Detectors for N. Cal (auburn area)?

[bladefan]

I'm looking for a good detector for N. Cal (auburn area soil conditions) for prospecting, coin/jewelry and beach, in that order...

I have been looking at Minelab x-terra 70 and Tesoro LST... would either of these fit the bill for detecting in this area? Any other detectors you would recommend for prospecting this area? I am not familiar with the ground type here, (not sure if it is heavily mineralized or not....)

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

If you get a machine that is a cross-over for all those types hunting, it will excell in none of those arenas. Ie.: coin/jewelry hunting is different than nugget hunting. Machines made to excell in teensy little things like pin-head sized nuggets, are not going to make good coin/relic/jewelry machines. Ie.: a coin hunter DOESN'T want to hear every pinhead, staple, birdshot, etc... He wants coin sized things deep, good iron disc, etc... A nugget hunter, on the other hand, DOES want to hear the teensy things like birdshot, staples, etc... (and hear them deeply). Yes there are some cross-over machines (like the MXT for instance), but they will not excell in either arena. There would be better nugget machines, and better coin machines. So if you want to get hard-core, you might want to look into two separate machines.

Check with the brick-&-mortar dealers in your area, as they'd know what's selling, what their customers do best with, etc.... And always best to buy from brick-&-mortar dealers anyhow (verses on-line catalogs, etc...) even though you might spend a bit more. You will find the personal tips for specific locales worthwhile. The dealers tend to get feedback from their customers, so they'd know stuff that an on-line dealer isn't going to know, for your specific area.

 

[pakeha63]

I own both a Tesoro Lobo St, and Minelab Explorer SE. The Tesoro is great for gold nuggets with the 10" ellipitical coil, and Playgrounds with a 5.75 concentric coil. As far as searching grass areas for coins, the sounds be deceiving, but you still pick them up. The Minelab is best for digging grass areas. The sounds, and digital screen for depth, ferrous, and continuity readings are great. I have to agree with Tom, get 2 detectors it you want to hunt it all, or if your interest is in gold nuggets, go for the Tesoro, that unit you can swing fast, and it will still get a signal even on small items. Start with the Tesoro first is my suggestion, mine has treated me quite well.