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What Is Your Favorite Gold Detector And Why?


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As a very fortunate and experienced gold hunter who has had my share of success with a variety of gold detectors and found my share of heavy metal, I get asked this question all the time.  Yes I have my favorite but will not share it at this moment.  The reality is,  there is no "the best", for all situations and or people. 

What I'd like to see, hear and read is your input and answers.   No wrong answers as this is your opinion. In fact,  even those who have yet to find gold with your detector,  your input is wanted.   After all,  why did you decide on the model you own? Was it price,  features,  weight,  depth,  warranty,  or referral from a friend?

There are many to choose from.  Just off the top of my head,  I can think of 20+ different current models of gold detectors. Surprisingly each manufacture makes more than 1 so there is a reason. 

Some on here are well known salty pros,  others are seasoned veterans and quite a few accomplished rookies.  Now with the price of gold we are seeing a new run of wantabees.  Realize everyone's experience is different,  so please also mention your level at gold hunting with a detector.

Thanks for sharing your time, input,  thoughts and knowledge. 

Me personally,  I've been chasing Au for 25 yrs.  Again,  I'll mention my favorite at a later time. 

 

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Still hanging in there with the old Tesoro Lobo ST.  Yes I know it's long in the tooth but the fact is as Steve has said single frequency VLF machines have not come that far in the last 20 years. The LST is very forgiving and just works good in Southern Cal. soil.  I keep getting detector units that I believe should out perform it but so far it hasn't happened. With the high iron content of the ground the high frequency machines just don't go very deep. With all the coils of the Whites Goldmaster series detectors and all the detectors in that series I did not see a significant advantage over the LST (running 5 3/4 DD).  Mind you, I'm not looking for fly poop, but a grain or more is a target.  I'm currently on the fence for an NOX 800. A detector partner has one and so far it hasn't proven to be that more fruitful than the tools I'm currently using. Being in the field and having confidence in what you're swinging is what's most important. 

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I like the target sound on my GM3 the best, but not sure I'd want to go back to manual GB, except on my backup machine. The GM24K has spoiled me. I'm heading to Nevada next week, and plan on getting some time on the GM3...after the serious detecting with the modified TDI SL, and the GM24K.

Jim

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I have been looking for gold since the late 70's with dredges and now metal detectors.
I am not a pro but I  have spent plenty of time over a detector coil and for me the GPZ 7000 is the best gold machine I have used.
But, it is ridiculously heavy and this is a glaring drawback that makes it a very difficult machine to put in long hours with…and, over the course of months and years, it can seriously damage your shoulder, arm and/or lower back.  
So, at the same time I sing the 7000's praises, I also want to say that I could not use it to the extent that I do without a HipStick

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My best gold detector to date would have to be a White's Surf PI from about 1990. I found more Gold and Platinum with that detector than any other. 

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Interesting question and as it was asked i guess as a general gold hunting question and not just nugget hunting i will answer it as 'what' machine/s have found me the most gold but in a different format as we here in the UK dont in theory have gold nuggets,albeit some cane be found in remote parts of scotland and wales but its not the norm.

Over say the last 20 years although i have been detecting longer than that the 2 detectors that have stood out for me and found me more gold than all my other detectors put together and these are my original green T2 with my favourite coil/s the Nel Sharpshooter and the superb 5'' coil,2nd machine is the DFX with the 10x6 elliptical and the 12'' Hotshot coil.

Both these machines run in the 13-15khz freq so nothing special about that,but these 2 have account for gold coinage including cletic gold staters both full and 1/4 staters which are gold hammered coins,milled George111 full guineas and also Viccy Sovereigns both full and half ones.Both these machines have been consistent in finding gold.But some years back i bought the Deus and later on the Equinox both of these newer machines  as yet have 'not' found me any gold,hoping when we can get back out again that the Deus with the HF elliptical coil and running the higher freq will reverse the decline of gold finds in my case gold coinage.Will probably give till the end of this year with the Nox and Deus as main machine and if the decline has not reversed then my good old faithful T2 with the Sharpshooter coil will come out of retirement.

The one one machine that if i am honest i have high hopes for is the Deus with this HF elliptical coil,as it was originally designed for gold nugget hunting i could not see the real need for such a detector/coil combination here in the UK but after doing some long testing session on my desired gold items ie gold coins both small and large this combination does seem to stand out head and shoulders above all my other current machine and one that have been proven finders.

So for me the previous best machines have been the T2 and DFX and the current front runner that i have high hopes pinned on is the Deus and HF elliptical but the Equinox is not giving me high hopes that i had originally hoped for.

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Maybe the original Fisher Gold Bug, White's Goldmaster II, Minelab SD2000.

I have had and used so many since about 1985.

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