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[99mustang]

Hi I'm very new to metal detecting, like only a couple days ago I bought my first metal detector. It is a Bounty Hunter Discovery 2000..... I purchased it for $50. My question is,,, Is this a decent entry level detector so I know if I'm going to enjoy this hobby ?
From Reading Posts on this site I believe that I'm going to enjoy detecting very much.
Thanks

 

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[Old Soul 71]

Welcome and I know you will be addicted in no time. Patience and research are key to getting the most out of this hobby!

 

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[Darke]

The 3 settings are at the bottom..... I had it on ALL METAL because I don't know what the others do View attachment 1709646

Welcome to the hobby. The other 2 buttons are for discrimination and notch discrimination. They allow some metal to partially screened out. Not sure of the exact mode setting on that model though.

 

[99mustang]

Welcome to the hobby. The other 2 buttons are for discrimination and notch discrimination. They allow some metal to partially screened out. Not sure of the exact mode setting on that model though.

Thanks, I'm trying to get a manual to look at or download

 

[BigRay]

sorry i cant help. That one in way different than the one my wife has.

 

[Darke]

Thanks, I'm trying to get a manual to look at or download

Pretty sure it has the same features as the Lonestar with slightly different display. Here's the manual for it. https://www.detecting.com/manuals/MLON-04.20.15-Reader.pdf

 

[99mustang]

Thank you

 

[gunntekk1]

i started out with a bounty hunter discovery 2200 and i made over $200 dollars and silver and gold items my first year, just learn how to pin point with the cross method.

 

[Treasure-coast-steve]

If you take the time to learn your machine and what it can do the three is endless possibility’s don’t let expensive machines bring you down we al gotta start somewhere

 

[99mustang]

If you take the time to learn your machine and what it can do the three is endless possibility’s don’t let expensive machines bring you down we al gotta start somewhere

Thanks

 

[Mvgirl]

Hi I'm very new to metal detecting, like only a couple days ago I bought my first metal detector. It is a Bounty Hunter Discovery 2000..... I purchased it for $50. My question is,,, Is this a decent entry level detector so I know if I'm going to enjoy this hobby ?
From Reading Posts on this site I believe that I'm going to enjoy detecting very much.
Thanks

I'll tell you this. Ok so there is better detectors. However that doesn't mean that better machine will find what you want. I had the lowest quality bounty hunter out there... I found lots of good stuff with it!!! I found four silver coins, four silver rings, a silver brooch and silver bracelet... and $80 worth of coins. I only detected 3-4 months with that thing and did playgrounds around my neighborhood mostly. It's not about the machine, though certainly a better machine might help with things. It's about putting time and effort into it. Know that if you are out there a lot and dig and dig those signals even if you are finding lots of trash and are super frustrated... don't give up!!! Some times I felt like giving up... one day I was really frustrated because I was finding only pennies and trash for several long hunts. And then I found a silver ring... I went out the next day and I found another. Never give up! And you know, the reason I bought a cheap one is because I wasn't sure I'd like the hobby. That's the safe way to go if it's your first. Buy a cheap, easy to learn machine. If you hate metal detecting then no big deal. If you love it and want to upgrade in a few months... well then you have a spare that you can use with friends!!!

 

[halfstep]

Metal detecting isn't an easy hobby. It is time consuming. There is a lot of getting up and down and can make a person's muscles sore and bones ache. The ground can be hard or rocky making digging difficult. There is a lot more trash in the ground than treasure. To top it all off, there are a lot of restrictions and laws concerning metal detecting and that can be aggravating. Finding new places to go can be difficult. Back in the mid 70's thru the 80's was the golden era where there was a lot of virgin ground and few laws. So a lot of the silver coins were recovered in those days in public areas like parks. Today, most parks won't yield a lot of easy sliver.

So your success as a new detectorist will greatly depend on where you hunt. Finding new places that haven't been hunted is the key. Your best places to hunt is in yards in the older neighborhoods. You may have to go door knocking and asking for permission. Some of your friends and family may be living in an older neighborhood so seek them out because they can lead to other nearby yards to search. Learn to dig a clean plug and to live the ground looking like you have never been there. You can practice in your own yard or in a local park if allowed. Learn to pinpoint accurately as this leads to less digging and a cleaner recovery.

As with you detector and it's settings. It will vary from location to location. When in someone's manicured yard, you don't want to be digging a lot of unnecessary holes. So you will have to learn to be selective and dig the good tones and targets. You will have to either learn to discriminate with your ears or/and to use discrimination on the detector. This will help you be more selective on what tones/ID to dig. Sure, it would be nice to dig every signal in someone's yard but it isn't practical. You will need to practice by learning the proper tones/ID and get good at understanding you detector. It speaks a language you will need to interpret accurately. This leads to more treasures and less trash.

Some folks say to "dig it all". This is okay in the beginning in selected areas to learn tone interpretation. But as you advance in your skills, you will no longer need to dig it all. You will know what a majority of junk sounds like and what good targets sound like. Ultimately, you want to only dig desirable targets and never dig any trash. But that isn't going to happen even with the best detectors. But you can develop your skills enough to dig more good targets and less trash. Remember that detecting can be time consuming and hard on the body so you will want to get the most out of your time and effort.

Pennies....They can be fun to dig in the beginning as you learn to develop your skills. But as time goes on, you will realized that spending too much time digging pennies is taking a lot of time and effort and not giving a lot in return. Especially the newer copper coated zinc pennies nicknamed zincolns. 1981 was the last year for the solid copper penny. They will produce a different tone/ ID than the zincolns. If a zincoln has been in the ground for a year or so, it will start to rot and you will dig a chewed up looking penny that may be 1/4 to 1/2 gone. Depending on where I am, I will either avoid pennies or dig the solid copper pennies and try to avoid digging zincolns. The reason is the solid copper maybe an older wheatie or even and indian head penny. Some rings will register at the penny tone/ID so some people dig all penny signals. I dig them all in some locations where rings are more likely to be lost and skip them in places that are not good places for lost rings. Sure, a ring can be lost anywhere and you risk not finding it if you don't dig. But you have to be smart and weigh things out. There is always a trade off. Basketball courts, practice fields are a good place to find rings so I dig all good signals there. But other places I may be more selective and skip penny signals. Pull tabs (sta-tabs) are another signal that register the same as rings. Again, you may want to dig them in places where you are more likely to find a ring and skip them in places like around pavilions. You will have to decide for yourself. Just be mindful and smart, being flexible to the changing environment.

When you hit a park, you can go and be more selective the first few times and as time goes on and you learn the ground, you can start to open up and dig more targets that you skipped in the beginning. Each time you go to the park, you learn more about the trash in the ground and what kind of trash it is, You learn where the more likely spots are to find clad/silver and what the park use to be like in earlier times. Your first few times, you can do some scouting and hit small areas in different parts of the park to locate better hunting ground. Get a feel for the current park layout but more importantly, get a feel for how the park use to be laid out in years past. When scouting, look everywhere for you can't really tell what the park was like in years past. You will find that some of the better places in a park may look the least likely to produce by today's layout. Other detectorists inability to search back in time will be to your advantage. Little nooks and crannies, in the far forgotten corners, old forgotten trails that lead into the park that are long time grown over will be the places you will want to seek out.

Your detector will serve you well but only if you use it and learn it. Once it pays for itself and you are more knowledgeable, you can upgrade to a deeper machine if you desire. But first become a lethal foe with the one you have. Learn it like the back of your hand.

When in the silence of the night while lying in bed, you still hear the high tone beep dancing around in your head, you will then know you have a detecting problem and only the smell of fresh dug dirt can soothe the soul.

 

[RustyGold]

Welcome 99! Good score on the detector. If it teaches you how to find targets then it was more than worth it. One day it will lead to a new detector but you'll always remember your first one. Good Luck!

 

[against the wind]

I never owned a bounty hunter but if your machine finds you an old silver coin or a gold ring,, I think you'll want more.
Get out and enjoy. Welcome to the hobby.