Metal Detecting discussions and finds

Here's my CTX bag.

 

One of the several gold rings I've found over the years.

BTW, I don't metal detect during the warmer dry months as it is hard on the grass, and the soil is hard on me. Wet sloppy soil is the way to go!

 

So, what would it take to get into a decent, expandable "starter"?

 

Hmmm? Great question.
It depends on your budget, guess?

And then how much you are willing to spend on a hobby, as it isn't any different than any other hobby that gets exponentially expensive as a person progresses.

You can get a basic very low budget used detector off Craigslist for as little as $50 that will find stuff, whether it finds what you are hoping for is up in the air.

or

You can go all out and get any one of the top detectors that cost anywhere from $1000-$2500 for just the detector. Each coil is hundreds more.
However!
There will be an extremely steep learning curve with any machine that has a lot of features. Each feature can confuse a person up front to the point it becomes frustrating and he gives up.

Being that you are in Yuma AZ, where it doesn't rain much (ever), this means not much grows their either. With that, if nothing ever grows above a dropped target, any dirt/soil/sand to ever accumulate would be merely the wind blowing it there. I've heard of several folks finding gold coins from the mid 1800's near large rocks or cactus in the desert down there. They follow old tracks, and look for large rocks or cactus along the way and search around them. Big rocks and cactus were shade back then, and shade now. Wagon tracks made a hundred+ years ago don't really go anywhere if nothing ever touches them like we have up here. Grass, tree leaves, branches, pine cones etc continue to make layers of soil over a target.

For desert hunting, anything will work as nothing should be very deep.
For grassy, or wooded parks/schools I would suggest a Garrett Ace 250/350, or Whites Coinmaster/Whites Treasuremaster to start with. If you can find a used Whites IDX, that would be awesome as well. All are simple to operate and will get the job done. None of these are stellar with depth, but will get you started easily and stay motivated. The Minelab ones are good too, like the new Go-Find units, as well as the X-Terra 305. All of these are under $300, and easy enough to justify keeping as a spare once you move up to the more advanced units.

If you plan to work public areas of grass, absolutely get a pinpointer. No need for the expensive waterproof ones from Garrett, Minelab, or Whites at first. There are some cheap foreign brands that work. The idea is to keep your hole from getting out of hand as you chase a target with your bigger coil. The pinpointer is used to narrow down where your target is. They usually can't detect much further than 1.5" for a coin (although there are tricks with these too).

A simple rounded off long shaft screw driver will get you coins less than 3" deep in a park with soft soil. A cheap digging trowel from Home Depot will help you make nice round plugs.

Let me know what your budget is, what you plan to target (coins, relics, gold), and what kind of ground you plan to hunt.
From there, I can help dial you in a bit better.

 

HAHAHA, that happened to you too at one point???!!! I had the same thing with kids bothering me and it was just nonsense. I like kids, but MAN I'm not the parents babysitter... for free!!! There must have been up to 8x kids or more??? Bunch of damn pirahnas!!!

 

I have an A T Pro and some other stuff along with a Garret pin pointer, all brand new 4-5 years ago and has never seen dirt. Still in my closet. I still think about going.

 

Happened more than once to me.
Them little buggers can sneak up on me when all I hear is "beeps" and "chirps" from my headphones and nothing else.

 

I figured getting in too deep too fast would be frustrating. There are some hunters down here, mostly winter visitors but most of them are usually around the old gold mines looking to make that big strike. I work for BLM mostly around the recreation areas so I was thinking about getting started working the campgrounds and rec areas and having something I could keep in my personal vehicle for when we go out messing around, maybe get my wife interested in it also. As for budget, I don't want to spend too much on something I'm going to grow out of too fast. But I'm not afraid to spend a bit on something that'll bring a lot of entertainment and have another excuse to get out and mess around. I haven't hit the pawn shops yet so not sure what's there. Mostly just getting started with way more questions than answers.

 

I would say for new detectors, you can get started and fun with the ones I suggested all below $300. They will find you coins and such in parks and desert environments.
Once you get the hang of what your first detector is telling you, and decide to move up and/or over to another brand, you get to learn the language all over again. It's all mostly beeps and chirps with basic displays on the lower end models. The higher end models have better discrimination, user defined tones zones, some control over sensitivity and outside electrical interference, and other fancy do dads. They still work the same, and you still have to understand what the beeps and chirps are telling you. This comes with digging EVERYTHING for your first year. You will eventually be able to decipher that (((((@#$%^))))) is a pull tab rather than a nickle or a ring.

If you plan to target natural gold like pickers and such, you will need a different kind of detector to be successful.
Wait, let me back up a tad. You can find gold with any detector, you just won't find small gold with the general population of coin/treasure detectors due to how they are tuned. These are tuned for coin/ring sized objects, but will ring off clearly on gold coins, rings and larger nuggets.
Gold specific detectors are not cheap, use a completely different frequency and use pulse type signals. Tones are WAYYYYY different, and the approach with the coil is different as well.

Getting your wife into it can be rewarding or hell. Depends on her level of enjoyment being around you, the outdoors, digging in dirt, what she looks like, or creating competition between you and her....etc... You'll never know without starting out, and letting her have a swing at it.

 

I just did a craigslist search and this came up. Not sure what all Id be vetting into but think it would get a guy started and at about half the price of a new one. https://yuma.craigslist.org/spo/d/garrett-ace-300-metal-detector/6639307927.html

 

I wouldn't throw a nugget back, but not my major motivation. I think my wife would probably like it as something else to do. I work "normal" schedule and she works a major grocery chain schedule (normal for them, not the rest of the world) so we aren't always off together on the weekend. But a good excuse to get out together with a lunch and cooler full of water. Summer is when we get cooped up in the house because of the heat and, since we're coming to the end of summer in the next month or so, it would be something to do on short notice and just go do without a lot of thought or planning.

 

Absolutely. That would be an excellent starter unit, especially for that price and condition. Did you notice the ad said "Asking $150". That automatically triggers a discount in my feeble mind. I haggle on damn near everything ruthlessly. Go see it, have him show you how it works, play with it a bit, and then offer him $75 cash and see what he says. Keep the rest of the bargaining money in a different pocket. The worst that can happen is you get it for $150, right?

 

I shot him a text. The add is about a month old somaybe, maybe not. We'll see.

 

What's keeping you? If you don't me asking?

Anyways, start in your yard, front or back. Watch some You tube vids on how to cut plugs, etc.

HH to you

 

I am not sure what to say. Old, lazy, have a machine shop in back yard. Here is the kicker, I could go detect several beaches within 30 miles of me. I know a fellow who has given it up now (age) but he had several ring trays of gold rings and zip lock bags of silver things and coins. He was hard core, probably 4-5 days a week 4:00 a.m.

 

Well, I have a tentative meeting with the guy tomorrow at 1700 hrs or so...so we'll see where this goes.

 

You can do it!

 

I don't usually have a lot of faith in craigslist, but the texts went good and he's coming out this way to see his girlfriend. She lives just a couple blocks away so it feels more positive than some of the transactions I've been involved with.

 

I hear ya. I've had pretty good success with Craigslist over the years, so I'm not shy with it. I do pay attention to the details and gauge the responses and spelling. If it looks/sounds too good to be true, I challenge my gut and dig in and test the seller with appropriate questions that would trip them up in a lie. You have to know what you are dealing with to make that work though.

 

I did a cursory search on the unit and hit him up on whether the batteries were good and he went into that it had only been used twice but would grab another set on his way. So it sounds like he's going to be happy to make more room in his closet. Good grammer, good spelling, apologized for answering late. So this seems pretty much up on the level. I feel pretty good about it.