New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Looking at starting into the hobby just wanting to know what people would recommend buying as a first metal detector, also are there any members in hawkes bay that go out regularly.

Edited by user Wednesday, 19 November 2014 3:49:25 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hi - welcome to the most enjoyable hobby you will ever encounter - hehe

I fully recommend the following machines which are suitable starter units through to intermediate level -

Teknetics Delta 4000
Garrett Ace 250
Fisher F2
Tesoro Compadre
Teknetics Eurotek Pro

IMO the Teknetics units stand out a little more than the others when it comes to depth and settings -
I have previously owned and used all of the above machines, however the Garrett I had was an Ace 150 which I still rate as a very good starter as well -

One thing many do not realize when they start out is that their very first unit is a lot more capable than what they think, so DO NOT be in a rush to upgrade - Get to learn your machine thoroughly before you move on - The experience you gain is invaluable -

If you are going to coin shoot/relic hunt I would recommend the Eurotek Pro from the list above for the following reasons -

Lightweight (you can swing it all day)
Deep (yes it goes a lot deeper than the others mentioned)
Iron Audio (its really amazing and IMO a lot better than machines costing a lot more)

Look honestly I could go on and on about the Teknetics Eurotek Pro being all that but please take my word for it - It is without a doubt the best bang for your buck - What also makes this unit even better is that it shares its coils with 8 other machines so if you build up an arsenal of coils over time you can use the same coils on dedicated Gold machines like the Gold Bug Pro/Teknetics G2 or the Greek series Teknetics has Alpha, Delta, Gamma & Omega -

What makes the Eurotek Pro special in NZ is that it can hit on our new shit 10c 20c & 50c coins solidly, so if you are starting out, this is the one to get - As you build confidence and look to move into say electronic prospecting, as mentioned you can use the coils between both units saving you lots of $$$ in the long run -

Teknetics Eurotek Pro with 8" concentric coil will set you back around $219.00USD from memory
Freight is another $60NZD keeping you under the Govt tax grab at $400NZD -

Also check out Guardian (forum member) as he has a bundle price for a fantastic X-Pointer & Wilcox Digger
You will need at least both items to ensure a professional recovery of your targets -

As for a 'finds pouch' just keep a look out for a military web belt and magazine pouch on turdme

Hope this helps -

Stay safe & Happy hunting

I would recommend the Fisher F2 or F4 over the garret 250 ( still good machine) the fishers have a numbered target ID which help identify what you could potentially be digging eg Soild 64 number would mean $2 (most of the time)
I have the F4 and found loads of good stuff, I'm going to upgrade to the F75 soon but will still keep the F4