which of the 3 is better

[ftafoya]

I am looking for a new detector for nugget hunting only,i have a 1000.00 buget. i think i have narrow it down to these 3, 1-GB2, 2- GMT 3-EUREKA the secound question would be would you buy a 2nd coil ? thanks for any and all your expert help.

[John's Detectors]

Hi, all 3 of these models are great detectors. The Goldbug is probably the most used VLF for gold detecting and yes there are other coils for it. They are elliptical coils in a 6" and 14". When you buy the Goldbug new you can get it with either a 6" coil or the 10" coil. There is one other Detector I would like to recommend also and that is the LobosuperTraq. There are coils for it also. The Minelab Eureka Gold is also a very sensitive and lightweight detector. The coil that comes with the Eureka is the 10" DD elliptical which is NOT waterproof. The Eureka has 3 switchable frequencies to choose from 6.4Khz, 20Khz, 60Khz and believe me they do make a difference! Ok I hope I didn't confuse you too much. If you need anything at all just call me. God Bless and hope I can get you going.

John Tomlinson,CET P=VI
John's Detectors
Blackwell,Tx.
Best Little Detector Shop in Texas!

[TonyinCT]

For my money the Eureka is the way to go here. Just the switchable frequencies will do a great deal to enhance your success. ALso there are other coils that you can buy to help you out.

[mrktwiz]

ok new to Metal detecting ;

If I have a budget of $400 (maybe $500) can you suggest a new or used Metal Detector for use in the foothils of California for nugget detecting but also might work for beach treasure hunting or are the two mutually exclusive?

Also right now I'm using a used Pioneer EX from Bounty Hunter (I got it cuz it was cheap ..like me and I wanted something cheap to get into this hobby. What is your opinion of it?

Thanks in advance for your help.

John (the newb)

[TonyinCT]

Hi John. There are no detectors that work well for both those types of hunting. Also you won't find a new detector for that price that will do really well for hunting nuggets. Used maybe. Let me know if yo need any more help.

[mrktwiz]

Tony,

Thanks for your comments, thats the sense that t'm getting reading "although" I've found several used units that look good on EBay, but still researching, thanks. Tell me why do MANY of the MD manufactures have sales material that promotes their top-end units for being excellant with BOTH Gold/nugget hunting and beach use?

Can you suggest a good unit for both scenarios? I mean one for nugget hunting and one for beach/coin detecting? Also are their any in my price range, I've read of several that "say" they will do fine in the $500.00 range?

Very confusing.

John

[TonyinCT]

Manufacturers use marketing to sell their products. This is why it is important to go with a dealer of multiple brands as well as one that tests/uses those products. We are less biased toward one brand since we carry several. The premise that detectors will find 24K gold as well as 14K or 18K is flawed since the metallic makeup of rings and such make them different targets to the detector through different conductivity. Nugget / gold detectors are made and tuned to find 24K nuggets etc. Beach hunters are made to find jewelry. With that being said , a PI or pulse induction unit may be the answer but they find all sorts of metals in small sizes as well as deep and can be prohibitive to using for nugget hunting in some cases. Still there are NO detectors that I know of that will find nuggets in a consistant manner under 500.00.

[Red Raider]

Originally Posted by TonyinCT

Hi John. There are no detectors that work well for both those types of hunting. Also you won't find a new detector for that price that will do really well for hunting nuggets. Used maybe. Let me know if yo need any more help.

What about the Garrett Infinium?

...there is a machine that will work perfectly for both gold nugget hunting and beach hunting, as well as land hunting!

That would be the Minelab X-Terra 70! Tne X-70 has an incredible prospercting mode, and when used with the 18.75 kHZ DD coil, it sniffs out the very small gold in a VERY BIG way!

Read what a very experienced MD'er has to say about his X-Terra 70, under the "comments and field test reports" by Cyril Smith at Finds.htm and when you get to that page, scroll down to the 4th, 5th, and 6th box containing his comments and tests!

You will see that no matter what anyone says..."the X-Terra 70 can and DOES hunt in all conditions EXTREMELY WELL"!

Hope this helps you!

...the same gentleman I mentioned in my post to John and ftafoya has a field report at Finds.htm on the Infinium LS that he purchased from us at Treasure Hut after he purchased the X-Terra 70. His name is Cyril Smith....been MD'ing for over 25 years, and knows his stuff!

When you get to the page linked above, scroll down to the 7th box and read what he has to say about the Infinium.

Hope this helps you!

Originally Posted by Red Raider

What about the Garrett Infinium?