What is the best Metal detector for gold nuggets and coil/relic hunting

[wayupnorth]

What is the best all around metal detector for gold nuggets, float copper and coil/relic hunting for around $1000.00....a Simultaneous multiple frequency ? or ? What brand. for depth? .Any opinions and depth storys are welcome...please help..thanks

[wonderer]

For that price range, my (opinion) list is:

For gold:

Whites GMT great sensitivity or GMT light GMZ less controls more factory presets (not as flexable as GMT controls)but costs less. ( the last one I owned was the older GM4b )

Tesoro LOBO Super Traq...this is the one I (currently) own for gold. Good sencitivity & I bought a smaller coil for trashy areas. (As alot of old mining areas have alot of junk.)

Fisher Gold Bug II...also very sensitive. (Never owned one but have seen demo's, I was impressed)

Owned a minelab X-Terra 70 (to use for gold with that special coil) ( I had problems with this machine) (two control heads & a coil) It is also a multiuse machine

I no longer own it. Maybe the New X-Terra 705 has been improved.

The best gold machine I owned was the PI Minelab 3500, great machine but expensive when I bought it new (over your cost)I dug alot of 3 ft holes, it had debth..because of health reasons sold it.

Used PI Minelab machines might be within your price range & dealers may have some to sell as they took them in as tradeins from custumers who bought a new one + they may throw in some training on the machine, to sweeten the deal.

You are going to get a lot of opinions, but I think a machine which is primarly designed to find gold & not a multiuse detector is the best for gold.

As for a relic & gold detector:

Whites MXT (This is the other detector I currently own + extra coil) good multi use detector but not as good as GMT or LOBO on gold.

Because I believe the debth is better on Gold machines like the LOBO Super Traq it will also work on coinshooting and relics at a better debth. Negitive it has no indicator screen to give you more information.

wonderer

[frank c]

Around a GRAND.... $1,000.00 Simple question simple answer, a used Minelab P.I. type ... SD, V2, OR GP SERIES, and a little patience to find the deal.

[wayupnorth]

Thanks.....I guess Im not sure about the whole gold prospecting. I have had a Goldbug 2.......Never found a speck of gold here in wisconsin(which isnt unusual) Its not very common to our area. I have found tiny specks while sluicing....but as far as nuggets??!!....Im not sure if there are any here. BUT what I did find with the gold bug...was a few peices of float copper. the only problem was...It seemed that I couldnt really find any deeper than about 4-5". In my area of the woodlands....the topsoil is pretty thick in most areas...... I guess Im looking for a detector that would pick up any precious metal in the rough form...silver , copper or gold. But I need some depth... Any other ideas

[frank c]

You said...But I need some depth... Any other ideas

Dig.

[wonderer]

As Frank C. said & I've said a used older PI metaldetector will be in the range of your budget......It goes deep (I've dug 3 foot deep holes with my ML 3500).

Not all areas have nuggets large enough to be detected with a metal detector even though you can get color in a gold pan.

If you are not periodicly getting a picker nugget out of your pan once and a while.

The gold in the area is probley very fine & not big enough to be picked up with a VLF or a PI detector. :twocents:

Good luck ....And by the way our soil is cleache like concrete lots of fun to dig in.

wonderer

[wayupnorth]

As Frank C. said & I've said a used older PI metaldetector will be in the range of your budget......It goes deep (I've dug 3 foot deep holes with my ML 3500).

Not all areas have nuggets large enough to be detected with a metal detector even though you can get color in a gold pan.

If you are not periodicly getting a picker nugget out of your pan once and a while.

The gold in the area is probley very fine & not big enough to be picked up with a VLF or a PI detector. :twocents:

Good luck ....And by the way our soil is cleache like concrete lots of fun to dig in.

wonderer

Thanks a bunch guys.....I think my gold nugget hopes are more of a dream than reality....lol....but I guess the explorer in us is what makes us all seek out the treasures we do with the detector or gold pan

[John Hoser Oates]

You are extremely lucky to be lookn' in these times. Detectors have advanced sooo much these past 15 years it's amazing. It does not matter what--the man behind the machine is by FAR the most important detail to nugget shooting. No form of detecting is more expensive, hard and dangerous--and requires much experience, unless you live in the big city as gangs are as bad as rattlers--make that worse as no brains. I would find a person from this or any forum who is a local to your area and buddy up to lessen that painful learning curve-tons a au 2 u 2 -John :whoope:

[WLTDWIZ]

Whites MXT very versatile

[wayupnorth]

Whites MXT very versatile

Ok...well...Im looking at the Minelab safari with the Frequencies >> 1.5kHz to 100kHz multipleand

the MXT 300 with 15kHz single

does anyone think or know of the advantages of the multiple Frequencies V.S. Single Frequency ??

[wonderer]

Wayupnorth,

Research is the key....most detectors have field reports....and articals (or field tests) written about them in magazines by professionals.

Even this forum and others have written up reports on differant detectors.

Steve H. up on the Alaska forum has written great reviews on all the gold detectors (every year he puts out his report).

Print them out...research each out...strength & weaknessous...remember it takes alot of time to learn how to setup and use equipment to get the best results.

You had the Goldbug II, you stated. A good machine.

Question, how many hours did you spend learning your machine (its quarks, how to set it up for differant types of ground, how to use it properly) ? Did you have headphone ? Good ones ? Did you have more than one coil ?

Remember the metal detector is not a magic wand, it is a tool that must be learned & used to get results.

wonderer

[Idaho Al]

G'Day Wayupnorth, If you are serious about nuggets go with a ML GPX4500. The reason I say this is because if you are serious you will end up wanting one. I use the 4500 and a GB 2. I just started coin hunting and made the mistake of trying to get into coin hunting cheap and now I am regreting not getting a top of the line coin machine and end up using my GB for coins. I will proabably end up with a ML E-Trac for coins. I went with the GB for small gold ( there is a lot more small gold than large nuggets)& I belive the GB 2 to be the best for small nuggets due to its sensitivity and NOTHING beats the ML GPX 4500 for depth........Ant way ger the best you can afford.........Idaho Al

[Jerico]

If I was you i would just stick to the goldbug. That is a great machine, especially with the tiny 6" coil. I had a friend that always found gold when we went out detecting in hydrualic pits, always. The pieces he found were extremely tiny at that , less than .5 grain and smaller. To me it would not make sense to spend lots of money on a Mine lab if you have not even found a tiny nugget yet with the GB2. My advice is to keep working the Goldbug2. It just sounds like to me your frustrated no finding any gold with it. Keep at it. Finding gold is an art with a detector. It took me 4 months and every weekend to finaly find my first piece detecting with my GM2 which I still use and have found a lot of gold with this machine since that first nugget.

My advice? Stick with the Goldbug 2 at least until you start having a need to go deeper. :twocents: