Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Detector for Missouri soils

M

Missouri Mule

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Messages
74
Greetings everyone. I use to detect back in the early 90's. My best find is a lead shot from a cannon shot-shell of the Civil War era. I am now looking to get back into it. I have read dozens of articles on detectors for beginners, etc. The more I have read the more confusing it gets, as there so many claims of a certain detector being the best.
To be realistic I will probably be doing 95% of my detecting north of the Missouri River in Missouri, mostly in abandoned cities that have largely disappeared, old homestead sites, battlefields, and some parks and swim holes. My question is about the best detector for the farm soils in Missouri.
I have been considering a Garrett AT Pro, but am open to all recommendations. Thank you.
 
My recommendation would be a Minelab Xterra 705

but if I was just starting out today I would go with one of the Minelab equinox

the reason I suggested the 705 over the AT pro is this in 2009 when I first started out I lived in Ohio in a house I owned that was built in 1889 I purchased two detectors with the thought in my mind of not having to up grade any time soon so I chose the two machines I mentioned the 705 and the AT Pro.

The house I owned had a back yard that was 3/4s of an acre and also had a pretty large front yard my wife and I started detecting the back yard first with both machines I would follow behind my wife as she detected with the ATP I would use the 705 If I got a hit in an area that my wife had went over with the ATP I would have her to come back before I would dig just to see if she just missed the target or if the ATP was not seeing the target what we found was that as long as the targets were no deeper then six inches the ATP was a great detector but if they ended up being deeper than six inches the ATP would not even hit on the targets I was digging mercs and other things out of that yard that were 8-12 inches deep using the X TERRA 705 that the ATP would not even give a peep on I realized then that the ATP was and still is one of the most over rated machines on the market and the X TERRA 705 one of the most under rated

I still have both those machines and still use the 705 all the time and have never felt the need to up grade to something better, the ATP sees vary little use I keep the ATP around for one reason and thats to have a machine to loan people when they come and visit

The only thing the ATP has over The XTERRA 705 is the ATP is water proof and the 705 is not which never bothered me because I do not jump into water or hunt in the rain.

Again if I was just starting out I would probably look at purchasing one of the Equinox's
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to elaborate in your reply. The Minelab Xterra 705 is now on my radar screen. Any recommendations on coil sizes?
 
Missouri Mule said:
Thank you so much for taking the time to elaborate in your reply. The Minelab Xterra 705 is now on my radar screen. Any recommendations on coil sizes?[/QUOTE


While living in Ohio I used the 9 inch 7.5 KHz coil the most but now I live in Arizona and pretty much all my hunting is for gold nuggets so I use the 5x10 18.75 KHz coil because of the areas I hunt and for what I hunt the one coil I have heard great things about is the 3 KHz digger coil

My best find while in Ohio though was found with the 5x10 18.75 KHZ coil but that particular find could have been found with any of the coils and either machine I have but I just happened to be using the 705 at the time

the thing with the 705 is this it can run at three different frequencies but you have to change coils to run each frequency there is one manufacturer that builds a coil that you can use one coil that operates all three frequencies on the 705 but you can only run one frequency at a time,although minelab does not recommend those multi frequency coils and I have never personally used one. .

The 705 can run 3 KHz,7.5 KHz and 18.75 KHz but it can only operate one frequency at a time has manual and auto ground balance and auto ground balance tracking, also has a really good prospecting mode and a beach mode.

There is a E book that you can download and print out written by Randy Horton called Understanding your X TERRA that is full of all kinds of info on all the X TERRA line and I highly recommend downloading it and printing it out and reading it several times it is a great learning tool when it comes to the X Terra's
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for your informative reply. I see I need to do my homework as it regards choosing a new detector. There is a detectorist who lives in my area that has offered to take me out and try a few different machines. I do not know which machines he has. Perhaps, that would be a wise step. Like many newbies I want a detector that once learned can be effective in finding those hard finds, yet not so complicated that it becomes tedious. While at the same time I do not want to buy a machine that I soon discover is too basic. The Minelab Xterra 705 is definitely in the running. Thank you again.
 
metaladdict said:
Have you looked at the Minelab Equinox?
Click to expand...

I see you use both a a Garrett AT Pro and an Equinox. Can you share your thoughts on both? I am slowly getting the impression the Garrett AT Pro is overrated, but perhaps I am misinformed? Thanks
 
Missouri Mule said:
Thank you for your informative reply. I see I need to do my homework as it regards choosing a new detector. There is a detectorist who lives in my area that has offered to take me out and try a few different machines. I do not know which machines he has. Perhaps, that would be a wise step. Like many newbies I want a detector that once learned can be effective in finding those hard finds, yet not so complicated that it becomes tedious. While at the same time I do not want to buy a machine that I soon discover is too basic. The Minelab Xterra 705 is definitely in the running. Thank you again.
Click to expand...

Your thought of finding someone in your area is a great idea when I started out I was lucky enough to find a metal detector store in my area and when i went and spoke to the guy that was running the store he was gracious enough to come to my house with several detectors I was interested in and show me the differences in them it was a great help when I finally narrowed it down the guy came back again to my house and spent several hours teaching me on the two machines I ended up purchasing from him he went above and beyond what most places are willing to do today in my opinion although I always wandered if it was because of the property I owned at the time LOL him and I and my wife detected for hours with him giving us instructions on the machines we chose and when he would find something he would hand his finds to me when I told him he could keep what he found he said that was not necessary that he just wanted to make sure we were happy with what we purchased from him,had it not been for that one person willing to take the time to give my wife and I some lessons I do not know if I would have stayed with this great hobby as long as I have
 
Missouri Mule said:
I see you use both a a Garrett AT Pro and an Equinox. Can you share your thoughts on both? I am slowly getting the impression the Garrett AT Pro is overrated, but perhaps I am misinformed? Thanks
Click to expand...

I do like the Atpro a lot because of its descriptive audio which you need to use headphones to hear it all. I am pretty good finding goodies with it. I can't handle the stock coil so I got the 5by8 and it made a big difference in weight reduction. Also if I swing slow I pick out more goodies among trash!!
I like my Equinox 800 too, it picks out goodies in trash very well and deeper than my pro.
I rarely use my pro now. But I will start using my pro again soon.
 
Thanks for the reply. Is the huge price difference of about $400 between the AT Pro and Equinox 800 worth it?
 
Missouri Mule said:
Thanks for the reply. Is the huge price difference of about $400 between the AT Pro and Equinox 800 worth it?
Click to expand...

Well even though I have never used one of the Equinox you should probably look at it like this is a Ferrari worth more then a Volkswagen

with new tech coming out all the time it should be quite a bit better I would think but like I said have never used a Equinox there is always going to be yea and nay Sayers all across the board what you have to do is find the machine that suits you one person will like one thing and another will like something else it is like me with the AT PRO there are tons upon tons of people that love that machine and then there are probably a lot like me that do not care for it and it has nothing to do with it being a bad machine just was not my cup of tea.

I would look for a dealer in your area and go in and hold each in your hand that you are considering and get the dealer to show you the differences in each you may find yourself going in a completely different direction and end up with a machine that you were not even considering.
 
That sounds like a great idea. Now to find a store in my area. Again, I thank all of you for taking the time to reply.
 
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