Which Metal Detector Manufacturer Did Give You The Most Fun / Success ?

[locator]

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

I like these surveys so kudos to you, locator, for creating this one.  I do see a couple (minor) deficiences which I'll quickly point out and then procede to my details:  1) 'fun' and 'success' are two different things and I have different answers (see below).  2) Fisher m-scope specifically?  All other Fisher detectors go under 'misc'?  And who/what is Wilson (besides a huge sporting goods company)?  Is that an early European brand?

"You always remember your first..."  leads to my 1st and 2nd in the 'fun' subcategory:

Nothing like the fun of finding your first 'treasure' (early Wheat cent in my case) with a detector.  That's the Heathkit GD-48 which was a DiY assembly project (that I screwed up by getting a diode in backward 🙄).  Was still in high school ~ summer of 1970.  Hammer (head only) shown in photo was also a find which I still use today.  2nd most fun (I won't include photo since it's well known) is the Fisher Gold Bug Pro I bought in August 2015 and proceded to find my first silver coin, first Indian Head penny, first gold ring, and first Civil War relic (button), all with the 5" round stock coil.  I was digging it all back then (except low conductive ferrous) -- those were the good old days.

Most success easily comes from the ML Equinox.  Part of that is because I have by far the most hours with it.  It's my detector of choice with others relegated to the 'specialty' category.

 

Hello GB_Amateur.

Thanks for asking. Yes, I know fun and success are two different things. But to me success with no fun is hard work. So what is a detector worth if you have to have degree in electronics and physics to find stuff without digging piles of rusty iron? To me the hunt itself is the goal. Fresh air, spending time with friends/family, talking to people... and not fiddeling to the instrument for the best find, the oldest coin and things that are not under your coil 😉. Yes, a few goodies are a welcome gift beside 😎😁. But that's only my opinion.

Oh, and messing with a manufacturer isn't fun at all, too. And I never, never had a problem with Minelab, White's or Wilson. To me that counts, too.

About the Fishe m-scope... the idea was to put all Fisher detectors (former Los Banos, now FTP) into that, and not the pulse ones from JW Fisher, which has it's own index. I know there are some brands missing, but you're only allowed to do 20 😒. but otherwise it may become confusing.

When I started detecting the first ones were handcrafted. They worked, but you know, there must be something better...😅. So the Wilson Relic & Coin IV was the first "real" detector, manufactured by Wilson Electronics, South Bend, Indiana.

[GB_Amateur]

9 minutes ago, locator said:

So the Wilson Relic & Coin IV was the first "real" detector, manufactured by Wilson Electronics, South Bend, Indiana.

Well, there you go.  Not only is the Wilson detector not from Europe, it's from my home state!  In fact the first coin I found (that with the Heathkit GD-48) was less than 100 miles from South Bend.  One of the great things about this site -- always something new to learn.  Thanks for the answers and details of your detecting philosophy.

[Joe D.]

     Bounty Hunter 840!

    Not because it was necessarily anything technically special at the time, but because it was simple to use, and the anodized electric blue color was way cool!🤣 (the Red Barron was cool looking too!) And it found me a bunch of silver in the late 70's! Along with the lack of restrictions that we have today, to be able to have fun, and hunt practically anywhere without being hassled! 👍👍 And yes, I still have it!!🙂

[strick]

CTX 3030

You fellas have me way out dated. If only I had started earlier lol

strick

[bigtim1973]

This is a fun topic. I cannot point to just one brand or specific model. But I will say my finds increased a bunch when the Minelab Xterra units hit the scene. Maybe it was me seeking out newer places to detect but who knows as I took it too a place I used a few different machines on and came home with silver dimes and Indian head pennies that my other units missed. I believe I had the most fun with the xterra not due to the fact that they were the deepest machine by any means but when I placed the 6 inch DD HF coil on it, it became a coin sniffer. I never tried that with other machines previously. It found more old coins at old home sites than I did with other machines. 

 

I kind of still look at them from time to time just for the fun I had with mine. I am almost tempted to get another one with the same 6" DD coil 18khz. 

 

That was also the machine in which I began to look at the benefits of higher khz vs lower khz. 

 

It was also light as a feather to swing with that 6 inch coil. 

 

The previous one I had a load of fun with before that was the Tesoro silver sabre 2. I actually bought a newer(this was in the 90's) Whites spectrum eagle. I thought I was in tall cotton when I got the spectrum. Only I did not have the patience to make good use of the features it offered. So I sat it aside and started off again coming from a 1980s D-Tex model with a lot of knobs and purchased the used silver sabre 2. 

 

It was just a breeze to use and I actually took and sold the spectrum eagle because I did not have the patience to try and learn it. 

 

Anyway, this is fun talking about them. 

[F350Platinum]

I started out in July 2020 with a Garrett Ace 400. I had a bounty hunter a long time ago, but bought the Garrett to look for nails in the yard after a roof replacement. For the heck of it I poked around my yard and found musket balls, colonial era buttons, and a WW1 Coat button. That did it for me! Joined this forum in December of last year, decided I needed a detector that would do better than the Ace. Got an Equinox for Christmas thanks to advice here and a local dealer (local is relative, it's a 2 hour drive one way), had a visit from Chase who always wanted a shot at where I live. I had retired in October last year, and spent many hours in the farms when they harvested in late November. I go out probably 3-4 times a week, and take the Equinox 600 on camping trips and to the beach. I've made some great finds for a noob, and the future is exciting with new permissions coming up.

Thanks to this forum I'm learning history, and getting some great treasure along the way. DPF has been a great medium for me to keep my mind and self in great shape.

Sadly I don't use the Garrett much anymore, I've also tried a Simplex but the Equinox is my detector.

[longbow62]

Minelab Equinox 800. A buddy got one before I did and he let me use it. I instantly jelled with it. I knew it was a keeper when I dug an SLQ under a pecan tree that at least 5 different detectors had beat to death over and over. I then took it to a park a buddy with an Etrac thought he had cleaned out. The previous detector I had which will remain nameless had never found a silver in that park. First time in with the Equinox I got two very deep Mercs, and was digging very deep Wheats right and left. My buddy about had a cow. 15 silvers later I think the Equinox has found all it can. I just can't find another halfway diggable signal. Believe me I've tried.

[Cal_Cobra]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:01 PM, longbow62 said:

Minelab Equinox 800. A buddy got one before I did and he let me use it. I instantly jelled with it. I knew it was a keeper when I dug an SLQ under a pecan tree that at least 5 different detectors had beat to death over and over. I then took it to a park a buddy with an Etrac thought he had cleaned out. The previous detector I had which will remain nameless had never found a silver in that park. First time in with the Equinox I got two very deep Mercs, and was digging very deep Wheats right and left. My buddy about had a cow. 15 silvers later I think the Equinox has found all it can. I just can't find another halfway diggable signal. Believe me I've tried.

That echo's my EQX800 experience as well.  I also had great luck with the Nokta Makro machines, taking them to sites I'd thought I'd beat to death with my F75, only to discover that although the F75 wasn't making new finds at my hard hunted sites, that it had barely scratched the surface at many of them.   The NM and EQX800 did indeed bring many old "worked out" sites back to life to varying degrees.  My very first deep silver seeker was a Fisher CZ-70 Pro, supposed to be Fisher's "digital" answer to the [then] new Explorer series. 

[vive equinox]

Minelab 

[oneguy]

been swinging for 30 years now, 22 of them coin shooting with Tesoro (golden sabre II & Tejon). Switched over to an Etrac and trash to treasure ratio did a complete 180 degree flip. That put a lot of "fun" and success back into hunting. Got tired of coin shooting mostly because of having to deal with the public, etc.  Decided to chase gold nuggies for the last 4 years and very happy with that decision.....  If I could only have 1 machine, it would definitely be that Goldmonster.....

second to last coin shooting season of "keeper" coins with the etrac