Greetings from Oregon

Howdy, folks.  I am not a current treasure hunter, but I'm trying to help my son-in-law get geared up to start at the hobby level.  At this point, I'm looking to find out what a reasonable approach is to getting started.  My questions are probably all of the standard newbie questions (which probably don't even belong here in this sub-forum), like:

• How much do you really need to spend to get started?
• What is a decent starting model?
• Is it better to wait and save, and then buy the Really Good Unit rather than dink around with the "toy" units?

All clues appreciated.   

This has always been on my "to do someday" list, so who knows?  I might get going on this, too.  It will give me something to do while my wife is walking the beaches in search of shiny pebbles.     I just talked to my retired dad on the phone.  He's got a decent model White detector sitting in the closet for five years or so. I'm sure he'll have a few ideas, too, but he's not up on what the current market for gear is now.
 

- Doug

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,45685.msg248045.html#msg248045

Welcome to the forums, Im also in Or. If your dad has a machine the closet I would try to borrow that one to get started. Once you got a  handle on what you want in a detector, then start shopping. While you can get a decent machine for a couple hundred bucks, metal detectors are one of those things that you do get more when you pay more. If you are set on a starter machine the Garrett ACE 250 gets rave reviews. I started out with a Lone Star but within a couple weeks I knew I needed an upgrade with pinpointing and depth estimation, I got a good deal on a used Tek Omega and have been very happy with it. Also if you are going to be primarily hunting beaches you will probably want a pulse induction machine. You will also want to budget in a box of gloves, some kind of digging tool and a pinpointer. Happy Hunting. Caleb

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,45685.msg248049.html#msg248049

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice.  I will be following up on your suggestions and mining the existing posts for more wisdom and knowledge. 

- Doug H

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,45685.msg248114.html#msg248114

Welcome from Kansas. Sounds to me like you have the makings of a club! Ditto on the Garrett Ace 250. Very impressive performance for the price, and easy to sell if you want to move up.

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,45685.msg248182.html#msg248182