Help with gold machine purchase please.

[grumpy]

Hi Folks;
We hunt with a minelab SE and have been wanting to find a gold machine for nugget hunting. I think I understand that a PI machine is the best for this application?? Which model is recomended most for both fair price and good function.?
We would really like to also know if anyone has feedback on using a PI or gold type machine for the hunting of parks, school grounds ect for jewelry and coins. We would like very much to be able to travel with only one machine and knowing the SE is not a gold machine maybe someone can suggest a gold machine that would also do what the SE does in parks ect.???
Hope this is not a bother and that someone can shed some light on this for us.
Thanks for any help
We appreciate it.
Grumpy

 

[alaskaseeker]

The Minelab X70 or the Tesoro LST VLF would fit your needs nicely. I don't think you would be happy with a PI unless you planned to use it a lot... They are rather expensive and most have only iron ID that most don't use anyway...Stick with you SE and maybe one of the other units for traveling to the gold fields....Geo

 

[nugget71]

Whites GMT (Goldmaster) is a sensitive gold machine designed for the prospector. The X-Terra 70 will hunt silver, relics and gold nuggets and is what I use. If you go down the path of the XT-70 make sure you purchase the 18.75 khz DD elliptical coil.........its a great coil to seek out gold. PI's lack discrimination at the moment but its only a matter of time before a company brings out one that will be just as good as a VLF with discrimination capabilities. They punch deep into the earth but they are not ideal for parks or schools ect. They are also heavy and cumbersome and expensive. PI's are fantastic for gold but thats where it ends. The XT-70 although a VLF should suit your needs and are light and a worthy machine from minelab. See if you can take one for a test drive or get a local dealer to give you a demo on its capabilities. I know people who have owned Explorers only to trade them in for the XT-70. Hope this info helps.
Cheers!

 

[grumpy]

See you have the Exp II and an xt 70 both. any advantage on the se over the 70 in parks, relic, and general metal detecting??
Thanks for all the help
Grumpy

 

[nugget71]

I had the exp II and have never used an SE. While the Exp II is a fantastic machine I found it to be cumbersome and it lacked in prospecting which is what I do on the odd occasion thats why I now use the 70 as my main detector. Here is a link of a recent coin hunt in a local park..............this was what I had found after two hours with my personal coin pattern I created on my 70. Basicly you can program the 70 to detect certain targets that you want to hunt........in this case I wanted 20c, 50c, $1 & $2 coins. http://www.findmall.com/read.php?55,664556,664556#msg-664556
Cheers!

 

[grumpy]

-- moved topic --

 

[B.T]

Two new machines are just around the corner and will be released very soon.
Whites is bringing out a PI gold detector which will sell for a lot less than what we are used to paying.
There is also the Nemesis by Pulse Devil as well which is also a PI gold machine. There will be another by Pulse Devil which will also have full discrimination ability for coin and relic hunters as well as for gold. Also way below current pricing.
Lets hope they perform well.

 

[nugget71]

n/t