Hello. What would be the best brand. Bounty Hunter??

[JBird]

Hello everyone. I am a newby. My name is Jay and I'm ready to start the hunt. I have the usual questions of course, except I may have a variation that wasn't covered or was unable to find it. I'm wondering if BH is a good brand to go with here or something else. I have seen that the majority of people like the Acer 250.

Here's what I want to do. Everything. I want to MD parks, playgrounds, historical area's (which there are a lot of here in the Daytona Beach Fl, area. I also want to MD the beach in the salt water. Shallow, deep isn't necessary right now, unless I am advised other wise. I see waterproof MD's, but don't know if they are OK to use in salt water. I'm not sure if I'm going to prefer anything eventually as far as coin, relic, gold or silver. I would just like to find everything at this point. So I would like something versatile.

I have looked at some of the MD's at a wholesale site I use for selling on Ebay and other places and have seen some pretty good prices. This is also a niche I'm definitely going to get into after I learn the ropes as it is virtually untouched according to my research.

The brands I have to choose from here ( I plan to sign up with another wholesaler so I will have more options) are BH and something called Famous Trails, which are priced like quality machines anyway. I hear a lot about the Tracker IV but I also see one called Quick Draw "BH", which looks really good, but I haven't seen it mentioned. I'm not scared to spend a little for quality and like I said I get a wholesale price so that gives me more wiggle room.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Jay

P.S. Here's the Quick Draw I mentioned.

BOUNTY HUNTER
QUICK DRAW 2 PACKAGE




8 INTERCHANGEABLE
Additional Details:
WATERPROOF SEARCH COIL
SENSITIVITY & DISCRIMINATION CONTROLS
NOTCH & AUTO-NOTCH MODES
3-TONE AUDIO DISCRIMINATION
TOUCH PAD SELECTION
3-LEVEL IRON DISCRIMINATION
LCD DISPLAY WITH TARGET ID & DEPTH READOUT
DETECTS COIN-SIZE OBJECTS UP TO 8" DEEP
LARGER OBJECTS UP TO 3 FT
HEADPHONE JACK
5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY
GIFT WITH PURCHASE - PINPOINTER AND CARRY BAG FREE

My cost $174.00

[JBird]

I can't believe after 20 views no one has a suggestion for me. Maybe I wrote to much. I want to MD. Everywhere and for everything I can find worth keeping. I also want to be able to go in water. Salt water and fresh. If the description of the product says waterproof does it mean salt and fresh??. I'm not going to scuba dive with it, I just want to stay shallow. I think.

I would just like to know what would be the best fit for me with what I'm looking to do. BH seems to have a good variety to choose from.

Jay

[diggemall]

JBird, I'll give you my 2 cents worth:

I started with a couple Bounty Hunters: A Radio Shack Discovery 3000 (made by BH) and a Bounty Hunter model something-or-other. LOVED the Discovery for its simplicity, relatively excellent discrimination and ease of use. Didn't care that much for the other BH and Flea-Bayed it away. Then I went out and bought a nice pricey Fisher CZ3D.

If I'm headed somewhere with low probability of trash, or that I will have unlimited access to, AND I'm off by myself, I take the CZ. Otherwise, I usually take the BH. Kids, grandkids, and my favorite digging companion (the wife) seem to prefer the consistent ID with the little BH, and it makes for more enjoyable hunting.

Personally, I prefer the subtleties of the CZ and it continues to be a learning process with that one for me. These are NOT qualities that others always have the patience for. There are many other 'high-end' machines by other manufacturers that fall into the same category - LOTS of learning to do and field time to spend to become proficient with the macihne.

LOTS of people here extoll the virtues of the ACE, and if I had the extra bucks to grab one, would do so just out of curiosity.

For what it's worth (and maybe others will contradict me here) but from the years I have spent reading TNet posts, it seems that just about ALL MD's share these traits:

Rings, regardless of composition, most often register the same as pull-tabs.
Light chain jewelry most often registers the same as foil
Larger gold pieces frequently register the same as Iron

That said, if you really want to find the good stuff, regardless of Make / Model, you really can't use discrimination and have to....................

Diggemall


Oh yeah, whatever the heck you do: LEAVE WHATEVER PLACE YOU HUNT CLEANER THAN WHEN YOU ARRIVED AND LEARN TO CUT A PLUG SO THAT YOU LEAVE NO TRACE THAT YOU WERE THERE. SLOPPY DETECTORISTS GIVE THE REST OF US A BAD IMAGE

[JBird]

[quote=Diggemall ]
JBird, I'll give you my 2 cents worth:

Thank you for the advice. I will learn how to cut plugs correctly. I was also wondering, if anyone know's, if waterproof means salt and fresh water? And what about the soft sand at the beach?

[Shortstack]

Hunting the salt water (including the wet sand area) will require a detector designed for that. If you are serious about the $175 for a BH, add a little to it and get a Garrett Ace 250 for $212 from an authorized dealer. It is a very good general purpose machine, including the dry sand beaches. To buy a machine that can hunt the wet salt sands and the other land places (parks, yards, etc.) you're going to have to spend at least $600 and up for something like a Tesoro Sand Shark. Buying new from a dealer by mail it'll be shipped postage free. Look at Kellico for most name brands EXCEPT Tesoros. A Tesoro is an excellent machine manufacturer, too and make great machines. You will have to go to their website and look up the name of their dealers. Off the top of my head, Dixie Metal Detectors in Tennessee is one. There are also multi-line dealers who are members of this forum.

One thing for sure. Do NOT get one of those detectors made in China and sold over eBay. They are usually called "Treasure something-or-other".

[turtlefoot13]

I have two Bounty Hunter detectors that I love. They do what I need them to do. I know that they are not the deepest machines in the world but they are great for tot lots and parks. I find the Fast Tracker mated with the Fisher F4 11" DD coil a killer on relics in all metal mode. It will go deep on iron. I have found horseshoes at 9" and the top off of an old Sinclair oil can at 18". It was out flat and in soft, moist soil. A lot of people will recommend the Ace 250. From what I understand it is a killer machine although I have never used it. I hear good things about the Fisher F2 also.

Doug

[JBird]

Awesome. Thank you for the help. The info about using a different coil to tweak your machine was very good to know. Thanks a bunch. Jay

[Shortstack]

Awesome. Thank you for the help. The info about using a different coil to tweak your machine was very good to know. Thanks a bunch. Jay

You can't just grab a coil and use it on another brand. I would think the machines would HAVE to be of the same operating frequencies and the plugs would have to be of the same pin formation with the same pin leads. You'd really need to know what you're doing to try that kind of match up or you'll end up blowing the circuits in the machine.

[turtlefoot13]

Awesome. Thank you for the help. The info about using a different coil to tweak your machine was very good to know. Thanks a bunch. Jay

You can't just grab a coil and use it on another brand. I would think the machines would HAVE to be of the same operating frequencies and the plugs would have to be of the same pin formation with the same pin leads. You'd really need to know what you're doing to try that kind of match up or you'll end up blowing the circuits in the machine.

You are right. I was not clear. The Fisher F4 coil is compatible with most of the Bounty Hunter machines. It has the same plug and a slightly lower frequency. I contacted First Texas before buying it and they gave me the green light. I am sorry that I was not very clear on this.

Doug

[Shortstack]

Hey, no problem, TFoot. I applaud your ingenuity in figuring out the possibilities with your detector.

[johnnyboy25]

saltwater beach?....... get yourself a minelab sovereign (any modelo) easy to use , handle any ground conditions and deep

[nuggy]

Hi there, I own a Bounty Hunter tracker four simply because of the cost ( I got it for next to nothing second hand ), and the limited time I have to spend detecting. It is very simple to operate as well.
I have in 30 years part time detecting owned five different machines and there will always be a better newer model but a capable machine will have better resale value too.
If however, I get at all serious about my detecting I will purchase a Whites MXT for all around use. It is very well reviewed on this site and designed to do all of the things you mentioned, and do them well. It is irritating to buy a machine as a beginner then have to change type and brand to get the result you want. This site is great to help avoid this - read all the threads you can and learn as much as possible before purchasing. There are blind brand loyalty issues in here but most of the people posting are impartial.
Read the threads here and you will find the MXT is very well regarded in every facet of detecting. Few detectors do everything well.
My bounty hunter is fine for limited use, but it's lack of sensitivity and no tuning ability means that I am not getting the depth that I could from a more capable machine.
I have had a short session with an MXT and while there are a couple of detectors I would buy as well as it, there is nothing I would buy instead of the MXT.