Picketwire
Well-known member
Here is my views on the subject. The best detector is the one you have, like the best, and learn. There are other ones that will do something better in certain instances. My detector is not best for you because you don't have it and might not like it anyway. Everyone wants the latest greatest and it seems that is what 90% of the conversations on all the forums are about. Very seldom does anyone post about older detectors that can blow our doors off in the hands of an expert, no matter what machine we have. You see they have experience and have spent the time. There is almost no discussion on how to make what you have better if it is not the latest and greatest.
Take the time to learn what you have. Practice at home, make your own tests, set up your own situations and you will find what you have is pretty amazing. The first detector I ever used was in the early 1970's. I don't remember any thing about it except it was my Dad's and it had an electric meter that bobbed one way for ferrous and the other way for nonferrous. I think I dug if I remember right three targets on an old Colorado prairie homestead and one of them was a buffalo nickel. That was pretty amazing to me. It had some handicaps compared with ones today but it found metal. That is what they all do. I have a friend that has a Bounty Hunter Maverick. I had to do a search to see what it was. He is quite good with it. He has tried new ones and doesn't like them. Should I go tell him that his machine is outdated and bad? No! If I was the preeminent expert on metal detecting would I tell him he should be using the one I think is best? No, he has what he likes and can afford and he finds enough to keep himself entertained. It seems that everyone wants the latest thing but do not realize how good the one they have is.
My favorite is not the latest although I do have some that fit that description that will outhunt my favorite in certain conditions but lose to my favorite in others.. I am not willing to say brand x is better than brand y, I am not one to denigrate anyone else's detector, I won't complain because brand z has not come out with a new latest greatest because I am sure brand z does amazing things already. Granted, I am not an expert who can use the latest to their advantage but I do notice that the ones I consider experts do not all use the same detector. Practice--I can set up scenarios according to what I want to hunt at home and hear 100 coin, 100 bottle caps, 100 nails and 100 pieces of foil in one hour. I can see how they are affecting each other. This reinforces the sound of each much quicker than digging a couple of coins, 10 tabs, and one or two compromised signals in the field. Listening to hundreds of compromised signals at home help me know what they are in the field. Granted they are more compromised when buried but I know that and can adjust. Just listen to your detector, not me, and you might just find that you have the best detector for you already.
Good luck and I hope you all find a gold coin.
Take the time to learn what you have. Practice at home, make your own tests, set up your own situations and you will find what you have is pretty amazing. The first detector I ever used was in the early 1970's. I don't remember any thing about it except it was my Dad's and it had an electric meter that bobbed one way for ferrous and the other way for nonferrous. I think I dug if I remember right three targets on an old Colorado prairie homestead and one of them was a buffalo nickel. That was pretty amazing to me. It had some handicaps compared with ones today but it found metal. That is what they all do. I have a friend that has a Bounty Hunter Maverick. I had to do a search to see what it was. He is quite good with it. He has tried new ones and doesn't like them. Should I go tell him that his machine is outdated and bad? No! If I was the preeminent expert on metal detecting would I tell him he should be using the one I think is best? No, he has what he likes and can afford and he finds enough to keep himself entertained. It seems that everyone wants the latest thing but do not realize how good the one they have is.
My favorite is not the latest although I do have some that fit that description that will outhunt my favorite in certain conditions but lose to my favorite in others.. I am not willing to say brand x is better than brand y, I am not one to denigrate anyone else's detector, I won't complain because brand z has not come out with a new latest greatest because I am sure brand z does amazing things already. Granted, I am not an expert who can use the latest to their advantage but I do notice that the ones I consider experts do not all use the same detector. Practice--I can set up scenarios according to what I want to hunt at home and hear 100 coin, 100 bottle caps, 100 nails and 100 pieces of foil in one hour. I can see how they are affecting each other. This reinforces the sound of each much quicker than digging a couple of coins, 10 tabs, and one or two compromised signals in the field. Listening to hundreds of compromised signals at home help me know what they are in the field. Granted they are more compromised when buried but I know that and can adjust. Just listen to your detector, not me, and you might just find that you have the best detector for you already.
Good luck and I hope you all find a gold coin.