705 vs safari questions

[bjgiff]

To start- a little background on myself.

I've never used a metal detector but am going to get started asap. I am located in Wyoming and will be primarily searching around some old homesteads, an 1800's post office, a couple old outlaw cabins etc... (All of which have never been hunted before. *On private land that my family owns.)

I will most likely use the detector in Wyoming but may end up in South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Montana etc...

I do have some land available that I could do some prospecting on over in the Black Hills of WY. It would be only once in a great while and not the primary use of the detector.

I've been doing quite a bit of research and have narrowed my selection down to the Minelab Xterra 705 or the Safari.

*Considered the Whites MXT PRO but met some prospectors that said the Xterra 705 handles the "mineralization" of Wyoming better. Not saying it's fact, just going off what I was told by some seemingly knowledgeable hunters.

My question, as a newbie, is- will a detector like the Safari have any prospecting capabilities?

Is the Xterra 705 a good machine for prospecting?

In a nutshell- am I better off to buy a dedicated prospecting detector for hunting gold vs a machine like the Whites MXT PRO or Xterra 705?

The technology the Safari, E Trac etc.. have is intriguing and I can see myself eventually upgrading to something like the E Trac. I like that many of the better coils offered for the Safari are also compatible with the E Trac.

If the Safari isn't a significantly better machine (for a newbie) and the Xterra 705 is a good machine for prospecting, I'd see no need for paying the extra $ for the Safari.

*I very well could be wrong but it appears that the Safari is one of the simpler machines for a newbie, when using the factory default settings.

Thanks for the input and I look forward to hearing the responses.
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[Danno]

Hi,

I had exactly the same dilemma. Narrowed it down to these 2 machines. Just the look of the two confused me somewhat. The X-Terra 705 looks a bit 'toyish' but the Safari looks really rugged and tough, Explorer, E-Trac style.

I wanted to do mostly coin/relic but still the ability to prospect. The way I saw it, the 705 does both (but maybe a jack of all trades, master of none??).

The Safari can only be used for Coin/Relic, no good for gold, but better than a 705 on Coins etc.

Still couldn't decide till I actually stood in the shop, and came away with the 705.

The guy in the shop (old time detectorist and prospector) reckons the 705 comes close to the Safari anyway on Coin/Treasure. The Safari being pretty much useless as a gold machine.

I think the 705 is a much better deal and I was also told with the 6" DD Coil, it's even more sensitive on the gold. I was also told that your getting really excellent bang for buck regarding the 705
as a pretty serious prospecting machine.

When I want a really top Coin/Relic machine I'll get an E-Trac anyway and a GP4500 for serious gold detecting, but I think for myself, as a beginner, the 705 is great value for money.

Danno.

 

[morelic55]

Guess it just comes down to personal experience on the two machines. I had a Safari and did not like the weight or the way it operated for relic hunting, which is 99.9% of what I do. The 705 with the 10.5DD coils are "The" set up for my type of hunting. I would think from what I've read, if I were to go hunt for gold, I would have the 705 with the 18.75 5x10 & 6" DD coils with me..............MO

 

[David]

Very good posts.

morelic55, I think you said the T2 Ltd Camo was also good for relic hunting, but the X-705 was the best machine you found after going through about $3000 worth of detectors, correct me if I am wrong.

I wrote to Minelab and they said that the Sovereign GT (has BBS which is simular to the FBS on the Safari and E-Trac) was good for prospecting for nuggets that are about 1 gram or bigger(in all-metal & tracking). If you want smaller gold get a X-70(now a X-705) as most gold nuggets are small. I also talked to Minelab on the phone and was told that the Sovereign GT was good for looking through tailing piles in the goldfields. But obviously a person would sacrifice fine gold specimens.

There is an aftermarket company I know of that installs a TID meter right inside the Sovereign's control box in place of the external speaker. The Sovereign GT does have proper "true" ground tracking in all-metal only, now I do not know if the Safari or E-Trac has any "true" ground tracking. If they do then they will be good for prospecting but not good for small gold nuggets is why BBS and FBS technology is not recommended for prospecting and not good for very tiny gold, like nuggets smaller than about 1 gram, very fine gold chains, and tiny gold earings studs. Yes otherwise the Sovereign GT will work in the highly mineralized goldfields, but I am not sure about the Safari and E-Trac having the proper "true" ground tracking for goldfields like I said.

Instead of true all-metal(on the Sovereign GT or Prospecting mode on the X-705), if working in a discrimination mode(Coin & Treasure Mode on the X-705) while looking for gold nuggets in the goldfields, mineralization can also be discriminated out in the iron zone or just above in foil, but a person gets less depth in a discrimination mode compared to true all-metal which is deeper.

Yes, the new MXT Pro and X-705 are the best true all-purpose machines, so is the new Spectra V3i, T2 Ltd Camo, and F75 Ltd. The Lobo ST and Vaquero are also but no TID meter. Hope this helps a bit.

 

["Dr.Tones"]

I too went through this. I now own the X-70 (older version of 705) and with proper technique and coil selection the x70/705's will perform on the same level as the more expensive coil/relic models. Couple that 70/705 with a 6" HF DD coil and you can find gold that is about the size of a peice of rice cut into quarters. i.e. a 1/4 grain of rice. I love the fact that you can choose not only different coil sizes but also coil frequencies. Did I mention how light this machine is? Hands down the lightest on the market and has damn good battary life too. There is a reason that the 70/705's are minelabs number one selling detector. If you're seriouse about prospecting though then a nice minelab PI machine is the way to go. Use the PI to go deep for the big stuff and then go back over the area with your 705 and clean out the spongy/small/specie's. Hope this helped.

 

[morelic55]

Did not have the T2 LTD, had the F75 LTD. Anyways, yes I have been thru a few machines in the last few years and have decided that the 705 works the best in my soil in SW Missouri and the regular T-2 a close 2nd. The "Other" machine was way too noisy for my taste, where as the Xterra is a Smoooooth running animal with the larger coils. Whish I could go to where the gold is and give it a try!!!!...............MO

 

[bjgiff]

Thanks for the input! I do appreciate it. Between this thread and the one I posted under the Safari/Quattro category- I was given far better info than I was able to get from Kellyco and other sales sources!

*Danno- your concern was exactly the same as mine. "Jack of all trades, master of none". Thanks for the input.

*Just called Minelab today to inquire about the advantage of the FSB technology in the Safari vs the technology in the 705.

Most likely going with the 705 with the intent of eventually upgrading to something like the E Trac.

 

[KurtB]

For my type of coin hunting here in the Midwest the x-70 is a great unit. It's easy to use. light, has a bunch of coils, well built, and goes deep. I have had all the top of the line detectors out there and have always come back the x-70.

It's not as noisy as the F75. You can hunt faster than with an Etrac or Explorer, and it's much easier to use than the V3.

Just my take on it.

Kurt

 

[Danno]

Thanks for the input! I do appreciate it. Between this thread and the one I posted under the Safari/Quattro category- I was given far better info than I was able to get from Kellyco and other sales sources!

*Danno- your concern was exactly the same as mine. "Jack of all trades, master of none". Thanks for the input.

*Just called Minelab today to inquire about the advantage of the FSB technology in the Safari vs the technology in the 705.

Most likely going with the 705 with the intent of eventually upgrading to something like the E Trac.

No probs bjgiff,

Yes, that's what I hope to do, upgrade eventually to an E-Trac and one day a better gold detector like the 4500.Going to take a bit of $$$ saving though !

Hopefully the 705 will find me a few coins to contribute towards the costs!

Cheers and good luck,


Danno

 

[GunnarMN]

[size=x-large]Incredible depth , on that mini ball ,, looks like its over 10" deep that alone is proof the x t 705 is a great machine [/size]

 

[wayne_etc]

How mineralized is your ground? Just curious.


w

 

[bjgiff]

How mineralized is your ground? Just curious.


w

Wyoming is fairly high mineralization. Not really sure how to rate it.

The guy that directed me away from the MXT PRO and towards the 705 told me that his experience was that the 705 had a coil (I believe the DD coil) that could handle the mineralization. He said the stock 705 coil also would outperform the MXT Pro in WY/MT. I'm not claiming that this is accurate or inaccurate. The guy seemed very knowledgeable and genuine. (He also had nothing to gain/loose by giving me the info)