Go on brag about it :-)

Exterra70 is excellent for the beach.

Even found 60 golf balls next to a 10 cent piece on Back Beach in Bunbury. LOL

G'day, I'm getting a Bounty Hunter IV for Xmas. Like you I didnt want to spend
a motza. I have it, but only allowed a brief 10 min game to make sure it all worked. Found a nail, plenty of water pipes, & a $2 coin easily (I put it there!!).
It is very light & easy to use. Didnt have any time for gold check...must wait for
Santie..:)))))...cost $350........... oldbaz.

Try looking for a second hand one - and get a good one.
I have only used one of the minelab ones on a tag along tour and we were finding staples and a lot smaller things buried in the ground - lots of pellets and even fine wire.

But they are expensive however the guy who runs it said he would sell his current stock when new models come out - Gold prospecting Australia,

By the way we did find bits of gold along with the many other bits of rubbish.

Great fun but you would want to be doing a lot to invest in the expensive ones.

Good luck.

Richard

I've been 'practicing' with my minelab GP3500 for a couple of years in the Pilbara. Although I haven't found any gold (yet?), it's been good for cleaning up the areas I've tried in (bullets, rust, horse shoes, sixpence, threepence, fencing wiring, car parts etc...)
My mate has the same & has found (& still finds) many hundreds of dollars worth of gold most times he goes out (so it helps to know the area & the type of ground to look for).
Unfortunately with much of the Pilbara being closed to us mere mortals by the gods of mining & government, it's harder to find areas to prospect in, however, I believe most of the areas have been cleaned out by good detectors over the years, so the best way to find any more would be to get the latest with a deeper reach, or have an older one modified (like mine).
As for cost, I bought mine second hand for $4100, but I've seen them down around the $2000 mark now, 4500 I've seen for $3500 (they're supposed to be the best, even now), & the latest minelab GPX5000 is around the $6500 mark.
Although I recommend minelab (because of their reputation in the Pilbara & other gold fields, I know there's other good makes around too.
Hope this helps a bit mate :o)