The "Prospecting" Forum

Greetings !

I'm investigating metal detectors for Prospecting natural gold and need some opinions on the best brand and model from the list below. These are not listed in any particular order, but are the lowest price models I could find on the web for gold prospecting.

#1..Tesoro Vaquero
#2..White's GMT
#3..Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger
#4..Fisher Gold Bug
#5..Teknetics G2
#6..Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold Pack

Thanks for your opinions and recommendations.

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

Fisher Gold Bug
Teknetics G2

I believe the model you are looking for in the tessoro line is a Lobo super traq not the one you listed for gold prospecting;

Just my guess, and i hear it is the best from people in our area for the money in gold fields.
Grumpy

for only nugget hunting the Fisher gold bugs, my fav is the gold bug 2; and the GMT series....for multi-purpose the X-705 and Tesoro LoboST...no opinion about the others...there is no Best detector,

fred

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Blank Planet
Fisher Gold Bug
Teknetics G2

Thanks Blank Planet !

Todd

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

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grumpy
I believe the model you are looking for in the tessoro line is a Lobo super traq not the one you listed for gold prospecting;

Just my guess, and i hear it is the best from people in our area for the money in gold fields.
Grumpy

Hi Grumpy,

Your guess is correct !

I just talked to Robert Martensen at Tesoro and the Lobo would be the best Prospecting machine in the Tesoro line, it being a VLF.
He also recommended the Sand Shark, a PI machine with underwater capability, at a little less money, but no discrimination circuitry of course (Learn the signals and let your brain be the discriminator.) ! We also discussed the Vaquero, a VLF machine, and it will find gold, but with limited capability on fine gold........maybe down to BB size nuggets.

Thanks for your input.

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

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fredm
for only nugget hunting the Fisher gold bugs, my fav is the gold bug 2; and the GMT series....for multi-purpose the X-705 and Tesoro LoboST...no opinion about the others...there is no Best detector,

fred

fredm.......Thanks for your input !

I like the way you differentiated between gold-only vs multi-purpose machines......that's an important point to consider when making a purchase.

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

Missing in the list is; and in the under $1000 price range.
Whites GMT
Whites GMZ
Fisher Gold Bug Pro
Garret AT Pro
Minelab Eureka Gold


I would recommend you narrow down your choices to the GBII or the Whites GMT, simply based on their proven ability to hold value in the used market.
Most folks that get serious end up selling them after a short time to buy a pulse induction machine. Then turn around and buy a GBII to complement the PI ( crumb cleaning)
Fact is all VLF's struggle in the hot ground common to the gold areas. The higher the frequencies the worse the performance in hot ground.
Where a VLF shines in gold prospecting is hunting for small bits on exposed bedrock or very shallow mild soil.
The Gold Bugs and Whites do well in this aspect mostly due to using the very small coils.

I personal use the Eureka Gold (as a companion to the GPX 5000) my testing has proven that it works better in hot ground/black sand.

But if you use a GPX 5000 fitted with a small coil in the fine gold timings the crumbs that are left aint really worth the time to recover them. There is rare exceptions to this tho. that is why the savvy users have both a PI and a VLF.

I

nvchris.............Thanks for your knowledgeable reply ! ...I'm keeping that one for future reference. ...It appears that, for someone just getting started in Prospecting, a PI machine is the way to go in the long run.

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

the gold bug pro / G2 is super fast and made for hunting in the iron trash where the PI's fall down or for real fine stuff else where, the Gold Bug Pro designed by the same guy who designed the Tesoro Lobo ST so the gold bug pro is a much newer machine with duel processors for super fast recovery and iron rejection with ground grab and manual ground balance is a nice machine that can be used for coin shooting or jewelry hunting as well. as for hot ground well PI's will always be the best but the trade offs are what its all about.

but as stated most people have PI and VLF when gold prospecting guess the choice is which ones to get and what does the budget allow

good luck in which ever way you go!!

Blank Planet



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2011 09:38AM by Blank Planet.

Blank Planet........Thanks again for the additional info..........a "keeper" !

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

A VLF detector would be my choice the eureka gold- the PI Gpx 5000- both by Mine Lab. The others just miss to much. This is just my opinion from being out there trying my luck. I have used the MXT PRO with some success, but missed a lot more.

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starvin
A VLF detector would be my choice the eureka gold- the PI Gpx 5000- both by Mine Lab. The others just miss to much. This is just my opinion from being out there trying my luck. I have used the MXT PRO with some success, but missed a lot more.

starvin,

Thanks for the advice !

ToddB64

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Gamma 6000, Bandido ll 然ax and Compadre, Classic ll, Ace250, Vibra-Probe 570, Harbor Frt. Cen-Tech Pinpointer, Lesche Digger, Tabdog Hand Digger Replica, RatphonesMax headphones, Janster Coin Probe.

Actually your list mentions both VLF- and PI- detectors. There are others not on the list that "could both
be better and of lower price." Ya' never know...

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ToddB64

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fredm
for only nugget hunting the Fisher gold bugs, my fav is the gold bug 2; and the GMT series....for multi-purpose the X-705 and Tesoro LoboST...no opinion about the others...there is no Best detector,

fred

fredm.......Thanks for your input !

I like the way you differentiated between gold-only vs multi-purpose machines......that's an important point to consider when making a purchase.

ToddB64

I don't think there is a gold only detector.....If there was you would not be digging iron and other metal junk ... it would only sound off on gold............... And you would not be digging junk........