For my dad

Al19067 said:

Hey guys I'm guy my dad a MD for his birthday I have around $350 to spend, he's not that good with technology these days he's very old school lol I was thinking either getting him the Fisher f2 with an extra sniper coil or an Garrett Ace 300-350. What do u guys think?

Thanks Al

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The F2 has larger numbers on the screen, Fisher recovery speed and target separation is legendary.
The two coil sniper package is now hard to find but the sniper coil still costs very little compared to most others aftermarket.
For $350 you can probably still get the F2 and 8", the small coil and a Propointer...or close to it.

I bought the F2 to use as a backup, guest, take on vacation detector only, the Fisher because it was just as fast and good at separation as my Tesoros, a screen unit because I believed it would be easier to use for any newbie I lent it to.
What surprised me was how great it worked, how much I found and how much fun I had doing it...and how helpful those VDI numbers were.
Used it for 3 years and found a ton with he bigger coil and found way, way more when I mounted the sniper.
My $200 investment turned into over $2000 in clad, old coins, silver and gold over those three years...the fun I had hunting with it was priceless.
Even though discontinued now in favor of the newer F22 it still is available, still comes with the 5 year warranty, still was and is a favorite for many and a great choice as a beginner unit even in this modern age.

Also it is not yellow and has pleasant tones.

Tons of info and help on using this one since it has been around for awhile, from myself and many other happy owners including one of the longest most information filled thread on the net anywhere.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=53930




Plus a lot more info out there if needed.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=116326

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=164265


I assume the F22/F44 is just as capable but if you want to get a sniper, a coil that makes learning new detectors much easier IMO, on those a coil like that is over $100.

The F2 still has value even in this day and age with all that is now available, a long and storied history that so many started with and never regretted.


If he already has the handheld pinpointer thing covered and if a sniper coil is not all that important to you the F44 is a great choice in that $350 price point.
Check out the list of features you get for the money.


I am kind of a Fisher guy, can you tell?

I have never used one but from what I gather in that price range the BH Land Ranger Pro is also feature rich and has many fans.

My first set up was an F2 with a Garrett Pro Pointer. My F2 came with a fisher Pin pointer which I listed on Ebay and got about $40.00 for. That took some of the sting out of buying the Garrett PP. Now I wouldn't hunt without it.

Great info here already,can't go wrong with a fisher f2

What a great son , Congrats to you and your Dad ! HH

I have had both the Fisher F2 and the Garrett Ace 250. While I like both Garretts and Fishers I preferred the F2 over the Ace. I wish I hadn't sold it.

Teknetics Eurotek Pro.

I would suggest the Tesoro Compadre. With its lower price you could get him the accessories he needs. You mentioned he was not technology savvy, the Compadre is kind of old school, but a fantastic detector for the beginner. Plus there is a lifetime warranty.

Jason


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My first machine was a ace 350. Very easy to use the tones are vary easy to get use to. That machine found me a lot of clad. As it being my first detector I stayed in schools and parks to learn the 350. Then the hook set in and now I own a Minelab CTX 3030 A Garrett AT Gold a Garrett carrot and a TRX pinpointer. All 3 coils for the CTX and 3 Nel coils for the AT Gold. This is a hobby that is very additive . And this forum is the very best on metal detecting.

Don't forget to put a few hours on , it to make sure it's working ! HH

I say go with whatever one Digger27 recommends, this guy only recommends what he knows and likes.

Whites Treasure Pro!!!! you will be pushing right at your 350 limit, but your getting a lot of bang for the buck and a lot of features you wont find on most entry level units, if big VDI is important, it has them but on backlit screen which is nice to have. the biggest difference is Treasure Pro has GROUND BALANCE most entry level units don't,,, this IMO, is huge!! Most guys will tell you they wont hunt without their propointer, I myself have driven back to my house 30min out of the way to get it when I forgot it, they are that nice,, but you're not gona use it unless you dig and your not gona dig unless your detector tells you there's something in the ground to dig!!! Both F2 and Ace 400 are solid machines but look at Treasure Pro before you buy (and yes most places will give you free pinpointer w/ purchase) Just One Opinion. Ultra Cool that your getting your dad a detector

Ricki7 said:

What a great son , Congrats to you and your Dad ! HH

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Thanks I actually just won $500 on a scratch off just an hour ago and was asking my self "should I just buy him a ATPro lol and he's a great father when he was younger and needed money he sold a lot of his guns and riffles just to keep our bellies full and and a roof over our heads and he always put us last. He was a huge hunter too.

evilpenguinj said:

I would suggest the Tesoro Compadre. With its lower price you could get him the accessories he needs. You mentioned he was not technology savvy, the Compadre is kind of old school, but a fantastic detector for the beginner. Plus there is a lifetime warranty.

Jason


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I was just looking them up last night and I was going to tell him until u learn the MD did everything lol

budaf250 said:

My first machine was a ace 350. Very easy to use the tones are vary easy to get use to. That machine found me a lot of clad. As it being my first detector I stayed in schools and parks to learn the 350. Then the hook set in and now I own a Minelab CTX 3030 A Garrett AT Gold a Garrett carrot and a TRX pinpointer. All 3 coils for the CTX and 3 Nel coils for the AT Gold. This is a hobby that is very additive . And this forum is the very best on metal detecting.

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Ooh I know I just bought my 6 detector lol
1. ATPro-sold it
2. Ace 250 found my first silver coins-sold it
3. ATPro lol again sold it
4. Whites m6 - hated it
5. Mine lab x-terra 705 sold it
6. Two years later I bought the X-terra again lol it's my fav
7. Now I'm thinking of playing around and buying Tesoro Mojave

choppadude said:

I say go with whatever one Digger27 recommends, this guy only recommends what he knows and likes.

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Thanks, man, but there are a lot of great units out there nowadays...I just know what I like and what seemed to work for me.

Al19067 said:

Thanks I actually just won $500 on a scratch off just an hour ago and was asking my self "should I just buy him a ATPro lol and he's a great father when he was younger and needed money he sold a lot of his guns and riffles just to keep our bellies full and and a roof over our heads and he always put us last. He was a huge hunter too.

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That's the kind of things dads do, what you just said in this comment made me think how lucky I was to have the father I had.
Whatever detector you get for him I hope you both have a great time hanging out together.