Garrett AT Gold?

Hi,
I'm fairly new to metal detecting and am currently looking for the best metal detector for my money.
My budget is approx $1000.
I'm looking for a detector for primarily searching for gold nuggets.
I also may occasionally use it for coins or jewelry on beaches etc..

Mainly this detector will be used in potential gold fields and rivers and streams known for placer gold!
In the rivers there are some mineralization!

At first i was looking at the Minelab Eureka Gold until i learned that the search coil isn't waterproof.
I have have also been researching the Tesoro Lobo.

I now have my focus on the Garrett AT Gold.
The AT Gold seems to be a great machine from what Ive been reading but i am inexperienced with this and would like to make sure im making a good choice before investing $700-$800.

I would really appreciate any good advice.
How good is the AT Gold compared to other machines around the same price?
Are there other machines that perform better around this price?
Are there any common problems with the AT Gold or anything i should be aware of?

Thanks for your help!

TheBigTim75

Hey TheBigTim,

I'm currently dreaming of a gold detector atm and have been doing the same sort of research. The 4 main contenders in this price range are the Garrett AT Gold (atg) the Fisher Gold Bug Pro (there are a few variations on the gold bug but the pro is the main option for gold hunting) the Fisher gold bug II and Teknetics G2 (the G2 is exactly the same internals as the gold bug pro but has an 11"dd coil). Have a look at the specs online but the main differences are;

Garrett At Gold
5 x 8 dd coil.
entire unit is fully waterproof to 3 meters
Also a very good dirt coin/relic hunter
Not as sensitive to sub grain gold as the GBII/GBPro.
Not usable on wet salt beaches (ok on the dry sand)

Gold bug II
comes in 2 coil sizes a 6.5" or 10" dd coil
Very sensitive to tiny sub grain gold
Proven track record of finding gold
not an ideal coin hunter
harder to ground balance
Not as stable on hot ground

Gold Bug Pro
5" dd coil
Nice and light
easy to use and ground balance
smaller coil than the ATG
waterproof coil
appears to be better at finding sub grain gold than the ATG
will balance all the way to salt

Teknetics G2
11" dd coil
Same hardware/software as the Gold Bug Pro (different shaft config) but the 11" coil is too big for sub grain gold.
Need to add a 5" coil or 5"X10" coil to be better on smaller gold.


This is info I've researched from the 'Net so the usual disclaimer applies. If you are lucky you may be able to pick up an older second hand minelab pulse induction unit.
Hope this helps.

The GB Pro will pick up sub gram nuggets with the 11"DD, its a top little detector. The 5" coil will drive you nuts within minutes due to its size and sensitivity. Yet pull sub grain easy. You can now get other coils to suit the GB Pro. Like the 10x5-6" .When you turn it off, you lose your settings. Real bummer!!.

Two others on your short list should be the Whites GMT, which is a dedicated gold detector, yet able to be used as a coin machine using a larger coil. It will find coins with the 10x6" DD tho....mine doe's anyway.  The MXT E-series which can mix it up a little with three hunting programs is also another contender. However i think their being replaced now by the MXT All Pro.? The E-series is certainly a good coiner and relic hunter, my partner has one and is loving its simplicity.

I would be looking into one of the whites that Narrawa mentions or the GB2 / GBPRO

In the below clip the G2 fails to pick up the grain size nugget at 1". The Gold Bug II has no issue. As with everything detecting you need the right size coil for the expected nugget size...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrR1XBDutCQ