Steve's Gold Nugget Detector Guide Update

[Steve Herschbach]

NOTE THIS IS A TWO YEAR OLD THREAD REVIVED AND SO THE FIRST FEW POSTS ARE DATED.

Simon reminded me I needed to do an update, and boy did I. It has only been exactly a year since the last update, but wow, what a lot of changes!

I had to drop the Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold, Nokta/Makro Gold Racer, Nokta/Makro AU Gold Finder, and Minelab GPX 4500 from the list, because all have been discontinued 

And only one addition, the Garrett Axiom. The field is narrowing folks.

There was one big shift in the order, as the Fisher Gold Bug 2 went up $100, and the XP ORX went down $150. That changed my view of the ORX in a big way. It wandered a bit when it came out with coils and price, but now has settled firmly into its' role as XPs nugget detector, and an excellent VLF option at $599.

Anyway, it is a first draft, I'll edit again later after my mind clears, but there will be no major change, just tweaks for extra info, and to edit mistakes in grammar, etc. I did add a summary at the end for those that just want a simple, straight up opinion on what I'd use and why, since the listing is still long enough to confuse, with too many options to choose from.

 

[phrunt]

A very good update, thank you for doing that.  I often point people to that guide that are asking which detector to buy and when they ask that question the typical response by people is always the detector they own or use, even if it's not the best choice and having a guide like that which runs through the available models is far better than an opinion by a person that has little experience with anything but the detector they own and use.

I've had an instance for example where someones asking which is the best detector for coins on the beach in NZ and in shallow salt water out of the Equinox and Legend which the dealer sold them suit their needs and a person replied the Gold Monster 1000 and was willing to argue to the death that GM is better than the Equinox or Legend as a beach detector showing their handful of coins they've found with the GM on the beach and because its a detector designed for gold their theory was it would find gold rings better, they'd never even touched an Equinox or Legend but were so confident they were right.

The same goes for everything, what's the best pin pointer for this task, whats the best coil for this task etc etc, the responses are often just the product the person owns, even if they've never tried or even know of any of the other options available, that's why guides like this are so valuable.

[Steve Herschbach]

It's a rarity. Most "guides" now are some kind of Best This Or That List based on almost nothing at all but a desire to get eyeballs and clicks on ads. The people involved usually know little or nothing, and usually have not used all the products involved. The results are often embarrassing, and even worse, lead people to make the wrong choice. At least I've used the silly things, every one of them, and actually found gold nuggets with every one of them, in real world conditions. I of course only know my areas - I go out of my way to leave what Aussies think up to Aussies. But I know the ground in the U.S. and the gold, and I've got a pretty good idea what works or not.

My personal biases tend to run to the ergonomic almost more than performance, because they all do actually work and can find gold. If I am going to detect 12 hours a day, seven days a week, I want something that feels good on my arm, and sounds good to my ear, and has controls that give me the level of control I desire, without needing the manual to find a particular setting. And in general I'd say I'm biased to new toys. A new detector actually makes me want to go out and detect more just to see what the new one does. Others are far more comfortable with the tried and true that they are used to. I'm trying hard to be one of those people though, I swear! 

[copper king]

Steve, do you live in Colorado??

[Steve Herschbach]

I'm an Alaskan living in Nevada. Looks like maybe time to update my old nugget guide........

[Ken Walls]

Great write up for a quick reference without all the confusion of to much tech that most do not understand.

[Steve Herschbach]

OK, quickie 2024 update done, but will fine tune it as I think about it more over the week. The landscape changed a lot with the Nokta Gold Kruzer being reduced in price to $549. I mean seriously, 61 kHz, full target id, fully submersible, comes with two coils - that is pretty hard to beat as a VLF nugget hunter for the price. I'm sure Minelab still dominates the game with the Gold Monster but at $999 and only one coil now it's getting pricey as a VLF option.

PI pretty much boils down to what you get for the money. If I had to make a living with a nugget detector I'd be using a GPZ 7000. But at $8999 now it is a very expensive option for a lot of people. The GPX 6000 out of the box does better on the tinier gold than the 7000 but lacks it's punch on the weightier gold. Still, big nuggets are rare and so for many people the GPX 6000 at $2500 less ($6499) is the best value. And finally you have the Garrett Axiom, which in a nutshell offers 90% of the performance of a GPX 6000 for 60% of the price at $3995. Despite rumors of it being discontinued the GPX 5000 is still available for about the same price as the Axiom, and although I think the Axiom has the edge on tiny gold, the 5000 is still a great value for hunting larger nuggets at depth when paired with larger coils. If big gold at depth is the name of the game, if I could not afford a GPZ 7000 I'd be looking at the GPX 5000 as the alternative over both the 6000 and Axiom.

[phrunt]

Sadly, I think you need to scrap the comment under the 24k that Nel are making coils for it, I can't see that happening now unfortunately 😞

 

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, phrunt said:

Sadly, I think you need to scrap the comment under the 24k that Nel are making coils for it, I can't see that happening now unfortunately 😞

Thanks Simon, I deleted that bit. The good news is the 6” concentric finally arrived after that note was made.

[Drellim]

Thanks Steve for the info it should help a lot of people out getting started   The best detector is the one you use and learn most are capable  once you learn how to use it  I still have a old gold bug  it has its place