GarrettAce 250 Metal Detector

As all males approaching middle-age are reknowned to do, I decided to act upon the ever-increasing urge to look for treasure. I did the right thing; checked reviews before I bought - and the Garret range kept coming up in forums as being reliable, relatively cheap and 'productive'.I'm sure all novice detectors have quasi-delusional visions of finding a saxon crown on their first outing. Personally, I knew I'd be happy just discovering anything from the past, regardless of size, value or importance. Basically, I wanted to dig up metal knowing there was a very slim chance of finding something valuable (btw - I haven't found anything of true value yet - but the Garret 250 has more than paid for itself in terms of keeping me interested.The Garret Ace 250 is really simple to use. If anything, the controls are more intuitive than the admittedley brief instructions. The different modes (All Metal, Coins, Jewellry etc.) really do make a difference; when set to coin mode I lifted several coins over the space of an hour on Polzeath beach - shame the total only came to 26 pence! When in 'All Metal' mode, you really get an idea of just how much metal there is below the ground. It soon gets to the point where you can get to recognize the general size, depth and even shape of the object that's triggering the device. My first outing left roughly 50 holes in a field near my Gran's house (which I obtained full permission to dig - this really is the key to happy hunting, anyone who is thinking of digging without permission should really think again).Back to the machine - it's compact when assembled, and the stem can easily be split for transport. Battery life is excellent. The only annoyance is a lack of volume control, but the machine really comes into its own with headphones that have separate volume control.I haven't unearthed anything that will help me retire early, but I have found a very old iron pot, old shillings, nails by the bagfull (yawn), a lot of lost change, oh and a scaffolding pole. Darned builders.It's a great machine, and very comfortable for lengthy sweeps of large fields or similar. You'll soon get in tune with it. I'm hooked!

This is the second metal detector that I have ever had. And it is very good.On my first try I went to the beach and spent several hours on the beach. Found iron nails from old wooden ships, some wrecks of old wooden ships are on the coastline. Some aluminium, some copper, brass, bronze all at depths of about 10 inches. In wet sand it still works and found, well more of the same at around 6 inches.On my second day I went to the dunes. Found over 20 bullets from WW2 and at a depth of 8 inches the smallest fragment of a bullet, about 4 mm by 2 mm in size at a depth of 8 inches. The pinpoint button is so accurate.However I did find that in a change to the underlying makeup of sand, when it changes from one state to another, the Ace 250 gives falls readings, but this was the only times that it gave falls readings. It indicates that something is under the sand, but nothing is, it is only the change in the lower sand levels.I did not have ear phones, but the loudness and clarity of the beeps from the device was good enough even as the waves were hitting the beach.This is most definitely a good device to get.

As previous reviewers have noted, it is worth looking at all the possible combinations of features, prices etc. of metal detectors and deciding on what best suits your needs and price range. The Garrett Ace 250 was the best option for me and I do not regret my purchase. It has many features that others in the same price range don't have, so I thoroughly recommend this metal detector. It is worth spending the extra £50 on top of the price of the Ace 150, though I imagine that would be a good choice if you cannot afford the extra for Ace 250. It has a great object/metal find range and good depth range also.My only worry is the coil cover, once I got the thing on it took me 15 mins to get back off again, it was a very tight fit and stuck like glue to the coil, I struggled to remove it without breaking the Coil. I won't be putting it back on again, I'll just use a home-made cover.That said, I don't want to put anyone off buying the Ace 250, it's a great detector.

Not used yet

Good

Bought the Ace 250 after reading the reviews on Amazon. Detector arrived in good time and very well packed. Simple to put together . Came with 2 free books and headphones. Instructions easy to follow with the instructional DVD. Only been out 3 times so far and find the Ace 250 easy to use . As the instructions say you need to practice to learn what the different sounds mean .I was surprised how sensitive it is detecting very small objects. On my first try I was confused by a very strong signal over a large area so I started digging only to unearth a 2 foot diameter cat iron cattle feeding trough , too heavy to move !! No gold yet, best so far is 26p but I live in hope.Buy this one with confidence. You can spend a lot more on other models but for a hobby this one is great.

The Garrett Ace 250 is a great entry level detector, it works well and they hold their own in the market. The Garrett range are easy to assemble, easy to use and the 250 also has a decent range, I have located coins at a depth of around 9 to 10 inches.If you are considering taking up the hobby you won't go wrong with a Garrett.I would also recommend a Garrett pinpointer, this is an expensive item but it's something you really can't do without. There are numerous user review videos on the Internet, go check them out.I have used the Garrett 250 for the past 6 years and it's still going strong.