Which one to buy? So confusing!

[LindyD]

I've wanted a detector for years. Now that I'm retired, I'm buying one. What am I interested in: silver, jewelry, gold, copper- no glass. I own property where the Confederates crossed. There are many caves around here they stayed in. I love anything Civil War and here I am right on top of their actual trail they walked. They crossed the Duck River just 1/4 mile from my farm. Underwater? I think so. I need a detector that CLEARLY excludes junk. Actually, I need one to think for me. LOL. From what little I've read most only go about 8" deep. Is that correct? I don't have a clue what to buy. It must be easy to work...A big thank you to anyone that helps me.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

If you are interested in Civil War artifacts then you are going to also find junk. Detectors that discriminate out ferrous metals (iron/steel) junk is going to discriminate out a lot of CW artifacts. If you discriminate out ferrous metals then you get mostly Brass, Copper, Silver, Gold and lead which are non Ferrous metals.. All of us that detect find and dig a lot of junk. Of course one mans junk may be another mans treasure.

It is hard to recommend a detector as there are many things to take into consideration. Price is one of the major items. Just how much do you want to invest in the hobby. Do you want a unit that can be slightly submerged or do you want one that can be used for diving. How much mineralization does your ground have.

The depth that a detector can reach depends on a multitude of factors. Some being the type of soil. How large is the object it is seeing, type of metal, how much mineralization in the ground and even some times how much moisture is in the ground.

So far the Perfect metal detector has never been built.

Good Luck in your search.

 

[LindyD]

Hi & thank you for responding. I would expect to pay about $800. for a decent detector. Does that sound about right? I'm going to send in a soil sample this week. I don't know how long it will take to get eh results back. We do have a LOT of rock here. as far as water goes, I would like to go about 5-6 inches deep. Do any of them go that far into the water. Will I go under water-NO WAY. the Duck River is very shallow. Many places are 10 inches deep. Can you suggest a good detector for that amount of money? thank You, Linda

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Since you aren't going to be going into deep water just make sure that the coil is waterproof not water resistant. I wade till its up to my chest so I have a machine that is waterproof. I would suggest that you give Kellyco a call and talk to JW. He will be able to answer your questions and he is a straight up guy. Don't jump in and buy immediately. You may find a deal on this forum in the buy and sell section. I will tell you that you should strongly consider buying a Garrett Pro Pointer. It will save you lots of headaches trying to locate your target after you dig it. I would be lost without mine and in fact I have two of them just in case the one I usually use should fail. You can obtain a very good detector for the price you quoted. An entry level detector can be obtained for around $200.

 

[Will1877]

Mine lab safari. a little more then you mentioned but its well worth it. Being new to detecting and have no biased to sounds and pin pointing the safari I honestly feel is practically a turn on and go machine. I have had numerous people use this machine that have zero expierence detecting and all of them everyone was able to quickly under stand the menu and pin point function. All were able to locate coins and two found silver first time with it. Also this is not a weak machine it is extremely powerful and will go as deep as you will ever need. I promise this is a simple machine and will meet all the demands you mentioned. You turn machine on start in coin mode which is what it is already set on push noise cancel and detect. literally that simple.

 

[LindyD]

The name of yours is, "Lab Safari"? where did you buy it? How much did it cost? Thank you very much for the help! I have not had many responses to my question, so, thank you again!

 

[Will1877]

I buy everything from Kelly co. It is under a grand. I think 900. The company that makes it is Mine lab the model is the Safari. Kelly co is very helpful check them out on web then give them a call awesome service. I called them and told them what I wanted out of a machine few years back and they put me onto the Safari. Great great machine.

 

[PlateauSkull]

It can be hard nowadays to know what to go with....there are so many brands, and styles to choose from. Years ago it was easier to decide I think, especially because there was no internet, therefore you went to your local dealer, who may have only one brand to choose from and it basically came down to what you were willing to shell out for money. When I started it was in the eighties and Whites was the only detector you could get in my area, and it's what everybody used that I knew ( I still can hear the hum of my trusty old whites 5900 in my head if I really think hard about it!) You basically chose a brand and learned it, period. The more time and effort you put into it, the more you became 'in tune' with it! I have been hunting on and off since, taking years off for marriage, and life in general. I'm back now and have found I like quite a few detectors.....Teknetics T2 and Omega 8000, Garrett AT-Pro and AT-gold, and Fisher CZ-6a .All of these detectors can be bought between $500-$800 dollars for the most part. On places like ebay you can get nice used models perhaps for even a better price. I would suggest the AT-pro just because it is waterproof up to 10 ft underwater, has a good iron range of 0-40 resolution ( which , to put it simply, means you can set it to ignore nails and perhaps still get desirable relics), and it has a standard mode for beginners and a more advanced 'pro' mode for those with more understanding and hours 'under the belt'.Sometimes the soil where you may live makes the difference with what you choose...i.e. one machine may not react well to a highly mineralized area as much as another, or if a certain area has more emi (eletrical interference, such as high tension wires, underground invisible dog fence etc etc) Check out youtube videos ( I like watching the videos posted by Bill Ladd from the Digfellas show and also by a guy called 'Dirtfishing' Both of these people review detectors and are very thorough!) . It may be confusing but it is a fun hobby and a good time even if just shopping for a detector.

 

[rockhunter005]

It can be hard nowadays to know what to go with....there are so many brands, and styles to choose from. Years ago it was easier to decide I think, especially because there was no internet, therefore you went to your local dealer, who may have only one brand to choose from and it basically came down to what you were willing to shell out for money. When I started it was in the eighties and Whites was the only detector you could get in my area, and it's what everybody used that I knew ( I still can hear the hum of my trusty old whites 5900 in my head if I really think hard about it!) You basically chose a brand and learned it, period. The more time and effort you put into it, the more you became 'in tune' with it! I have been hunting on and off since, taking years off for marriage, and life in general. I'm back now and have found I like quite a few detectors.....Teknetics T2 and Omega 8000, Garrett AT-Pro and AT-gold, and Fisher CZ-6a .All of these detectors can be bought between $500-$800 dollars for the most part. On places like ebay you can get nice used models perhaps for even a better price. I would suggest the AT-pro just because it is waterproof up to 10 ft underwater, has a good iron range of 0-40 resolution ( which , to put it simply, means you can set it to ignore nails and perhaps still get desirable relics), and it has a standard mode for beginners and a more advanced 'pro' mode for those with more understanding and hours 'under the belt'.Sometimes the soil where you may live makes the difference with what you choose...i.e. one machine may not react well to a highly mineralized area as much as another, or if a certain area has more emi (eletrical interference, such as high tension wires, underground invisible dog fence etc etc) Check out youtube videos ( I like watching the videos posted by Bill Ladd from the Digfellas show and also by a guy called 'Dirtfishing' Both of these people review detectors and are very thorough!) . It may be confusing but it is a fun hobby and a good time even if just shopping for a detector.

I beg to differ on the fun part of shopping for one. ( have just bought (and sold the AT pro after about a month) and now am completely confused to get the Teknetics T2 Ltd Se, Omega 8000 or Minelab Safari).

my current and 1st machine is Garrett GTA Ultra 1000 (bought in late 80's or early 90's)

LindyD best thing to do is read up on the machines suggested watch youtube on them. and MOST importantly if you know any guys that are local to you that use any of the machines suggested, ask them to swing their machine for a bit to "get a feel" of it if it is the machine for you.

 

[rockhunter005]

he meant MineLab (brand) safari (model)
Minelab is a top of the line company. (pricey but top notch).

 

[daddyflea]

You mentioned a 8" depth and that is debatable. The better statement might be 8" from your Coil. If your swing is 2" above the ground you are looking at 6" in the ground. I use a Whites V3i and it is a little complicated for a beginner. I would suggest a lower priced Whites that finds Coins and Jewlery. I also recommend a Tesoro Deleon or Cortez. Most detectors will allow the Coil under water but most can not get the Control head wet period. It is all about persistance as well as digging a lot of junk. It also takes a while to learn your detector even same make and models are a little different..