Time to get serious, which detector to get?

[BlackRider]

I have been online studying all the different detectors on the market, and swimming through the depths of this forum and still haven't come away with a definitive answer.

I was going to try and stay under $300, but am not so sure of that anymore. And the machine will see just about every possible terrain type, beach, rocks, clay, dirt, etc.. anything you can imagine, its here in Maryland and I will be exploring it.

The Garrett Ace 250 caught my eye so far with the best bang-for-your-buck factor, but are there others I should consider? Any that are better for good all-around hunting?

Also what is the big difference in coils? From what I have read so far, the smaller the coil, the smaller the object it picks up, but loses depth. Is this true? Does a larger coil go farther in the ground but lose finding the smaller items?

All help is appreciated!

[IronClad]

White's makes the MXT and the M6, which from what I've read are good all around units. They cover most any type of hunting. They are priced more than $300.00 though.

Each manufacturer makes a general " do it all " detector. Guess its just boils down to personal preference and price.

Here's a link to Lost Treasure Field Tests. This is for the White's. Others are listed in the home section.
Good Luck !

Lost Treasure Online- Field Test

[EBCIII]

For the under $300 the Ace 250 is hard to beat. If you want manual GB spend a bit more.

Give one of the sponsors a call and let them know what you want. They will give you a hand in choosing, Beale.

[The TINMAN]

Talk to the Sponsors, they can walk you thru your needs. You can get a hundred different opinions from everyone so I think the sponsors could help you best. Also you can go to Metal Detectors News & Reviews. Net and see what users think of different detectors. Hope this helps a little.

Good Luck & HH.
The TINMAN

[Corteser]

Look at the Tesoro Cibola, priced around $300 and a better detector than the Ace 250.

[norris]

Check out the White's Prizms. In my oppinion they are as good as it gets for the money. The Prizm II goes for $200.00, III for $300, IV for $400 & Prizm V for $500. Go for the Prizm V if it's within your budget, but they are all good. Oh yea, something that is important to me And does make a hugh differance when your hunting; The Prizms only weigh 2.5 lbs. Probably the lightest on the market. Makes a big difference if your going to be hunting for extended periods of time, and nothing will cause you to stop hunting early than when you detector starts getting heavy.

[Denverjoe04]

if your staying under 300 I highly recommend the ACE 250...its a super machine and it beats the heck out of alot of the higher priced machines...

[Buster]

The Ace 250 is the weapon of choice. Seems like there are a lot of them on this site. I can't remember anyone complaining about them. I used Garretts when I first started and had good luck. It took me a while to save up for an XLT which I use now. What ever you get, just learn it and practice and you will be fine...... Buster

[MinelabMan]

Originally Posted by Buster

....What ever you get, just learn it and practice and you will be fine...... Buster

Just do what Buster said and you'll be finding good stuff in no time!

[Inspector]

Also look at a Fisher F2, a little more advanced than the ace 250.