Newbie Detector

[rock found hound]

Hey people,

I am brand new to metal detecting. I am so new that I haven’t even bought a detector machine yet.

I’m in Nevada and there is some history here and also mines all over. Is there a decent detector I could snipe gold with?

My price range is around $200 because I have many other hobbies that I spend on.

I don’t care if the controls are beginner friendly or not.

Thanks in advance!

 

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[pepperj]

Hey people,

I am brand new to metal detecting. I am so new that I haven’t even bought a detector machine yet.

I’m in Nevada and there is some history here and also mines all over. Is there a decent detector I could snipe gold with?

My price range is around $200 because I have many other hobbies that I spend on.

I don’t care if the controls are beginner friendly or not.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the forum

I'm just going to say your options for $200 for a metal detector to snipe gold is very limited.
The used detector market you might be the best option.

I don't snipe for gold-but have over 50 yrs of experience, and many years on the forum.
DON"T BUY "MADE IN CHINA" save yourself a lot of disappointment.

 

[rock found hound]

Welcome to the forum

I'm just going to say your options for $200 for a metal detector to snipe gold is very limited.
The used detector market you might be the best option.

I don't snipe for gold-but have over 50 yrs of experience, and many years on the forum.
DON"T BUY "MADE IN CHINA" save yourself a lot of disappointment.

How can you tell a detector that can detect gold vs one that cannot?

I’m willing to spend a little more than 200 but if money was no object Ive heard good things about the vanquish 540 but that will end up closer to $700

 

[Centsless Detecting]

Welcome to the hobby Rock! As others have said avoid at ALL costs the made in China junk. I'd stick with a name brand like Minelab, Nokta or Garrett ect. All detectors will find metal, gold included.

The thing with detecting is it's kinda a pay to play kind of deal. You can go cheap to start but if you stick with it you WILL out grow your machine and want to upgrade.

I started out with a $90 harbor freight machine. I liked it enough to keep at it. I was given an Ace 250 by a family friend and used that for 2 years till I wanted more. Then I went all in with an Equinox 800. Did I need the 800? No I could have went with a Nox 600 and done just fine.

Then the urge to upgrade happened again and I got a Manticore. Again did I need to? Absolutely not. Now I have more than enough gear to invite someone new if I want to. Also have a great back up machine if something happens to the main.

This hobby rewards you with time spent outdoors with friends and if your lucky can pay you back. I have been fortunate to meet several great people who I spend time with other than just detecting together. I have also found enough treasure to pay for all my gear but that's not what it's about for me. It's finding and saving history that would otherwise be lost forever.

You will find trash. You will get skunked. You will have bad days and dry spells. You will also have a great time though anticipating what may come out of the ground next.

 

[McKinney_5900]

Welcome to the hobby Rock! As others have said avoid at ALL costs the made in China junk. I'd stick with a name brand like Minelab, Nokta or Garrett ect. All detectors will find metal, gold included.

The thing with detecting is it's kinda a pay to play kind of deal. You can go cheap to start but if you stick with it you WILL out grow your machine and want to upgrade.

I started out with a $90 harbor freight machine. I liked it enough to keep at it. I was given an Ace 250 by a family friend and used that for 2 years till I wanted more. Then I went all in with an Equinox 800. Did I need the 800? No I could have went with a Nox 600 and done just fine.

Then the urge to upgrade happened again and I got a Manticore. Again did I need to? Absolutely not. Now I have more than enough gear to invite someone new if I want to. Also have a great back up machine if something happens to the main.

This hobby rewards you with time spent outdoors with friends and if your lucky can pay you back. I have been fortunate to meet several great people who I spend time with other than just detecting together. I have also found enough treasure to pay for all my gear but that's not what it's about for me. It's finding and saving history that would otherwise be lost forever.

You will find trash. You will get skunked. You will have bad days and dry spells. You will also have a great time though anticipating what may come out of the ground next.

Check out the Vanquish 440. Price is in your range. The 540 does have bluetooth though for wireless headphones.

 

[rock found hound]

Check out the Vanquish 440. Price is in your range. The 540 does have bluetooth though for wireless headphones.

Great! Thank you, I see there is one that comes with a pin pointer, is that necessary or does it just speed things up?

 

[McKinney_5900]

Great! Thank you, I see there is one that comes with a pin pointer, is that necessary or does it just speed things up?

For coins, yes. Gold flakes, no. I always use a pointer. I am a coin shooter. I own three of the best.

 

[Carl-NC]

For small gold you want a high-frequency detector, 40kHz or higher. For $200 you're limited to older used models. Probably the best would be a White's Goldmaster II, III, or VSAT. The VSAT model is probably the best of these but all are still really good machines. Whatever you do, don't buy a blue-box White's Goldmaster, these are really old (60s-70s) and completely useless.

Other options are:
Tesoro Diablo - decent
Tesoro Lobo - decent
Tesoro Lobo S/T - good
White's GMT - great, but probably not $200
Fisher Gold Bug (old analog model) - good
Fisher Gold Bug 2 - great, but probably not $200
Fisher Gold Bug (digital model) - decent
Teknetics G2 - decent

 

[cudamark]

A lot will depend on what kind of gold will you likely find in your mining area. For the tiniest flakes, Gold Bug 2. For the deepest/biggest monster nuggets, the Minelab GPZ7000. Everything else is a compromise at one end of the scale or the other. Also, the amount and kind of mineralization plays a BIG part of the decision. Salt flats bring in another curve ball to the equation, as do water hunting areas.