Best entry level gold detector for larger depth detection?

[Ole]

What is the best detector out there for gold below $1000?
I am considering Garrett AT gold or Garrett GTI 2500. Probably because of the price and reviews. But I have never used any detector before.

I am mostly interested in larger depth detection, and below $1000.

 

[scout23]

Welcome Ole, tell us a little more about where you will be hunting and so forth. It will help us recommend a good detector, some are better suited for different conditions.

 

[PhilB]

What is the best detector out there for gold below $1000?
I am considering Garrett AT gold or Garrett GTI 2500. Probably because of the price and reviews. But I have never used any detector before.

I am mostly interested in larger depth detection, and below $1000.

If you are talking about hunting gold nuggets the Garrett 2500 is completely unsuitable. A dedicated gold machine is different than a machine for coins,relics and gold jewelry. The Garrett AT Gold is Garretts compromise machine to do it all. it does ok nugget hunting from what I've seen but will not pick up the tiny nuggets a dedicated gold machine will find. You will have to give more information in order for someone to give you accurate advice. Hunting gold jewelry at a salt water beach is different than hunting a fresh water beach which is different than hunting parks and yards and prospecting with a detector is different yet.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

Do you want a gold specific detector? If so you have the White's GMT, Minelab Eureka, Fisher Gold Bug's, and the Nokta Fors Gold seems interesting though I don't know much about them, or the company. Or are you looking for a coin detector which can also be used to find gold nuggets occasionally?

 

[Ole]

Thank you.

I am not quite sure yet as I have never used any detector of any kind, I would assume only gold and silver coins maybe jewelry, (ideally gold silver nuggets as well) . But specifically gold and silver that is in fertile soil , ideally for in soil with some small rocks around (like mountain area). But not in water of any kind.

What I find frustrating is everywhere in the ads is said deeper detecting but no quantitative numbers.

Ideally detector for gold and silver that goes deepest and is not that expensive.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

Thank you.

I am not quite sure yet as I have never used any detector of any kind, I would assume only gold and silver coins maybe jewelry, (ideally gold silver nuggets as well) . But specifically gold and silver that is in fertile soil , ideally for in soil with some small rocks around (like mountain area). But not in water of any kind.

What I find frustrating is everywhere in the ads is said deeper detecting but no quantitative numbers.

Ideally detector for gold and silver that goes deepest and is not that expensive.

OK, then don't get any of the detectors I listed above, they are for gold nugget hunting, not coins. In your case check out what White's, Minelab, Fisher, Tesoro have to offer in the coin hunting department (in no particular order). All the detectors I have cost me $1100 or less new, so you can find some top of the line detectors for close to your max budget if that's what you want, all those companies also have some nice mid range stuff in the 600-700 range.

 

[PhilB]

If you mean gold coins then I wish you good luck for they are rare. Most coin detectors do ok on gold jewelry if it is large enough and do fine on silver. Silver is detected best by a metal detector using a low frequency and gold is detected better with a detector using high frequency. Coin detectors like the Garrett AT Pro and White's MXT are 2 examples of compromise detectors that use a frequency that works reasonably well on coins, jewelry and gold. There are others but those were 2 of the more popular models that came to mind first.

 

[Ole]

Thank you.

 

[bzbadger]

Dedicated gold seeker but can do other is for certain the nokta Fors gold, I have one and its an unbelievable machine

 

[rick-n-ns]

If you mean gold coins then I wish you good luck for they are rare. Coin detectors like the Garrett AT Pro and White's MXT are 2 examples of compromise detectors that use a frequency that works reasonably well on coins, jewelry and gold. There are others but those were 2 of the more popular models that came to mind first.

Yeah VERY rare.

Ole, so do you live in an area where natural gold nuggets are known ?
As it sounds like "fertile" soil means farm land, as opposed to mine sites to me.

And since this is your first I should point out in case you don't know "a gold" detector doesn't just find gold, it finds aluminum, and iron, etc. as well.

There's a quite a few detectors that are suitable from say 600-1000.
This gold nugget about 1/10th of a gram can be picked up at about 4" deep with
Omega @ 7.8 Khz
AT Pro @ 15 Khz
GB 2 @ 72 Khz

Buy any of them or the MXT, or a tesoro, or the GTI 2500, etc.

 

[detectingMO]

The Teknetics G2 and now G2+ are very sensitive to small gold and very deep in all metal mode.

If you want a good deal on one let me know.

 

[Swing360]

The Teknetics G2 and now G2+ are very sensitive to small gold and very deep in all metal mode.

If you want a good deal on one let me know.

I think know this is a good option with either

 

[detectingMO]

yeah they are even with the big coil.

5:20 mark

 

[Digga4life]

Ok, I know it is not real cheap but the Garrett Infinium is great at finding even small nuggets at respectable depths. Actually the price is not bad considering it is a good PI. I have seen some nice gold nuggets in the 3-14 grain range found with an Infinium here in the SoCal high desert. Being waterproof it is a great underwater PI detector.

 

[Swing360]

Ok, I know it is not real cheap but the Garrett Infinium is great at finding even small nuggets at respectable depths. Actually the price is not bad considering it is a good PI. I have seen some nice gold nuggets in the 3-14 grain range found with an Infinium here in the SoCal high desert. Being waterproof it is a great underwater PI detector.

also a good machine. a bit of a pain in the butt with being a PI and wanting to take it inland to look for nuggets, but I HAVE seen them for VERY cheap on several occasions (here,CL,fleabay)

 

[dirt weasel]

Thank you.

I am not quite sure yet as I have never used any detector of any kind, I would assume only gold and silver coins maybe jewelry, (ideally gold silver nuggets as well) . But specifically gold and silver that is in fertile soil , ideally for in soil with some small rocks around (like mountain area). But not in water of any kind.

What I find frustrating is everywhere in the ads is said deeper detecting but no quantitative numbers.

Ideally detector for gold and silver that goes deepest and is not that expensive.

This may sound backward but I believe you should buy your backup detector first. Finding out if you are going to be into this hobby or not is the first step and you do not need to spend $1000.
No machine at any price will give the results many expect coming into the hobby. Speed of the machine, target separation, are much more important than depth on most sites... unless you are hunting nuggets in the middle of nowhere there is just so much metal in the ground it is hard for beginners to believe.
If you decide to stay with the hobby you will want a backup machine anyway and you will then have a better Idea of what type of detector best suits your needs.
I would go with something simple with high quality that you will still likely use from time to time. Compadre F2 are just two examples of quality machines many guys with top end machines might grab for certain types of hunting. For example many say the Compadre is the best machine at any price for finding a gold chain at a tot lot...not as easy task one would think.