Metal Detectors

Spekter

Spekter

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Any hobbyist metal detectors out there? I'd like to get one and learn more...anybody have any good websites, youtube channels, or any tips resources, etc. I'm looking to buy one, and i think id like the "glock" of metal detectors...reasonably priced, generally good at many things...but doesnt excel at any specific area, somewhat easy to maintain, understand and use. Looking to use it for civil war stuff, beach digging, and of course the secret vault of gold burries in my back yard.
 
Yes, my dad bought 2 Fisher metal detectors, they did the job, we would metal detect in and near the Averasboro battlefield area. And a couple other places for civil war stuff. I cant remember exactly what series he had. He still has one of them. I know he paid like $600~ each.

But here is a pretty decent one in my opinion. This was one that I wanted to get for myself if I was going to get one, I think you'd like it. Can be used underwater fully submersible to 250ft also. In case you want to do some beach/river detecting at some point. All purpose. It'll detect buttons and coins stuff like that around a foot deep. Good for what you want to do.
https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-1280X...1927431&s=gateway&sprefix=fisher+metql&sr=8-8

Ive found alot of the civil war bullets. A few yankee buttons. My dad has found a buckle. And a musket with the buttplate and some of the wood still on it next to my grandparents house where they use to live before they died.
 
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I run a Garrett AT gold it’s a quick light weight machine and even beats my etrac but not recommended for the beach.

Get the Garrett AT max and forget all the others. Easy to learn and has tons of YouTube videos.
 
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a father that took me out for all kinds of adventures. I was walking fields for arrowheads and digging bottles as soon as I could walk good. Bottle dumps are how we got into detectors. Back in the mid 70's pops bought a cheap Relco to locate buried trash dumps from the 1800's. That's about all it was good for. He got a Whites in the late 70's and it was off to the races. He paid for it the first year with just counting coins at face value. I was his "digger". His last detector was a Garrett 2500 which I still have. I run a AT Pro and also use a Tesoro Tejon for deep relics. Get a good handheld pinpointer, you'll thank me later.
 
I have a White's Silver Eagle I picked up at auction for cheap. Brought it home and put batteries in it and took it outside to try it out. Got a hit on something and the screen said "quarter". I'm like yeah right. Dug down and guess what? Found a quarter.
 
I have a Garrett Ace, middle of the road, runs about $400+. I put a waterproof coil on it since I hit the beach and inlet with it. Found countless pounds of junk with it, but also found an old, gold pocket watch and several rings that far exceeded the cost of the detector.
 
Thanks all, lots of cool information and places to start.
 
He doesn't do too much how to but a pretty good channel on youtube is aquachigger. He is from MD but was just up in northeast NC digging parrot shells. His channel has a few years worth of videos, pretty good humor, and he just shot a TV show in the UK. https://www.youtube.com/user/aquachigger/videos?disable_polymer=1

I've noticed he is a Garrett guy with an AT Pro mostly sometimes a Max.

I'm in the same boat and thinking of picking up a decent one.
 
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I’ve got a Garrett Ace 250. And really need to search my place. Completely. Goofing around I’ve found a few bullets a spoon and some other odd bits.
 
Seriously, how far down can the average MD find stuff in regular soil ? I’ve always been interested as well.
Thanks !
 
xtp308 said:
Seriously, how far down can the average MD find stuff in regular soil ? I’ve always been interested as well.
Thanks !
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Signal depth depends on many things (coil size, level of discrimination used, moisture in the ground, users ability to discern a good signal). To answer your question though, I would say an average detector with a standard 8" coil, running mid discrimination, one could expect to reliably hit Silver at 10-12" in non trashy areas. Most will be closer to the surface anyway. All metal mode will get you deeper, especially in damp ground, but you'll pick up everything. That's not a bad thing if you are searching an old 200 year old site in the middle of the woods.
 
Thanks, I live on the edge of Averasboro battlefield and have always wondered what's left. We've had several people come and ask to search our field and I've always said yes. I'll be retiring in 5 years, so I'm getting interested in MD and gardening (again).
Of course, I used to benchrest before we had kids.... I'd like to get back into that too !

I appreciate the info !!
 
beamernc said:
I have a Garret AT Pro and a White's MXT, just need some like minded folks to hunt with.
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Resurrecting this thread. I have a Whites Spectrum XLT that is old. Made in 1994. I bought it in the late 90's and haven't used it much. They discontinued it in 2010. Still works fine but I am looking to buy a newer model and from my limited research I have narrowed it down between the White's MXT an Garret AT Pro. Which do you like more? Pros and cons of each? Why two different ones? Do you use one for one particular thing and the other one fo something else? Thanks
 
Funny story why I have 2. I had an old Garrett that had quit working and had sent it back to Garrett for repairs. After I mailed it off, I saw the White's detector on ebay and placed a very low bid on it, knowing that I would not win it. Garrett got in touch with me and said that it would be cost prohibitive to repair my old one and for $100 I could upgrade it to the AT Pro, so I did. After I paid for the Garrett, the ebay auction ended with no one else bidding, so I won it. That's how I ended up with the 2 of them.

I honestly have not used either one enough to learn to use them well and cannot list pros and cons of them.

If you are every up near Charlotte, let me know and I'll let you try them both out.
 
Either one of your choices will serve you well. I grew up using Whites products with much success but I also have an AT Pro and inherited my pop’s GTI 2500. Pop’s has left some batteries in his that corroded and damaged the battery pack. I contacted Garrett and they sent me a battery pack at no cost to me. I believe the AT Pro also has more in regards to “training” options in regards to all the videos available on YouTube. That said, I still have a soft spot for Whites machines.
 
MCQUADE said:
Either one of your choices will serve you well. I grew up using Whites products with much success but I also have an AT Pro and inherited my pop’s GTI 2500. Pop’s has left some batteries in his that corroded and damaged the battery pack. I contacted Garrett and they sent me a battery pack at no cost to me. I believe the AT Pro also has more in regards to “training” options in regards to all the videos available on YouTube. That said, I still have a soft spot for Whites machines.
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When I first got it I toyed around with the XLT then set it aside. It even came with the old blue Whites case (looks like a small suit case). Just got in from vacation at Myrtle Beach. Carried it with me and my youngest son and I had fun with it. Unfortunately it is not water proof so it was sand only. I plan on giving him the XLT and buying me another one. Since my last post it I've found the Whites MX Sport comes in a water proof model. So now I have 3 choices to look over.
 
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