New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

 

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Peoplesman  
Posted : Thursday, 3 November 2011 9:53:54 PM(UTC)
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Hi
I am interested in metal detectors and was wondering if someone could write what the best ones are "bang for your buck"...
For Price ranges of...

$300
$500
$1000

Also include how each one would perform for someone like myself aka amateur hour is upon us. I that want to find gold rings/ coins etc on the beach with the option of possibly finding Small gold nuggets or flakes in rivers/ mountains ...North Island (very small).

Thanks for your time :)
nzpoohbear40  
Posted : Thursday, 3 November 2011 11:17:39 PM(UTC)
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ok i will be the first to put my two cents in.....if looking for gold plus rings coins and relics then i would suggest the fisher goldbug...i have one myself and have found 7 rings in total so far..6 silver and 1 puter...plenty of coins and what not and rgmcbrid found a small nugget with it down in southland befor i bought it off him..
you can check with robert on prices and he ships anywhere in NZ.
rgmcbrid is the fisher dealer in new zealand and he is on this forum.
As far as being an amateur i have only been doing it for about 3 to 4 months now and you can see the stuff i have posted that i found with it.
unfortunatly i cant say what others are good at what price as i havnt used them..but the goldbug is designed for gold hunting but with the 11"DD coil on it it is a great allround machine.
Chris - Fisher Dealer http://www.puiakisupply.co.nz/
nzgold  
Posted : Friday, 4 November 2011 5:59:16 PM(UTC)
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Yep I agree, don't think that you'll go far wrong with one of the Fishers. Cheers
creamer  
Posted : Friday, 4 November 2011 7:25:34 PM(UTC)
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Garrett ace 350 is the go bro. For general use. Awesome on the beach. Awesome in the dirt. 500 bucks.
Oh, and easy to use.

Shane

Edited by user Friday, 4 November 2011 7:28:21 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Garrett Ace 350
Xpointer



www.nzfossickers.co.nz
Peoplesman  
Posted : Sunday, 6 November 2011 8:35:45 PM(UTC)
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What about the Fisher F4 at around $500 with the 11" coil...
The gold bug only comes with a 5" coil and cost 750 unless you pay an extra $200 for the 11" coil which nearly makes it double the cost of the F4 is it really twice as good?.
nzpoohbear40  
Posted : Sunday, 6 November 2011 9:00:32 PM(UTC)
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the difference is that you stated that you wanted to hunt gold nuggets as well as coins/relics....the F4 is a coin and relic machine where as the goldbug is designed for gold but with the 11DD coil is a great all round machine.
The 11Dd of the F4 wont go in the same tight spots as the 5' if you are looking for nuggets in crevases and what not..and although it may find some nuggets it may not get through alot of the hot rocks like the goldbug would.

Edited by user Sunday, 6 November 2011 9:04:35 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Chris - Fisher Dealer http://www.puiakisupply.co.nz/
Goldnut  
Posted : Sunday, 6 November 2011 11:45:14 PM(UTC)
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Also, I saw kelly co detectors offering a goldbug with an 11 DD... check it out.
Fisher F2 11DD coil, Garrett Pro-Pointer ----> My Blog: http://goldnut.blogspot.co.nz
rgmcbrid  
Posted : Monday, 7 November 2011 10:13:27 AM(UTC)
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Love all this Fisher Gold Bug talk! The other versions of the Gold Bug are the DP (deep penetrating) which comes with an 11” coil and the Pro which comes with a 5” coil. The DP and Pro cost more and have an updated version of the software. I do have a couple of these because occasionally someone wants one, but they are not on the website. Probably should be. The Gold Bug Pro costs $875 and the DP $925. Peoplesman is right though (if you are not hunting for gold) the F4 is a very good detector for the money.
kiwisouth  
Posted : Monday, 7 November 2011 9:35:33 PM(UTC)
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Gidday

One guy you might like to talk to, is the president/ chairman of the Te Tahi Detector Club in Auckland. His name is Phil Salmons 09 535 8887. He may be able to give you some help as well. The Club goes to different areas which includes beaches around Auckland but Phil and a few others in the club also come holidaying down South to do some "golding" He is a Minelab fan but the members have quite a range of detectors.They have found some pretty awesome stuff over the years.

Dave
Nulli Illigitimi Carborundum
Peoplesman  
Posted : Tuesday, 8 November 2011 9:10:04 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: kiwisouth Go to Quoted Post
Gidday

One guy you might like to talk to, is the president/ chairman of the Te Tahi Detector Club in Auckland. His name is Phil Salmons 09 535 8887. He may be able to give you some help as well. The Club goes to different areas which includes beaches around Auckland but Phil and a few others in the club also come holidaying down South to do some "golding" He is a Minelab fan but the members have quite a range of detectors.They have found some pretty awesome stuff over the years.

Dave



Hey Cheers for this info Dave.
I have decided to go with the gold bug with the 11" coil, one day if i get a chance to get into real nugget country i will look at getting the 5" coil for it :)


After looking at all sorts of metal detectors its amazing what price ranges there are. like i could never dream of owing a metal detector that cost like 5-10k!! are they really that good.. i mean you would have to find allot of stuff with that to ever have a chance of paying it back...
Oh and i take it a rechargeable 9 V battery wont work in the gold bug because of the lower volts rechargeable battery's have..?

Thanks for everyone's help :) much appreciated.
nzpoohbear40  
Posted : Tuesday, 8 November 2011 10:27:55 PM(UTC)
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yes the 9V rechargables work and i recomend having 2 of them so you allways have a spare charged up....i have 2 of those cheap orange ones from dick smiths.
Chris - Fisher Dealer http://www.puiakisupply.co.nz/
Peoplesman  
Posted : Monday, 21 November 2011 10:17:21 AM(UTC)
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Hey loving the new metal detector Finding lots of stuff, and learning so much just in the first few weekends :)