Bounty Hunter VLF treasure Detector Review

HuntNdig

Sr. Member
Oct 6, 2011
463
47
North Texas
Detector(s) used
AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I purchased this machine on impulse because i had to have a metal detector and i didn't exactly have the cash for anything more. I will be completely honest about this machine, I absolutely love it. I started metal detecting with it last month on Sept 5th and have had one incredible month. It only has a power knob, disc knob and a sensitivity meter. The sensitivity meter is more than useless as it always pings to the maximum on any high tone, so this machine is based on sound alone. It is very very easy to determine if it is a desirable target or trash with its two tone operation. I however do NOT recommend using this detector for finding Nickels or Gold. You must have your disc set 1/4 of a turn which gives you a VERY HIGH range of trash as where higher end detectors let you "notch" these in. In my one month endeavor i have found 4 roosy dimes, 3 silver rings, 1200+ clad coins( 9 of which were nickels from spills) totaling almost $100. I also like that it does really well against twist tops and bottle caps. You will of course dig some, but i have watched others with higher end detectors dig a lot more in a regular hunt. It is very well at pinpointing a target. I tried the BH Quick Silver and got frustrated very fast because i had so much trouble trying to pinpoint targets and false signals. One major gripe i have about this detector is the arm rest. I am 6'3'' and it is way too short for me. The forearm cup only comes 2 inches higher than my wrist....it is also plastic without any type of comfort foam or non abrasive material. I have hunted with it for 5+ hours at a time, so it is tolerable, but discomforting. But, you get what you pay for as far as the forearm cup goes. As far as operation goes, I set my Power level to 3/4 of the dial when in parks and recreation areas looking for coins, and to the max when relic hunting less populated. I ALWAYS leave my disc at least 2/3 of the max level (unless relic hunting in which i turn it off). Because of the two tone disc setting, this allows you to find zincs as well as all other coins tokens etc. If you want to eliminate zincs 3/4-7/8 of disc will be good. The battery life seems a little short because this machine lacks a headphone jack and around 12-15 hours is about max for battery life. This machine is also VERY LOUD, i placed a few index cards over the speaker box. It seems to me the typical max depth around 4-6 inches and occasionally might reach 7-8 but with a VERY FEINT signal. I dug a Susan B Anthony around 7 inches and it was a dig-n-see because the signal was extremely quiet. Overall, for someone interested in the hobby and not wanting to drop over $100, this detector is very good for a cheap price of $66 on Amazon. I would recommend this to anyone who is even curious about metal detecting. Visit my YouTube channel and see it in action, i will also be making a Review/how to video soon. I am very impressed with what this $70 dollar machine has been capable of and am glad to have it.
 

cheapomd

Jr. Member
Apr 2, 2012
20
1
Upstate NY
Detector(s) used
Harbor Freight 9 function
Jetco Treasure Hawk (BFO)
BH Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I purchased this machine on impulse because i had to have a metal detector and i didn't exactly have the cash for anything more. I will be completely honest about this machine, I absolutely love it. I started metal detecting with it last month on Sept 5th and have had one incredible month. It only has a power knob, disc knob and a sensitivity meter. The sensitivity meter is more than useless as it always pings to the maximum on any high tone, so this machine is based on sound alone. It is very very easy to determine if it is a desirable target or trash with its two tone operation. I however do NOT recommend using this detector for finding Nickels or Gold. You must have your disc set 1/4 of a turn which gives you a VERY HIGH range of trash as where higher end detectors let you "notch" these in. In my one month endeavor i have found 4 roosy dimes, 3 silver rings, 1200+ clad coins( 9 of which were nickels from spills) totaling almost $100. I also like that it does really well against twist tops and bottle caps. You will of course dig some, but i have watched others with higher end detectors dig a lot more in a regular hunt. It is very well at pinpointing a target. I tried the BH Quick Silver and got frustrated very fast because i had so much trouble trying to pinpoint targets and false signals. One major gripe i have about this detector is the arm rest. I am 6'3'' and it is way too short for me. The forearm cup only comes 2 inches higher than my wrist....it is also plastic without any type of comfort foam or non abrasive material. I have hunted with it for 5+ hours at a time, so it is tolerable, but discomforting. But, you get what you pay for as far as the forearm cup goes. As far as operation goes, I set my Power level to 3/4 of the dial when in parks and recreation areas looking for coins, and to the max when relic hunting less populated. I ALWAYS leave my disc at least 2/3 of the max level (unless relic hunting in which i turn it off). Because of the two tone disc setting, this allows you to find zincs as well as all other coins tokens etc. If you want to eliminate zincs 3/4-7/8 of disc will be good. The battery life seems a little short because this machine lacks a headphone jack and around 12-15 hours is about max for battery life. This machine is also VERY LOUD, i placed a few index cards over the speaker box. It seems to me the typical max depth around 4-6 inches and occasionally might reach 7-8 but with a VERY FEINT signal. I dug a Susan B Anthony around 7 inches and it was a dig-n-see because the signal was extremely quiet. Overall, for someone interested in the hobby and not wanting to drop over $100, this detector is very good for a cheap price of $66 on Amazon. I would recommend this to anyone who is even curious about metal detecting. Visit my YouTube channel and see it in action, i will also be making a Review/how to video soon. I am very impressed with what this $70 dollar machine has been capable of and am glad to have it.

Great review!
Now that you have it for while, is it still holding up?
Thanks,
Al
 

ivan salis

Gold Member
Feb 5, 2007
16,794
3,809
callahan,fl
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
delta 4000 / ace 250 - used BH and many others too
ah grass hopper * do not be so hard on your lil machine

I would have steered you toward the tracker IV --it can find gold --it can even tell many pull tabs from gold * if used correctly --somthing many higher dollar "push pad" machines can not do --- its older analog cuircuits and knob style design has a lot to do with that by the way -- older style tech is not always bad * -- the key is to set the 3 position toggle switch to "disc" setting --far right and to adjust the disc setting using a "modern style" pulltab and a nickle or gold ring -- start off with the discrimation knob set at "zero' --slowly raise the discrimation levell (by turning up the knob very slowly while you are waving it over the pulltab until it drops out of detection -- then check with the nickle / ring -- if the tab does not detect but the nickle / ring does --your good to go --if not then very very slowly lower the setting knob just until the nickle / ring does come back into detection range -- ( now * listen very closely the ring / nickle sound it should "clearly" ping --while the tab if it comes in will sound scratchy or fuzzy sounding ) -- if so your properly set discrimation level wize and will be able to sort (via sound) many tabs out (but not all tabs mind you --no machine to my knowledge has that ability - since some pulltabs and gold items have the exact same amount of electrical conductivity level - so sadly they will"read" exactly the same to a detector ) the old tracker IV might not have the latest bells and whistles but as a "sound machine" its not bad at all for the price -- higher end machines displays are just electronic guessers that use programs to filter what the machines picking up and show what it "thinks" is most likely is there -- you can do the same thing with your brain once you spend a bit of time getting to know your machine and how to use it.
 

Last edited:

leadsled

Newbie
Apr 19, 2012
3
0
ATX
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Commando
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
ah grass hopper * do not be so hard on your lil machine

I would have steered you toward the tracker IV --it can find gold --it can even tell many pull tabs from gold * if used correctly --somthing many higher dollar "push pad" machines can not do --- its older analog cuircuits and knob style design has a lot to do with that by the way -- older style tech is not always bad * -- the key is to set the 3 position toggle switch to "disc" setting --far right and to adjust the disc setting using a "modern style" pulltab and a nickle or gold ring -- start off with the discrimation knob set at "zero' --slowly raise the discrimation levell (by turning up the knob very slowly while you are waving it over the pulltab until it drops out of detection -- then check with the nickle / ring -- if the tab does not detect but the nickle / ring does --your good to go --if not then very very slowly lower the setting knob just until the nickle / ring does come back into detection range -- ( now * listen very closely the ring / nickle sound it should "clearly" ping --while the tab if it comes in will sound scratchy or fuzzy sounding ) -- if so your properly set discrimation level wize and will be able to sort (via sound) many tabs out (but not all tabs mind you --no machine to my knowledge has that ability - since some pulltabs and gold items have the exact same amount of electrical conductivity level - so sadly they will"read" exactly the same to a detector ) the old tracker IV might not have the latest bells and whistles but as a "sound machine" its not bad at all for the price -- higher end machines displays are just electronic guessers that use programs to filter what the machines picking up and show what it "thinks" is most likely is there -- you can do the same thing with your brain once you spend a bit of time getting to know your machine and how to use it.

Good info..............but what do you do with the sensitivity knob when using the tone discrimination knob?
 

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