Garrett Ace 250
Street Price $250 - Beginner, coin
Number of Reviews: 93
on 14 pages.
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Whites Prizm II
Garrett Ace 250
Overrated
GT in AR -
I have the Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 and I listened to all the hype about the Ace 250 and decided that I just had to have one. I don't think I bettered myself. The Ace 250 is in the same class as the Pioneer 202. Don't believe all the hype about people finding coins at 8-10 inches. The Ace 250 is an entry level machine! It just isn't going to act like a mid-level or professional level machine. I have never came near that 8-10 inch depth claim that others make. My 250 has never found anything deeper than about 4 inches.
This machine (Ace 250) just doesn't have the depth that all the people claim for it. Pinpointing is iffy at best. With all the hype I expected great things from the yeller feller but I will have to say that I have been very disappointed. It really isn't any better than the Pioneer 202 that I already had. I
One thing that I didn't hear from anyone is that the Ace 250 has factory preset ground balance that cannot be changed. This means that if your soil matches that which the machine was set up for you should do great. If not (and most won't) then you will have problems. I feel that this is a BIG PROBLEM for the Ace 250. Even the cheapest machines from other brands have automatic ground balance. This really hurts the Ace 250 and I feel is a major problem that all those who brag on the Ace 250 just don't seem to mention.
The Ace 250 is a good machine for a machine in it's class. When I got the Ace 250 I mentioned to the dealer about the 8-10 inch deep claims on the Internet. He laughed and said that was just wistful thinking. He told me that the Ace 250 was a 5 or 6 inch machine at best. If you want deeper you have to buy more machine.
After extensive use of the machine I feel that he told me the truth. A lot of the hype about the Ace 250 is just that, HYPE!!
Apr 26, 2006
49 people found this review helpful.
How to buy a metal detector
William Schoepp in Portland , Oregon -
The first thing I did was to buy the latest issue of Gold Prospectors magazine, which led me to this website. The second thing I did was read ALL of the reviews in the price range I was looking for. I was impressed by the sheer number of good reviews I had seen on the Ace 250. My other option was a bounty hunter that I could purchase through my daughters employer with a fairly good discount. I chose the ace 250. After reading all those reviews I knew I couldn't go wrong. I found all of them had bits of info that were of great help to a novice such as myself, so much so in fact, that I felt I was armed with a fair amount of knowledge before I even stepped out to the yard. Now there are a lot less nails and other hardware in the dirt and more coins in my pocket! I took it to an old logging camp (do some research) I haven't found much yet but I will be back up there soon, with better tools to dig with! Right now I can't wait to get to the beach to see how it acts there. I would like to thank Metal Detector Reviews and all of the contributors to this website for helping me to make the right decision on the Ace 250.
Read the manual, get comfortable with the machine and do some experimenting
Apr 25, 2006
10 people found this review helpful.
Great ACE 250
Samuel in Lubbock,Texas -I have owned a bounty Hunter and a GTAX1000 and
I have really never used them with much enthusiasm.I never really made time.The ACE250
had me excited for some unknown reason.Maybe because Garrett is from the Lone Star Sate. ?
The machine itself is bigger than what it looks in pics. I havent had it long but i have used it 3 times. I have only found 3 pennies, and several pieces of junk. The detector gives a good accurate display. Yes, the crushed can or tab will fool it but thats ok.I have noticed that when it jumps from iron/foil to coins it is junk. Yes,, it has 3 distinct tones. Dont let anyone say otherwise. Pinpointing takes practice but it can be done. I was skeptical about price to value ratio.This machine is a GREAT machine for the money. I have a sniper coil and intend to buy a larger coil which adds about 2 inches in depth approx for coins.i have thrown silver coins in a hole and it does ID correctly. The distinct BOING!BOING! means ..money. I feel this is a great detector. doesnt go 9 inches plus like the higher end detectors but i cant afford $700 + (usd)for a really deep detector but thats ok. with a larger coil i will be close i feel to getting that depth. Garret has finally made a real winner with this packaging.Great electronics at a great price.I will be using this with enthusiasm for a while . i will kep you posted on my finds and experience. HAPPY HUNTING
Apr 24, 2006
12 people found this review helpful.
Underpowered
Larry D Gressel in Sweet Home, Oregon -I live in the PAC NW, and believe me, the little Garrett is not enough detector for all this high-iron soil here. Even my old Bounty Hunter with it's analog meter outdoes the 250.
It is an ok detector for kids and for using now and then or as a backup, but when you really get interested in the hobby, you wiil find a different home for it. The low-priced Fishers, Compasses, and White's are much better detectors, and they don't use the "delayed" sound the Garrett does. Personally, I don't really care for having to center a target by figuring out that the target itself is between the sounds on either side of it. It's backwards.
Another thing I don't quite understand, is why people actually claim that it will get 10" on a coin? Mine doesn't, and neither do any of the other 250's I've seen. Even in the ground this is almost impossible, I was a detector repairman from 1980 to 1990, and believe me, there is not enough power in the circuit to accomplish this claim, unless the coin is the size of a silver dollar, or larger.
Mar 23, 2006
47 people found this review helpful.
The cheap and helpfull detector
David Phillips in Panama -Like many of us, IŽm new in the use of a detector. So when I read the OwnerŽs manual, I could understang how to use it and I did (but only whith practice), in my country (Panama) it isnŽt easy to do that. My avice is to put some items (coins, jewerly, relics, etc), in the ground and try to detect each one. Only when someone have enough practice, could get more treasures whithout complains about "I canŽt"
Mar 05, 2006
6 people found this review helpful.
Great, but user guide sucks!
Jerry in Aviano AB, Italy (wyodude@libero.it) -I am brand new to the metal detecting hobby and searched diligently for what looked like the best detector for the money I wanted to spend. I found it! The Garrett ACE 250 is an absolutely fantastic metal detector. On the very first hunt (in the dark after I received it in the evening...flashlight in hand) I found a 45 calibler bullet in my back yard...no telling how it got there (maybe I don't want to know, was my wife practicing?) The next day I went to my farming property hoping to find valuable metals, which I didn't! However, can you believe I dug for 10 minutes to discover that I had found a BB? Now that's getting down to the miniscule! Being new, I know nothing about how to use and strategize the use of the discriminator features. The user guides describe where to look for the indicators, but even then, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Can anyone recommend a good book that might help?
Anyway...great machine. I can't wait to get it on the beach Lignano Italy when weather permits!
Feb 25, 2006
15 people found this review helpful.
My experience so far
Andy York in Peterborough, Cambs, England -I'm new to metal detecting and bought the 250 as my first detector. Overall, and after significant practice, I feel I am now at one with the machine, and find it very sensitive, and superb for coinshooting. If it helps anyone, I have found that if you get no signal on pinpoint it's not worth digging!
Also, you do need to keep the detector at a constant distance from the ground in pinpoint mode, which is quite difficult if the surface is not level.
The only query I have, which still baffles me, is when I dig for a target and get a strong pinpoint signal, there are times after digging, that the signal goes away. I pass the detector over the hole...nothing. I then pass it over the spoil..nothing. Then after passing it over the spoil a few times, the signal returns....anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
Feb 25, 2006
12 people found this review helpful.
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