Full Overview

Bounty Hunter's Tracker IV detector offers the excitement and profit of metal detecting at an accessible price, making it ideal for those just getting started. With a fully submersible, 8-inch Bounty D-Tech search coil, the Tracker IV features three different operating modes to help you hit pay dirt. Motion all-metals mode responds to any metals you sweep over, full discrimination mode rejects iron and other trash items, and tone discrimination alerts you with one or two audio pitches for different types of metals. The Tracker IV does not have the LCD that many of Bounty Hunter's other models boast, featuring instead a large Sensitivity Meter. Ground Trac, a feature that automatically balances the machine to the soil conditions, makes the Tracker IV a tremendous value. Users will also enjoy Bounty Hunter's comprehensive, easy-to-understand online tutorial and downloadable manual at www.detecting.com. The Tracker IV runs off of two 9-volt alkaline batteries and boasts a five-year limited warranty.

Technical Details

- Rugged metal detector ideal for detecting treasure in extreme ground conditions
- Motion All-Metal mode, Discrimination mode, and 2-Tone audio mode
- Preset ground balance neutralizes response to mineral content in the ground
- Disc/notch control distinguishes between targets and unwanted metals
- 8-inch open coil design; runs on two 9-volt batteries; 5-year limited warranty

I figured that any metal detector would find the '32 Chevy buried in my backyard, but I wanted to find coins, rings, and Civil War relics in my 5 acre woods. It took 5 minutes to assemble the Tracker IV and about 15 minutes to review the instruction manual. Round up a few coins, a gold ring, and some nails and run through the demonstration on page 5 of the manual. It will give you an idea of how different objects respond to the 3 detection modes.I borrowed my wife's headphones (highly recommended) and headed for the woods. Within minutes I found beer cans, shotgun shells, nails. The detector will pinpoint an object close enough that you can dig it up with a few scoops of a garden trowel. On my second attempt I found a man's silver ring.Tracker IV appears to be well constructed and a good value. I don't have any experience with other detectors, but I can't imagine that any are easier to use than this one. Tracker IV is a great choice for your kids to use, if they can get it away from you!

The Bounty Hunter was exactly what I was looking for. My 11 year old son and I wanted to expore metal detecting together. I didn't want to invest a large amount of money in something that was too high tech or that he would lose interest in. I didn't want to spend too little and get a cheap product. This item was priced right and so far has proven to be a quality item. It was easy to assemble (maybe 5 minutes), takes 2 standard 9 volt batteries and is lightweight enough for my 11 year old to handle with ease. The shaft adjusts in height so when I finally get my turn, I can adjust it to fit me. We are having a ball so far with it. We haven't found any high dollar finds yet, but the neighborhood kids have gone with us the last few days and made it a fun treasure hunt. In our search of a couple vacant lots, we have found 17 cents, lots of nails, an old bottle cap, a saw blade and other misc items. We plan on taking this into the mountains soon, as it is waterproof so you can look for gold in the rivers. We can't wait!

When I started researching metal detectors before buying one for my husband, I was overwhelmed with all the reviews, ads, etc., I found on the internet. I printed out all the information that seemed to have a "voice of authority" behind it; it wasn't long before one brand/model seemed to take first place as the best choice for units under $300. Reviews from novices to experts concurred that the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV was a great buy as well as a great metal detector for novice to intermediate users. My husband is not someone who reads the instructions before using anything, but I showed him some of the printouts that warned against trying to use any metal detector without getting familiar with the instruction booklet first (because if you don't know what you're doing, you'll be frustrated and decide the detector doesn't work right). For once, he did spend time reading the instructions and then practicing with the detector as the directions advised. It wasn't long before he was out in the yard and up a mountain actually using his Bounty Hunter IV with success. I also bought him the Bounty Hunter earphones because I read that using earphones prolongs the battery life of the battery in the detector. Earphones also raise the user's chance of success by blocking noises that might cause some of the more subtle indicator sounds to be missed. We live in a windy, windy canyon, so the earphones were a must for blocking wind noise. So far my husband loves his Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, and the learning curve, according to him, was pretty short.

As a low cost metal detector I give this thing five stars. I bought this Detector several months back and enjoy it's relative ease of use, and it DOES find what you are searching for (coins, rings, earings, necklaces, etc). The other reviews here pretty much wrap it up as a good (affordable!) unit, but I wanted to make a few comments from an amateur's point of view:

- This detector has, of course, the discrimination circuitry used to tell the difference between the various metals helping you to avoid digging up junk like soda can pull tabs which are everywhere. It does work pretty good, BUT - I have found that by using the Tracker IV discriminator, you will most likely be missing some good stuff. I have gone back over "Discriminated" areas again in "All Metal" mode and found some nice stuff that Discriminate didn't catch. Granted I am no pro, but the fact is if you want to get every coin, every ring, or every cool item of various metals, you may want to consider just using "All Metal" mode. I almost exclusively use it now and although I sift through some absolute junk. I have found a bunch of coins, necklaces, pendants, etc that I would have otherwise missed. Use the Discriminate mode when looking for that gold wedding ring your wife through at you in the back yard...

- Invest in the 4 inch "Gold Nugget Coil" which is far superior at pinpointing metal. The stock coil works fine but is a tad ambiguous as to precisely where your coin, ring, (or pull tab) is. The smaller coil reduces search time and I am glad I have one.

- I bought the recommended Bounty Hunter Headphones (to save battery power), but have found them to be a bit more trouble than help. When I detect something I squat or sit down and dig. I set the detector down so the coil is near the dig zone so I can waive clumps of dirt (or sand) in front of the coil as I search. The problem is the headphone's wire tends to be always in the way when I perform this move. I get tired of "untangling" so I don't use them anymore. Maybe I'm just getting old.

- The meter is of no value for anyone who can hear the audible report. It has no "range" to judge metals you are passing over. It simply swings hard to the right no matter what from what I can tell. I have tried different modes and different metals to test it, but it seems to merely swing hard to the right as you pass over any type of metal / alloy. I can see how this would still be useful to a deaf person, but it just as easily could have been a bright light bulb instead of a meter. I won't ding this low cost detector for that though because I'd still dig if it was half scale or pegged.

- And lastly a warning. If you go into a park, or any area attended by kids, you will be spotted. Within a short amount of time you will be surrounded by kids "helping you" to dig up buried treasure. At that point you have to decide whether to be a meanie and bark at them, or write the rest of the hunt off and let them shred the area every time the detector beeps. I generally tell them how it's been a long day and "see ya" since they will invariably have their hands in there digging away no matter what you say...

38 years ago my wife lost her wedding ring on the lawn of our summer house. Yesterday, we found the ring after a search of two hours. Much of this time was wasted in low probability areas.

The keys to success in searching for a gold item seem to be:

Set the sensivity to high and the discrimination knob to about 75%; then "calibrate" your ears by scanning a known gold target and some other metal trash. With these settings we were able to ignore dozens of other metal objects. You want to hear a "low" alert tone.

Use the optional gold nugget detector for more accurate location of the target, although the standard coil did find the ring, about two inches deep in the sod.

Among the many objects detected, only 4 gave the characteristic low tone: 2 pieces of gold colored foil, a brass dog tag from a long dead family pet, and the ring.

Four metals seem to produce the "low" tone, although there be others.

Lead

Nickel

Brass

Gold

Rapid searches can be made in the non-discrimination mode and targets then checked by changing to the "tone" mode.

This was my second metal detector I had purchased in the past 20 years, my first one also being a Bounty Hunter. I was pleased to see that all aspects of the detector were a vast improvement over my 1980's model. The current model is lightweight and easy to use and does not require constant "re-tuning". Although it lacks a "no-motion" detection mode (only found in detectors costing hundreds of dollars more) the light weight and well thought out design make sweeping the target area easy. It has an easy to understand instruction booklet and is a cinch to assemble. Quality is first rate overall and I would recommend this detector to any beginner or even to a seasoned pro as a decent back-up detector.

This Metal Detector is a good intro to metal detecting. It finds coins great and has even paid itself over and over again for me. I've found 3,000 dollars in coins with this thing! It works great and is solidly built, I've dropped it a few times and it just kept on going. Now for the "but" part.... because it is a "mulit-purpose" Detector it's not so good at finding small peices of gold, like small nuggets. It can find the big stuff(at least thats what I've heard) but I have yet to find any nuggets with this thing. BUT! Don't let that discourage you from making a good purchase, afterall, if you find the big one, who cares? But it really is good for coins. For large caches it has a depth of 3 feet! I kid you not! So if for you or as a gift for the kids, pick this up. Who knows, you may find a kings ransom!

I purchased this metal detector about six months ago and I have been having an absolute blast with it! It was my first metal detector and I knew almost nothing about them. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about blindly buying a metal detector, especially since I knew virtually nothing about them. However, after doing a lot of reading on Amazon (and other sites), I finally came to the conclusion that this is the model for me!

Here's why this is a five star product:

1) Light weight. It is extremely light weight, which means that you can have hours of searching fun, without having a terrible arm ache afterwards.

2) Extremely easy to use. This model has the power of the more expensive models, but the ease of use that makes it perfect for novices. It has several modes that make it easy to filter out garbage (such as nails, pulltabs, wire, etc.) from being detected. This comes in extremely handy when checking out commonly-used, public places, such as parks, beaches, etc.

3) Comes with a quick training manual that is extremely easy to understand. It also comes with tutorials for you to try, so that you get hands-on experience with the device, before you head out to do some real searching.

The main disadvantage of this model:

1) The meter in the middle of the detector simply shows when you have found some metal. It really doesn't provide any valuable information about your find. The only purpose that I can see it having would be for a deaf person, who couldn't hear the beep produced. Besides this, the meter is virtually worthless. However, besides this, it is a great detector - a bargain considering that most detectors of equilivant abilities cost several times as much.

My advice: If you would like to learn how to metal detect, this is a great one to start with!

I think the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV metal detector is a great buy. Took only a minute to assemble, and a few minutes to read the manual and I was out finding items in the yard. Has three different detection modes to eliminate most trash, that is iron and steel. Headphones would be a great addition, makes it easier to pick up faint sounds.

I have been doing this for 35 years and this is my 4th detector. My last one was a top of the line and had to part with it to raise money when I was out of work. I decided it was time to once again buy one and the price seemed right. Of course I cannot compare it to a $300 detector ( at the time ), you do really get what you pay for.
Here is my take so far. The bad : No volumn control, one level fits all sound.
Also, it was hard as heck to pinpoint the target. With my last detector, when I dug the hole, you simply placed the coil over the hole and found the object. With this unit, it only works when moving so you have to wave it back and forth while digging to locate the target.
The good: It is super light weight, made almost 100% from plastic. You won't get tired as fast.
Takes 2 9v batteries.( Batteries while wearing headphones last about 15-20 hours )
Probably ok for a beginner, however if you are an avid hunter and you can afford, spend at least $200.Once I find enough to pay this one off, I am going back to a better model. This model will NOT go deeper than about 6" on a quarter and to find older silver coins, this model won't work. I have challenged Bounty Hunter manufacturing to prove me wrong but they actually agreed with my test. They said they sell a more expensive model if you want more depth.
UPDATE 2: OK have used for 1 month now and have found a total of $200.00 in gold jewelry. I know that because a reputable dealer paid me that amount for what I have found so far. I have now paid off the detector in just a months time. I am more impressed now, however, if you are wanting to find old deep silver coins you have two choices, buy a better machine, or use this one on all metal mode, go real slow and dig about 1000 lbs of trash for every coin found then still no guarantee.Also, with my old detector, you just held the detector over your hole and it beeped if item was still there. This detector is a motion detector so you have to swing it for it to work so pinpointing is litteraly a pain. By the end of the first day my shoulders were sore.
* If you want a decent detector to just find recently lost coins around playground equipment, this detector is awesome with its three mode detection. If you want to do some serious silver hunting or looking for old deep buried coins,forget it. It is however great at finding old soda cans up to 12" deep. Maybe you can dig them all day and cash in the aluminum, you should be able to pay off the detector in maybe 75 years.
Overall, like I said, Bounty hunter is one of the 5 oldest detector companies around but most of their equipment is geared towards beginners.