On a tight budget. Thoughts on the Bounty Hunter Discovery 2200
- Thread starter Sus_kuken
- Start date
metaladdict
Elite Member
How about the Equinox 600?
Bounty Hunters are decent entry machine, while I have little experience personally with that line I have seen the Quick Draw and I know it will find silver. If you are looking to step up, keep an eye on the classified ads, and check out pawn shops. A pawn shop will not know much about a detector, they are in the business of buying and selling. The Garrett Ace series is a good starting point, I run an ATPro, but have had a few Garretts (much older) like the groundhog. Think about looking into Tesoro machines, the Silver Umax is a great little machine, I had one, light weight, single 9V battery, found gold and silver but the depth was questionable.
Do not limit yourself to any particular brand at this point, keep all options open.
Do not limit yourself to any particular brand at this point, keep all options open.
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,729
The 2200 is a beginner start-up low-end machine. Sure it will find things . But if you're going to want to be hard-core, you'll want to upgrade.
I guarantee there's signals, in some environments, where if you went head-to-head comparing signals with that, versus some other machines, that the 2200 wouldn't even hear a peep. But for just dinking around, sure, it'll work.
I guarantee there's signals, in some environments, where if you went head-to-head comparing signals with that, versus some other machines, that the 2200 wouldn't even hear a peep. But for just dinking around, sure, it'll work.
I would strongly recommend spending a few more dollars and getting the ACE 150. You should be able to get a used one for $100 or so.
You will be able to discriminate much better.
You will be able to discriminate much better.
Iv found a Garrett ace 350. Wants 200 for it...I just don’t have that cash right now.
hmm, the Ace 250 is discontinued, but still a great beginner unit. There is also the Fisher f2 which is also discontinued that can probably be had used for $150 or maybe less.
zeemang
Forum Supporter
Yes, solid basic machine, i recommend buying that for the money.
Soil Surgeon
Forum Supporter
REAL_RAT_FINK
Forum Supporter
I haven't tried the ACE series, however my entry detector was the Elite 2200 (which is the same as the discovery 2200). I LOVE THAT DETECTOR! Will go deep, super easy to use, and will help you determine if you will stick with this hobby. The 3300 is a step up and comes with pin-pointing and for not much more $. As an entry detector I definitely recommend the 2200/3300. If you need an upgrade down the road, then you can drop $500+ on a nice machine.
If you are looking to start on a budget, check Hobby Lobby. You can get the 40% coupon and get the Bounty Hunter Tracker 4. Not super-dee-super or anything but a good enough machine to find things, see if you like the hobby and not breat the bank. $109 minus the 40% comes out to around $65 and you always have a cheap back up detector when you upgrade later.
Used detectors are another option, I have always had good luck buying on the forums and you can find some good deals. If you already know you are going to like the hobby this may be the best starting point for you monetarily.
Dont forget a digger, pouch, batteries and a pinpointer if you want one. All of these things cost and come into play. Good luck, have fun and hope you find some great things.
Used detectors are another option, I have always had good luck buying on the forums and you can find some good deals. If you already know you are going to like the hobby this may be the best starting point for you monetarily.
Dont forget a digger, pouch, batteries and a pinpointer if you want one. All of these things cost and come into play. Good luck, have fun and hope you find some great things.
Thanks a lot! Yea I have really been into metal detecting from a far and have always loved history and doing research on sites just for the fun of it. I think I’m going to shoot for the Garrett ace 250 if the right deal comes along something higher. Iv watched a ton of videos on different detectors and it seems that the Ace is a pretty solid entry level machine. My biggest issue is that I want something reliable. Something that I know with time will find things rather than thinking it’s the machine and I’m just aimlessly walking around not knowing if the machine is picking things up. With the 250 I’m pretty confident it will be more of an operator error rather than my machine. I did play around with the father in laws bounty hunter lone star a while and I did find a few things. But I feel that I will like the buttons and feel of the Garrett more.
