Going to take the plunge. Can you guys help me out??

Sarge38624

After lurking on this forum for a while, I have decided to go ahead and get a detector. I know no one in my area that is involved in this hobby, so I don't have anyone to ask for advice. Could you guys give me some advice on a good entry level metal detector. I am not in a position to spend alot of money at this point. I have about a $300 budget.
Also, I have no idea where to go detecting. Could you guys give me some advice on that as well? If there are any good books or magazines that I could read, please let me know. By the way, how are you guys finding bottles and beer stoppers?? I didn't know you could detect glass. Thanks in advance for any suggestions that you guys can offer me. I live in the Ozark mountains in Northwest Arkansas. The terrain here is rocky, so keep that in mind in suggesting a detector. Thanks again.

lordmarcovan

You have plenty of folks here to ask for advice, so you're in good hands.

A starter detector can be had in the neighborhood of $200, and if you shop well you can buy one from a big distributor like Kellyco and get the accessories and everything, all in one package, UPS or FedEx'ed to your door, for not much more than that.

Finding the likely spots to go detecting takes a little imagination.

I suggest you read Western and Eastern Treasures magazine- not only does it give you a lot of good info, it is also inspiring to read since there are a lot of nifty finds mentioned and columns by greats like Glenn Carson (author of "Coinshooting") and Ed Fedory ("The Relic Hunter").

As to the bottles and beer stoppers, they aren't being found by a detector. The folks who are finding things like that are hunting demolition sites that have been bulldozed. Anytime you find "naked dirt" on a demolition or construction or street repair in an older area, interesting things come to light. You can often pick up marbles, pottery, stoppers, arrowheads, and nonmetallic things like that off the surface, while cruising along with your detector sniffing what's under the surface.

Sarge38624

Thanks for the quick reply. What about the detectors at Wal Mart?? I saw a Bounty Hunter for $200 there last night. Is this more of a toy, or would that be a good way to start?? If I need to save more money and wait until spring, I would be willing to do that, but I really want to get started now if I can. Thanks for all the help.

lordmarcovan

Bounty Hunters are cheap detectors. By this I mean "cheap" in both the good and the bad senses of the word. They are lightweight (some say flimsy). They are definitely more cheaply built than some other brands. BUT, in my experience, they pack a lot of bang for the buck, and I never had a problem with the one I owned. In fact, it outperformed my more expensive Garrett machine in some places.

Think of Bounty Hunter as the Kia or Hyundai of metal detectors. They're cheap but they'll get you where you wanna go.

A $200 Bounty Hunter rises above the "toy" class of metal detector, and places you into the lower end of the serious detector spectrum. It might be a decent starter machine.

Once upon a time, the only detectors you could buy at places like Wal-Mart or Radio Shack would be Korean-built no-name junk. Bounty Hunter is at least an established name brand and you could certainly do worse.

I say go for it, practice with it, learn its ins and outs, and get out there and USE it. Practice, practice, practice. Be persistent.

Then, when you've gotten skilled with that $200 Bounty Hunter, you might even have a find or two that can help finance an upgrade.

Note that Garrett and Whites and some of the other big brands also have starter models for about $200, though. Check that Kellyco link I gave you. The Garrett Ace 250 comes to mind.

It's really got little to do with brand names and a lot more to do with features. You want a target ID meter if you are gonna be coinshooting in trashy areas. A depth indicator is nice, even though they are seldom 100% accurate.

For example, I will usually dig nickel and pulltab signals if they are more than 2.5" deep on my meter- if they are shallower, I pass on 'em. I probably miss some shallow rings and modern nickels but I also avoid a lot of trash that way. You do wanna dig those pulltab signals to get rings and gold. Having a depth indicator (even though it's just a guess by the machine) helps you decide which "iffy" signals to dig.

The more you dig, the more you'll find, of course. It's a good idea to dig everything while you're learning, to get an idea of how your detector interprets different items.

The biggest factor in your success will be your skill in using your machine. I have seen guys with $250 Bounty Hunters run circles around guys with $1000 XLT's and such, out in the field. Bells n' whistles are nice but it's not so much what you use as how you use it.

If you leave your detector in the closet 29 days of the month, it won't find much.

If you go to a 1970's baseball field, don't expect to dig many Indian Head cents.

Learn to sniff out possible sites- get permission to detect the yards of some of those older homes.

I doubt you will strike it rich right away (if ever), but I guarantee you this- you'll have a blast, and the time spent outdoors enjoying this hobby will never have been a waste.

BoxTopp

In my opinion, I would do a little reseach before buying "what type of metal detector you want" I am not familiar with your area. I do believe your area may hold some great relic's & coins. Don't rely on
one forum to get your info. Visit many other metal detecting forums to gain information on the subject
you seek. You can look at it as a investment. You can PM me, for more info on sites.