Former Lurker comes out of hiding :o)

[Lori]

Hi All-

I have been reading (with great interest) many of the posts on this forum and decided to register when I saw the beginners section.

I have always been fascinated with treasure hunting/metal detecting and have recently decided to get started so I've been doing scads of research on machines (which sometimes confuses me more). I am most interested in relic / Gold country hunting...all the old stuff and I want to make sure that I get a good machine that can read gold and silver and go deep enough to get some older finds. Most of the reviews lean towards the Whites, Fisher and Tesoro's...but Ebay has a ton of Bounty Hunters which I don't see recommended that much...what's the story on those?

I would rather spend a little more in the beginning to have a machine I won't grow out of quickly...any tips or hints would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone can recommend any books on Central Cali Gold country that would be fantabulous as well.

Thanks all and I look forward to many posts and replies!

-Lori

[Ron (CA)]

Glad you came out of the shadows and decided to post.

The machine you need (in my opinion) is the Whites MXT. It will do everything that you are requesting. It will find the deeper old silver coins, it will find the old relics and it will find gold nuggets. It is a great machine that accomplishes all those thing well. It is the Best All Around machine in my opinion.

It is not over complicated and gives you audio and visual ID.

You may want to get an accessory coil for nugget hunting but the stock coil will work great for Relics and coin shooting!!

You can get them used in the $500 range +/- and it will be a solid machine for years to come and you will not need to upgrade later one like you would need to if you purchased a lower quality machine. (and if you decide that this hobby is not for you, they hold there value pretty well)

By going with the MXT, you will be able to try all aspects of the hobby without feeling you are sacrificing much by not having the "right" machine!!

Good Luck to you and Welcome to the forum!

HH

Ron (CA)

[LodiTom]

I would go with Ron say's and welcome to the forum.You have come to a great place for any help and great people.HH,Tom

[TONKA]

Hi Lori! Great to have another female on here! I noticed on your profile that you're in San Jose...the Santa Clara club just happens to be having a big Christmas raffle and I believe the top prize is a MXT!
The drawing is this Thursday night. Come by and check out the club...meet some other MDers and get some more info on detectors...we've got 2 or 3 different dealers who belong.
Welcome aboard!

[Lori]

Wow, thank you all for your prompt and helpful replies...such a "warm fuzzy" welcoming group with no "snarkiness"! That really helps a newbie feel comfortable and welcome.

The Whites is sounding like the way to go but I am bummed that I have to teach an aerobics class on Thursday and will miss that raffle opportunity (I teach part-time at Golds gym which keeps me sane after a full day at my "corporate" job I wonder if they have a way to enter the raffle by proxy...haha, I assume not. Oh well, thanks again and I look forward to meeting at least those of you that are in the Bay Area.

-Lori

[jim]

Welcome Lori, this is a fun & rewarding hobby. Ron gave some great advice about the MXT, if I could only have one machine, I think that would be it.

Sound's like your awfully busy, but do take the time to smell the roses while traveling through this life, & detecting is very healthful for both body & soul.

Good luck & do meet some of the forumites at every oppertunity. HH....j
im (PS) WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME to a great hobby

[goldhart]

Hi Lori and welcome. Teaching an aerobics class... you can probably run rings around us old timers. ;D You can buy raffle tickets from any of the club members. There are a lot of them on this forum. Dan3

[Lori]

I would love to buy some tix for the raffle. I know that the Santa Clara County folks have a website and I assume I can contact them from there...would someone be so kind as to let me know the URL?

Jim, that is one of the reasons this endeavor appeals to me. It is easy to get so caught up in the daily hustle and bustle that you forget to connect with the beautiful environment that surrounds us....and goldhart I was born in the late sixties so I'm not exactly a whippersnapper but I am hoping that my kickboxing classes have built up my delts enough to carry a detector around for long periods at a time...haha, we shall see!

Thanks again all...

-Lori

[TONKA]

Hey Lori the "former" Lurker....I've got a phone number for you to call to get some raffle tickets but don't want to put it on here....
I'll send you a message so check at the top of the page and click on where it says:
Hey, Lori, you have 1 message...

[Doug in SJ]

Welcome to the forum Lori!! Hope to see you at the club meeting one of these days.

[old4blue69]

WELCOME LORI,
HI, MY NAME IS ANDY PIERUCCI, I AM 14, AND I LIVE IN STOCKTON, CA. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

HH,
ANDY

[LodiTom]

Kickboxing hmmmmmmmmmmm!!I think we have are new bodyguard when we find those gold coin's ;DJust joking with you,hope you get the MXT soon.HH,Tom

[Lori]

Hello again...

Tonka...thanks! I replied to your message

Andy...I'm in beautiful San Josie

Tom...haha, actually the first thing we are taught in kickboxing is to avoid any and all confrontation so I will be the first to turn tail and run if "pirates" come a callin. I ain't too proud to admit I'm a big ol' chicken ;D
Thanks for your kind wishes on me finding my new baby!

[Rookie]

Greetings Lori,
As a Bounty Hunter owner I would have to say, Go with the Whites, Fisher, Garrett plan. The main reason is that you will want target ID and the big names are known to be more dependable on the ID. I do know that Bounty Hunters are underrated, however if I had my choice I would go with the Whites. For what it's worth.
Rookie

[TONKA]

If I mess this up, Lori, you know what I mean... It's listed towards the bottom of page 3 under Links.
members.tripod.com/~WaipahuHaole1/treasurehunters.html