What Is The Best Metal Detector for Relic Hunting?
Metal detector for relic hunting are a big draw for metal detecting enthusiasts. There are relics scattered across the world from past wars and other historical events, and it can be very exciting to uncover a colonial buckle or part of a musket. This is where metal detecting meets archaeology and true history buffs thrive!
The best places to search for relics include churches, old home sites, and areas where people used to congregate in the past. Think about abandoned train depots, large trees in the middle of town square — commonly referred to in the hobby as a money tree — and old steamboat landings.
To be an effective relic hunter, you’ll want a tough, rugged machine, because you can wind up pretty far off the beaten path for long periods of time.
The main features prized by relic hunters include good target separation. This is important because coins can be masked by old construction materials like nails or railroad spikes. Highly effective discrimination is important because you need to kill the audio for iron targets and focus on what’s valuable.
Metal Detector for Relic Hunting
A good relic machine should have a depth range of 12-14 inches and use a frequency between 12-15 kHz. To be effective, you’ll probably want more than one coil. Coils that are a minimum of 12 inches wide allow you to detect at deeper depths, which is important when hunting for relics. Waterproof coils are an important feature to look for as well, because you never know what terrain you’ll encounter when you’re out looking for historical locations deep in the woods.
A machine that has a true all-metal mode or zero discrimination is useful if you’re not on an old home site because many relics tend to ring up as iron. Horseshoes, railroad spikes and shell fragments would be not be heard, for example, if your discrimination settings are too high.
Many metal detector for relic hunting are fairly heavy, so consider a harness or guide to help you distribute the weight.
Minelab GPX 4500
This detector features SETA technology and is immune to interference. SETA stands for “Smart Electronic Timing Alignment.” Noises that are caused by magnetic interference are minimized in each of the six timing options, and each timing option can be independently adjusted and operated for greater efficiency.
GPX 4500 has many special features. It has a backlight on the screen so you can detect at night or in dark areas. The stabilizer provides you with a smoother threshold to pick up the faintest of signals, and the “iron reject” option lets you filter out junk metal.
Garrett AT Max
The AT Max features Z-Lynk, Garrett’s proprietary wireless technology. It can be used on land or in freshwater and is waterproof up to 10 feet. The high-resolution iron discrimination feature will help you filter out junk like bottle caps and other trash.
The AT Max also has four search modes: all metal, custom, coins, and zero discrimination. The all-metal mode provides the best depth and sensitivity. One of the great features about this detector is that it has a battery life between 15-20 hours.
Garrett ACE Apex Metal Detector
The Garrett ACE Apex Metal Detector is a great option for an affordable metal detector at the beach. This machine has a waterproof coil and a rainproof control box, an adjustable armrest, and a high-resolution ground balance. The new technology design of this machine will also allow you to switch back and forth between single and multifrequency.
Select the Accessories that You Will Need
The final step in selecting the best equipment for relic hunting is to make sure that you are well accessorized! To begin with, you will need a good set of metal detecting headphones. Headphones let you hear the oldest and deepest relics. They also block out external sounds and shut off your detectors external speaker. This will slightly extend the battery life on your detector.
Next, you will want to pick out a decent digger to retrieve your relics. Keep in mind, some targets might be quite large or deep. Always be careful when digging up relics as you might come across some fairly sharp objects. Finally, you will want to consider an accessory coil or two. Remember, the larger the search coil, the deeper you can detect. Smaller search coils will not go quite as deep, but they will allow you to zero in on smaller targets. They are also useful if you are hunting in tight areas or close to large metal objects like fences.
What Is The Best Metal Detector for Relic Hunting?
Panning for gold on end isn’t necessary anymore if you use a metal detector. Detectors made specifically for gold hunting make the hobby a whole lot easier. Visit mountains or areas like rivers, streams, and exposed rock bed to increase your chances of finding gold.
Look for a metal detector that works well in highly mineralized soil. A frequency of 20 kHz or higher is great for gold. You’ll also want a waterproof coil, but the machine itself doesn’t need to be waterproof. As with metal detector for relic hunting, a harness or guide will be helpful to distribute the weight of heavier machines, since finding gold can take a long time.
One of the most important features in a detector used for gold hunting is that it is stable (meaning less noise) in mineralized ground. Soil out west has a lot of iron ore that will interfere, so having a detector that can find a gold nugget that’s surrounded by iron ore is really important.
Minelab GPZ 7000
With the Minelab GPZ 7000, you’ll find even the smallest gold nuggets you might miss with other detectors. The Super-D Smart Coil consists of a central transmit winding and two outer receive windings, which greatly decreases interference from magnetic and/or mineralized soils. This detector finds nuggets that are up to 40 percent deeper than previous Minelab GPX models.
This is the most expensive metal detector in our guide, but we think that the payoff is worth it for this Zero Voltage Transmission machine.
Minelab Gold Monster 1000
Minelab’s Gold Monster 1000 has a gold chance indicator, so you can know the likelihood of whether there is gold before you start digging.
The controls are easy to use, the coil is waterproof up to 3-feet, and the control box is rain proof. It also comes with your choice of coils, battery options, and shaft configurations.
The intermediate 45 kHz frequency and high-speed signal processor boosts sensitivity to gold, no matter the size of the nugget.
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