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Bounty Hunter Time Ranger

Price: $650
Avg. Score: 4 stars 4
Based on 21 reviews

Avg. Durability: 5 stars!4.60
Avg. Ease of use: 4 stars4.00
Maximum detection depth
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Long Term Review

March 29, 2010
I submitted a review on my Time Ranger in 2008. I haven't changed my mind, it is still my favorite detector. No breakdowns no problems. If it was water proof it would be perfect. I wish Bounty Hunter would make an all weather version of the Time Ranger. I know the Time Ranger is an old detector and there are a lot of new models out there but I haven't found a better one for the money. I have a Tesoro DeLeon which is a great detector but it was almost twice the price. Keep it up Bounty Hunter.

Overall Rating 4 stars

172

Time ranger

January 31, 2010
I paid $300 for this machine and I think it is good for this price. Here is some info for free air detection: 1cent-4", 25cents-8", fridge-36" in all metal self tuning. Good for weekender hobbyist.

Overall Rating 4 stars

912

Piece of Junk

June 28, 2009
This metal detector has been as they say in the Military a "Hanger Queen". I have had it replaced once, a new mother board on the replacement, the new mother board model sent back for various problems, one of which was no ground balance. I just got it back from First Texas about a week ago and guess what? NO GROUND BALANCE AGAIN. All I know is I want my money back for a different metal detector.

Overall Rating 1 star

1738

Customer Service/Excellent User Friendly/Excellent

September 19, 2008
I almost listed this unit as a 4-star, as it's definitely better than just a '3'; Maybe more of a 3.7 Star Rating.

This is my 2nd Bounty Hunter machine and although I cringed at spending $600+ for it, I soon paid for it in findings. I've had my two Bounty Hunter's for almost 10 years now. Periodically, due to hard use, I've needed to send them in for repairs & upgrades. The company has always given me back more than expected without any fuss.

I needed a light weight machine due to a back injury. This is so easy to use that I can hand it to a friend and within a couple minutes they're on the move and digging (unlike my heavy, complicated MineLab).

I have no problem with finding coins at a realistic 5-6 inch depth and must agree that it's not at its best on the more mineralized beach sand. I wouldn't recommend going with to much less of a detecting power than the Time & Land unit's; you'll be only finding the top layer of coins and miss a lot of the good stuff. I know; I've tried em.

I'm taking my time ranger a land ranger and my explorer II to Mexico next week and have even brought my Time Ranger to Puerto Rico beaches with success. This is the first hobby I've found that actually pays for itself!

Overall Rating 3 stars

274

Best Factory Support Ever.

May 05, 2008
I have had this detector for over 6 years. I also have experience with other detector manufacturers. After about 6 years old faithful finally started acting up. I shipped the unit and the coil back to First Texas Products and had an answer back in 5 days. The estimate was $55. I OKed the repair and I had it back in another 5 days, beside replacing a board my detector came back with a new front plate. It looks like it is brand new. How can you beat that? I don't know if they updated the electronics in my machine but it is working better than it ever has. The Time Ranger is the best all around machine I have ever owned. Bounty Hunter stands behind their products, they deserve our business. Don't let anyone tell you they are inferior products, just show the other guys the items they missed with their $2000 detectors.

Overall Rating 4 stars

535

Its as good or better than a 800$ unit

March 16, 2008
I have used 5 different Units and found the Time Ranger the very best. My friend has a unit that he payed over $800 for. And I walked behind him and picked up a silver Pocket watch chain with a 1853 coin attached to it. the best part of owning the Time Ranger. Its easy to use. And it payed for its self in 7 mts.

Overall Rating 4 stars

265

Relic buster

April 13, 2006
Word for the wise, you only need to repeat it once, found relics the top names left behind.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

869

Made a believer out of me!!!!!!!!

April 11, 2006
Tried the detector in hunted out areas and came out with nice relics that other machines left behind. The Time Ranger has good depth on small objects that impressed me, I had assumed that Bounty Hunter was a cheap Wal-Mart brand. This machine kicks butt.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

446

My Buddy

November 26, 2005
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.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

8512

My first detector, so hope this helps!

October 06, 2005
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!

Overall Rating 4 stars

398

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