Bounty Hunter Coils... Any advice? Experiences?

[Noah_D]

I started metal detecting with my Quicksilver pretty recently although I have had it a while. I have been using the standard 8" Coil and have been finding wheat pennies and newer coins, the oldest was 1944. I am not sure whether or not I am just not good at this, I am looking in the wrong place, I haven't been looking long enough or if I would be doing significantly better with a larger coil so I could detect deeper and possibly find older coins. So far I've detected at 3 different places built between 1890 and 1920 so I would expect to find some coins from that era but so far the oldest was just 1944.

Anyone else use a Quicksilver/ have experience with the 8" coils compared to 10"? How much deeper can the 10 inch coil go? Have you found more older coins with it?

 

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[Phantasman]

The 8" coil should be fine for depth. 6" at least. It is more important to find an area that has not been detected so much. The Quicksilver lacks information on the screen (4 segments, and take out iron and you are left with 3), so it's basically a "dig every target" type detector. Without a pinpoint feature, and because the older units aren't as fast in recovery rate, is going to make it more difficult to zero in on where the target is. Even the cheapest newer units are a far jump to make detecting easier while having a superior recovery rate to know exactly where to dig (as well as improved depth even with an 8" coil). Before buying a 10" coil for an older model, your money would go further just adding a little more for an updated unit. Selling the older unit. and taking the money you'd spend on another coil should give you enough to make your detecting much easier and productive.



See a difference between same priced units? The Lone Star Pro's better electronics should get you closer to the 8" depth and maybe more, depending on your ground mineralization.

That's just my advice.

 

[DiamondDan]

I wonder if the places you're detecting haven't been pounded to death. Most public areas have been hit hard for a LONG time. Something else to consider: After a certain depth, everything will sound like iron. It's just the name of the game. You may have heard a deep iron tone and passed right over it, when in fact it was a half-dollar right on the fringe of your detector's depth.

More high dollar machines will give more accurate ID at depth, better recovery speed, and better discrimination (with diminishing returns, of course). I started with a Quick Draw 2 and it was a good machine, but when I bought a second-hand White's M6, it made me realise what I was missing in machine ability. I know that entry level Bounty Hunter inside and out. I put a TON of hours on it and I knew why I wanted to upgrade, and also, what the extra money would get me.

To be frank, I don't think a larger coil is going to help THAT much. If you're questioning your machine now, and you feel that you know it very well, it's time to upgrade. But beware, some guys are wanting to upgrade far too quickly, before they even know their current machine.

 

[Noah_D]

That is what I was concerned about... upgrading and then possibly losing interest. I think for now I will keep using my Quicksilver and just dig everything to better get to know it (and also, if I end up digging everything at the places I can detect at right now I think I will prove to my self that I am devoted enough to buy an upgrade because some of these places have pretty large yards). If I did upgrade do you think that one of the Garret Ace detectors would be good? I am thinking the ACE 200 might be decent, but maybe an ACE 300 if I can find a pretty good deal on one. I would like an ACE 300 because it seems to be a lot better than the 200 and almost as good as the 400. How much do you think I would be able to get for a pretty decent condition Quicksilver? (other than missing the battery cover everything is in good condition).

 

[gunsil]

You are not finding any older coins simply because you have not put your coil over them. I close to fifty years of detecting and starting with machines a lot less sophisticated than your BH, the majority of old coins I have found were 6" deep or less and many 8" or less. This includes colonial era coins from undisturbed sites, a lot of those were only 4-6" deep. I almost always use an 8" coil on all my detectors, would buy one for my Nox if the folks at Minelab would make one. My ATP and Safari came with 11" coils but for coin hunting I prefer the 8" coils and I use them on both machines. When you hit a place with older coins your BH WILL find them.

 

[Opie]

Noah, The simple truth is this. Coil size does not always mean better depth and when it does its never the amount of depth you might think. Coil type is the better question. Your machine came with a concentric coil, the other common coil type is a DD coil (these are more stable in mineral heavy ground) Mono coil is the next, however there where never any made or designed for the Bounty Hunter brand. You would honestly never notice the difference in depth comparing a 10" to a 8" concentric coil. I doubt very much that a 12 " to 8" comparison would show much either. What you do gain in larger coil size is sweep area. You cover more ground faster with larger coils. You would see a slight difference in overall performance in a DD to Concentric coil comparison. I'm one of those nuts who took a hundred dollar detector and added a three hundred dollar special order 12.5" DD coil to it. I noticed a slightly better recovery speed and a better hot ground response. In truth the detector worked very well in extreme salt water but it still only got 7-8" this was a BH Tracker IV and a custom NEL DD coil.
Now the same thing done with a bit hotter detector gave me better depth by only 1.5-2" but again better target recovery and better hot ground stability.
Fisher F-4 all metal mode with ground balance using the same custom NEL DD 12.5 coil. Older Fisher F-2 & F-4 with plug in ends could be used in the older Bounty Hunter units.
If your really after better depth you'll need a hotter machine, but again even the more expensive units only get 9-12" on a coin target, you should be getting at least 6-8 with what you have dependent on ground conditions.
Good Luck!
Stay Gold!

 

[Opie]

Noah, if you do look at upgrading, consider a Fisher F-44 it has a manual ground balance with adjustable threshold, its also weather proof so you won't get rained out.
it also comes with a 11" DD coil for around $339 same price point as the Garrett Ace 300 but with more features. Ace series is an excellent choice as well, performance is where you find it.
Stay Gold!
Opie

 

[EccentricInTexas]

With my Older Pioneer the 10 inch coil has nearly the same depth as the 8 but has a much bigger footprint allowing you to cover more of an area in the same time. The 4 inch gold nugget coil works very well depth wise too for trashy areas or small targets. My newer Land Ranger Pro came with the Double D coil and it is much better then the either the 8 or the 10 inch coils. It runs deeper and its footprint is more accurate for finding targets. It may take a while before you find some silver. It all depends on where you are hunting, if it was a high traffic area and if its been hunted before or not. If you are finding wheat pennies theres a good chance you could also find silver. Places where kids played or people were sitting on the ground have better chances of stuff falling out of their pockets.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

I agree, if you’re finding coins, it’s just a matter of time put in and researching your target area. My first detector was actually my son’s entry level BH, it found stuff but as said, I had to dig everything and it had no pin point feature. You my find this hobby more enjoyable with a newer machine.

 

[BigMerv]

Noah, several have already given you some good advice. Some things to consider...the BH 6.6 KHz metal detectors need a notoriously slow swing speed to find targets. It could be that you're just swinging the coil too fast and passing over targets. By slowing down your swing speed and using a more controlled swing, you might find more coins. Also, when coin hunting, I MUCH prefer a smaller coil. The BH 4" Gold Nugget coil is a killer in trashy sites where modern clad is often found. BBBJ

 

[BH505Man]

Noah, several have already given you some good advice. Some things to consider...the BH 6.6 KHz metal detectors need a notoriously slow swing speed to find targets. It could be that you're just swinging the coil too fast and passing over targets. By slowing down your swing speed and using a more controlled swing, you might find more coins. Also, when coin hunting, I MUCH prefer a smaller coil. The BH 4" Gold Nugget coil is a killer in trashy sites where modern clad is often found. BBBJ

Yes, the 4" gold nugget coil has better target separation and is better in pinpointing targets.
Walt