I think the Gold Bug is pretty efficient and will go up against most. I have a Gold Bug Pro and put an elliptical coil on it and it works great......but the only thing I dont like is that it has a lower operating frequency 19Khz than the Gold Bug 2....which actually has a 71 khz. That higher frequency gets the smaller gold.

GB and GB2 seem to be good machines, White's GMTseems to be another, the Tesoro Lobo and White's MXT in any of its guises are all around detectors, and proven gold finders, but operate in the lower khrtz ranges.

As to buying power, look at tradeins at dealers and Craigslist can be your friend.  There you want to check battery trays/boxes for corrosion and overall condition (is it beat to heck).

I agree that the Gold Bud Pro and Tesoro Lobo are a great place to start and both are great detectors...

Thanks you both for the quick replies, I'll definitely be looking around for a while for the right deal on the right machine before I make a purchase. Is a higher operating frequency always better? I've read purchasing a machine without ground balance is a waste of money, is there a large difference in performance between a auto balance and a manual ground balance unit? or are there other factors I should weigh more heavily in my decision before purchasing?

-Scott

I won't pretend to be some expert with as many years Metal Detecting as some here, and I have only used 6 different Metal Detectors. However, I am quite the research junkie who lives on YouTube and have a ton of observation experience in Metal Detecting. I currently own a Teknetics T2 SE, Garrett AT Gold and Garrett ATX Deepseeker. I thought I'd chime in here to try and explain the reality of what you wish to achieve at a budget of $300-400 (or so I am guessing based on your comments). At that budget to buy a worthy Metal Detector that can provide a reasonable opportunity of success in finding Gold you will need to buy something used. We can assume a Pulse Induction Machine is out, even used, at least one that is functioning normally as it should. So that leaves a VLF, the higher frequencies VLFs such as a GB2, GMT and Nokta AU are your best choices but even a good used in these will be difficult to find in your budget. That leaves you with perhaps something like a used AT Gold or Gold Bug Pro but again, probably difficult to find in your budget. I would look for any of these and maybe you will get lucky. Frankly if you can't find any of these then buy a new Garrett Ace 400. My understanding is it's a great and perhaps the best affordable all around machine currently on the market. But keep in mind that finding Gold with any lower frequency detector is severally limited. You would have to hunt bedrock and caliche as your subgram nugget depths would be 2-4" at best. There are other detectors that I am sure could be added to my list but these names are the most popular for a reason. (revised)

Bill,

I hate the fact that the DB Pro is only 19Khz while the GB 2 is a whooping 71Khz.....but as I see...that increased sensitivity that the GB 2 gives.....also creates the issues in highly mineralized ground that you don't otherwise see with the lower frequency GB Pro. I use the GB Pro but keep wondering if there is some scale ratio that I can expect for finding larger nuggets as well......depth in inches to associated size of nugget....that the GB Pro will find?

Leo,

The GB PRO is a great detector and is very capable of finding gold if it is set up right and the right coils are in the bag. In the 1980's when the first GB hit the market, we found a lot of gold and I mean a lot. The first GB utilized the same frequency as the new GB and I couldn't be happier with FRL in bringing back this work horse. 

In the old days of the 80's most of us carried three coils with us everywhere we went. the stock 10" a 4" and the 14". I would hunt an area to find the patch with the standard 10" then swap to the 4 for those little guys and finally to the 14" to finish out the spot. in many ways this has an advantage over the GB II in that the 71kHz does nail a lot of tiny gold but even with the larger coil there seems to be a lack of just good ole hard hitting depth. But I would never consider giving up my II if for nothing else hunting bedrock with the HiFreq and pulling gold that I end up having to pan to save time in the field in trying to find fly specks.

Now on to your question of scale... No there is no way to say this at this with this will = this. There are way to many variables on any given day and quite frankly with 45 years of swinging a detector i gave up on trying to even think about it. As long as I have tuned and matched my machine for the ground that I am hunting and make the needed changes as I go along throughout the day, I know that my detector is doing the best it can and the rest is up to me.

I hope that helps some or at least created a few more questions. 

 Regards, 

 Kevin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin,

Thanks for your insight! On the GB Pro.....I changed the stock coil to a Fisher 10" elliptical and that is all I been using on the GB Pro for now. That coil seems to be nice and sensitive around the tip of the coil for pin pointing. Finally, after a year of using the GB Pro, I think I figured out the ground balance function. Seems that after you turn it on, and bring it down to the ground....a reading is given on the right side display.....and that indicates the ground signal.....and to ground balance it....just increase or decrease the display reading (using the up or down arrow) on the left side...to match the right side display. And just change it as the need requires. I mainly hunt northern Nevada and you are probably more than familiar with the area. I been concentrating on the Jungo Road area, the land north of RP/Pioneer trail which runs west, and the area south and north of Sawtooth. Although I still have not found any nuggets, I like the area to hunt as the geology sure seems like it is hiding the gold. I am just wondering if the GB Pro is good enough to hunt that terrain, cause if most of the gold found there in the past is deeper down.....I may be walking right over it. I know that gray and white-ish clay patches really mess with the VLF detector in spots and gets impossible to use. And yes...turning down the sensitivity might help....but its hard to be thinking about what I might be missing in "depth".....I guess that is always going to be the MD's dilema.

I use the Gold Bug 2. I actually got mine off eBay for about 200 dollars. He had it for sale at like 400. I sent him a private message and asked if he would take 200 and he took the deal, just be genuine, humble , and kind, and most people will work with you and get you a good deal.

Thanks !!!

Wow just got my new GPAA mag for this month and they have on the cover, and article on the Gold Bug 2. Great coincidence! Have not yet read it, but I am sure the story is good.