Kind of off topic. But metal detecting?

Do any of you guys use metal detecting as an alternative to coin roll hunting? If you do, what kind of metal detector do you use? I convinced my dad to buy one but he says he dosent want to buy those "cheap" ones. He says If he want to buy one he's gonna buy an effective (works good) one. Does anyone know of any retail stores that sells them? What brand do you recommend. One that can pick up all metals (gold, copper, silver, nickel,etc..) do they usually have sales on them?

 

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Your father is correct, don't go cheap. A good machine will cost you but if you actually get out and use it regularly it'll pay for itself. I've been detecting for over 6 years and I have a White's MXT, it's a great detector for the beginner as well as advanced detectorist. It will find gold and silver but don't expect to find a lot, there are quite a few of us out there trying to beat you to the prize.

Another nice thing about buying a White's is their factory is in Sweet Home, I see that your from Oregon as well so I'm assuming you know where that is... If you ever have any problems with your machine take it there in person and they'll treat you like gold.

Another good machine is a Minelab e-trac, many of the guys in our club have Minelab's and swear by them.

Look up your local detecting club and join up, I joined ours a couple of months before I bought mine just so I could question the members on who uses what and how good they actually were. If your in Lane county our club is at http://www.cdclc.org/ and members get 10% off anything they buy from our local dealer.

 

I have a question about metal detecting mostly out of curiosity b/c I've heard two different stories on where you can legally dig or detect from. Is is legal to take your machine onto a State or City Park to metal detect? I heard it was against the law, is it true or not? Anyone know the answer?

 

State parks require a permit. Some may not allow it at all.
Each city can have different laws for parks and school yards.
On school yards, the grounds keeper can make you leave.
Some get ticked when they see folks digging.

 

Are there any "good" brand metal detectors that sell for 100-200? I'm afraid we can't afford anything higher. Do the stores sell used ones?

 

The cheapest detector that I'd recommend is an Ace 250. Anything cheaper then that and your wasting your money.

 

Not totally correct, it all depends on what state you live in.

Here in Oregon most state parks are off limits, school yards are another story. As long as you are not on school property during school hours or during school activities they CAN NOT make you leave, it's public property and as a member of the public you have a right to be there. I've gone nose to nose with more then one soccer coach/teacher/wannabe enforcer and I have always won. The last time I had an encounter was when a soccer coach called the cops on us and tried to have us arrested for trespassing, when the officer showed up the only thing he said as was "find anything good?"

You are correct though that each city can have different rules covering their parks, always check before digging.

Private schools are private property and can't be detected on unless you have permission.

County parks, it all depends on the county. Half the counties in Oregon don't care as long as you leave no trace.

Any place considered historical, just assume it's off limits until you can get written permission to detect there.

Again the key is leave no trace, learn how to dig a target without pulling up a giant plug and learn how to put it back so that it looks like you were never there.

If anyone happens to come through the Eugene/Springfield area I would be happy to show them the proper methods of detecting, in an hour I can shave weeks to months off the learning curve.

And one last thing....Get a pin pointer! It makes retrieval soooooooooooo much easier, I won't even bother detecting without mine.

 

Do they ever go on sale?

 

Once in a while, if your trying to get them for less then retail your best bet is to keep an eye on Craigslist or hope you get lucky at a garage sale.

 

Thank you so much if I'm thinking of buying one can I send you a message for your opinion?

 

I'll help if I can.

 

Mostly, what I aim for finding Is anything with metal. I don't care about the fancy stuff like tuning out certain metals (too expensive) I was recommended by a metal detector to get this kind if metal detector http://tesoro.com/product/detectors/compadre/ do you think It would be good for finding metals .? ( probably would look for one on Craigslist..)

 

Another vote for a Garrett Ace 250. I have one and it's a very good machine for the price. I want to upgrade to the Garrett ATpro at some point. ($600 or so) Also, save up for a Garrett pin pointer. Will save a lot of time while digging and having to get back up and swipe the hole again.

 

I have never used that machine. But for a little bit more money with the Ace 250, you are able to eliminate certain unwanted metal targets such as iron, aluminum can tabs etc... and get a better idea of what that target in the ground is before you dig it up.

And check out this forum. Lots of good resources there. http://metaldetectingforum.com/index.php

 

Sounds easy enough for me.

 

Ok, another option. What is the retail price and are people sellin them on craiglists ? I can't seem to find any Tesoro's on Craigslist and if the ace 250 is cheap enough and I can find a good deal around $100 ill buy it

 

You can get a new one on eBay for $212.45 with free shipping. Used ones on eBay in the $150 ball park. Finding one for $100 is gonna be tough.

 

wow! I'm gonna have a tough time finding one within my price range.. My dad just dosent think metal detecting is worth it but I really enjoy doing it. So he won't let me spend more than 100. I have more than 100 but its just that he won't let me spend more.

 

Tell him with the initial investment, you could find coins and jewelry that could pay off the price of the detector. And the better the detector is, the better chance you have of finding the good stuff.

 

It's gonna be hard to argue that it's "worth" it. It's a hobby however and unless your looking for sunken treasure or gold nuggets you won't get rich doing it. I have however found a gold ring with $340 worth of 18K gold in it. So it's paid for, but who knows if I'll ever find another one.

I'll tell you what. I have no idea when I'll be about to do it myself, but when I go to upgrade my detector, I will sell you my Ace 250 for $100 shipped. But like I said, I have no idea when that will be. I need to pay for a few other things that get priority so it may not be till winter time.