buck,
This may sound like heresy, but I suggest you do things a little differently. Save, swap, borrow a good middle of the line detector and use that for a while. The cheaper models work...but not as well as you want. The Ace 250 for about $200 is a great little machine and will keep you happy for quite a while. Any decent White's or Garrett's will do a good job. Read the old posts here and you will find kudos for Tesoro and Bounty Hunter.
I made the mistake of buying way over my capabilities for my first machine (Minelab XS) and almost quit before I got started. I sold that and bought my Ace 250 and have been happy ever since. Conversely, I have talked to folks who bought the lower end models and couldn't find anything interesting and gave up.
Take your time, shop around, look for a local club, read the posts here and the literature and find a machine that fits your budget, your hunting style, and your area, and get out there and have lots of great finds.
grizzly bare (I'm partial to White's..say an IDX, 6000Pro, Spectrum...)