Last Post 07 Oct 2017 04:51 PM by  Steve Jacobson
Gold Bug 2 vs Gold Bug Pro
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TIM CONGER
Greenhorn
Greenhorn
Posts:2



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02 May 2017 08:35 PM
    Recent move to north Phoenix, Arizona, and new to desert mining. My Background is river sluicing, crevicing, sniping, and a little dredging. I recently tried sampling on a GPAA claim, and felt way out of my element/comfort zone. I found the dry dirt, dust, and dealing with clay a little challenging. However, I do love hiking, exploring and sampling, so I thought I'd give metal detecting a shot for small and shallow gold. I've used a metal detector for coins and jewelry for about 15 years, so I'd like to give gold a try. Would prefer not purchasing a high end detector until I've spent some time in the field and been successful on small gold. I've done some research and have seen mixed reviews on the Gold Bug 2 vs Gold Bug Pro, so I'm left unable to make a purchase decision, especially with older/outdated reviews.  My primary hunting grounds will be Wickenburg to Prescott, in case that will make a difference. Can anyone assist me with a purchase decision, or given me some suggestions I may not have considered? As a side note, I have a Subaru Forester, so I will not be able to get into remote areas, so my hunting grounds will probably have been well worked. Any advice....would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.    
    Christine Gold
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:49



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    03 May 2017 06:28 AM

    Hi Tim, welcome to AZ. The Gold Bugs are good machines and a lot of folks love them.  I currently use a Garrett AT Gold. It's a good rig and runs about $650.00. I recently bought a Minelab Gold Monster 1000. They run $799.00. A&B prospecting in Mesa or Prescott Valley will have them next week and they can help you out with advice and training.

    Go to the News button above and read Kevin Hoagland's review of this machine. It's quite good.

    Good luck to you & hopefully we'll see you out there ----------------------------------

    Christine
    TIM CONGER
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:2



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    10 May 2017 10:10 PM

    Christine Gold,

    Thank you very much for your reply, and I will certainly look into your suggestions.  I've owned a Fisher CZ70 Pro since 2002, so I am really familiar with it and comfortable using it, which is the primary reason I was looking into the Fisher Gold Bug 2 or Gold Bug Pro for gold.

    If anyone out there has either the Fisher Gold Bug 2 or Gold Bug Pro, and has been using it successfully in Central AZ, can you please provide me with any comments, suggestions or tips that may help me make a purchasing decision between these two units? 

    Thank you.   

      
    Dustin Openshaw
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:



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    27 Jun 2017 10:36 PM
    Hello! I have had both machines I can say for certain the price they are both at, the gold bug2 is the better choice in my opinion but the pro will do the job and find small nuggets but not as small or as deep as the gold bug2 will but the gold bug2 is a little advances as far as ground balancing... iv been to Arizona a few times with mine and the mineralization is hectic but doable.. Good luck and I hope this helps!
    Leo Lorenz
    Basic Member
    Basic Member
    Posts:486



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    27 Jun 2017 11:11 PM
    Dustin, what type of coil do you have on your Gold Bug Pro? 6x10 elliptical ? or the stock circular that it came with?



    Not sure if the 6x10 can also be used on Gold Bug 2......there is a difference that needs to be paid attention to when swapping coils. And that has to be the impedance matching of the coil to the circuitry of the detector. If they are not matched, you can get a degradation in the receiver sensitivity. Since 1 unit is a 19khz operating freq versus a 71khz there could be a slight mismatch. I do not know if it is much to worry about though on these 2 machines.
    Dustin Openshaw
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:



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    28 Jun 2017 06:39 AM
    I left the stock 5" on my gold bug pro it's worked fine for me but like I said out of the two machines I like the gold bug2. I also have the eureka minelab gold which is nice to use with it's auto ground balancing but I feel like the gold bug2 is about the same grade for a little less $$.
    Leo Lorenz
    Basic Member
    Basic Member
    Posts:486



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    28 Jun 2017 09:09 AM
    Yes the GB2 will always outperform for small gold. But as far as the depth goes for the GB Pro....I think that using the 6x10 Elliptical will give better depth than the stock 5"....as it pertains to the Pro only. But measuring depth between GB2 and Pro....I think Pro will give best with the Elliptical when compared to GB2 without Elliptical. Anyone out there do a comparison yet?
    Dustin Openshaw
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:



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    28 Jun 2017 09:30 AM
    Yes the gold bug 2 is made to find smaller gold at closer depths,but I also think for raw material the gb2 is a better machine to go with but that's just my opinion having used these machines for awhile now. And YouTube carries about every kind of review nowadays might be able to find some on there..
    Steve Jacobson
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:1



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    07 Oct 2017 04:51 PM
    I'm in the process of obtaining a used Gold Bug 2 with small and large coils. $430 shipped. It might not be the cheapest one out there, but this one was just worked over by Fisher to the tune of $165 so I'm pretty confident it's a good value. I hope to make it to Arizona with it in the next couple years. I lived in Mesa in the early 70's and remember how 'small' the Phoenix area was compared to today! Enjoy your time in the valley, and do get up in the hills!
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