Good quality low budget starter machine.

[Milk Money]

My Brother lives in Florida at the gulf area. What would be a good starting machine for his applications down there? I live in Ohio so salt water beach hunting is not specialty. I would also think he would want to hunt soil conditions if he had the chance. A built in pin point capability is a must. I believe $300-400 would be a good start for a first machine...(used maybe?..lol). I started with an ACE 250 and would recommend that one but I know how it acts in the wet sand. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Kent

[Kurtne]

I would think a used CZ20 or Explorer xs would do very well on the salt beaches. The CZ20 can be used in the water and land. The explorer is primarily a land machine but could be used in shallow water.

Kurt

[Milk Money]

Who makes these machines? I am not familiar with the models

[michiganer]

I live in Central FL near Orlando and I have an Ace 250. I also needed a low-budget option. So far it works well in our sandy soil. I haven't gone to the ocean but I have used it on a local fresh-water sandy beach with no problems. It was even picking up items as small as staples in that sand. If your brother isn't looking for a salt-water machine, I think the Ace 250 would work well for him.

[Diggler]

I saw a very clean Xterra 305 for $225 shipped yesterday... Might still be available.

[tpantelope]

I started with an ACE 150, which definitely cannot handle salt well.

I then upgraded to a used X-terra 50 for $200 with a DD coil that did fairly well on the beach, but at the end of the day did not hunt wet salt all that well.

I recently sold both of these and got a used Minelab Sovereign XS-2 for about $350 and love it. I cannot afford a high end detector, but got a great used one that does everything I need.

If you think he wants to hunt the beach on that budget, I really recommend getting a high quality used machine.

[CoiltoSoil]

I would go with a multiple Freq. machine like a Fisher or Minelab. You can find good deals on used CZ's and Explorers. I know the CZ7a's are weather proof so they can handle a splash of water here and there. If he plans to water hunt I would look into a used CZ20 or Excal but they are pricey even used, otherwise a CZ or Explorer would be a perfect land/beach option.