Metal detecting has been a hobby of mine for over 20 years. I remember as a child walking up to men with detectors asking them questions in the park. I was fascinated by everything about metal detecting from the very start. I never purchased one until I was about 22 years old. My first metal detector was a Fisher 1266XB. I loved that detector and used it for a few years. The Fisher factory was in Los Banos California and that was only a few hour drive away. That was a big reason I chose that detector plus the reviews. I found an old mercury dime the first day in my back yard about ten inches deep and I was hooked. Not long after that I got a Fisher Gold Bug. I planned to take a trip to the California gold country with my father. We drove along highway 49 up around Merced County. I purchased a used Garrett gold prospecting metal detector too so we both could have a prospecting detector. I had a great time with my father and I will always remember this trip. We didn’t find a gold nugget but we did find small buck shot, bullets and many other things. If our detectors would have passed over gold, we would have found it. Sadly we had to cut our trip short and return home and only got one good day of hunting in. I still have a life time of memories of that day with my father that I will cherish forever.
A few years went buy and I purchased a used Fisher CZ5. Then I took notice of the Whites Spectrum XLT and sold my other detectors to get it. WOW, what a detector! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I loved that detector so much! It was the Cadillac of detectors at that time and still is one of the best ever made. Most of the time I hunted the local parks with it. I loved tweaking the programs and to be honest I probably spent more time reading and tweaking the program than I did detecting with it. Still, I loved doing that! It wasn’t long after this that I came down with gold fever again and wanted another prospecting machine. I sold the detectors I had and purchased a Whites MXT. It was is considered a “three in one” detector. Good for prospecting, coin/jewelry and relic hunting. After reading the reviews I had to have the MXT and I fell in LOVE with it. I drove to the Mojave Desert by myself to try out the prospecting feature. I didn’t find gold but I had a great time. I knew this detector worked well because I was finding small buckshot, bullets and other things. I still, to this day, have never found a gold nugget but that does not stop me from dreaming about it or catching gold fever. I wish I lived closer to the gold fields so I could spend more time hunting gold nuggets.
The MXT is a fast detector and I loved using it in the parks. It responds quick and works good in trashy areas. It is a very simple and fun detector to operate. for me, half of the fun about this hobby was trying out new detectors and hunting new places. I was always selling a detector to get a new one. My wife and I went down to the Long Beach area California and hunted for a few days. I noticed a few guy’s using a Whites Surf Master PI. I got one for myself and a Whites Coin Master III for my lovely wife Martha. She fell in love with this hobby just like I did. The PI worked great on those beaches down south in that area. Then I took it to Morro Bay and Pismo and honestly… It drove me crazy digging tiny bits of rusty nails half way to China. No kidding, this thing hit every spec of metal on the beach and deep too. It was a great detector for clean beaches but not for the beaches near me. At that time we had moved to Morro Bay, about 11 years ago. I Started using my Wife’s Whites Coin Master III in the local parks and fell in love with it’s weight, speed and simplicity.
Soon I decided to sell my PI machine and purchase a Fisher CZ-21. That machine worked great on our trashy beaches and it was also waterproof like the PI. It wasn’t long and I had to get a Minelab Explorer with all the talk about these machines. At that time I decided to try and get the Minelab Metal Detector dealership and I was approved. My wife and I went to Las Vagas to the Minelab Dealer convention and had a great time. We meet some very nice people there and we learned a lot. Sadly, Minelab did not renew my dealership and that hurt. I was having personal problems that year and never sold a detector. I had hoped they would understand and give me another chance but they didn’t. I was happy that I purchased a Explorer, a Sovereign Elite and a Musketeer Advantage while I had my dealership.
The Explorer was a real fun detector and I loved programing it. I took it to Oceano Dunes near Pismo Beach where thousands camp right on the beach. This beach is loaded with trash. You can find an aluminum can every five feet and hit it at three feet down with that machine. I finally tuned it to only pick up quarters and that is what I did. I walked around picking up quarters in this trashy area on the beach. An aluminum can would fool me once in while but for the most part, I had it down. Disappointed after loosing the Minelab dealership and needing the money I sold the Explorer but I keep my Sovereign Elite. It works great on the beach. I still have this machine and hunt with it often.
Metal detecting was always a hobby I turned to in order to get my mind off of other things. I am a recovering alcoholic and now have some good sobriety time under my belt. In the past I never mixed alcohol with metal detecting. Not that one shouldn’t do that… Metal detecting was something I did to help me through depression and also get in some good exercise. I actually told Minelab I was in a recovery program and had some issues to deal with at the time. Nevertheless, I still lost that dealership.
If you have any questions about selecting a metal detector or about this hobby please let me know. I will be more than happy to help you. If I do not know the answer right off I will review it and get right back to you. Metal detecting has been nothing but a joy in my life. Every new target brings joy to me. Even if it is a corroded zinc penny on the beach. If you are thinking about getting into this hobby, I cannot say enough good things about it. Again, please let me know if I can help you in any way. If you have any suggestions please let me know.
Thank you very much and happy hunting to you!
Gregg / California Metal Detectors