Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger
Street Price $550 - Gold nugget
Number of Reviews: 12
on 2 pages.
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Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger
Great lil' Detector
Bugar in Indiana USA -
Bought one, put in my reccomended 100 hrs learning it, liked it so well, bought another, got 2, they work fine (NO DETECTOR WORKS FINE IF YOU DON'T LEARN HOW TO OPERATE IT PROPERLY), It works great does what it was designed to do very well, light, easy to use, takes bout 2 1/2 min to change the batteries every 30 hrs or so, theyr'e OK detectors*****, five =count em
Jul 09, 2009
8 Yes
0 No
Upgrade Charles!
Bill, in Portland Oregon -
I wish Garrett would go back to the American AM-2 or other. I do not like plastic made Detectors or cheap made knobs that feel like they will fall off. I also do not like the the fact that Garrett (his name on it), Does not work smaller. Your electronics are out of the times. Get modern with smaller knobs, box and a single 9v or two battery. This detector works ok for the 80's and that is it! I have much repect for this man Garrett but we need more that you have here.
Mar 28, 2009
8 Yes
6 No
Take Your Time!
Robin in Pasadena, Ca. USA -I purchased the Stinger nearly 2 years ago as a first detector. Living in California, I dreamt of finding gold in them thar hills.
The Gold Stinger arrived and, per others' comments, read and re-read the manual before even turning the detector on. This helped a lot. Then, I practiced in the yard to get the feel of all metal and motion discrim. When I felt ready, I hit the hills.
After owning this detector for nearly two years, here are my thoughts:
Pros -
* Deep in All Metal. Although I haven't found any gold nuggets yet, I have hit other items like a .45 bullet at about 14". I'm confident that if there was gold, I would have found it.
* Easy Motion Discriminate. Coin hunting in parks is easy to do in this setting. Although you have to manually pinpoint, that's very simple, especially after watching the video and practicing.
* Light! This detector is very light and well balanced. I can swing for hours without my arm tiring.
* Long battery life. On (3) 9 volt batteries, I average about 25 hours, with headphones.
* Rugged! I've dropped it, stepped on it, and even got sand in the control box, and this machine kept on going.
Cons -
* Manual Ground Balance! This is an issue when searching in All Metal Mode in mineralized ground. In one area, I had to balance this machine every few steps. Finally got frustrated and switched to Motion Discriminate Mode.
* Motion Disriminate depth. If you want to hunt coins in the park, expect to get only about 6"-7" depth max. Even on quarters. DO NOT USE ALL METAL MODE IN PARKS! It will drive you nuts as it will never stop making noise.
* One tone ID. Because this machine has only one tone, expect to dig a lot of trash. When coin hunting, keep the Discrimination around 6-7 and depth at the arrow. This will help reduce bad targets. Also, listen to the beeps. Practice and get familiar with what it's telling you.
* Batteries. As stated above, this machine uses (3) 9 volt batteries. These are situated in the control box on the circuit board. To change the batteries, you must disassemble the housing. Kind of a pain! Would prefer AA batteries as they would probably be easier to replace and less expensive.
All together, I'm pleased with the machine as I'm familiar with what it can do and what its limitations are. I have found a ton of coins, jewelry, some relics and other cool items.
But, having to do it all over again, I would save my money for a better gold detector like the Whites MXT. I have tried it and feel it is better equipped to handle the mineralized ground and all around detecting.
If you buy the Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger, just remember to practice, practice, practice. Expect to put in an easy 100 hours to get familiar with it.
I hope this info helps.
Dec 17, 2008
62 Yes
2 No
Gold stinger
Longwalker in Tacoma, Wa. -The gold stinger looks easy to use and it is, But not for a beginner. The manual says it takes 100 hours of operation to learn it. They mean it too.
That's time spent learning not just with it turned on. If your not one to put effort into learning this is not for you, but once learned it's hard to beat.
Nov 08, 2008
8 Yes
0 No
Disapointed prospector
Danny I've been stung in cedaredge Colorado -
I got my stinger three years ago and have worked with it all this time, it has never functioned properly for me, very hard to change the batts,the discrimanator knobs are a pain have never found any thing worth while except a metal cable buried about three inches on a nugget shot trip to Az. wasted trip. I wouldn't recomend this machine to my worst enemy. I been stung.
Oct 17, 2007
29 Yes
8 No
GROUND BALANCE
Don in Arizona -The key to using the Scorpion to find gold is proper ground balance. It has to be perfect. When the ground balance is adjusted correctly, it will weed out most hot rocks, etc and respond strongly to gold.
I think the detector is a little difficult to use. This is mostly due to really poor user manual instructions. I sent Garrett some emails and received brief responses that did not help much. If you purchase a stinger, do the bench testing and spend about 4 hours just learning how to use it properly before you actually go out hunting.
It is also difficult to change out the batteries, especially when you are in the field.
If you are interested in gold only, I would recommend being patient and saving your money for something in the $700-$800 range. If it is the most you can afford then go for it. The Scorpion can also be used for coin shooting and general treasure hunting which is a really nice feature. I believe it works really well when used for those purposes. I think Garrett needs to revise this detector. Remember, proper ground balance is the key.
Aug 16, 2007
19 Yes
2 No
Garrett should upgrade this model.
Ken in Colorado -I also tried this detector all over the Rockies for 6 months, and traded it in for a White's MXT.
Scorpion lacks depth, pinpointing ability and the ability to detect small gold nuggets.
MXT is far superior in every way. Worth it to spend the extra few hundred dollars.
Apr 23, 2007
14 Yes
3 No
Good Solid Machine
Macca05 in Queensland, Australia -This is a very good machine for the price. Good depth and penetration in all sorts of soils. The manual ground balance is a breeze to use and adjust. It does, however, take some hours to be comfortable to use as it is definitely not a 'set and forget' machine. I actually enjoy the tuning and driving of the Scorpion. The small 3 x 7" elliptical coil is very sensitive and I found this easier to use and balance as a beginner before using the 5 x 10" coil. Overall, I recommend the Scorpion to beginners, a little patience and you will be very happy with this machine.
Apr 03, 2006
22 Yes
1 No
Missled
Dillon Black in Columbus,Georgia USA -I was missled while purchasing this detector .I am a begining prospector and I wanted a machine that would help me pinpoint areas to prospect.First of all the machine is by no means for a beginner,the instructions are very confusing,ground balance...hah..what a joke.I cant do it for nothing.So here I sit with a piece of equipment that does not do me any good.Is there such a machine that is sensitive enough to find gold but easy to use yet inexpensive.surely there must be.Dont make the same mistake I did.Talk to a dealer in person and get to know the product before purchasing it.I do not recommend on line purchase for a beginner.
Mar 20, 2006
22 Yes
8 No
Garret Gold Stinger
wayne in Benson, Mn USA -
i found that the stinger was hard to use. the instructions for setting it up were a little confusing. all in all not for a beginner at gold detecting.
Feb 14, 2006
11 Yes
4 No
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