The Garret Ace 300 is a commonly used metal detector that is great for detecting various metal objects in different types of soils. This machine can detect objects such as jewelry, coins, and other historical artifacts.
The Garret Ace 300 is also suitable for both beginners and experienced users. However, it’s often the gold prospectors who wonder if they can use the Garret Ace 300 to find gold. So, the questions is…
… Will the Garret Ace 300 find gold?
Yes, the Garret Ace 300 metal detector is capable of finding gold because you can set a high sensitivity level and ignore other unwanted metal objects. Additionally, the Garret Ace 300 has an interchangeable search coil, a preset ground balance function, and a high frequency. These are all the ingredients you need in order to find gold.
However, you will need to use the right settings to find gold with the Garret Ace 300. Gold is a low-conductive material, making it difficult to detect with a metal detector. In this blog, I will explain everything you need to know about finding gold with this unique metal detector. Enjoy Reading!
Adjusting the settings of the Garret Ace 300 to find gold
This metal detector has relatively many customizable settings. It is therefore important to know how to use these settings to increase you chances of finding gold. Let’s start with the sensitivity function.
1. Use a high sensitivity level
Gold is a low-conductivity material compared to metals like copper and silver. This means that it doesn’t easily conduct electrical currents, making it difficult to detect with a metal detector.
A high sensitivity level will allow the Garret Ace 300 to detect low-conductivity materials more easily. Therefore, it is recommended to use the highest sensitivity level possible, without getting false signals.
You can achieve this level by increasing the sensitivity level until it starts to beep inconsistently (for no reason). When this happens, you should lower it just a tiny bit until it stops producing phantom signals.
2. Use the correct discrimination mode
The big advantage of the Garret Ace 300 is that this metal detector has a discrimination function. This means that the metal detector can eliminate certain metals. This can be useful to ignore unwanted metal objects like pull tabs, nails, and drinking cans.
However, I recommend simply using the zero-discrimination setting. The reason for this is that small gold particles are often not found when using the jewelry, coin or relics discrimination mode.
With the zero-discrimination mode, all types of metal are detected. This also allows you to find all types of gold (from small to large). Unfortunately, this also means that you will occasionally find trash such as iron, pull tabs, and aluminum. This cannot be prevented if you want to find all types of gold.
If you only want to find gold jewelry, I would recommend using the ‘’jewelry’’ discrimination mode. This mode is good for finding gold rings, necklaces, or bracelets.
3. Use the pinpoint function
The Garret Ace 300 also has a pinpoint function. You only use this function after your metal detector detects a metal object. It is the big button in the middle of the display, and you need to press it.
Pressing this button helps you determine the location of the object more accurately. The pinpoint function also gives you an idea of the size of the object. This way, you can figure out whether you are dealing with a big or small piece of gold.
Should I change the coil of the Garret Ace 300 to increase my chances of finding gold?
The Garret Ace 300 usually comes with a standard-sized search coil. However, this size is not the most suitable for finding gold because it is relatively large.
To find gold, you want to use the smallest search coil as possible. This is because a small search coil is better at accurately detecting small objects like gold.
In addition, gold is often found in places that are difficult to access with a large search coil, such as between rocks or in small streams. To make it clear and brief;
You don’t necessarily have to change the search coil of the Garret Ace 300. However, using a smaller coil when searching for gold has many benefits, so it is certainly worth considering!
The Garret Ace 300 doesn’t have a manual ground balance function – is this a problem for finding gold?
Gold is often found in highly mineralized bottoms. The ground balance function of a metal detector avoids that your metal detector reacts to this mineralization.
The Garret Ace 300 doesn’t have the ability to manually set up the ground balance function. This can cause little problems when trying to find gold. However…
The Garret Ace 300 has an automatic built-in ground balance function which let the metal detector adjust to the soil conditions. This function helps reduce false signals and improve target identification. Therefore, it is not a problem that the machine doesn’t have a manual ground balance function.
Does the Garret Ace 300 have a high enough frequency to find gold?
If you want to find gold, it’s important that the metal detector you are using has a high frequency. A high frequency metal detector is better at detecting low-conductive metals like gold.
In general a, metal detector with a frequency of 15 kHz or higher is considered as a high-frequency metal detector.
The Garret Ace 300 has a frequency of 8 kHz. This is a high enough frequency to pick up larger gold particles. It would have been better if the frequency was a little higher (towards 15 kHz), as very small pieces of gold may not be detected with the current 8 kHz frequency.
So to sum it up briefly; Yes, the Garret Ace 300 can certainly find gold with its frequency. However, it may be challenging to find very fine gold particles with this frequency.
What are other factors that determine the success of finding gold with the Garret Ace 300?
Finding gold doesn’t just depend on the type of metal detector you use. There are many other factors that determine the success of finding gold.
The location, composition of the soil, your search technique, the size and shape of the gold nugget all affect whether the Garret Ace 300 will pick up the gold.
The higher the mineralization in the soil, the less likely it is to find gold. Also, larger pieces of gold are more likely to be found than small pieces.
What about the Garret Ace 350 and 400 – Can these machines also find gold?
The Garret Ace 350 and 400 have similar features and settings as the Garret Ace 300, such as a sensitivity function, a discrimination function and a built-in ground balance function.
This means that the Garret Ace 350 and the Garret Ace 400 will, just as the Garret Ace 300, be able to find gold! In fact, these machines have some additional and improved settings, making it better machines to find gold.
These metal detectors are actually the successor to the Garret Ace 300. Therefore, these metal detectors are also a little more expensive than the Garret Ace 300, but in my opinion still very cheap!
Frequently Asked Questions
This depends on several factors, such as the size of the gold, the shape of the gold, the soil conditions and the sensitivity level of the metal detector. In general, gold can be detected up to 10 inches (25 centimeters).
The Garret Ace 300 will be able to detect all types of gold, including nuggets, rings, jewelry, flakes and coins. However, the metal detector is the best at detecting larger pieces of gold due to the detector’s frequency.
Yes, the Garret Ace 300 can be used in mineralized soil. However, you will need to use the appropriate sensitivity and discrimination mode. The disadvantage of this metal detector is that cannot manually ground balance the metal detector, which means it may not be the most suitable metal detector for finding gold in highly mineralized bottoms.