Two questions.....

[TheRiverdog]

Hi,

Well, after coming to the realization that I'm not smart enough to win treasure from the puzzle books A Treasure's Trove and The Buried Treasure Game....I'm thinking of moving on to metal detecting.

Q1. I see that many people have recommended the $200 Garrett ACE250 as a good starter model. According to Garrett's website, this model is highly recommended for coins and moderately recommended for jewelery and relics....but not at all for prospecting.

Does the fact that it's not recommended for prospecting mean that it won't find gold jewelery...or just that it won't pick up gold ore?

Q2. (and I would love to see real find stories) If I pony up for the $600, $700 or even $800 models, what are the chances that I will REALLY fine enough loot to at least cover my investment? I just don't want ot spend $800 to end up with a .68 cents and a can full of old nails and bottle caps.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[omnicognic]

The Ace 250 has many of the bells and whistles of the high end detectors and is a fantastic machine! As far as digging up trash, we all do that! You must invest more than money to find the good stuff, it takes patience and research and most importantly it take time to go out and use the machine! You see all the cool finds here on this site, but you don't often see the trash that was dug that day too, some folks fill up a whole trash bag with stuff they dug but didn't post! The good stuff is there, don't get discouraged. Starting here at this site is a great beginning! Here you will find a vast source of info, tips and advice, as well as many experts on demand for you to query about any questions or problems you may encounter! Welcome to the hobby/addiction and to the forum, if you need anything just PM me or post a question! We are a friendly bunch and love to further our hobby by helping out each other. If in time you find this site to be all I have said it is, then please become a Charter Member and help pass on what you have learned! Good Hunting! omnicognic 8)

 

[Born2Dtect]

A lot of other higher priced detectors are not recommend for prospecting. They wont pick up fine gold. Most who prospect have one detector for prospecting and another for coins and jewelry. The ACE 250 is impressive for the money.

ED

 

[gregl01]

Hi Dog, I recently purchased a Garrett ACE250 and I love it. It is incredible on coins. I imagine it would do well in any hunting enviroment. It amazes me how it can find things as small as a BB at 4-5". I believe this is a incredible machine for the money and if you purchase one you'll be impressed as well. Good luck
HH
Greg

 

[bakergeol]

Of all the detectors on the market(hundred?or so) only 5 can do all three coin/relic/gold nugget hunting. Most coin detectors like the Ace 250 will do well on coins and jewelry but poorly at nugget hunting. Vlfs like the Ace 250 operate at low frequency with is great for coins/jewelry but lousy for very small gold nuggets. Gold hunting VLFs require a higher frequency to detect the smallest gold particles.

With regards to your 2nd question.This is a hobby not a financial investment. Your goal is to have fun not to recope your investment. Have the attitude that you may only find 68 cents this weekend and you may never pay off that $800 detector. This is a hobby and people do this for the enjoyment of metal detecting. It is sort of like fishing. You buy all your fishing gear and a good boat and spend your weekends fishing. When you come home after a weekend fishing trip does your wife ask if you found enough fish to make your boat payment? Yes have the attitude that you may never pay off your detector. So when you do find something of value(which will pay for your detector) consider it a bonus.

Just have fun
George

 

[Xraywolf]

Couldn't tell ya about the ore/nuggets Dog.
It sure finds gold rings I've found 5 already,plus about $150 in clad coins, and a decent assortment of older silver coins/wheat pennies buffalo nickels ect.
I've been at it almost 3 months with the 250.
As to paying off you investment well you never know.
Like about anything else, you'll get what you put into it.
Theres quite simply a huge amount of $$$ worth of stuff in the groud, and if you swing your coil over the right piece of soil, you'll find it.
If you don't, you won't.
To me MD'ing is like opening up presents all day.
You never know what your going to get.
I just found a 1919 Mercury dime today when I was least expecting it - And found a Barber quarter and seated dime yesterday.
Do some basic research, follow your hunches and detect as much as you can, and you'll do Ok but like anything in life - There ain't no guarentees.

 

[T-Rex]

No doubt, the 250 is a lean mean coin huntin' machine...

I can't see how you could possibly get a better deal for $200... it's a can't miss purchase...

 

[TheRiverdog]

When you come? home after a weekend fishing trip does your wife ask if you found enough fish to make? your boat payment?

Ha-ha....you my friend have obviously never met my wife

I appreciate all of the advice...thanks! I'm going to get that ACE 250 and try to educate myself as much as possible. This forum is great and I'm also reading Garrett's book called "Treasure Hunting for Fun and Profit" I think since I live in Southern NewHampshire, coin hunting is the best thing to start with. All of the cities and towns around here were established so long ago, I'm thinking there must be plenty of old coins to find.

 

[T-Rex]

When you come? home after a weekend fishing trip does your wife ask if you found enough fish to make? your boat payment?

Ha-ha....you my friend have obviously never met my wife?

I appreciate all of the advice...thanks!? I'm going to get that ACE 250 and try to educate myself as much as possible.? This forum is great and I'm also reading Garrett's book called "Treasure Hunting for Fun and Profit"? I think since I live in Southern NewHampshire, coin hunting is the best thing to start with.? All of the cities and towns around here were established so long ago, I'm thinking there must be plenty of old coins to find.

Heck yeah, you could be popping up some nice pre-revolutionary English and Spanish coins... good luck