New to this forum

Welcome to the forum, you have found the best place on the net to meet fellow Mder's ..hope to see pictures of your finds.

Tom

...a lot would depend on where you are hunting, i.e. soil mineralization, and what you are hunting for, coins/jewelry, relics, or gold prospecting. Are you primarily going to hunt coins/jewelry? Are you primarily going to be a relic hinter, or a beach/water hunter?

What is your budget range?

There are several great all around detectors. but few that are excellent with all types of hunting, so it is really important to try and nail down your type of hunting, and where you will be doing it to percentages of your hunting time.

If you will give us a little more info, I will be happy to try and steer you in the right direction.

Originally Posted by COMMANDR

Thanks everyone, good to be welcomed. May need some advice on buying a better MD. I am using a borrowed Bounty Hunter Pioneer EX and looking to buy a good all around detector. Advice welcome.

Gary

[INDY]

Hello and welcome to TQ

[JCWhite]

You will really find this forum helpful and friendly and The place to go if you wanna know something. Glad you're here!

[COMMANDR]

Originally Posted by Chuck@TreasureHut

...a lot would depend on where you are hunting, i.e. soil mineralization, and what you are hunting for, coins/jewelry, relics, or gold prospecting. Are you primarily going to hunt coins/jewelry? Are you primarily going to be a relic hinter, or a beach/water hunter?

What is your budget range?

There are several great all around detectors. but few that are excellent with all types of hunting, so it is really important to try and nail down your type of hunting, and where you will be doing it to percentages of your hunting time.

If you will give us a little more info, I will be happy to try and steer you in the right direction.

Where to start, well here goes.

(1) I live in the midwest Belvidere/Rockford, Il.

(2) I am hunting for, coins/jewelry, relics, and would love to find a meteorite or two.

(3) Budget range, lets see between $400 and $650.

(4) I would be hunting parks, old homesteads, fairgrounds and old churchs.

(5) Is the used market a good place to find a quality MD. I see alot of people trying to sell every sort of MD and accessory.

Gary

[JCWhite]

You have found a great place and we look forward to seeing your finds.

...and based on that info, I would recommend the following detector:

Minelab X-Terra 50 - The X-50 is an awesome coin/jewelry hunting machine as well a a great relic hunter. The control box is packed with high technology circuitry, yet the machine is basically a "turn on and go" detector with a very short learning curve. Using a patented "VFLEX Technology" circuit, the X-50 will accept either it's standard 7.5kHZ "coin/jewelry/relics coil", or an optional, new very low frequency 3.0kHz deep seeking "relic/coin hunting coil." The machine is very lightweight, and has the ability to manually ground balance which is extremely important in highly mineralized soil areas. The X-50 falls below the middle range of your budget and comes with a 2 year warranty, with an optional extended 2 years Extended Service Plan available . You can see and price the machine at the following link: Treasure Hut - MINELAB X-TERRA 50.

While there are some good detectors in the used market, I would strongly suggest that "buyer beware" has never been more true than in the used detector market. My experience with the ebay type market hasn't been good, as many of those machines have been "ridden hard and put away wet" if you know what I mean. And of course, once you buy it, you bought it...there is no Customer Support, Training, or Customer Service. Do yourself a favor, and buy your detector from an authorized and reputable dealer, who will be there to help in all ways.

I hope this has helped you, and Treasure Hut stands ready to help you now, and for LONG after you make that purchase.

Originally Posted by COMMANDR

Where to start, well here goes.

(1) I live in the midwest Belvidere/Rockford, Il.

(2) I am hunting for, coins/jewelry, relics, and would love to find a meteorite or two.

(3) Budget range, lets see between $400 and $650.

(4) I would be hunting parks, old homesteads, fairgrounds and old churchs.

(5) Is the used market a good place to find a quality MD. I see alot of people trying to sell every sort of MD and accessory.

Gary

[COMMANDR]

Great info, and thank you for the expert advice. I was looking at a Minelab X Terra 70 on the used market and what you said about "buyer beware" does make sense. Thanks again. Got some thinking to do.

Gary

[cjoej]

Gary, you have landed in the right place to get streight scoop on detecting and the "right detector" for what type of hunting and conditions you expect to do it in. HH

SWC (Search With Care)
Joe