Good info, Thanks guys.

garrett ace 250
got mine at kellyco.com

Something I might never get to do... unless it's in Later years

watching always wanted to get one,

I've always been interested in this and have researched metal detecting through the years. I'm now retired and have time in the summer. Other than here, where would be other sources for information on metal detecting?

The big thing with detectors is to learn it, my wife can find tons of stuff with a old whites coin shooter , you have to learn the chirps and dings its been done for a hundred years before digital machines just ask the museum's dont let youtube make you spend money trust me i got alot of years in this game.

These are two good sites: https://www.findmall.com/ and https://metaldetectingforum.com. YouTube videos, Google MD'ing web sites :-)

I have the Garrett AT pro. It has been a good machine and very versatile.

do they make them with headphones, my hearing is bad,

Treasurenet.com


Yes. If machine doesn't come with headphones, you can usually get them separately. It's best to have them anyway, so you don't annoy everyone around you.

I
I have purchased several from them and agree with you.

If you've ever watched The Curse of Oak Island and you see Gary Drayton locate a target. They will dig a hole and if the target is still in the hole, he will pull out a pin pointer and poke around in the hole until he gets a signal. That narrows the target down and he is usually able to pull it out. Trying to find it with the larger detector is much harder. I have a pin pointer; it saves a lot of extra digging.

One thing I'll say about wearing headphones. They're an asset at times when you know you're in a "safe" area, however, I don't advise wearing them in a city or similar areas. ALWAYS know your surroundings. People can come up to you fast! :-(

Don't sell the Bounty Hunter line short.I've got a Garrett now but my first detector was a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV and I'd highly recommend it.

One nice thing about the Minelab Equinox detectors is that they are submersible; can be used on land or in the water.

Have a Cabelas branded on kids used to fool with.
They found dome silver with it, and LOTS of horseshoes, nails, etc here.

I picked up what looks to be an old White recently at an auction for under $20.
Tossed fresh batteries in it and seems to.work.


ETA
Just looked, It's a White Coinmaster

My advice is to get a decent mid range machine that has a relatively easy learning curve. Minelab equinox is what I’d recommend. 600-800 or the new 700-900 models. The 6-800 have a compressed VDI scale that I actually prefer. It goes up to 40 for the nonferrous. The 7-900 models go up to 99 on the scale. It’s more information but not necessarily helpful for a beginner. Watch as many YouTube tutorials as you can and go put some time into the machine. Also a Garrett orange carrot pinpointer and a good shovel like a piranha is good to have too.

As with any hobby one you get the main piece of equipment then you just got to buy accessories. Aside from the pinpointer a good shovel is a must. This is my current shovel. Its by Predator Tools Made in the USA. The model is the Ranger.

IF I was just starting out I'd buy A minelab vanquish or a Notka simplex. The simplex for the money is a good machine. I have one for and it performs well. My main machine is the CTX 3030, and my next purchase will be an XP deus.

If you are mainly going to hunt on grass, the minelab vanquish series is a great bang for the buck. They stink in iron and broken ground though as they only run multi freq. I just sold one to a buddy and he likes it. I use my deus for everything nowadays as it is crazy lightweight. It's a single freq. but i can change the freq. to suit me for what i'm hunting for. Findmall is a good sight to learn on the different detectors as they have forums for each brand. Don't fall for the kellyco "package" deals as the stuff they include is mostly junk anyways.
In parks you are better off with a hand digger as walking around with a shovel will cause problems with somebody. Fill your holes nice and you won't lose any places.