Bounty Hunter Time Ranger

My Buddy

Chris (aka Pineapple) DuPonte in Baconton, Ga. -
I have been detecting with my TimeRanger now for a few years and can honestly say it is one of the best machines I have come across. I actually own tow of them. My Buddy for which I titled this article is one of the older models (dual 9v batteries). I like both though will lean towards Buddy because it has both the SNIFF and Blanker features which I use extensively during my late fall hunts at the fairgrounds. I also prefer it's Gb feature over the newer version. Don't get me worng, both are great machines like all of the other BH models I own along with a few other brands. It's a great light weight general purpose machine and one you can trust for years of service. It's depth is as good as most machines in it's class and will compete with any on the market.

I have been to several competition hunts and have placed in a few of them. The machine is what I would call a simple turn on and go machine with a low learning curve. If you read the owners manual and not try to make the machine do things it wasn't designed to do it will find just about anything you could/would be looking for. If my grand-daughter who is only 9 years of age can use one and find stuff then I know you could too. The price is great as is it's warranty. You can't beat the manufacturers service as they WILL stand behind their product and the service is prompt. I can tell you that I have found just about anything you could think of looking for with mine. Granted I have lots of years of experience metal detecting but as I noted before even those that have had none that I had loaned my unit to to try out before making a purchase loved it. The preselect modes are simple to use as is it's all metal features. It's targeting accuracy is top of the line in my opinion and the numeric ID and depth indicator is dead on as it relates to ID'ing what lies beneath the surface.
Pinpointing is great if done correctly thus it is up to you to learn the art of pintpointing. It has great sensitivity in most any type of soils. Where I live I have to put up with high alkalinity as well as the terrible red clay which would false out on most machines regardless of brand. I can guarantee you if you set your machine up properly you can get pass the falsing easily enough in the red clay to make some great finds up to 12in in depth. A good set of batteries will normally last you 12-15hrs. Because I put in more than 20hrs per week detecting I have chose to use rechargeables. As I noted above I own several other brand detectors both high and low end ones and will with no hesitation tell you that I enjoy my TimeRanger the best. Anyone will tell you no one detector will do it all, and that is about the truth of it. If just looking for a unit that will do an excellent job of coin shooting, then the TimeRanger fits that bill for much less than you'd pay for many other models/brands. I don't recommend it for shallow salt water detecting or even wet sand since it again is my opinion that you really need a Pulse type detector for that type of detecting. The same applies to certain types of gold detecting. It can find it, but in my opinion doesn't do all that well in that category. But when talking about relic/artifact or coinshooting, the TimeRanger is hard to beat. If you get a chance visit my website and take a look at the stuff I have found with mine. You can get there by going to http://koloheboy.freehosting.net or visit the Bounty Hunter forum where I often post about my finds.

Nov 26, 2005

75 Yes
11 No

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My first detector, so hope this helps!

Rob W in Maryland -
This is my first metal detector, so I can't compare it to others, just give you what I've found so far.
The price, to me, seemed worth it. I paid a little above $500 for a new Time Ranger about a year ago. Being a new detectorist, it seemed to have all the bells and whistles the more expensive detectors from other brands have. The only thing lacking is it detects using one freq, while I would love to try a multiple freq detector. Like all detectors, it takes getting used to if you want to be good with it, tweaking with any detector takes practice. But the Time Ranger works great on it's "turn on and go" simplicity. I've used it in woods, open fields and beaches. The only downside is the depth indicator, I find it's normally off, that the target is normally not as deep as the indicator shows. Which is fine, less digging, but you have to be careful not to scratch a valuable find!
The previous reviewer stated he gets weird signals over sand, but I haven't had that problem at all! It works great and is easy to pinpoint finds at the east Coast beaches I've used it at. As for the rest? While I haven't found a particularly valuable coin yet as I mostly use it for coinshooting, I have used it to find coins at some heavily hunted areas. To me, it seems a good machine for the price when comparing to the more expensive models. Just like any machine, it takes practice, practice and more practice to get good with it. I find I get better with each outing!

Oct 06, 2005

32 Yes
7 No

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A CRITIQUE OF THE TIME RANGER

D Wilkins in USA -
I'v had a Time Ranger for a few years now. I live in Kansas, and when coin shooting our type of soil, it works good enough. The readouts all seem accurate, and the functions work good such as the surface blanking feature. I would give it a big plus in all metal..very powerful here.
The big negative, and I mean big, is don't even get it near a beach. This machine goes haywire and emits all kinds of signals over sand. The readout visibility is poor, because when you get a signal, you must draw the detector up to you and change the angle to see what it says. Although it has some neat features, I would not pay the price again.

Sep 02, 2005

58 Yes
16 No

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