Bounty Hunter TK4 Tracker IV Metal Detector – All-Terrain Gold, Silver, Coin & Relic Finder with 8" Waterproof Coil, 3 Detection Modes – for Adults & Kids – Made in USA

I remember as a kid wanting a metal detector. And I have a vague recollection of actually using one when I was about 10 years old. It belonged to a friend of mine. I don't remember much about it other than how it made me feel. It was like someone gave me a treasure map and said, "Go find the treasure." I was excited at the idea that maybe I was going to find something worth thousands of dollars. No, hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was my destiny! Hehe. Well, that's what I felt when I was a kid holding that thing for the first time. Anyway, forward a good number of years, and now I have a couple nephews around that age. I think long and hard about what to get them for Christmas. I always get them interesting, unusual gifts each year. I try to imagine what I would have wanted when I was their age. And I insist on it having some aspect that makes them think or learn about stuff. And so for Christmas 2010 (a little over a year ago), I was making a list of all kinds of stuff I might want to give them for Christmas. Then it came back to me how I would have loved a metal detector growing up. And so, that's what I got them. My youngest nephew was 9 years old and the other was 12, by the way, when I gave them this. I'm real picky about what I get, though. It took me a while of shopping and looking at specs and reviews before I decided that this was the best metal detector for the price. Most people said they thought it was of better build quality than most others for this price. It's ergonomic also, which was important to me since I didn't want my nephews to feel like it was too heavy or putting too much strain on their wrists. It can be used by kids or adults. No, it doesn't have the fancy displays and bells and whistles that some of the more expensive models have, but that stuff isn't even something most people care about. What people care about is if it can find stuff. And according to my nephews' results and all the other reviewers out there, it is definitely up to that task. You don't need a fancy LCD or LED display. Those things add very little to the overall experience, and I personally think having an old fashioned analog display like this is actually cooler. It certainly makes it easier to understand, especially if you're a kid. And you don't have to worry about not being able to see the display in bright sunlight like you do with LCD displays. This product even has swappable parts, so you can swap out the head with another one that detects more gold or another one which detects a smaller area or a larger depth. The head that comes with the unit is pretty good for finding metals in general, though, so I doubt we'll ever get those other parts. But it's that sort of thing that caught my eye about this product. It says that the manufacturer has put a lot of thought into its design and doesn't just want to sell you a new unit each time. Actually, this metal detector went to only one of my two nephews, the older (12 years old at the time) one. I thought about getting them both one each, but I expected they would share it. And I was right. My brother tells me they both love it. The older nephew moves it around while the younger one digs for the treasure. They're a two man team, and it goes a lot faster that way since one can continue looking while the other is digging away. It was maybe just a little too big for the younger nephew (9 years old at the time), but he could still use it just fine. Anyway, my brother tells me they bring it with them on family trips and vacations. Especially to the beach. Apparently they've already found some things of real value. They found a watch valued at over $250 on the beach one day. They found an expensive knife once. They find coins. And of course bottle caps. This just adds a whole other dimension to any family outing. My brother tells me that they look forward to being able to use the metal detector whenever they go on trips now. They take it everywhere. Here's something you'll want to do. I told my brother before giving them this Christmas gift from me that he had to throw some coins around the yard ahead of time. Then when they open up the present, I told him to tell them that there are coins hidden in the yard for them to find and go to it! They enjoyed that a lot, and it got them hooked on day one. I think my brother said they found most of the coins he put out there, too. And they found some stuff he didn't even know about. Cool! As for the educational value of this, it's phenomenal. The kids learn about electro-magnetic fields and metals. They also dig up pieces of history and try to research what it is they've found. And poking around nature, they get to see the natural world, which is something a lot of kids don't do these days. Actually, for older teenage kids and adults, there's yet another educational level to this, which I didn't even know about until I saw something on TV about it. Apparently there are "historical" treasure hunters out there. They learn about historical places that used to exist but are now just uninhabited wilderness or maybe public parks and such. They're not historically famous places like Valley Forge or something. Those places don't let you do any metal detecting, I don't think. But at these non-famous places, you can use your metal detector and dig all you want. Since they're obscure places, they may not have already been gone over by others with metal detectors yet. And that means you can sometimes find really interesting things. So to any parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles out there, this is a great gift to get the young ones. It has stood the test of time. My nephews are still excited about it and take it everywhere. They now have iPhones, iPads, PS3's, and laptop PC's. You can give them yet another video game to add to their collection, and it will be cool for all of a couple weeks or so. The metal detector isn't something they'll outgrow or get bored of that easily. It's something they'll keep coming back to when they get bored of all the other stuff they have. It also gets them out of the house and into the real world for a change. For the price, it's well worth it for the entertainment and educational value. I highly recommend it. Hope that helps.

So, basically, the only reason I purchased this was to find my mom's gold pendant in our backyard. We were cutting down a tree and building a fence, and at some point, her necklace had apparently snapped and fallen off. She told me there was no way we'd be able to find it in our large backyard, so naturally, being her child and all, I was immediately consumed by the need to prove her wrong. For starters, the price is fantastic compared to other metal detectors on Amazon. This made me a bit nervous, but the reviews were positive enough to convince me. The quality is remarkable and exceeded my expectations. Its lightweight, sturdy, and the grip was perfect for my blistered post-yardwork hands. Batteries weren't included, but it just needs two 9v batteries. It was easy to assemble (attaching two parts and putting batteries in). Additionally, it was extremely simple to figure out and use—this is crucial for my dad and I, as we frequently toss instruction manuals aside without reading them. It took us about 3 minutes to understand and adjust the sensitivity controls, and only an additional 5 minutes to figure out the "metal" we were detecting was actually the shovel we kept placing right next to it. If two ADHD adults who share one braincell can operate it, then basically anyone can. We found 13 screws, 11 nails, multiple sprinklers, random bits of metal scraps, a friendly slug (not metal but it was cool), my dad's keys (they fell out of his pocket into the grass, lucky for him we had a metal detector), and a bunch of other miscellaneous things. And, of course, I found my mom's gold pendant. Unfortunately, I probably could've done this without the metal detector, as it was actually just sitting on the cement a hundred feet away from the area we thought she lost it in. However, due to its size and my whole family's lack of vision, none of us would've seen it. I actually had to kneel down and squint to figure out what the metal detector was beeping at. Regardless, the praise I received inflated my ego, and now I'm at risk of the Gods striking me down for my hubris. In conclusion—I proved my mother wrong, returned her beloved pendant, had fun with my dad and sister, made my whole family think I was an expert treasure hunter, and now I have a super rad device that I kinda wanna take out to the desert next weekend. Tons of fun, 10/10. Highly recommend.

I have had little experience with metal detectors, except for having built one once about 40 years ago as a project I found in an electronics magazine. I still understand in principle how these devices work from that experience and from a general background in electronics. Basically a balanced circuit is produced in the two coils at the end of the unit. When the flux lines in the coils are changed by induced eddy currents (by passing near a metal object), a difference signal is generated from the unbalanced conditions which lets the operator know that something has changed in the field of the detector coil. BTW, this is why one must move the coil in order to induce a signal. A static coil does not experience any changes. Different metal groups produce different phase responses, which allow for some rough discrimination of the type of metal producing the response. My point is that these things can finicky as most anything that changes the reluctance of a tuned circuit will generate a difference signal. So the trick is to just generate a signal when an object of interest is passed over. All of that said, I am favorably impressed with the operation of this moderately priced unit. It is rugged. It is very stable. It is sensitive without being too sensitive so that too many false signals are generated. The notch filter function seems to work well. It does not seem to be much affected by soil mineralization (at least in my yard) or soil moisture levels. I purchased the unit to find nails in the yard. I had my roof replaced a couple of months ago and even though the crew did an excellent job and ran magnetic nail sweeps over and over the yard, I could still go out with a powerful hand held magnet mounted on a short wooden handle and find nails. After several weeks of this sporadic activity, I realized that if I were to have a shot at finding 99.9% of the extant nails, I would need a better way to detect them. Hence this detector. I use the detector in the non-discrimiating mode and have found nails that were obviously left over from when the house was built almost 20 years ago! For this purpose it has worked and worked well. I have even done a small amount of digging to get the long buried metal up and out of the yard for no other reason than I can locate it and then retrieve it. No treasure, so far. Learning to narrow down the source of a signal by making "X" sweeps takes a bit of practice. After only a few minutes, however, even a novice such as I can quickly get an idea of whether the object is on or under the surface and if it is iron/steel or not. The grand daughters, 6 going on 7, and 9 going on 14, have taken to this device in a big way. Let me explain. I salted two areas of my rather large yard with 1- $1 coin, 5 quarters, 5 dimes, five nickels, and five pennies each. These areas were well removed from one another. I made sure that the coins were not very visible, but otherwise were dropped randomly. When the grand daughters last came to visit, I asked them to help me find treasure in my yard. I produced two wadded up "treasure maps" and let them select which one they wanted. Then I showed them the metal detector and explained how it worked. I had a minute timer along with two baggies labeled with their names in my pocket. The timer was to keep the peace as each girl got ten minutes alternately. The baggies were to keep the loot separate and separated. I believe the 6.5 year old would still be out there looking, if we had not forced her to come in that evening. All in all the youngest found all but 6¢ but oddly enough, she ended up with 4¢ more than I had planted. You see, she found a dime that I had not put there! The older one came up 11¢ short and was most disappointed that her sister had found more than she! As a bonus, they did find 7 nails that I had not expected to find as these were in areas well removed from the perimeter of the house. I also had an opportunity to explain to the older one that this was an application of science, where she could use a device to sense things that she could not see, hear, or feel. This made an impression on her, I could tell. They want to come back and do this again! Suits me fine. So what does this have to do with a review of a purchase? This unit has worked well in not only my hands but in the little, inexperienced, and often clumsy hands of two children (after shortening the pole). It is light enough in weight that neither I nor the children had any difficulty using it. The smaller did have to use two hands, however. I am pleased with it in general, but I have yet to test it for unsalted "coin shooting" (I love that term), relic hunting, prospecting, or general treasure hunting as in finding objects of value say at a public beach, park, etc. I would recommend it as a good, affordable, general purpose metal detector, with the caveat that I have few benchmarks such as how a higher end unit would perform for comparison, such as a unit that worked by pulse induction, for example.

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...

I picked up the Bounty Hunter TK4 Metal Detector to help locate arrows I’d lost during target shooting and hunting, and it has delivered. It’s been a game-changer for tracking down arrows in brush, grass, and even soft ground where I normally would have just given up. The waterproof coil is a nice bonus for pond-side or wet terrain use. Beyond arrows, I’ve started using it just for fun to find interesting metal objects around the yard and nearby trails. It spots coins, old nails, and other surprises I never expected to find, and that added hobby element is surprisingly enjoyable. What stands out: It’s intuitive to use—turn it on, sweep the coil, and when you get the signal you know something’s there. The sensitivity is good enough for shallow arrowheads or aluminum vanes, so I’m not missing much in my usual hunting spots. Durable build and waterproofing give me the confidence to use it in less-ideal terrain (muddy ground, wet grass, etc). My only caveat: If the target arrow is buried pretty deep or in super dense cover, I still sometimes struggle—so it’s not perfect in every scenario. As with any detector, you’ll still need to dig or clear the area once it signals. Bottom line: For the money, this detector is a smart investment if you’re tired of losing arrows or just want a fun side hobby digging up hidden metal. I’d highly recommend it.

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. UPDATE: 2013. Even though I kept the Bounty Hunter for a back up detector, Once I got back on my feet and was hooked again in metal detector, I did some research and ended up going mad and paying $1,800.00 for a metal detector. I have found more with the new one in 16 months than all 4 other detectors over 35 years. I am still glad I bought the Bounty Hunter and keep it as a back up cause it is so darn easy to use. Plus it triple paid for itself in less then 5 months.

Absolutely love this device. I bought it as a gift for my father to use while he was in a beach house in Florida for the winter. While visiting we used it quite a bit and actually found a lot of metal (see pic). Overall nothing of value, but it was a first time ever user, so finding anything was fun, plus there is definitely a learning curve. Pros -This device is very easy to use -Found metal at least 18" below the surface in sand so it seems accurate -Very light weight and adjustable -Not expensive and fairly well made for the price -Battery is still working after many hours of use Cons -Requires a few simple tweaks to avoid false positives First Time User Experience It took a couple of trips walking the beach over a few hours to get used to how it works and how to optimally configure and use it. First trip out we had a lot of false positives and it was slightly frustrating. But after some time it became easier and easier to find things. We did not find anything of value but did find many metal items as small as a pull tab ring off a can buried 4" in sand. Tips -If you accidentally touch the ground while sweeping back and forth, even very lightly, it will often emit a false positive tone. You will get the feel of when this happens. -If sand or dirt gets on the top of metal detector end piece that you sweep over the ground it will often give a lot more false positives. -If you are just starting out, don't expect to find gold and especially don't configure it for just gold/silver. You'll get frustrated fast. -If you are a first timer i'd recommend the following settings: 1 - Set sensitivity (left side knob) to the 3 o'clock position. Any higher and false positives are common. Lower you may miss things. 2 - Set the toggle switch on the right to center (all metal) so that you can learn how to use it. 3 - Set the disc/notch switch to the 12 o'clock position.

This is a nice unit. So far I have just used it in the yard to find my property markers.

For an entry level metal detector, that is above the toy-grade, it's working really well. It has discrimination, all metal, and tone modes which work as advertised except I haven't been able to replicate the "broken tone" that should sound over pull tabs. But that's really not a problem at all as I only had a full can of soda to test with (which it picked up but would probably reject if it was just the tab itself). When the discriminate feature was turned on, worked well - everything beeped except solid steel objects like scissors and other junk. In All Metal mode with sensitivity at MAX, detection distance for all the coins I tried was about 6" - 8" with just an air gap (not in the soil) when the coin is flat. If the coin is on it's edge vertically, the distance drops to 4" - 6" due to it's orientation. Again, that's just testing in the air since our ground is frozen at the moment and I can't do a proper soil test. This model was super simple to assemble and begin detecting with. Literally glanced at the "how-to" instructions and was waving the thing around at every metal object in a 10 foot radius from where I unpacked the amazon box, experimenting with the DISC/ALL METAL/TONE and sensitivities... It all worked great. Thanks Amazon for guiding me into the most popular metal detector for sale on your site.. those thousands of reviews made it much easier to decide. Back to reviewing the features.. There are 2 optional coils from Bounty Hunter for this metal detector that apparently extend the range and sensitivity: the 4COIL and the 10COIL (check bounty hunter's website for the compatibility grid before ordering one as there are different types of 10" and 4" coils they make). I'm now excited enough to try both of the optional coils and do a side by side comparison eventually. The retro look of this model with the flickering needle strength gauge and tactile knobs might just be that unique factor that convinced me go with this unit for my first metal detector. Only thing that I wished is the gauge would have a nice amber LED back lighting to really give it a vintage old school look to match it's analog styling. Now it's time to go looking for a ring my daughter lost 4 years ago.. here's hopin'!

Working fine

Helt ok 👍

Excellent product 👍

bon détecteur pour le prix rien a redire seule petit bémole aucune notice en français méme en cherchant sur le net quel galére . je recommande ce produit