What is the best metal detector and why?

Griv

Since the last one I had was in 69 (it was a sweety too), I'm figuring that a few improvements have been made since. Anyone care to re-educate an old fart on the hot hot???

ahooka454

I have a Mine-Lab Excalibur. They get pricey but they are worth it.

Me and my dad went here and bought them afew years ago. I have a blast with this thing.


Here's the store... Kellyco

lordmarcovan

There is no "best" metal detector. There are good ones and not-so-good ones, of course, but the "best" metal detector is the one that is most comfortable for you, meaning not only physical comfort in swinging it, but more importantly, comfort and familiarity with its features and functions.

Pick a machine that has the features you think will help you the most in your style of hunting. Ask yourself what sort of hunting you want to do most, whether it be beach hunting, relic hunting, coinshooting, prospecting, etc.

Picking a good detector is only 20-25% of the equation at most. The biggest factor in the equation is the user: YOU. What sites you choose, and strategies you come up with, and how much practice you get with your machine.

Having previous detecting experience from the early days of the hobby is a plus. Today's detectors are different, but the strategies and methods are mostly the same.

unspendable

Just like Lordmarcovan said, My Dad had one in the sixtys, tubes and a battery that was I think 74 volts, maybe 64, anyway it was all metal, no discrimanator, He dug up everything, later he bought a simple machine with discrimantion and really increased his finds. well he wanted more depth and purchased a high dollar one with all the bells and whistles and it proved to be to complicated for him I think. I purchased a bounty hunter, I know, some people dont like them, 25 years ago and I am comfortable with it and I still like it better than the top of the line bounty I got a few years ago and it will hold its own when I go out with other people, You have to know your machine, I need to get the newer one out more to learn it better but I usually go to the truck and get old faithfull.. I sure have thought about those minelabs

ricko

LordM and Unspendable give excellent advice. You must learn the machine... that is paramount. That being said.. a $99 machine will never do the things a high end machine is capable of doing. So, if you are just after an hour or two of 'treasure hunting'.. any machine will fill the bill. If you are serious, then evaluate what type of MD'ing you want to do (relic, coin etc), assess how much time you are willing to devote to the effort (i.e. time available, time that can be MADE available), interest and dedication level, and make your choice based on those components. Oh yes... fit and comfort are important as well. Cheers, RickO

lordmarcovan

Unspendable- others might knock 'em, but you won't hear me slammin' Bounty Hunters. My experience with them has been good. Nice lightweight machines with lots of bang for the buck.

metaldetectinghound

I have had a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV since 1995. It was a birthday gift from my wife. I have posted some of the excellent finds I have made with it here, including a 1887-S five dollar gold coin. I have accumulated over $3,700.00 and over 150 rings and numerous other pieces of jewelry, along with several silver coins with it since I first had a Bounty Hunter. Several years ago, I purchased a White's XLT. I kept it for a week and returned it because I liked my Bounty Hunter better. It was mentioned earlier, the machine you feel most comfortable with is the machine to buy. Keeping up with the Jones'es is not the thing to do when buying a metal detector. The machine a person is the most comfortable with will produce the best results in my opinion....Ken the MDH

I noticed in one post where it was mentioned that two OLD grumpy men were encounted while detecting. All old metal detecting enthusiasts are not grumpy.....I am 74 years old and I do not fit that catagory. I wll share space, techniques, stories, and even my lunch with a fellow detector. My brown recluse spider bite is just about all healed up and I will be hitting the parks etc soon. Remember the old saying "Happy Trails to you til we meet again" I say. "Happy Hunting to you til we meet again"

DUBBA

happy trails mdh! happy trails

ricko

Glad to hear you have recuperated MDHound.... welcome back. Cheers, RickO

Musky1011

I still use my Old 500GTA

Jim

millennium

The best one?.....

Bah! Everybody knows them dagblasted things don't work....

crispy

I have a Tesoro, Fisher, Whites and Minelab. The White's Spectrum was my first real metal detector and was pretty user friendly. The Tesoro Sidewinder is great for the beach and is nice and lightweight. The Fisher CZ-5 is an easy to use, deep hunting machine but does have a propensity for iron nails. I still like it though. The Minelab SE takes the prize for me. It also is a deep seeking machine that does not, in my opinion have a huge and difficult learning curve like everyone says. It does take a bit to learn its language, but learning how to use any machine properly is an ongoing process. The SE is a heavy machine, but it's attributes far outweigh this for me. It is a very discriminating machine that can practically tell you what you have before you dig it. I like all my detectors for different reasons. I even liked my Radio Shack detector way back in the day because it was all I could afford and having any detector was better than having none at all.

unspendable

I just got em out of the closet, warming up around here and talking about it is giving me the bug.......

unspendable

MDHound, I have yet to find a gold coin, I usually get tired of pull tabs and discriminate them.. maybe one day though, good to hear your ok, those spiders are bad news I hear.. mike

seatedcollector

i love my old garrett GTA 1000 was a TOTL detector back in '93 and in my eyes still is. i had a whites 6000Di that would have been great for a baseball bat but i couldnt rely on it to find anything.

Omega

The best detector appears to be the one the other guy is using while I am out MDing! But what do I care? I am having fun. The snow is finally melting and by evening the ground can thaw enough to allow a little hori-hori work. Life is good!

bsshog40

I like my garrett 1500

eyoung429

Love my Coin$trike!!! but looking for a second one.....

millennium

I like my GTi 2500........ And Garrett service is outstanding!