Which MD Do I Need To Purchase

[Stand Watie]

Hi Folks,
I'm seriously wanting to get into the metal detecting hobby but I have zero experience with these machines. I need some advice on what kind of machine I need to purchase for the things I want to do.

I want to shoot coins and artifacts at Civil War and Revolutionary War sites. I live close to several Civil War sites and there was a lot of CW activity in my area. Also only 7 miles from where I live is a Revolutionary War fort, The Star Fort - Ninety Six National Historic Site. The site is now a National Park but I have access to all of the private land around the fort.

Another thing I want to be able to do is shoot for jewelry and coins in wading depth water. The metal detector won't be used to dive, but it needs to be waterproof enough that I can wade in creeks and rivers and hunt the bottom.

Last, but not least, I'd like to shoot for gold nuggets. I live in an area called the Slate Belt in South Carolina. There were a lot of small goldmines around this area, some of which are still active.

In summary, this is what I want to do with my metal detector:

• Hunt for coins
• Hunt for Civil War and Revolutionary War artifacts
• Hunt for jewelry in wading depth water
• Hunt gold nuggets

Hopefully there is one single metal detector that I can purchase which will do all of these things.

Thanks in advance for any and all help or advice you folks can give me.

~ Stand Watie

 

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[Diggit]

I would recommend a White's MXT. You will find a lot of machines that are both coin and relic, but few that are made for coin relic AND gold. It was built around the GMT which is a gold machine.
It has Relic, Coin and Jewelry and Prospecting modes, and is deep, accurate and simple to learn.

 

[wingmaster]

The MXT is an awesome detector I can get dimes at 10"+ with the D2 coil, the coil can get wet but the box is not waterproof so be careful to not get water into the control box. HH

 

[Terry Soloman]

You need at least two different detectors. Anyone - or any dealer that trys to sell you one machine that will do what you want is straight up lying or has no idea what they are talking about. First, where you live nuggetshooting with a metal detector is going to be an exercise in frustration. You need a pan and a highbanker so you can get the flake gold that is in your area. If you want to nuggetshoot, go to Idaho, Arizona, California, Alaska, or another Western State that actually has nuggets to find.

Hunting for Civil War relics? You are digging EVERYTHING - in All Metal, all the time. The key to this type of hunting is depth. That is why the pros use pulse induction machines like the Minelab GPX 5000.

Coin and jewelry hunting? You want excellent discrimination and depth is much less important, as most of your good finds will be between 1" - and 7" in depth.

What is your budget? You can start with one of the best coinshooters on the market, the Tesoro Compadre, for $160.00. A Tesoro Lobo Super Traq, the Whites GMT, and the Fisher Goldbug II, all run about $800.00 and are dedicated gold machines. I use my Lob quite successfully to hunt gold nuggets in Arizona - and coins here in New York. Do your homework, and don't be swayed by dealers and brand loyal hunters with about three-minutes more experience than you have - Good Luck!

Hi Folks,
I'm seriously wanting to get into the metal detecting hobby but I have zero experience with these machines. I need some advice on what kind of machine I need to purchase for the things I want to do.

I want to shoot coins and artifacts at Civil War and Revolutionary War sites. I live close to several Civil War sites and there was a lot of CW activity in my area. Also only 7 miles from where I live is a Revolutionary War fort, The Star Fort - Ninety Six National Historic Site. The site is now a National Park but I have access to all of the private land around the fort.

Another thing I want to be able to do is shoot for jewelry and coins in wading depth water. The metal detector won't be used to dive, but it needs to be waterproof enough that I can wade in creeks and rivers and hunt the bottom.

Last, but not least, I'd like to shoot for gold nuggets. I live in an area called the Slate Belt in South Carolina. There were a lot of small goldmines around this area, some of which are still active.

In summary, this is what I want to do with my metal detector:

• Hunt for coins
• Hunt for Civil War and Revolutionary War artifacts
• Hunt for jewelry in wading depth water
• Hunt gold nuggets

Hopefully there is one single metal detector that I can purchase which will do all of these things.

Thanks in advance for any and all help or advice you folks can give me.

~ Stand Watie

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Terry is right.

To hunt nuggets and coins both successfully you will need to machines. No machine I know of can do both well. The Garrett AT Pro and AT Gold might be an option since you want waterproof. Both waterproof up to 10 feet. Gold is obviously hit gold much better and more sensitive. Pro is more all around machine and better on coins. The Fisher Gold bug 2 is VERY sensitive to gold. Or the Tesoros Terry spoke of.

Holler if you need help or have further questions.

 

[TerryC]

I am hard pressed to give you better info than the last two posts. But I will say, you probably want to consider two different machines, as said above.... or pick just one and put that machine through its paces. I don't do the relic thing but you have GOOD potential for relics. I would suggest going that route first. Good luck. TTC

 

[Lakemonster]

I'd have to say AT Pro... simply because you listed wading ahead of prospecting. It's the only machine that I have that I will use in water. Accidents happen. Yikes.

 

[Stand Watie]

Wow. Great info and lot of it. Let me try to reply a little at least. I feel like I owe y'all that much for your help.

Terry,
So basically you, and several others, are saying forget about the White MXT as a 'do-it-all' machine because there's no such animal in the real world? Thank you sir. That info itself probably just saved me over $800. If you drink I'll buy you a beer someday if we ever meet.

Budget is not that big of a deal. I'm not rich but I can afford the hobby. Of course I don't want to waste money for nothing. Neither do I want to spend a ton of it on a hobby I may not even take a liking to after I try it a while. So for that reason alone I think I should start on a lesser scale money wise. After looking at prices on machines I think if I spend over $300 but under $500 on a starter machine maybe I can get a decent one. I do want to get one good enough that it will forgive some of the beginner's mistakes I'm bound to make. I don't want to buy a machine that's junk.

Also, I think you are probably right about the nuggets. The only nugget that I know of that's been found here in-state was a 2lb one found in the 1960s. At least that's what I read a while back. All the gold I myself have found to date has been small flakes and flour gold I found while panning. So maybe I should simply forget about a MD for the gold and stick with a pan.

Ok...forgotten...done.

So I'm down to coins, jewelry and relic. Is there a good machine out there for around the $500 price that will do those thing, included be one I can get the coil and shaft wet (not the control box)?

Thanks to everyone for your advice so far. It's a joy to be in a forum with y'all.

~ Stand Watie

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Detecting is like golf, would you play 18 holes with one club? You wouldnt tee off with a putter and you wouldn't want to putt with a driver......Unless your really good..... Same way with metal detecting, you can get a detector that excells in one style and can be used in another style, but it will not excell and you will be missing a lot....

If your serious you will want 2 detectors, a good land detector and a good water detector, if money is an issue you can buy used, there are some good deals on some used detectors, many here on our "for Sale" board.......... If you do your research, you can get a good used detector and 2 years down the road sell it fo 90% of what you paid for it....

If you want to buy new for the warranty, we have some of the best dealers right here on this website and they will bend over backwards trying to help you pick what is the best fit for you, check our sponsers......

Good luck and good hunting....

 

[jwm45]

WOW-----YOU WANT A SUPER DETECTORWELL,I HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ALL OF THE WHITES.M/L,FISHERS,TESORO'S.JUST SAW A YOUTUBE ON THE LATEST SUPER DETECTORS.THE WHITES TDI(PULSE COIL),AND THE BRITIAN MADE BLISSTOOL-LTC64XV3(WHICH IS # 1) BEAT OUT THE E-TRAC ;F-75EUS.THE PROBLEM STARTS WHEN WANTING LAND DEPTH VS. DEPTH IN WATER.HAD A CZ-20 THAT WOULD DO BOTH BUT THE CONTROL BOX WEIGHT 6 LBS..THE SOVEREIGN M/L COMES VERY CLOSE TO WHAT YOU WANT ,BUT ITS HEAVY!!MY BET IS ON THE M/L 705 WITH 10.5 D.D.COIL & 15"COILTEK.PLUS THE 18.75 KHZ COIL.# 2 WOULD BE THE WHITES TDI P.I. MACHINE WITH THE LARGE COIL.

 

[Hot zone]

The Tesoro tigershark has 3.5 turn ground balance, mine is due to arrive Thursday. With 8 inch coil will find small gold. About as versatile as you can get until you find that you need your second machine. Owners all rave about them in fresh water with some complaints about western beaches with heavy surf. I own two other machines. Just saying it is a good one to start with and learn. Very durable and good warranty.