So you want to become a metal detectorist?  You've seen the TV shows and the Youtube videos.  Guys hooting and hollering at every find.  Unearthing history right under their feet.  It looks like great fun right?  Maybe not all the cartwheels and yelling - but the metal detecting part sure does seem neat.

Heck, it’s free money and jewelry coming out of the ground.  Gold nuggets beeping their way into your pockets. Relics from ages past just waiting to be uncovered.   It’s literally the hobby that pays you back for enjoying it!

So how the heck do you get started?  There are local club meetings for a sit in.  Perhaps you join one of the many metal detecting forums on the internet.  Or like most - you just stick to a Google search until you feel comfortable.   Whatever your choice, you usually start asking a few questions once you do get comfortable.  Something along the lines of.…

• “What is the best metal detector for a beginner?”
• “I have X amount for my budget - what should I buy?”
• “I want to find this type of treasure - which detector is best?” 

Don’t be embarrassed.  They are good questions that you should absolutely be asking before investing hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars into a new hobby.  However, once the answers start to pour in - it probably hits you.  This is going to be more difficult than you first thought.   

This guy says X brand is the best.  Oh wait a minute, this guy over here says this other brand is WAY better.  She says I need this coil to succeed.  But her twin sister says to use the other coil type.  What was that about KHZ differences?  Recovery speed and separation?   WHAT?

Before you know it, your head is spinning.  How are you supposed to make sense of all of this as a beginner?   Well let me just say one thing loud and clear - don’t give up - I want to help!  

 

Not by pitching this and that to you.   Not by confusing you with technical terms and definitions.  I am simply going to go over a few “lessons learned” when I first started.  There were MANY...and there continue to be.  Every time I go out I try to learn something about my detector.   Every time I sit for a chat with a fellow detectorist I try to pick his or her brain for some added knowledge.    

So what was my first lesson learned?

#1.  Ask questions - but don’t expect the same answer.

Remember where I said don’t be embarrassed to ask questions?   Well - don’t be!   Why so many coil types and sizes?  What is unmasking, separation and recovery speed?  Why are their different KHZ detectors?  While those can usually be handled by a Google search, feel free to ask if you don’t get the answer you are looking for.

There are some VERY nice people in this hobby and full blown “jerks” are very rare and usually moderated out by the community itself.  However, there is one thing to keep in mind - it is an opinionated hobby.  Your answer will be there, just in many forms.  One person likes this, while another likes that.  There are just so many to choose from, it’s natural for there to be so many opinions and answers.

For the most part the metal detecting community is VERY helpful and will explain things in layman terms if need be.  So don't worry about that “head spinning” from all the different answers.   Take it slow and easy.   If you don’t get it right away, ask for another way of explaining it.   Usually, somebody with a whole different way of speaking will chime in and give you an “aha” moment with their definition or answer.

#2.  Know what type of metal detecting interests you (maybe it’s all of them).

There is no point in buying a salt water beach detector if you live in Colorado.

It’s a good idea to think long and hard about the type of hunting you prefer.  Or perhaps the type of hunting your immediate surroundings permit.  If you like coins and have tons of parks and schools in your area - it’s a no-brainer.  Get a coin machine.  If you live in a Revolutionary or Civil War area - and relics interest you.  Get a relic machine.

My first detector was a Garrett Scorpion - a gold prospecting detector.   I had been gold panning and sluicing here in Colorado and doing pretty well.  So I figured it was a good fit...and it was.  I had asked 100’s of questions about gold detectors so knew it well by the time I saw one for sale.

Along came Christmas and my son who was 10-11 at the time received a Bounty Hunter Gold Digger.  A great intro machine for all ages and does not break the bank in the $70 range.

We took it to the local park and I was hooked instantly.  I enjoyed it 10X more than gold prospecting which is 99% iron and hot rocks and 1% gold nuggets.   Even finding a zinc penny at 1 inch amazed me.  It may be MUCH less of a payoff compared to gold prospecting for nuggets, but I didn’t care.  Finding coins was SO much fun it was bonkers.    

Now that is not to say I made a wrong choice.   The gold detector did well for the prospecting.  But what now that these coins were consuming my brain?   Time to buy a 2nd detector!  I knew I was hooked on this hobby now as I was considering a 3rd detector for relic hunting too (yes I bought one).

Long story short - I had 3-4 detectors in the first 90 days of detecting.  Obviously, that is NOT for everybody.  So my advice is really to think hard about what you prefer - and what your surroundings allow.  Then make an educated choice from there.

#3.  Price to Performance

You do not need to spend tons of money in this hobby to have fun or be successful, but you can if you want!  That is the joy of it.  There is something for everybody.   You have detectors from $50 all the way to $5000+.   Some manufacturers feel more is less, excluding LCD displays or tone options.  While others warehouses pump out detectors with menus and features that can take minutes to cycle through.

You can turn on and go - or fiddle until it is juuuust right.

Keep in mind NO detector does everything perfectly.  Where a $5000 one goes deeper...a $50 one can be better in nails.  For $600 you can go underwater.  Where another at $1500 cannot get even a drop on it.

There is no set standard here.  Different manufacturers charge different prices for different options.  We win because of it.  We can pick and choose from a slew of options to fit not only our preferred way of metal detecting - but our budgets too. 

So remember - ask those questions, know what type of detecting you will be doing, and find a budget that is comfortable to you.  All that is left is to pick a detector (or 4).   Good luck!

Hope you enjoyed this blog!

This blog post was authored by John Schmidt aka (TheHunterGT). John is a prolific YouTuber and metal detectorist who has gained respect in the metal detecting community for his knowledgeable and informative videos and forum posts. John can be reached through his blog at http://thehuntergt.com/wordpress/