My Take on the GPZ 7000

This is my attempt to explain my own personal opinion of the GPZ 7000 based on what I know so far. The very real problem is I do not know everything and in fact still consider myself a novice with the detector. I have a lot to learn yet, so those thinking I know everything and can answer everything definitively are going to be disappointed. Some things I flat out do not know, other things all I can do is offer a qualified guess.

What I can promise is I am not out to talk anyone into getting one. Not my job. I did not get my GPZ 7000 for free although I did get a great deal on it. Despite what people may think being a field tester does not obligate me to post about the GPZ 7000 and it certainly does not make me a salesperson. I am however more than happy to offer my opinion for those that are interested. Here goes with where I am right this minute 2/18/2015.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to field test the new Minelab GPZ 7000 detector. It has allowed me time to make decisions regarding my own use of detectors this season earlier than most people. It also gave me a place first in line and I now have a brand new GPZ 7000 of my own.

My use of the GPZ 7000 combined with what I think I know about how it works made me decide I had to have one. I am in my detecting prime right now and plan on spending a huge amount of time swinging a detector looking for gold now and in the future. I will never use just one detector for everything but the fact is that I can only swing one detector at a time. I need to decide what detector will be my primary unit for the bulk of my detecting. What one machine will best return my investment of time and effort in possible gold finds? I have decided that machine is the Minelab GPZ 7000.

The GPZ with its 14" x 13" Super-D coil provides an across the board powerful solution for getting gold both large and small on the first pass. Most ground I pass a coil over I have exactly one chance of finding a target. It has to happen on that first pass. Sure, when I am beating a patch to death I may hit the same area over and over. But most of my detecting is all about being over ground I have never been over before. I have to have confidence the machine I am using is going to give me my best shot at getting whatever is there on the first and likely last pass of the coil.

As far as I am concerned all the percentages and charts and stuff is something others can debate, though I will post some thoughts on that separately. The bottom line is I am convinced the GPZ 7000 does give me a technological edge at this time, and that by applying that edge early and as often as I can I am increasing my odds of finding gold. If I never said another word about the detector that really just sums it up.

I thought very hard about whether I should keep my GPX 5000. I decided any time spent with it would detract from the advantage I would enjoy by using the GPZ instead. It should not have been lost on people that I recently sold my GPX 5000 and almost every accessory I owned for it. I only have a few odds and ends left I intend to sell soon. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about what I think of the GPZ 7000.

I even considered selling my SDC 2300. However, even though more coils will be available soon for now all the GPZ has is the 14" x 13" so I decided I had better keep the SDC just because it has an 8" coil. The reality is I very much like the grab and go super compact nature of the SDC and will probably keep it anyway, but it is a moot point until a smaller coil becomes available for the GPZ. Small coils are a must for nooks and crannies and other places larger coils can't fit.

The GPZ 7000 does not replace or take away from the SDC 2300 and GPX 5000 in the current Minelab line-up. They are both fantastic units. The GPX 5000 and its vast ecosystem of coils and other accessories remains the no-brainer best value for many people. The SDC 2300 will continue to be the hot small gold sniper it has been proven to be. A person who owns both will have much of the power of the GPZ 7000 already at their disposal.

The thing is the GPZ 7000 to the best of my determination so far seems to offer everything those two models offers in a single unit, and then goes farther yet. I can't swear that under every circumstance and in every scenario that the GPZ 7000 trumps the SDC 2300 or GPX 5000. Certainly in the case of the GPX 5000 all those accessory coil options do matter, especially where ground coverage is job one. The SDC does have that little coil.

All I can say is that for that proverbial one pass over any particular chunk of ground I have to pick the GPZ 7000 as my best bet for getting whatever gold is there or missing it forever. And for hitting already hunted ground it is going to find gold both those detectors will miss no matter how many times they pass over the ground. The GPZ 7000 in my opinion is the best overall single solution available. If I was told I had to sell all but one machine and could only use one detector for gold prospecting I would without hesitation choose the GPZ 7000.

In closing, I suddenly see a bright future ahead. I really had given up on there being anything significantly better than a GPX 5000. The GPZ however is not the end of the road but just the beginning. As good as it is it is not perfect and I am certain we will see further improvements as the platform is refined in the future. That first step is often the biggest however, and the GPZ in its way is every bit the breakthrough the SD 2000 was when it was released. Nobody can put back all the gold that has been detected in the twenty years since but the GPZ 7000 is definitely the next step in getting what is left.

My thanks to Minelab for being able to say I had a part in this, small as it has been. Thanks especially for investing the huge amount of dollars and people power it took to make this happen for us, the prospectors of the world. Were it not for Minelab electronic prospecting would not be near what it is today.

Disclaimer - this is just me trying to explain my thought process regarding my use of detectors this season. It is not an attempt to say "here is what I am doing and you should do it also." Just because I am all in with the GPZ 7000 does not mean I am saying that is the best idea for everyone. It is all about prospecting skills, not about the detector you use. The GPZ 7000 will not turn a poor prospector into a good one. It lacks that magic button. At the end of the day it is just another metal detector and it is up to the prospector behind the handle to make it deliver.

Good Luck!