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Looking For Opinions Gold Bug Pro Vs. Makro Gold Racer


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Hello,

I am new to the forum and new to detecting. I have a little over a month park detecting with a couple of flea market acquired Bounty Hunter  detectors. I am ready to pull the trigger on a nugget focused detector and have narrowed it down to 2. I am looking at the Gold Bug Pro and the Makro Gold.  I live in South Eastern California, I am a half hour away from an area that has proven gold.....small gold. I dry wash occasionally so the Chocolates and Cargos are somewhat familiar to me and close.

I am not looking for answers on which detector to buy. I am looking for opinions/pros and cons on the 2 detectors mentioned, given my current inexperience and the area that I will be prospecting. Thanks in advance.

Wendell Clark

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Both good detectors. The safe answer is the Gold Bug Pro, extremely popular, used by lots of people for many years all over the world. The Gold Racer you are more on your own for now, brand new, few out there and no consensus exists as to its overall performance. Almost nobody exists that has used both. I have, and I flat out am not going to tell you one is better than the other. The Gold Racer has the edge for the tiniest gold and if that is what you are chasing there you go. That hot edge also can make it a more challenging machine for novices in really hot ground. The Gold Bug Pro at 19 kHz might serve better for other purposes, like coin or relic detecting. The Gold Racer at 56 kHz can also be used for other purposes but leans very hard to the prospecting end of things and so is a better choice for just that purpose. It is almost a law of metal detecting that to get something, you have to give something up. My choice for my particular needs and purposes was to go with the Gold Racer but anyone doing anything just because I am doing it is foolish. You have to think very hard about what you need and what might suit you, and then pull the trigger at some point. Good luck!

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"Almost nobody exists that has used both"

You are pretty much right Steve. The only other person I know of is Ray Mills(TRINITYAU)
He tested both and used both.
A review on the Gold Bug Pro is in his new book and a review on the Gold Racer is on this forum ( http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/1382-ray-mills-trinityau-review-of-makro-gold-racer/ )
No "head to head" review.
I spoke to Ray on Monday(who now uses the Gold Racer like you Steve) and he said the Gold Racer was "very slightly more sensitive to small gold".

I have both but have not used the Gold Racer long enough to give an opinion. I will tell you that the Gold Racer has a longer learning curve. But, then again, the Gold Racer as many more options(adjustments) than the Gold Bug Pro.

Actually, if most of the gold I was looking for was small, I would be using the Gold Bug 2. I have used it since it first came out in the 90's and have not found any better VLF for small gold. Practically no learning curve on the Gold Bug 2.

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When running all metal mode I do not think the Gold Racer any harder to use than the Gold Bug 2 or Gold Bug Pro in all metal mode. It is only when you go to disc modes that it gets interesting. The Gold Bug 2, flip a switch. Gold Racer, multiple disc modes and disc mode settings, far more complicated.

I guess for me I like what the Gold Bug Pro does and what the Gold Bug 2 does and the Gold Racer is kind of like getting a bit of both in one package. Wish it was perfect but like everything in metal detector land it involves compromise. Unless you own all of them and I am trying hard to get away from that!

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Not that it applies to the question, but I had the Gold Racer out yesterday with the Garrett ATX. I got a sound with the ATX, Turned it off and on with the Gold Racer to see if I could hear it..... Yes, faint but there.

After digging a measured 17", there it was... the base to a shotgun shell!

Why could I hear it with the Gold Racer!!??

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Well, I suspect that while a Gold Bug 2 has a tiny edge on small gold over the Gold Racer that it will be shown eventually that the Gold Racer has a substantial edge over the Gold Bug 2 on larger gold in bad ground. I had no Gold Bug 2 at the time to make direct comparisons myself so maybe you can confirm - or disprove - that particular theory.

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Not that it applies to the question, but I had the Gold Racer out yesterday with the Garrett ATX. I got a sound with the ATX, Turned it off and on with the Gold Racer to see if I could hear it..... Yes, faint but there.

After digging a measured 17", there it was... the base to a shotgun shell!

Why could I hear it with the Gold Racer!!??

 

LipCa, I'm assuming the Gold Racer was set to All Metal.  Which coil did you have on it?  That's pretty impressive depth.  Thanks for posting.

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  • The title was changed to Looking For Opinions Gold Bug Pro Vs. Makro Gold Racer

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