Pioneer 202
Street Price N/A - Beginner, coin
Number of Reviews: 34
on 4 pages.
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Pioneer 202
Great Detector for the Price
Pa Hunter in S.W. PA -
I bought a used pioneer 202 on E-bay for under a 100 dollars. When it arrived I tried it out in my stone driveway and found 2 pennies within 5 minutes. The next day I took it to a near by State Park that had a sandy beach. It took me about 4hrs to scan it and I found a ring, $1.40 in change which included a 1937 Merc. Dime. It was accurate in what I was finding, a penny showed up as 1 cent, a Quarter showed 25 cent. It does not have a pinpointer but after a while you can pretty much narrow down where its at. Great Detector for the Price.
Jun 06, 2009
8 Yes
0 No
Rock Solid and Fun...It Works Well.
Steve in Eastern PA -Well, first let me say that I own (2) Bounty Hunter Detectors, a Pioneer 202 and 505.
I'm not completely new to metal detecting, having had a cheap 'toy' detector and
finding some stuff with it years ago. Recently, I had my interest rekindled, so I did
some research here and elsewhere on the net. I set my sites on a 505, because I thought
the No Motion - All Metal mode and Manual Ground Balancing were very important and
useful features. After not being able to find a good deal on a 505, I bought a used 202 on
Ebay for 99.00. Then, you guessed it, I found a deal on the 505. Thats how I wound up with
both.
Well, I can say this....both detectors seem so work equally well as far as discrimination, depth,
and target display, and both are very good at detecting coins.
Depth displays are reasonably accurate, and target ID's CAN be accurate, but often are not.
This is probably normal. Its hard to identify objects that have been burried a long time and in
various conditions, especially odd shaped aluminum or oxidized iron or steel. One thing is certain....if you get a repeatable target indication...its there!
If the detector is set to discriminate, it will do just that. The discrimination works flawlessly.
I have pulled up many coins..some as deep as 6+ inches....and lots of wheat pennies on just my own small suburban property.
I have only used both on turf basically, and am pleased and impressed with the performance of both units. I think the 202 (now called Quick Draw II), is basically the same detector as the 505 minus
the No Motion-All Metal mode and manual ground balancing. Are these useful features...yes.
Are they necessary.....not to find lots of stuff and have loads of fun. To sum it up, I think this unit
is a real bargain for the price. If you're looking to get into detecting on a budget, you can't go
wrong with this unit. Just study, read, practice, learn and understand how to use it. I would bet
this unit could give way more expensive rigs a run for the money!
May 22, 2009
19 Yes
0 No
Unstable
Eddie in Phoenix, AZ USA -
I've been using a Bounty Hunter, Pioneer 202 model off and on for about three years. The unit worked great and I've found a lot of coins and some jewelry with it but now I'm begining to have problems with the it.
What stinks is that I really enjoyed using it. Now I don't know if I can trust it anymore. It's becoming unstable. It generates noise with odd oscillations just for no reason. Sometimes it wont stop beeping. I've never been careless with it. I keep it indoors when not in use and haven't dropped it or let it get wet.
I've looked at the official web site to find a solution. Their directory doesn't have a trouble shooting section. They also make it clear that if you are not the original owner you won't qualify for the five year warrenty. So you'll have to go to someone else. Plus they don't have the Pioneer 202 listed as one of their products.
I don't understand why you would have to send your Bounty Hunter to someone else after five years. You would hope that maybe First Texas Manufacturing Company would have upgrades for any flaws or malfunctions that've been discovered from field use. They probably do. But why do we have to go to someone else?
I've called the subshop shop in Gilmer, Texas and they say that this brand is going to have trouble on a regular basis. It's low quality and high maintenance. The repair man said that they normally have trouble with the coils and the internal wiring usually around the battery compartment. Great! Now I stuck with a $200.00 piece of junk. I was hoping to give this one to my kids.
May 17, 2009
4 Yes
0 No
Best detector for your money!
Shawn in Texas -I purchased my Pioneer 202 a few years back. Cost me around $198. Never had a metal detector in my life. I took it for a spin in my front yard and I found many coins. I found an old toy truck in my backyard. I really didn't mess with my pioneer 202 for almost 2 years. I started messing with it recently and it still works! Found even more money in my property.
I'm going to take it to a few parks around my area. The pioneer 202 is my best friend. Its waterproof up to the control box...you can use different setting to eliminate, trash items like pop tops, cans, nails. But keep the good stuff like gold rings..silver, coins.
I read many reviews and the pioneer 202 will out perform the expensive models! The indicator is easy to read, tells you what's in the ground before you dig it up.
If you consider to invest in this product, do it! Its pretty good exercise, great for the family or friends. Plus the good thing about a metal detector..you never know what your going to find. Most of the time..you get my point. Just have fun. I love the composite trowel they gave me, and the pouch to carry the finds. It also includes a quick start video.
Feb 19, 2009
18 Yes
0 No
A great starter unit that delivers
Omar in Tampa, FL -I got my Quick Draw II from fleabay for $90 brand new except for the search coil, which was used. I have wanted to get into this hobby for some time but could never justify the high cost of the detectors nor the use of those cheesy analog meters. I researched and settled on the BH QDII mostly because of the price I got it for since I really wanted the BH Pioneer 505.
I read the manual cover to cover a few times to learn how to properly use this unit, and to avoid the many frustrations encountered by other users. I set the unit up on top of my countertop and proceeded to test it just like the manual suggests in order to familiarize myself with its operation.
The Sensitivity knob controls the search depth. This unit will find items deeper then 10” when the Sensitivity knob is set to max. Using headphones I have not heard the unit sound unstable or generate noise or oscillations. When you initially turn ON the unit it defaults to the ALL METAL mode (two beeps) without any filters enabled. This mode will detect all types of metals trash or treasure.
To find coins and valuables the best setting is NOTCH (three beeps when pressed). Notch enables a filter to suppress iron and nothing else if the DISCRIMINATION knob is set all the way counter clockwise. To further suppress trash such as pull-tabs, wave one in front of the search coil while turning the DISCRIMINATION knob clockwise until the pull tap is no longer detected. I find that setting the DISCRIMINATION knob to the 1'oclock position works great for ignoring most trash items while focusing on finding all coins. Remember that the DISCRIMINATION knob is a variable suppression filter so less is better at finding more items.
On my first test run at the corner church playground I found 3 dimes, 2 nickels, and 5 pennies within 45 minutes. The depth indicator is extremely accurate once I realized how it actually works. The book makes no mention of how to properly interpret the depth gauge. If a coin is shown, as being 6" deep you must account for the distance of the search coil above the surface of the soil; so if your coil is 2" above the surface of the soil, you must dig 4” to reach your treasure.
This unit does a fine job at pinpointing if you follow the procedures shown in the manual. The center of the search coil is the bull’s eye area. To pinpoint the item move the search coil left to right slowly swinging less and less until you find the center point of the target. Now move 90 degrees to that target area and repeat the process until you locate the center again. Now dig that area to the depth shown minus the distance of the search coil from the ground to locate your treasure.
I’m pretty happy with this unit and the price I got it for. It has exceeded my expectations without blowing my budget. This unit delivers in performance, accuracy, and repeatability if you take the time to follow the directions and familiarize yourself with the operation of product to avoid frustrations. Cool!
Dec 18, 2008
24 Yes
0 No
Not so great
Christopher M in FL -
The first time I used this machine I was fairly satisfied with the results. Two years later after not using it so much, I got new batteries for it and took it to the beach. It gave false readings every other step. I had the sensitivity at the same level as the first time I used it when I had good results. This time it had acted very irratically.
I took it home and tested it with several coins on the ground. It would read a quarter as zinc and either the depth or the coin it claimed to find was incorrect. I dont know who the other reviewers are, but I dont find this product as great as they do.
Sep 07, 2008
10 Yes
9 No
I love my bounty hunter 202 and tesoro umax
Wayne in Virginia -I think of it as my coin hunting hound. I just cant use it enough on my days off from work. It loves silver coins. I also like the tesoro umax that is also great on silver. Both detectors are my keepers. Thanks bounty hunter and tesoro.
Sep 06, 2008
3 Yes
2 No
Great On Pinpointing
Bobby Wayne in Johnson City -To start off the bounty hunter is great at finding old coins. I found a few nice silver coins and a few nice copper wheats around old home sites that my trusty whites failed to pick out. Pinpointing is easy by moveing coil in an X pattern over target. At the strongest beep dig your target. In closeing of this review. Radioshack sells pinpointers for those that cant learn how to pinpoint. I also may add Radio shack sells hearing aids for those who think you need ears like a cat to here the tones. HH
Aug 28, 2008
6 Yes
2 No
The truth
wyoming hunter in Wyoming -So here it is this detector is a really good detector although it has some major flaws one being pin pointhing with the detector is not all that great but if you get used to it its accurate depth is pretty good not what you would get with a better detector for more money but for the price and it being bought at walmart you get your moneys worth. Another thing is that the coil is good but its going to act up on you in trashy areas pieces of foil will send it going crazy between foil and 1 cent. See I started on the quick silver 1 great machines I wouldn't say its the greatest beating other brands but it does a great job the stock coil is great awesome beginner detector, but down the line you may need to switch coils, I suggest the coil from the quick silver 1 if you can find one or the other smaller coil. All in all you will get your moneys worth.
Jul 26, 2008
4 Yes
3 No
Don't Know How You Can Beat It!
Del in Pittsburgh , PA -I just bought this pioneer 202 yesterday (July 13 2008, I watched the DVD and hit my buddies yard to see what this thing could do. I have never used a metal detector before or have ever talked to anyone about them, But I'm getting ready to go to the beach and I figured, what the heck, It will give me something to do in the evenings.
Anyhow within 15 min of searching I found his wedding ring he lost 9 years ago about 3 inches deep.
This detector paid for itself with-in 15 minutes of using it (In my eyes and his wifes anyhow.)
Took it to the river while fishing that evening too, Found a penny 4 inches deep in clay.
It is user friendly and the volume is fine especially since I have a tough time hearing lower tones.
Go ahead! Go get yourself one you wont be disappointed.
Jul 14, 2008
19 Yes
1 No