Fisher f2

olekyground

Bronze Member
Apr 4, 2009
1,565
429
Hardyville, KY
Detector(s) used
garrett A.T. gold

Other detectors: fisher F2/ Garrett ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Upvote 0
I used a Fisher F4 most of this season. As I understand it, the F4 is an F2 with a couple added features. I had good depth with the F4. I use the Double D coil, it will ring on a quarter at 9.5 inches and a dime at 7 inches depending on the soil conditions. It's not the deepest, but it will hold it's own especially with the DD coil.
 

My first detector was an F2, and I had no problem on depth. My first spanish silver was around 10 - 12 inches down and I hit many targets at that depth and deeper with it. It has no problem with the junk, but larger pieces of iron will sound like good targets(but if you're in an old area, might as well dig them anyways!) My first cannonball was an 8 pounder down deep with the F2.
The F2 can be a handful around salt water or electric fences, but still a great machine for the price.
I've had an F5 for the past 5 years, and that thing will go up against Minelabs 6 times the price and come away with the same targets. I've thought about upgrading to the F75 but why bother when I can dig the targets with the F5.
 

My first detector on returning to MD was an F2 as well. I did a lOT of shopping before I sprung the money and it sounded like the most bang for the buck. I have since moved up to an AT Pro, because I wanted to be able to submerge the whole unit. But I have not sold the F2 because it's still a really great machine for the price. I use it as a backup (haven't needed it for that yet) but even better as a lend out for others I can talk into going with me. It would still be my recommendation for a relatively inexpensive first machine. It has great quick recovery, so its easy to discriminate close targets and quick pinpiont while still swinging. The readouts are large and clear and pretty close on for targets. I still like the thing, and everyone I let use it, because of it's quicker learning curve, loves it too. I did put a double D coil on it, which for better detecting is almost a must. You did good. HH!


May I also add here, that I have found salt water to be problematic mainly by area, not necessarily by detector. I have had very little problem in Ocean City MD with my fisher or my AT Pro. I sometimes hit hot areas of problems, often near some black sand,, but basically they both work well on the beach around here and in the water..
 

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Not just good...a great detector!
I bought mine as a take on vacation unit only, but it was so good, so much fun to use and found me so much so easily that it became my prime hunting tool for 3 seasons used in rotation with a Vaquero and a Compadre.
I never thought of this as "just" a starter unit but instead as a top end unit just missing a few whistles and bells.
Unlike some brands where the lower end units are nothing like their top end cousins, the DNA that the Fisher line has runs through the entire line from bottom to top and they all work in a similar matter with a similar language and some shared behavior but the higher end units have more settings and power you can tap into and utilize.
Over 1000 hours with this one taught me that Fisher language well, plus I eventually discovered a hidden language that the Fishers have that can tell you much about distinguishing good targets from trash when you learn to swing at the right speed, maneuver the coil just right and watch the behavior of the numbers on the screen closely and also what is happening with the depth bar strange as that seems.
Many disagree with the depth bar thing, many believe that feature will tell you depth info and nothing else and many have argued with me on other forums about this but I stand behind my beliefs.
NOBODY argues with me about how good I got with this thing over the time I spent with it or the amount or quality of my finds.
My $200 F2 two coil package went on to find me over $2000 worth of treasure including close to $1000 in clad because it is a coin shooter supreme, many great and unique targets like some rare tokens, many older coins even though I rarely went after these target types, and tons of silver and gold jewelry which I was aiming for including gold rings with ice and silver and gold chains.
2013 was the year I went on a quest for gold and I found 12 gold targets 10 of those with the F2 and 9 of those gold targets with the sniper coil...a must have accessory if you hunt super trashy sites like I usually do looking for jewelry.
That white gold 14k ring with 9 diamonds you see in my avatar pic is just one of the targets I found that year in severe trash next to a basketball court, and this ring was appraised by 2 different jewellers to be worth every bit of $1300 if bought new by both.

Depth is going to be determined by your soil type as it is with any detector or brand.
In Alabama I got very little depth but it matched all other detectors including Minelabs, Whites and all other units because none of us could get much depth in that devil soil.
Here in my great Kansas soil the depth is way better with all 3 of my concentric coils, even the sniper can get to 6" and a bit more here on any sensitivity setting from maxed out to low, the 8" a few inches deeper and the 10" a few inches deeper than that, but 98% of all my finds including here in Kansas even at some very old sites usually sit no more than 6" deep or so...not all but most, so major depth was never a huge concern of mine because all my detectors and coil combinations can hit that mark easily.

Usually I knocked out iron and just went hunting, I don't come across many heavy iron infested sites, but this year I learned how to hunt in a severe iron site with my F70 and what I learned made me suspect that if I went back with the F2 and set it with nothing notched out that I just might be a little more successful than I was in the past with the F2 at this site...maybe.

As far as that upgrade to the F70...because of what I learned with all my time spent with the F2 the changeover was easy and effortless, although there was much more to learn with all those extra setting combinations possible and much more power, and all that prior experience helped me move along the F70 learning curve at a much faster pace than even I believed possible.
As I mentioned the basic language between all the Fishers is very similar, and so is the amazing rapid recovery and target separation abilities they all possess using just about any coil including the great F2.

There are some great entry units out there on the market nowadays, the Euro Tek Pro is probably at the head of the pack when you count all the features it has on board for the price, but I still believe the value of the F2 and especially with the multiple coil packages available cannot be discounted in today's market place when you really learn it's language and realize exactly how this thing works and the amount and quality of the targets it can find in so many difference kinds of sites.
I do know, and I will be forever grateful for the time I spent and the fun and experiences I had walking behind this thing for so many hours.
 

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The f2 is a great machine especially with the 11"dd coil. I run it with no discrimination (I like to hear everything) and max sensitivity with no problems. Dig the steady signals and you'll learn the machine fast. I found many old military buttons ,relics and minie balls but the machine loves coins. Raise the coil after a hit and it will help decide the size of the target underground. If you want any tips just let me know. I am thinking of getting a f75 Ltd in the new year but I'll never let my f2 go! :)
 

Here is a list of some of my best f2 coin finds..

~COPPER~
British large half penny-1753
British large half penny-17??
British large half penny-17??
British large half penny-17??
British large half penny-17??
British large half penny-17??
British large half penny-177?
British large half penny-1771
British large half penny-1772
French un decime coin-1795
R H half penny token-1814
Halifax half penny token-1814
Halifax half penny token-1814
Halifax half penny token-1815
Halifax half penny token-1815
Halifax half penny token-1815
Nova scotia half penny token-1815
Nova scotia one penny token-1823
Nova scotia half penny token-1832
Nova scotia half penny token-1832
Nova scotia half penny token-1832
Nova scotia half penny token-1840
Nova scotia half penny token-1843
United states large one cent-1853
New Brunswick penny token-1854
Fish. & agric. one cent token-1855
Canada large cent-1859
Canada large cent-1859
Canada large cent-1859
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
Nova Scotia large one cent-1861
New Brunswick one cent-1861
New Brunswick one cent-1861
British large half penny-1862
New Brunswick one cent-1861
New Brunswick one cent-1864
Nova Scotia large one cent-1864
Nova Scotia small half cent-1864
United states small one cent-1869
British large penny-1869
Newfoundland large cent-1873
Canada large one cent-1876
United States small one cent-1882
Canada large one cent-1884
Newfoundland large cent-1885
Canada large one cent-1888
Canada large one cent-1888
Canada large one cent-1888
Newfoundland large one cent-1890
British large half penny-1891
Canada large one cent-1893
Canada large one cent-1894
United States small one cent-1895
Canada large one cent-1895
Canada large one cent-1896
Canada large one cent-1897
British large one penny-1897
Canada large one cent-1899
Canada large one cent-1900
Canada large one cent-1900
United States small one cent-1900
Canada large one cent-1901
Canada large one cent-1901
Canada large one cent-1901
Canada large one cent-1902
Newfoundland large one cent-1904
Canada large one cent-1904
Canada large one cent-1905
United States small one cent-1905
Canada large one cent-190?
Canada large one cent-1907
Canada large one cent-1908
United States small one cent-1909
Canada large one cent-1910
Canada large one cent-1911
Canada large one cent-1911
Canada large one cent-1912
Canada large one cent-1912
British large half penny-1912
United States small one cent-1913
Canada large one cent-1913
Canada large one cent-1913
Canada large one cent-1914
Canada large one cent-1914
British large half penny-1914
Canada large one cent-1916
France large five centimes-1917
Canada large one cent-1917
Canada large one cent-1917
Canada large one cent-1917
Canada large one cent-1917
Canada large one cent-1918
Canada large one cent-1918
Canada large one cent-1918
Canada large one cent-1918
Canada large one cent-1918
Canada large one cent-1919
Canada large one cent-1919
United states small one cent-1919
United states small one cent-1920
United states small one cent-1920
Canada small one cent-1920
Canada small one cent-1921
Canada small one cent-1921
Canada small one cent-1921
United states small one cent-1923
United States small one cent-1927
Canada small one cent-1930
United states small one cent-1930
Canada small one cent-1933
Canada small one cent-1935
Canada small one cent-1936
British small three pence-1943
Austrian large 10 schilling-1981

~NICKEL~
United States five cent-1876
United states five cent-1885
Canada five cent-1922

~SILVER~
Spanish one real-1737
British six pence-1859
Canada ten cent-1871
CanadaTWENTY FIVE Cent-1871H
Canada TWENTY FIVE Cent-1887
Canada five cent-1893
Canada ten cent-1907
newfoundland five cent-1912
newfoundland five cent-1912
Canada five cent-1913
Canada ten cent-1916
Newfoundland five cent-1917
Canada five cent-1917
Canada ten cent-1918
Canada ten cent-1918
Canada ten cent-1929
newfoundland five cent-1929
Canada twenty five cent-1929
Canada twenty five cent-1929
Canada ten cent-1932
Canada twenty five cent-1936
newfoundland five cent-1938
newfoundland five cent-1938
Canada ten cent-1938
Canada ten cent-1939
Canada ten cent-1940
newfoundland five cent-1940
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1941
Canada twenty five cent-1941
newfoundland five cent-1942
Canada ten cent-1943
Canada ten cent-1943
Canada twenty five cent-1943
newfoundland five cent-1943
newfoundland five cent-1943
newfoundland five cent-1943
Canada fifty cent-1944
Canada ten cent-1944
Canada ten cent-1944
newfoundland five cent-1945
newfoundland five cent-1945
newfoundland five cent-1945
Canada ten cent-1946
Canada ten cent-1947
Canada twenty five cent-1948
Canada twenty five cent-1949
Canada ten cent-1951
Canada twenty five cent-1953
Canada ten cent-1954
Canada ten cent-1955
Canada ten cent-1957
Canada ten cent-1959
Canada ten cent-1959
German five mark-1960
Canada twenty five cent-1960
Canada ten cent-1960
Canada ten cent-1960
Canada ten cent-1960
Canada ten cent-1961
Canada ten cent-1962
Canada twenty five cent-1962
Canada twenty five cent-1962
Canada ten cent-1963
Canada twenty five cent-1964
Canada twenty five cent-1964
Canada ten cent-1965
Canada ten cent-1966
Canada twenty five cent-1965
Canada twenty five cent-1965
Canada twenty five cent-1966
 

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