G'day

[Mickeyom]

Hello everyone,
I'm Mick, living in Brisbane, although grew up in the Vic goldfield areas. Always wanted to have a crack at prospecting after having played as a kid in caves and old mine shafts, but life (kids & work) got in the way. I bought an entry level Minelab 305 a few years ago and haven't really used it ( maybe twice). Been doing a lot of reading lately and plan to upgrade and get started this year as retirement getting closer. Any feedback on detector brands appreciated (some say Whites, others Minelab or Garrett)??? Seems to be plenty to choose from and probably a personal choice?

Looking forward to getting started and hopefully meeting like minded people along the way.
Cheers,
Mick

 

[Heatho]

Welcome aboard mate. A good Minelab gold detector is the way to go, it's not a personal choice, they are the best choice as other brands will struggle with our mineralisation.

 

[BigWave]

G'day Mike and welcome on board. The answer that's always given to your question is it depends on what you're into (coins/relics/gold), what sort of budget you have in mind and how much time you expect to be in the field. You'll also be advised to try hiring before buying and then, when you're hooked, invest in more than you're budget as it will add to your enjoyment/finds and delay the inevitable upgrade - saving you more in the long run.

 

[jamie]

Welcome mate, I was a garret detector guy then I got a minelab gpx 4500 and haven't looked back, but as you said it is a personal thing but my vote is with minelab it is hard to beat them

 

[silver]

Gday mick, welcome to the forum.
Using the detrctor you already have a lot more to gain experience with it is the best approach, I have seen the processes first hand of someone learning a ML305, and at first it seemed they would take ages to cover so little ground, but, as they got to know their machine they got decidedly faster with it all, and dug less and less junk ,... I would check over the work at times, and at first point out targets still in the ground that I myself would have chosen to dig, but as time wore on (and on) eventually when I would do a follow up detect I would find nothing left in the ground, it was then that I knew that they were as good as I was at the least.
So I advocate getting out there and having a go by trial and error you get to know your machine so much better ,... oh, and read the manual for it over and over until you know it inside and out ,.... that will increase your skill level without even having a swing.

 

[Mickeyom]

Thanks heaps for that guys. And Silver, you know most blokes aren't great at reading instruction manuals, and I'm especially guilty of it. Will start with that and go from there.
Thanks again everyone.
Mick