Using LESS discrimination typically gets you MORE Trash and MORE Gold.

Some machines do a little better at "guessing" what the target is.
But the fact is, you pretty much have to dig more trash to get more gold with all detectors.

I know I've missed a lot of Gold. I grow tired of digging junk targets quickly.
Honestly, in parks or high trash areas I don't usually dig any thing under a 60 vdi on my detector.

I'd say the Garrett will find Gold a little better. But it's up to you to figure out if it is Gold.

Pretty much, what I'm trying to tell you is.
If you want Gold you better be OK with digging more.

Unless I'm relic hunting, I don't like digging more.
 
use what you have and dig everything, let shovel discriminate good finds from bad but if you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket, there should be some good machine coming up for sale with AT Max, Minelab Equinox surfacing soon.
 
I went from using Tesoros, (still do), to an F2 just to use on vacations but I enjoyed swinging and learning that thing so much it became my prime for three seasons.
I found a ton...silver gold and a whole lot of coins...paid for the thing 10x's over.

I wanted to upgrade, didn't go in the water much so I stayed in the Fisher line because I learned the Fisher language and behavior pretty well and hoped it would all transfer to the upper end models.
Was aiming for an F75 but a fire sale price on a brand new F70 fell into my lap...and now after 3.5 years I thank the MD gods it did on almost every hunt.
Now with the Patriot out there with a big DD coil at that ridiculous price that can do what it does I find it completely mind blowing.

Using the F2 I knocked out iron 99% of the time, with the F70 that is not necessary and I can hunt in all metal or very low disc easily.
My bucket list is way shorter now than it used to be.

All kinds of great tools out there at all price points nowadays...it is a great time to be a detectorist.
 
The Atpro is a great detector but if I were you I would wait till the Minelab Equinox is out, It looks to be the most revolutionary new detector out ever! Patience pays!!!
 
There's a near mint AT Pro with both coils for the price of a standard AT Pro in the classifieds by RT6detectors!

I'd jump on that!
 
I found more land gold with my ATP than all the other detectors I've owned. I ran very little discrimination and was tuned in on the tone and VDI of gold with the ATP. There is no doubt that the ATP is a better all around detector than the F2. The F2 has quite a fan club here and Digger made some amazing finds, but you pay more for more features and more performance. That is a simple truth.

Now, if you're not going into the water then that F2 will probably serve your purpose if you want to dig it all to get jewelry. If you can afford it I would say yes, an upgrade to the ATP would be worth it.

GL and HH.
 
There are certainly machines on the market that will outperform the F2. But you are the one who will have to decide if the expense is worth the increase in depth, discrimination, target Id, Etc that other machines offer.

I started with higher dollar machines. Took me a few months to understand one of them. I thought that I had wasted a lot of money. Now I love that machine.

When I decided I wanted a machine for the beach and water I sold three highly collectable custom made knives that I had been able to acquire over the years.

Purchased the machine with the money and had money left over. The machine has paid for itself numerous times over the past few years.

Only you can decide thru research whether a different machine is worth the investment to you.

I am an old phart and detecting keeps me moving giving some much needed exercise. So it is not all about the finds as there are a lot of benefits from detecting.
 
Will an upgrade to the ATP increase your finds ?.....maybe , maybe not. Too many factors to consider. What you find has more to do with where you hunt and how often than the machine used. An upgraded detector can increase your " potential " but its not an automatic guarantee of more or better finds , they have to be there and you have to hunt often in order to get to them.

In my opinion , the ATP does not have discrimination as one of its best strengths. I dont care for the discrimination ability myself , even though it is adequate. But the strength of the pro is in how it alerts you to more targets that other detectors would remain silent on.....at first it drives you crazy but with experience on the machine you develop a mental filter that allows you to make the decision instead of the detector , which is ultimately better than discrimination. If you want waterproof and cant wait to see how the new and affordable minelab equinox is going to pan out , then the ATP , ATG , ATM are the way to go. If waterproof isnt necessary then there are plenty of other options available that are just as good if not better than the AT series from Garrett. I really like my AT pro , but its not necessarily the " best " at anything....it just does a decent job at many things. Like a swiss army knife , you can do more with it than the others , its just not necessarily the best at anything in particular.
 
Yea I see an ATPro in the classifieds for $440, I heard he would be willing to take a little less. ;)
 
Ive never used an F2 but ive used the AT pro and gold. Great mid range machines, with high end machine comparisons. Id go for it, HH!
 
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