Las Vegas Newbie Questions - Good Model for Nuggets / Tourist Junk - DFX?Tesoro?

[stloutom]

Hi all,

I'm new to the Las Vegas area, and new to metal detecting. It's something I've been wanting to do for years, and I'm finally at a point where I'm able to do it. I'm really excited and happy to have found TN - y'all are great!

Anywho, I'm looking into buying my first machine, and I need help.

A local fellow has offered to sell me his DFX for $500. From everything I've read, it's a very good deal. He was kind enough to give me a price break - which is good, because I'm fairly well broke. The upside of being broke, though, is that I have loads of free time, and I plan on spending most of my time doing the urban thing in parks, etc. On weekends, though, I fully intend to head out into the hills for ghost-towning and low-level gold hunting.

I know it's unrealistic to have a machine that's capable of doing a GREAT job on coins, relics and gold, but is the DFX flexible enough to do a half-arsed job on most everything?

If the deal happens to fall through because he gets a fairer price, which of the Tesoro models is the most flexible?

Lastly, are there any special considerations I should be aware of for hunting in the desert?

Many thanks in advance, all! I'm looking forward to a long and happy future here!

 

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[Jeffro]

HOO BOY!!!! that is a mouthful to try and answer....


I lived down there for ten years and had just started MDing before I moved up here to Oregon, so my metal detecting experience is limited to a Goldmaster. Great machines. Had loads of trouble with the Vegas soil, though.

A DFX is a darn good machine from what I've heard, haven't heard much bad about it at all. Not a bad choice for an all around machine. Best bet is to get a gold machine and a seperate coin machine, though.

Minelabs are supposed to be pretty good at penetrating the nasty soil of Australia, I think one would do great in Vegas for gold nugget hunting.

Hunting in the desert is its own special thing. I can't state enough how important it is to have several MRE's, several gallons of drinking water, and a good first aid kit. There is a particular type of low lying cactus down there that has nasty barbs on its needles. Found out while chasing down a jackrabbit. Only thing that'll get those out is a pair of pliers! So maybe some leather shinguards wouldn't be a bad idea, if your going into the vegetated areas.

There are some interesting areas out towards Red Rock and beyond. I've found old tunnels out there, and lots of abandoned items. Never know what all you'll find out there.

 

[warsawdaddy]

There is an excellent MD/Gold Club in Vegas.
www.goldsearcher.com
(gold searchers southern nevada)
Contact Bob Shiroky
(702)393-gold(4653)
They meet monthly in Vegas and have tremendous door prizes,guest speakers and they also have many 'claims' in NV and AZ for their members' use.They always have demonstrations also.

 

[gregl01]

The DFX should be good for allround detecting. If you specifically want to prospect I would recommend a Tesoro Lobo ST.
Good luck
Greg

 

[skierbob]

You should look into White's MXT. It has a prospecting program, a relic program and a coin and jewelry program. I believe a lot of western hunters use that detector. Check it out.

 

[Sandman]

The DFX is a good buy at the price you stated. It is a good machine for most hunting an is pretty deep too if you need the extra depth. Has all the bells and whistles too. For the nuggets I would get a dedicated gold detector like the Tesoro Lobo, which has the lifetime warranty. Also good are the Minelab Gold, GP 4000, GP 3500, SD 2200, Fisher Gold Bug 2. The MXT is set up to be a jack of all trades and in my opinion doesn't do all of them as well as a DFX. That is why you may need another detector for the nuggets. Don't forget the meteorites........ These can be worth more than gold and there are many places that pay top dollar.

Try not to hunt alone. I do many times, but it isn't smart. Watch out for big spiders and snakes, learn about them too. Egad I could go on, but it is great advice to join a club in the area.

Good Luck and Welcome,
Sandman

 

[stloutom]

Re: Las Vegas Newbie Questions - Good Model for Nuggets / Tourist Junk - DFX?Tes

Well! I picked up the DFX tonight for five bens.

It's still probably 70 degrees outside, but too frigging dark to go out. Boo hiss! Tomorrow I'm going to head out to some of the parks on the north side (!) and see what happens. Maybe I'll find some bling / grills.

I'm so, so, so, so, so, so frigging excited. Yay!

Tonight, I read the manual, the Understanding White's DFX book, go to sleep early and dream of piles of pop tabs!

 

[Night Stalker]

Go with.....

 

[stloutom]

Re: Las Vegas Newbie Questions - Good Model for Nuggets / Tourist Junk - DFX?Tes

Too late!

Had the deal fallen through, though, I would have almost certainly purchased a Lobo ST.

 

[Willy]

The DFX seems to be a decent detector. If you plan to hunt gold with it, get a DD coil and jack up the gain, SAT, and ground tracking. Doesn't matter if it's noisy, as long as it doesn't go into overload. A lot of people will tell you to run it conservatively.. quiet, stable, etc... DON'T! Remember, hunting nuggets is way different from hunting coins. You want that detector to operate like an MXT which, despite other comments which belittle its' performance, is an excellent nugget detector. I used one up in AK and it was finding nuggets smaller than the Gold Bug 1 could find and in ground where a GB1 couldn't operate effectively. ..Willy.

 

[Ant]

I live in the Desert too , I would have told you this:

I was going to buy a DFX but when I tested it at two different shops it wouldn’t detect the small gold bracelets and chains I brought to tested it with, ones I found with the GB2. I’m only comparing the DFX at finding small gold, which is most of what we find out there. I’m not bashing it as I plan on purchasing one some day. With the GB2 you'll have to dig a lot of trash but anyone looking for gold dig lots of trash anyway. But after time you learn what to pass up and what to dig and that will substantially cut out some of the trash.

If you’re the patient type I would suggest getting a Gold Bug 2 by Fisher. It has a long learning curve but in my opinion it finds the type of gold you’re looking for the best, small gold and gold lost in playgrounds. It also finds relics and coins. I’ve found over 50 pieces of gold in 2 ½ years, a little over 4 ounces.

I use the 10 ½” coil and if you want to see proof go to my profile and take a look at my gold poke. The only thing you can discriminate out when looking for gold is iron, I only dig solid sounds or sound I have learned that need to be investigate (sounds that have smooth edges on all sides.

The GB2 is designed to find small gold. It’s not a deep diver by any means (depending on mineralization), but the proof is in the pudding.


HH