GPX5000...no substitute...really

Not sure if I can paste pictures in this format

Dual purpose machine in the AT price range.....The wife and I have a White's MXT .  The newer version has tone ID for a few bucks more and a different display screen.  Tesoro Lobo is another good one from all accounts.

 

Mielab 5000 is a top line PI unit, way out of my range for the area we are in and what you find.

 

Might drop Kevin Hoagland a line and get his input as well.  He has be in MD's for years working with a lot of them.

From your comments, I respectfully suggest that you should seriously consider adding the MXT or MXT Pro to your list of potential detector choices. Personally, I have found LOTS of gold in the Mojave Desert with my MXT. And, it is also a first-rate beach machine, too. Hope this helps; HH Jimmy M

i have a mine lab extera 705 the price is affordable. i have used it to find gold and treasure simple to operate so check this one out also before you buy

My wife uses a Fisher Gold Bug Pro and I use the Gold Bug II specifically for gold. We have other detectors for things other than gold. So far my wife has had better luck finding anything valuable. I've gotten really good at finding tiny tiny bits of aluminum foil, lead shot, and copper jacket pieces from bullets.  Oh well.

AlohaJim

Hi Trevor

Find the dealers in your area or one close to you. Go in and have them demo them in your hand. Look at several in several places, you would not buy a car after only talking to one person excepting it being a deal you can not pass up. A detector is a personal item for prospecting and being that each person finds that he likes one over another because it fits them. Take into account everything people have said but in the final choice make sure you are comfortable with the fit, feel, setup needed and the way it sounds on target. Just a thought.

I love my MD 20 Falcon but it is not for depth. I love the way my XT17000 works it is simple and it has not a lot of dials and knobs. I have a GP3500 that I am willing to take serious bids on it is far to complicated for me I have owned it for about 10 years or so and only used it about 10 times .... to many dials and knobs and switches ... so needless to say if anyone has 2500.00 dollars it is up for sale with two batteries and a set of head phones and carrying case E-Mail me if interested at sdaupanner@msn.com.

Hi Trevor,

You should buy a detector for what you are hunting but you also have to consider what you can afford and how often will you use it. I was very lucky about 5 years ago and found a Garret ACE 250 at a yard sale on Craigslist in like new condition for $100, a real steal even with its limits. I take it everywhere I go even to the river and the beach. I have to be careful.. one slip in the water and its fried! I could not afford a higher level detector at the time and would still be waiting on an AT Pro if I had not bought the ACE 250. I would not have taken the thousands of detecting trips I did with the ACE 250 building my experience. Get what you can afford and most of all get out, push the limits and use it. I should have a new AT PRO by Spring.

Trevor, Gary's advice is probably the best I have ever heard about buying a detector. Buy the best your budget allows for what you want to do with it. I do suggest if you are new to metal detecting, sit in on Kevin Hoagland's seminar at a Gold and Expo show or LDMA outing. You will learn a lot.

Was bouncing between Garrett AT Gold or Minelab Safari Pro.

If you want to go the Garrett route and plan to use it on the beach  you will need the Garrett AT PRO, The Garrett AT GOLD is not recommended for salt water detecting. The Garrett AT Gold has been designed to hunt in the places where you are likely to find naturally occurring gold. It will work ok in the dry sand, but if you get to the wet or damp salt water sand it will act up. 

Trevor,
A lot to talk about in what I consider too little space. I am more prone to point you in the direction of picking what you will be doing more of and build it out from there. If you are an 80/20 prospecting vs. beach it makes a real difference in the units you should be looking at and vise versa.
The Safari is a good detector but not one that I would consider for nugget hunting any more than I would consider the Eureka Gold for beach hunting. Both are great detectors and they excel in their designed use arena. Jim brought up an interesting point in the comparisons of the AT Gold & Pro. Because of the lack of a true threshold on the AT Pro it is not a detector I would use for prospecting yet the AT Gold does suffer somewhat in salt water. Both great detectors but they each have a place in the detector locker.
Give me a bit more information and lets talk about finding the right detectors that meets your real needs.

Funny that the forum has Kevin labeled as a greenhorn...what?

He is as to the forum, way to busy to be on here much...... 

 

I suspect the OP has found his machine by now as that was a year and a half ago.

 

BTW--mine is half right, I'm usually just lost.

OOPS on me. I never looked at the date on the original post. Yes Trevor has a new detector. That's what I get for not being in here enough.

Any thoughts on the Fisher CZ70 Pro? I have had it since new and have never even attempted to use it for prospecting.

Brad,
I have never thought about the CZ 70 for prospecting. The dual freq 5-15 would be a good low to mid for a gold detector but I feel that the unit lack in some of the features that I would need to have a spot on nugget detector.
I personally do not hunt wait a detector that does not allow me compete control over the threshold. I have fond a great deal of gold that was nothing more than a bump. From what I remember about the 70 when I used one for a day (correct me if I'm wrong) is that there was no threshold adjustment. I like the manual GB but that is because I am a big fan of the Gold Bug and Gold Bug II and i cut my teeth on MGB machines years and years ago. If you do try it for prospecting work the sensitivity and ground balance to stabilize the 70 and continually check the GB for drift.
Hope that helps.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin! I have had the MD since new in the early 2000's. I have never taken it into the field...work, other priorities, and not knowing really how to use it, lol.

As a kid (35+ years ago) my dad bought a Fisher MD from Sears. We found a lot of trash and coins in Ohio with it. No real treasures, but, it planted the seed that grew into a great hobby and led to meeting so many great people.

Golden Days!

All I have to do is figure out an MXT that was bought for the wife 6 years ago and used twice for a total of about 2 hours within a couple of months of purchase, and in a state not really known for nuggets.  Suspect it will be more for other goodies than gold.  Any thoughts or tips on that model.  Have both the 4x6 and standard 9.5 coils.

Arthur,
You listed the 4x6 is that the Eclipse Shooter coil? If it is the Shooter I would also suggest the 6x10 Eclipse as well for the bag. The 4x6 is a great close to surface coil for small gold nuggets but it lacks the depth that you will want in the long run for deeper larger targets.
That being said the MXT is a capable nugget detector. Just follow the quick start for the prospecting mode until you get used to the sounds the detector make and under no circumstance use the VDI. There are to many good signals when nugget hunting that will show as bad targets to any VDI on any machine. It is all done with your ears. Not to mention that I have found nice gold nuggets under trash many many times over the years.
After spending some time learning the voice of the detector, read a few of the tips I've written for sensitivity/gain set up and threshold and start over in learning a whole new world of detector language.
Time learning all of the aspects of the detector and how it communicates to you, will pay off.
Good luck keep at it and go find me some gold.