[EGoud]

Hello everyone,

Been browsing this forum for 2 days now and it seems the right place to hang out

What I would really like is some good honest advice, I need to buy a detector.
I need one that can detect gold as well as other metals, and it must be able to operate in/under water if required.

I need to decide between Minelab and Garret to start with, then I need some advice on the best models.
My max budget is about R12k.

Pleeeease give me unbiased best/worst  points of both brands, and any other suggestions most welcome.

This has been on my bucket list for a decade or two,  so let me have some fun.

And thanks for a great forum!

[jasoncpt]

Welcome .... I have a at pro as my backup land detector .... It's a great buy , it's abit noisey in the surf but would choose it for inland hunting over my minelab excal .... A good garrett detector in your price range is the AT pro , AT gold (can't be used in the surf or on wet beach sand) , sea hunter (pi machine for surf hunting, it can't discriminate so you dig every thing, it does go deeeeep though)

I'm not sure what minelab detectors are around 12 k that are waterproof.... The minelab excal is 19k and you can run it on land but made for diving.

If you want to give the AT pro a test run let me know.

Ps take a look under my pictures of what I have found with the AT Pro

[Kobus]

If you want it for more water hunting than land I think sea hunter it can discriminate but must been used wisely. For land and sea deff the minelab excal. Both these mashines is hard and tuff.

[EGoud]

Thanks for that jasoncpt. I was actually heading in the direction of a Garret Gold, but after some more research I found out you are correct - it's no good in wet sea sand.
But as I'm researching more I'm finding out there's hundreds of models and I must first narrow it down a bit more.
Currently I'm leaning towards Minelab.

[EGoud]

Kobus, thanks for the info.
I'm still researching. I never realised there are so many makes and models on the market!
And as I am about to take a 3-6 month break from work, this is the time to do it.
I thought one could just go to a shop and ask "what is the best detector for this or that", but I've realised I'm wrong.
Maybe I will start with a cheaper (ie < 10k) model and then scale up as I learn the game.

[Alan]

Hey welcome to the hobby.  You may not be able to answer this at the moment, but what or where do you plan to hunt?

Feel free to give me a call if you would like to chat about metal detecting my number is 0766702154.

Alan

[James Kraft]

Welcome to the hobby and the community

[Wilhelm Ludik]

Welcome to the forum, whatever you choose  - may the pulltabs be few and far between, the foil non existent, and your finds keep you captivated.

[EGoud]

Thanks everyone.

Alan, I plan to detect where ever I go camping, which is normally between Klein Karoo and West Coast up to Elandsbaai so I have dozens of sites in my mind, will give you a call, can do with some expert guidance.

Just about completely set on a Minelab X-Terra 750 with the gold pack. Any guidance on that?

[Kobus]

On the mine labs i would say Safari and up. Die Safari nie waterproof maar moet se die ctx 3030 moet vat om voor te bly. Got both machines and have hunt with both, very good in trash.
Try toget some machine to use before buying
Kobus

[Tom White]

Welcome to the hobby mate

[James Kraft]

Thanks everyone.

Alan, I plan to detect where ever I go camping, which is normally between Klein Karoo and West Coast up to Elandsbaai so I have dozens of sites in my mind, will give you a call, can do with some expert guidance.

Just about completely set on a Minelab X-Terra 750 with the gold pack. Any guidance on that?

I am running the entry level Xterra 305 with standard search coil and have no problems detecting inland with it athough I will never be able to go diving or take it into water although the coil is waterproof but the control box not. There are some differences between the Three X-terra models with the main being Price!

I had an opportunity to see the 705 in action this past weekend. The only Pro's is automatic balancing, more target ID numbers and obviously the gold pack 2nd coil. This will probably hardly been used due to inland trash volumes. Regarding the Target ID's the following:
X-terra 305 runs in increments of 4
X-terra 505 in 3's
X-terra 705 in 2's
and the Minelab Safari in 1's

From my side, I would not upgrade from the current 305 to anything less than the Safari as it would only be a waste of time and money where I am concerned. I would rather wait and save up, or if i just started like you did would consider the 305 or garret ace 250 however, keep in mind that none of these performs in soaking wet beach sand conditions right at the water's edge. Semi dry and dry sand is no problem.

I am enclosing the comparrisson charts of both Minelab and Garrett as reference. Hope this helps.

[James Kraft]

Here is also a newbie guide to detecting

[EGoud]

Ok, went to see Wolfgang today. (as it turns out he lives just about up the road from me)
What a pleasure, quite happy to chat for a hour or so and no pressure, and he will gladly list the strong/weak points of each detector regardless of price or his profit. Which is amazing to find in SA seeing as customer service is just about non-existent.
Decided on the X-Terra 705 with some accessories thrown in for a discounted price.
Then he finds out the one in stock is missing something, no problem. He gives me his demmo 505 to play with for 2 days until the 705 I want is there. And gives me a further discount!

So I start exploring and digging up the backyard and find a rusty nail. Gonna take time to learn this hobby.

And once again thanks everyone for the pointers and advice.

[Peter Callahan]

Well done James. Thanks for such an informative post.