Tim L Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Hi,My wife wants to get a low dollar metal detector to find gold and coins. We are looking at the different bounty hunters..Are they any good for a first detector? She wants one that she can put th end in the streams and nugget shoot around bolders and such. She likes the digital depth read out. Any help would be great.Her price range is 150 to 250 for this one.Thank you,Tim L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest keninla Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Hi,My wife wants to get a low dollar metal detector to find gold and coins. We are looking at the different bounty hunters..Are they any good for a first detector? She wants one that she can put th end in the streams and nugget shoot around bolders and such. She likes the digital depth read out. Any help would be great.Her price range is 150 to 250 for this one.Thank you,Tim LMy first detector (which I still have) was a Bounty Hunter that I paid almost $300 for. It is Ok for finding coins at the beach but to find a gold nugget I think the nugget would have to be about 10 pounds with a flag and strobe light on it. (exaggeration here). You won't get much of a nugget finder for that money but finding coins at the beach can be fun too.I have since bought other gold detectors that scream on small pieces of gold that the Bounty Hunter has no signal at all. Sort of wish I had saved the $300 and put it toward a better detector.Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexb Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 There are some relatively inexpensive coin detectors, but gold detectors are a little more on average. The x-terra 70 will find both but is a little more costly. The best low cost detector is a used one, but new detectors obviously have a certain appeal to them as well. I believe a used whites mxt might also do the coin/gold crossover trick. I'm sure you'll get a little more detailed advice on this thread before the day it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest glen Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Don't forget the tesoro lobo st, good machine for both gold and coins good discrimination life time warranty cost about $630.00 new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Scott Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 For a gold nugget machine in that range look for either a used Fisher Gold Bug or a used Minelab American Gold Striker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtnman Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Tim, the only machine in that price range that I can honestly recommend is the Garrett Ace 250, which retails for $249.95. It's a coin machine, so you have the digital readout on the probable depth, plus what you're swinging over. Did you catch the Bounty Hunter ad that said it could find a quarter at 8 inches and larger targets up to five feet? I tried their best one on a Ford F-250, it found it at about six inches, so take it for what it's worth. I'm not going to say for sure that you can find gold with the Ace 250, but IF it's possibe, go with the new 4" coil they offer, it has the best chance, but forget about the readouts, put it in all metal and dig everything, it's the only chance you'll have. There are a couple of machines out there that "cross over", but it all depends on where you'll be swinging it as to which I'd recommend, but they're all over that price range you mentioned. Just keep in mind, you can take a gold machine and make it find coins, but it's pretty hard to take a coin machine and make it find gold. BUT, if I had to recommend one, it would be the Minelab X-terra 70, with the right coil. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're better off with two specialized machines, especially where the gold is concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29prospector Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Tim,I went the 2 machine route. I have a Gold Bug2 for gold hunting and I also have a Bounty Hunter Time Ranger for coins & relics. The only do all machines out there that are worth recommending are the Minelab Terra X-70 and the Whites MXT.Good luck in your search.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamar Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Dear Tim L.I currently have a White's GMT that I am very impressed with, and although it is not considered to be a coin/relic machine it seems to be able to perform this function quite admirably. My VLF detector which I used prior to the GMT was a White's 5500 series which was another excellent all-around unit in it's own right. Although the 5500 series uses the older analog technology, it was a very good detector, with awesome discrimination abilities and in the hands of a skilled operator, it could consistently outperform the higher priced Whites' 5900 and 6000 analog seires detectors. i bought a 5500 new for $795.00 back in late 1998 or early 1999 and I recovered and sold over $10,000 in coins, jewelry and relics before I stopped THing. If I were in an area conductive to coin and relic hunting, I'd most likely buy either a Whites' 5500, 5900 pro, or 6000 Pro series analog detector.Your friend;LAMAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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