but is completely honest because I always try to base my comments and answers on my own personal, in-the-field use of various makes and models. I owned an X-Terra 70 when first introduced and worked it against a lot of detectors. I have used a few 705's that I borrowed from a dealer friend, or that folks have brought to a day-long or two-day seminar. There are several reasons, including ergonomic, adjustment and performance, why you do not see an X-Terra listed below in my main-use detector arsenal.
Yes, the 705, like many other metal detectors from various manufacturers, can work and do a reasonable job for many applications. Certainly enough to satisfy many users, but I rely on several 'field test scenarios' when evaluating any detector, and then I blend those end decisions with real-world performance and base my personal detector selection on the total end results. I search mainly older locations, often quite littered with iron and rusty tin, and with a wide range of ground mineral challenges that come with the territory [size=small](Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming)[/size].
For my site selections and site challenges, I rely on a few models from White's, Teknetics and Tesoro, all of which provided better performance, given site condition specifics, than the Minelab X-Terra's. Also, just to clarify one often mentioned topic, I personally prefer a Concentric search coil for the bulk of my hunting with the models I own, but I worked with Double-D coils on these and other models as well. I do have a couple of DD coils in my personal detector /coil arsenal. I am not totally hesitant to use any Double-D coil specific detector, and with the right size coil for the task at hand, I have had satisfactory results. A couple of those were the 5" DD on the Teknetics T2, and the 5" DD and 5X10 DD on the Omega [size=small](which also worked quite well on the Fisher F19)[/size].
jimz49 said:
I been thinking about buying a Fors Core and was wondering if anyone has done a side-by-side comparison of the CoRe with an X-705. I saw the utube comparisons of the CoRe, Dues, CTX and a couple other machines, but haven't seen anything that included the 705. If anyone has both and has made that comparison, I would appreciate their insight.
Because my search sites and detector needs are a little more demanding than the bulk of the metal detecting hobbyists, I am always open to giving consideration to any quality built detector to see if it might provide the field performance that I and others in our society of old site searchers might enjoy.
Honesty: I haven't used the FORS Coin & Relic model yet, but have been in touch with a friend who's worked the FORS Gold.
Opinion: I already know the X-Terra 705 pales in all-around field performance and expectation of results for the sites I/We hunt, which is why I use what I use. Biased, yes, in favor of models that do what I need, where I needs them, and are still 'simple' to operate.
Plan: I am going to get a FORS Co/Re detector in the next few months before I set out on a multi-state adventure to search at least 7 ghost towns, two stage stops, and two, possibly three old homesteads from the 1851 to 1878 era. Several of these we have hunted in the past when I put the X-Terra 70 or borrowed 705 to work and was less than excited with their performance.
I think the FORS Co/Re unit is in a different class than the 705 based upon its overall design and performance. I seriously doubt that the 705 would do what the Coin/Relic model will do in many sites. The 705 might be smaller and handier in size and configuration, and maybe be more fitting for a lot of urban Coin Hunting, but the FORS Co/Re, from what I see and hear, is a design more fitted for the Avid Detectorist who has the time and patience to learn it well for more challenging site conditions.
Just my biased, but honest, opinions. If you are thinking of getting one, I would encourage it. Give it some real in-the-field tests and pit it against the 705 then report back on YOUR opinions, biased or not.
Monte
