Tracker IV

The detector model works as described. It is a basic starter model good for beginners who aren't sure they want to get into detecting, but they want a detector that will work and find metals. Follow the training, by book or online, and it makes sense how to operate. Otherwise you will get confused and frustrated not understanding how signals are interpreted or triggered. The unit does discriminate between irons and other metals as well once you know the settings. Depth is usually about 4 inches deep reliably. This is where better models will find more but again, this is an entry detector for a budget and low financial risk.

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 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.

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'!

Ich bin sehr zufrieden. Das Gerät benutze ich zum Pfeilesuchen beim Bogensport. Es ist einfach zu bedienen und zuverlässig. Der Stromverbrauch ist okay, ich überlege aber, ob ich noch einen externen Akku an das Gerät anbaue. Super Teil!

Working fine

Helt ok 👍

Excellent product 👍