Opinions - whats preferred? Old or new

[gregory1353]

I would stick with your 6000 it will find all gold and it is light weight I have used a 7000 for years and bought a 6000 mid 2022 it may not be as smooth as the 7000 but it is light and finds gold. i all so use a nugget finder coil on the 7000 i will not sell the 7000 yet but i use my 6000 most of the time.

Thanks Red Devil that is good to know.

 

[gregory1353]

It's not necessarily a Minelab issue with respect to testing a 7k before purchasing, did you test drive the Monster if not why not. If you want one made available why not every model, as with a 1 thousand dollar vehicle and a 100 thousand dollar vehicle.

Initially some dealers did have them available for hire and pre purchase testing. However when quite a few went walk about never to be seen again this option was made obsolete for obvious reasons.

Even after purchasing a 7k new with the current after market accessories you will need a few extra grand to be on par with the people finding large gold regularly. On top of all the extras knowing the machines abilities and the enhancement each accessory provides is the only thing that will put big gold in your jar at the end of the day. How many are finding big gold is a mystery that no one knows the truth about, nonetheless a 7k in the right hands is your best bet.

Thanks RM Outback, good advice, although I would say anything that affects a Minelab purchase is a Minelab issue, as it should be for any customer focussed company. The one k for the GM was justifiable without testing to tell me whether I would enjoy the hobby or not. I do appreciate the dealer concerns with hiring out products though, that’s why they told me they don’t hire them out.

 

[Dave's Office]

Thanks, it is certainly possible that I would only have found small gold with any machine, and I am realistic about my chances.

I started off with a 5000 and after a couple of trips to the GT and a trip to Clermont which kind of taught me how to use the machine, I had only found a very modest amount of gold so I planned a trip to WA. I was lucky enough to be given a contact who took me under his wing and we become good mates, I found enough gold on that trip to cover my expenses and some, so I decided to sell the 5 and buy a 7000 thinking I'd find more gold with the 7 but so far I haven't found anything with the 7 that the 5 wouldn't have picked up. I love using the 7 but it hasn't made a difference so far.

 

[BigL]

buy the 7000, when your sick of its weight sell it to me

Just because you've the best detector dont mean you'll find gold, particularly these days. My recommendation is minimise the outlay and let the hobby pay its way... if and when you find heaps of gold then buy a 6 or 7000.

Any decent detector will find gold for you, so long as you put the coil over it

 

[Nap.in.Cbr]

Mate, whether or not you realise it, your finds with the 6000 show that you too are now an experienced (and successful) prospector! Don't let the 'mine's bigger than yours' brigade fool you into thinking you're using an inferior machine - you're not and your successes prove it.

Walking over big gold is the only problem and it's one that every prospector faces, as it's few and far between nowadays. If you're finding small gold, one day you too can walk over the bigger stuff. Dogged persistence with a machine that's proven to work well for you, is a better recipe for more future success, than a never-ending search for greater horsepower, IMHO.

Check out this link and his follow-up a few posts later in the same thread. Two beautiful chunks on the same day, 10 times more gold than his previous best day:

⭐ Gold Detecting Show'n Tell

Paid As You Learn! That's not a bad deal, I reckon. 💰

www.prospectingaustralia.com

Pretty funny as I'm considering "upgrading" from my 2300 to a 6k or 7k for something that will punch a bit deeper. Am leaning towards a 6k as it's supposed to still be great for small gold.

 

[Diginit]

I sold a 5000 for a seven simply as I struggled to get my head around the 5000. ie Unskilled operator I'd still back a good operator with a 5000 against a seven, only difference being is they may have to sweep an area several times with different coils on the 5000 to achieve the same result as a seven can in one sweep of same area. Small gold ? Big Gold? It's all metal and usually only the depth that varies and at the end of the day I don't swing a gold detector I swing a metal detector. SDC I'd never part with as it simply finds gold types that others just do not. Apparently due to the SDC coil timings ? But all that's way above my pay grade. But when out in a paddock a piece of gold is placed on the ground and the SDC screams over it whilst the seven barely offers a squeak then as a novice that's good enough to convince me that one has something the other doesn't Look at it as a job and not many people go of to work with only one tool in their tool box

 

[grubstake]

Pretty funny as I'm considering "upgrading" from my 2300 to a 6k or 7k for something that will punch a bit deeper. Am leaning towards a 6k as it's supposed to still be great for small gold.

To me, that sounds more like a case for a larger coil on your well-proven SDC, than the much bigger outlay for a ticket in the 6K reliability lottery.

 

[Nap.in.Cbr]

To me, that sounds more like a case for a larger coil on your well-proven SDC, than the much bigger outlay for a ticket in the 6K reliability lottery.

I've got the 14 in coiltek one. I've found it's too noisy for my taste. I've still found gold with it but generally don't do as well. I'm mainly on a permission that has been detected by not flogged like some public ground. I considered getting one of the other 2 coils but not really liking the 14 in has put me off.