Metal Detectors? I'm interested

[rjohns94]

in this sport. looking at a White detector. Opinions on which general purpose one to go with. Read the lit. thinking the 3 band for coins, jewlery and prospecting would cover the general use. Lots of old home sites, playgrounds, parks and trails, not to mention civil war battle grounds on private property, old mines, and such. I love getting out doors and with all the history around here, thought i might want to dig some up. your thoughts on which way to go????

[1894c]

sounds cool to me--although I think I need to retire before I take up metal detecting and that's a long way off--I hope

[Stan in SC]

My step son is into metal detecting and he told he of a location mainly for coins which he always likes and is very productive that I never thought of.Old school houses.He has done especially well with old abandoned closed up ones.

Stan in SC

[madman4570]

Oh boy!
Dude, you will get hooked and give up hunting anything living.

Get the White Prizm 5G(a good machine that doesn't cost a ton,but does an excellent job)
Also,eventually if you really freak out and want the very best machine,having a second backup like the 5G while the other is downtime for something is a good thing.
Most guys that get into this absolutely love it and when you find your first musket ball(you will be hooked)

Come up here and we will do my place, or try my nephews place 1000acres right near --------------Newton Battle field, and right next to Spanish Hill.(in fact my friend -------now owns and even built his huge stone house on top of Spanish Hill

http://chemungvalley.org/history%20park.htm
http://www.spanishhill.com/articles/Heralded.htm
http://www.spanishhill.com/relics/D_Cow ... les0.shtml

[Bill in Oregon]

Good advice. Just be sure to pick a unit that has an easy-to-use pinpoint feature. Most of them do. My cheapo Garrett doesn't.

[Last Gunfighter]

Might want to check into a Nautilus, They are made right here in Coats, N.C. I have one i have dug a ton of relics with. Mine is a dmc ll, Whites is probably just as good, if you get the higher end one.

[Rube Burrows]

I metal detect some. I use a Fisher detector. I have found a few civil war bullets, a bayonet and some other small things.

[DPris]

I was interested, since I like to haunt old mine & cabin sites anyway.
Bought a mid-level Garrett with all sorts of gee-whiz features. Took it up in an old mining area, took it up to an old house foundation area nearby here. Ran it around the back yard.

Originally would indicate anywhere & everywhere, including waving straight up in the air.
Garrett told me "Well, you're in the West, the West is highly mineralized."
Hmmmm.

Bugged 'em till they sent a replacement coil.
Put five coins down in the grass out back in a square yard, let my bro-in-law who got me interested find 'em with the unit.
30 minutes later he'd found four (I pointed out the square yard but not the exact drop points), never found the fifth.

I accidentally dropped a .25 ACP round in the grass out back one day while doing some photography. Got the detector out, could not locate the round.

Gave up.
That bro-in-law's 30-year-old entry-level White worked much better than my new Garrett. Gave it to him in disgust.
Others may have good experiences with the brand, but those were mine.
Denis

[rjohns94]

thanks for the input. I got some first hand advice today from a guy the police here use to help solve crimes. He finds cases and bullets at crime scene. Hooked me up (he is a distributor for several brands, had 50+ units on display, and 2/3 of his store was inventory. worked with these things since the 60's, wrote several books. I walked out with a unit. Will tell you more when I get back from trip. Cant wait to use it. I know of lots of old home sites, school yards and play areas in the area. Madman, i will have to get up your way and we will have a blast. later.

[getitdone1]

I have a metal detector. Problem is it detects too much. It's helped me find a few things but I've also wasted a lot of time with it.

May one day get another one but it'll have to be better and I'm sure much more expensive.

Don

[Mokwaw]

I have has 4 metal detectors over the last 40 yrs or so. 2 were Whites and 2 were Garretts. I like the Whites far better than the Garretts. Treasure hunting is lots of fun, never know what you might pull out of the ground. I have found numerous coins, rings, half a round ball mold, and various other things but never found that elusive GOLD coin stash.