Metal Detectors- Help Needed!!

[Greebe]

I am thinking about getting a metal detector in the next month. I would like it for finding relics or whatever around my farm. This place was just land when we bought it two years ago. I am building a house on it now. Our records go back to having structures on it starting around 1880-1890. All but one of the 5 that were here in the 60's are gone.

So all that to say I would like to start searching around some of the locations where these bulding were and see if I can find anything neat.

I would also like to take it on my travels around the country and look for old stuff.

I don't want to spend a lot until I know if it is something I want to do. Thinking mid range I guess. The models I have narrowed it down to are these in order of current preference.

Tesoro Silver UMax
Teknetics Delta 4000
Fisher F2

These are pretty different. The Silver Umax is an audio based which a lot of people seem to really like while the other two use a display to tell you the needed info. The Umax, Delta have all metal modes while the F2 does not. The Umax is made in the USA with a lifetime warranty which is cool and also seems to have the best depth and ability to find things.

Those that own a metal detector or these listed, I would appreciate the advice. Any other things I might need to know, I would he interested in as well.

Thanks,
Greebe

 

[Pat-inCO]

I don't have any of those, but I do have a Garret 250 that does very well.
When I got it I tried the standard throw a few coins on the carpet and
see what it does with them. "Found" all of them but was also getting
"hits" around them. Puzzled for a few minutes and then remembered
that when we replaced the carpet almost twenty years ago, I had
tightened up the floor with some nails just before the guys did the carpet
install. The detector was showing me where every one of those nails
were. :shock:

It's also relatively inexpensive. 8)

 

[pete44ru]

I would also like to take it on my travels around the country and look for old stuff.

Be aware that some localities/municipalities, around the country, have enacted legislation barring metal detectors from certain locations - so I would respectfully advise first doing some homework on each new area you wish to search.


.

 

[powder smoke]

I have an old homestead and a Mine Lab metal detector. Found a couple Indian head pennies.
Other than than that plenty of nails and metal scrap. No real treasures yet. ps

 

[Rook]

I have a Whites Prizm IV metal detector. A lot of the people on the metal detector forums use the White's. They're pretty pricey but they work really well too.

 

[RKB]

I would also like to take it on my travels around the country and look for old stuff.

Be aware that some localities/municipalities, around the country, have enacted legislation barring metal detectors from certain locations - so I would respectfully advise first doing some homework on each new area you wish to search.
.

It's not advisable to take one into a National Park, especially if it is a battlefield park.

 

[contender]

Ok, I've been a detectorist for about 20 years now. I was a club prez for 10 years. I've owned several machines, and still have 2 at the moment.
Of the 3 you've mentioned,,, I'd choose the Tesoro or the Fisher. Either one is a quality company with a good track record of having good machines that work very well.
Now,,, for a bit of advice.
Any machine you get NEEDS to be able to use headphones. You will be able to hear those "faint" signals that could be valuable.
An all metal mode is rarely used,,,, unless you are searching for iron or steel objects. And if you hunt much,,, you will be soon turning up the discrimination past the point of finding all the nails, BB's, barbed wire strands, rusty beer cans etc. All metal mode is only used after you've searched out an area pretty good & are down to not getting many signals at all.
Now,, the most often seen & USED brands of detectors by those of us who hunt a lot are; Whites, Minelab, Fisher, Tesoro, & Garrett,, in that order.
Your comment about a screen,,, well, most of us use the tones to tell us when to dig or at least when to stop & look at the target ID on the screen. Remember, any screen ID is ONLY a PROBABLE idea of what MAY be under the coil. But many are quite accurate,,, depending upon what type of place you are hunting.
I use a Fisher M-Scope CZ-20 that is waterproof. It doesn't have a screen,,, but does use a 3 tone ID system. I also have a Pulse Induction machine,,, but it's strictly for underwater use in the ocean.
My Fisher is an excellent machine for my type of hunting. But I'm often wet when I can be for hunting,,, so it's perfect for that.
My advice is to look hard at Whites & Minelabs & Fishers. Look in the price range of $500 to $700,,, and shop carefully. Avoid the low end machines,, as they have fewer features you'll wish you had later on.
Next, once you get a machine,,, before you do ANYTHING,,, read the manual. Then, remove the machine from the box, assemble, (per instructions,) and re-read the manual with it in your hands, w/o turning it on. Then, take it outside, re-read the manual again, with it on & do some of the skills using it's "pre-settings," and see what it will do.
Hunting tips;
Keep the coil as close to the ground as possible, yet not to where it "digs" into the soil.
Keep the coil as square to the ground as possible while swinging.
Remember it's a motion machine,,, unless in Pinpoint. It has to move to work properly.
Go slow & steady, overlapping your swing by at least 50% each pass.

These are but a few tips & ideas from a guy who has paid for all his machines by what he's found,,, as well as pocketed a lot more than the machines cost.

 

[phonejack]

I have a Whites

 

[Number9]

Every machine is a little different.. the main thing is to learn the machine and be able to tell what it's telling you!
Yes, contender is correct.. read the owners manual several times and try the many settings they have until you know them real well.
A waterproof coil is a "must have" and is getting to be standard with many units.
"Ground balance" is a good feature around mineralized soil... and a unit with "Discrimination".
Do your research.. every need is different.. find one to match your needs and hunting areas, will increase you success!
Visit metal detecting forums and read.. this will give you the extra knowledge and reading what others have said may answer many of your questions!
YouTube is a great learning tool also... remember, the one they own is always the best! Ha!

I have three detectors at the present time.. a Tesoro Vaquero, and two Minelab Sovereign GTs.
My first metal detector was a White's “Goldmaster” I bought in 1970.

If you do any beach hunting.. it's hard to beat a GT!
Oh.. the beach scoop is handmade titanium!

 

[contender]

Good info from Number9.
There is a lot to it,,, but it is NOT hard to learn. Plus,,, you will learn more & more by simply getting out & hunting.
I also suggest you find a place you can hunt over & over again to where you can learn about your machine. Your own property is excellent,, as you can actually clean an area, & build a "test bed" to use as a learning tool. (By this,,, I mean hunt a space about 6' x 6' or so, removing all the metal, and then, plant items to use as guides to teach you how your machine reacts to the targets. I like wooden paint stirring sticks, with an item attached to it, stuck in the ground at an angle as a method of testing. I can mark the wood with a Sharpie to know what is attached, and I can play with settings from there.

 

[Don Lovel]

I have a Tesoro Tiger Shark for underwater water use and a Minelab 705 for coinshooting, jewelery and gold nugget hunting. Both were affordable and reliable units. The Tesoro, no bells and whistles, but it found a small sewing needle 18" deep in wet sand in the Great Sand Dunes National park.
Minelab 705 has a pretty reliable numerical readout. If the number says 32, then it is a copper penny or copper fitting or some alloys. Clad coins run like 24, jewelry gold is usually 6 down to 2, I need to get myself a real raw gold nugget to calibrate it with though and to also learn the gold tone on the Tesoro. Having a pinpointer is nice for relic hunting

 

[m657]

About the process of 'becoming' a metal detectorist:

I had a series of three different versions of White's top of the line models, over a period of nearly 30 years.

Joined a club finally & learned a lot.
My ownership days were before I retired & really didn't get the take the time needed learn to enjoy the process of discovery.

Friends found such as square holed Chinese coins in Idaho gold mining regions; a large caret diamond ring at the beach, some old dimes & etc.

My own finds were largely disappointing but I did recover amazing stash of otherwise lost acp brass out the woods target area.

I was never disappointed comparing the features on the models I got (at extra cost) which those who were skilled in using the machine, could amazingly show me how to use that I was too dense/busy to learn properly.

It sounds like you have a perfect locale to learn a new skill. I'd urge to consider the technical features you want more priority than the cost as performance is everything, while 'economy' is but a passing fad.

 

[Arthr Itis]

A note on battlefields. At the Bull Run battlefield people were sneaking in on moon lit nights so they had several hundred coins stamped out the read "Illegal to metal detect here" and had the boy scouts plant them as a scout project. Don't know if it helped or nor but a neat project for the scouts.