Bounty Hunter Pioneer VLF Metal Detector - New person!

[firecrest789]

Hello,
I have been reading this site, and doing some information gathering. I recently started collecting coins and stumbled on to this site. I would like to start metal detecting but I don't want to invest more then I will get out of it at first. If I start doing this more often then not then I will upgrade but for now I want to know if I should bother with Bounty Hunter Pioneer VLF Metal Detector or
Bounty Hunter Pioneer EX Metal Detector both are sold at wal-mart this first is about 45 the other is 100. the first one was rated by 12 happy customers with no complaints. the second has no reviews but has been sold out.

I would like an opinion please. If I really get in to this as a hobby then I will get something more advanced but I just want to start detecting and digging

 

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[hollowpointred]

i personally would stay away from bounty hunter, but there are others here who do like them. my advice would be to buy a Garrett Ace 250. in my opinion no other detector in the $200 range will give you as much. the Tesoro Cibola is also a nice choice.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Welcome to Tnet . If you are going for a Bounty Hunter....get a better model than one of those you mentioned.The Ace as hollowpointred suggested or a Prizm ll is also a great machine for the money.
I have a BH Pioneer202 that works great for deep relics and also coins. If you stay with a cheaper model then you are going to get frustrated from the lack of finds etc.

You said you dont want to spend more than you will get out of it at first ........I dont want you to be disillusioned.....but even at 100.00 it will take you a while to recoup your costs unless you get lucky right off the bat....and who knows....you just might.

 

[oldbill]

Meal detecting is a hobby, not a way to make a living, enjoy it for the fun not the gain! Bill

 

[firecrest789]

When I say invest I really mean use. I don't want to try this out not like it and then add it to my e-bay auction collection.

But I think I'll go for the better model, thanks for the advice. I hope to have some finds soon.

Thanks again.

 

[EasyMoney]

Go to Metaldetectorreviews.net. In it you will find that the Tesoro Compadre and Silver uMax are getting better reviews than the Aces. Even cheap Whte's Prism II works a bit better, and that's saying a lot.

There are no extra toys on the two mentioned Tesoros like on the Aces, but the Tesoros work better, and especially a bit better on beaches and for discriminating out iron. My (ex) Ace 250 reminded of "boing", "boing", "boing" on a pogo stick and after awhile it nearly drove me NUTZ . I gave it to my daughter and it's now used as a door stop for a closet.

 

[diggummup]

If you get a Bounty Hunter, try ebay it's cheaper. Here's one example of a recently sold
"BH Lonestar"-- http://tinyurl.com/2eu85m

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Welcome to TN Firecrest,

A few suggestions from a newbie.

You might want to consider what kind of hunting your going to do, land (fields, parks, playgrounds), or water (salt, fresh, in the water or wet sand) and buy accordingly.

I have also noticed that the people who say they don't want to invest too much at first, seem to come back fairly quickly asking what is a good upgrade. The Tesoros are very good ones to consider due to their lifetime warranty to the original owner.

I don't personally own one (yet ) but probably will before the next Great Southern Beach Shootout in Daytona due to the freq shifter switch Tesoro has on some of their units. (Cibola or Vaquero) I had a lot of interference from some of the other hunters.

I have 3 I have bought used and I did not know any of the original owners. One off of EBay, one off of the "forsale" board here and one from a thread I posted on a "wanted" board on another website, all arrived working perfectly. With normal precautions buying used is a good way to save money and still get a good unit.

One more thing to consider, is if you buy a good unit, and especially used, you can always get most, if not close to all of your money back if you resale it. Check out the "for sale" boards at some of the sites and EBay.

My last suggestion, you can't go wrong working with TonyinCt from here. My Sov Gt came from him, and when I'm ready to get the Tesoro it will be from him as well. I will buy it new not used, due to the lifetime warranty.

 

[sniffer]

firecrest, I own and use a BH time ranger, and it finds things very deep, with ease, so invest with what you feel comfortable with, however, you might consider increasing your budget to between 250-400, that way you have a larger selection of good detectors to choose from, I also own a whites prizm II, nice machine only drawback, no depth gauge, but thats okay, usually finds are only about 4-6 inches.
Good luck whichever way you go, let us all know whats up. Sniffer

 

[UnEarthed72]

get yourself a prizmII,ive used both a whites and a bounty hunter in the same area that produced alot of great finds and still does...i'd have to say the prizmII blew the bounty hunter out of the water..you'll get tons of opinions but that is what my experience has been.

good luck

 

[hsjrev]

You might want to wait and see what people think of the new Fisher F2 after it's been out a while. Looks like a lof of features for the $200 price range if the performance is there. There should be some user reviews posted in a month or two.

 

[MD Dog]

Wow so much negativity about BH and Walmart. I really don't know why, I have and use a BH pioneer 101 which is the same as a BH Mark IV only Pioneer is the name licensed to Walmart. Anyway my BH is a great machine, it's super light and punches about four to eight inches deep depending on alot of factors. Also you can get my detector off ebay brand new for around $130.00 The best set up I have found on this machine is to turn the sensitivity as high as it will go without falsing. Turn the Discriminate to the twelve o'clock position and set the selector switch to tone. dig all low tones=gold, nickle,aluminum,tin,platinum. Dig all high tones=silver,copper,zinc and most modern clad. mixed signals you can ignore or dig it's your choice, but some gold like 10-14k give mixed signals. Also get a pair of cheap headphones and dig those chirps, they're deep but some are real good.


Geese you loyalists should chill out on the newbies. :P

 

[Keppy]

Hi, I would stay away from Bounty hunter ...Like the others said the...Garrett Ace 250 for about $200.00 and the Garrett Ace 150 for about $150.00 Both of these detectors will run rings around the Bounty hunter......Also like they said....Tesoro has some of the best detectors made ...The Tesoro SILVER U MAX ...and the TESORO COMPADRE.......................................==Jim==

 

[MD Dog]

I have and use two ace 250s one with the regular coil and one with the 12 inch coil, as well as my BH mark IV. THE Ace definitely doesn't run rings around anything. Anyone who tells you this load of crap doesn't know what they are talking about. Both machines work very well for the money. Amateurs are always comparing apples to oranges because they know so little. The Ace and The BHs as well as almost all MDs work at different frequencies. I can hunt a very small patch of ground with all three of my machines one after the other and all three will find things the other two miss. I find civil war bullets and buttons as well as gold and silver jewelry , old coins not a problem and I find this stuff with all three machines. Here's the catch, my BH is much hotter on gold than my Aces, because it works at a lower frequency. My Aces though are much hotter on silver. It's the nature of the beast different machines will work differently even on the same sites. So back to the original post. A not expensive BH from Wal-mart will do just fine to start MDing and as you grow and learn so will you collection of MDs.

HH

 

[firecrest789]

I ended up getting a Bounty hunter lone star for 20.00 off a friend, it retails around 173.00. So I guess I am starting here.

Thanks for all your replies. If things go well I will be picking up a better one after the snow.

I have been out a few times havn't found anything but it is fun.

So between this and coin roll hunting / till diving I am hooked on finding things

 

[t bird]

well said MD Dog. i have had several brands of detectors and the bounty hunters will hold their own and then some.

 

[UnEarthed72]

well cant hate on a 20 dollar detector no matter what brand

 

[shanegalang]

Hi,
I am new to this hobby. I got a BH Lonestar for a great price on EBAY. I used it for about a month to get used to the beeps ect. I had talked my boss into getting a brand new BH Pioneer 505 at a pawn shop. She didnt like metal detecting and sold it to me for 100 bucks. I cant compare to any other brand because these two are all I have owned........but I have found plenty with both. Went to the state fair grounds here today and came out with a good bit of clad and a gold ear ring. I like what someone here had to say about different brands and the frequencies they use. I went to school for electronics and it makes sence to me that different brands/ units would use different circuitry. At any rate get what you can afford and if you like the hobby upgrade. I think you will find some things either way. Learn all you can about discrimination ect.

 

[sniffer]

shangalang, it's not the pcb, it's the frequency of the detector, some frequencies will find things easier than others.
And ALL detectors will find metal. Heres a BIG secret of metal detecting and finding great stuff, buy the machine that you like, and then, learn everything you possibly can about it, example. how does it react in dirt, clay, sand, black sand, mineralized soil, wet ground, dry ground. What I'm trying to say is, learn the machine you like. but, don't expect to learn a new machine overnight, it takes time and effort and persistence. Good luck. Sniffer

 

[shanegalang]

I started with a BH Lonestar. Moved up a bit to a BH Pioneer 505 and recently purchased a Tesoro Deleon. The other day I was out with the Tesoro and my Pioneer was in the car. I ended up grabbing the BH to double check a signal I was getting on the Tesoro which only has 1 tone, but VID. I knew the tones well on my BH so it will always have a place in my detecting "toolbox".