Bounty Hunter Discovery 3300

I like my 3300.

FJ in South San Francisco -
I purchased this detector because it has all the features I wanted in a metal detector without costing a lot of money. Actually, it has more bang for the buck than all the detectors on the market in my opinion. I didn't want to spend over $200 on any detector. So, when I saw that the model 3300 Bounty Hunter Discovery Metal Detector with Pinpoint and a lot of extra features was on sale at a hundred dollar savings, I jumped on it. And after I made my purchase I headed for a small beach-front on the western side of the San Francisco bay.
Right out of the box assembly was done in less than three minutes! The batteries slipped right in the compartment and the compartment cover fit beautifully. I powered up the detector and the display lit up, just as the instruction manual indicated it would. Also, this unit is well made and light in weight, and looks good too!
I field tested it right after assembly and everything worked fine. I was impressed with the readability of the large display, even in direct sun light. I followed the recommended directions and the detector preformed as promised. I really like the four tone target ID on this unit. Low tone "soft deep bellow", mid-range tone "mild elevated bellow", upper range tone, and a high tone "high beep" target identification alarms worked smoothly. Controls are simple and straight forward, and as long as one takes the time to read and follow the instructions there should be no problems. The directions were short and easy to understand, and after reading them I found I liked everything about this detector even more.
I had no problem with ground balance and the soil was fairly mineral laden beach sand. The target pinpoint worked nicely as did the discrimination functions in discrimination mode. Sensitivity control set to a lower setting gave better results in All Metal and Discrimination Modes with only moderate depth reduction noticed. At higher sensitivity settings I noticed a few false signals, so I reduced the setting and the unit calmed down. Six to nine inches is about average for target depth detection with this unit under the conditions I just mentioned, which were horrible. First, there was salt water, sandy beach front, and trash filled park conditions at and above the beach area. Oh, in the pinpoint mode the depth this thing is able to read a target at is very good with 10" to 12" about average for larger objects! So, if one thinks there is something worth while after hearing and seeing questionable audio and visual data but is not sure, be sure and check this kind of target with pinpoint no motion mode before giving up!
I'm sure the model 3300 can do the job just as good as other units that come along with a promise of better depth and a higher price. I held off on the extended warranty and bought extra batteries instead. Even if I would of bought the extended warranty I would have still have been way ahead considering what others are charging for something with similar or fewer features. I sure like my model 3300 Bounty Hunter Discovery Metal Detector with Pinpoint, and I'll always remember how much money I saved!
There you have it, in as few words as possible, a good value for the $. FJ 5/11/06

May 12, 2006

45 Yes
3 No

Was this helpful to you? 

Nice!

Wolf in USA -
This is the sleeper of Bounty Hunter Detectors. Many people don't realize it is made by Bounty Hunter not Radio Shack. It has an all digital display with VDI and manual ground balance. It is lightweight and very accurate. Plus the depth is great. The only flaws I find are Radio Shack's 90 day warranty (all other Bounty Hunters are 5 years) and the battery compartment door which has a weak hinge. Other than that I think more people should discover it.

Mar 03, 2006

17 Yes
4 No

Was this helpful to you? 

Me and discovery 3300

Jackson in Australia -
esta detector en verdad apesta, tiene una profundidad bien leve y detecta cualquier pendejadita, hasta madera!!!

Jan 17, 2006

5 Yes
69 No

Was this helpful to you? 

DISCOVERY 3300 BEST KEPT SECRET

Tony in Oklahoma -
This little unit is one of the best detectors I have ever used and I have been detecting since the late 1980's. It goes head to head with the best. Excellent depth, accurate discrimination, lightweight, and all the needed features. Dont let the fact that Radio Shack sells it stop you. It is made by Bounty Hunter. They have produced a winner in this one. Time for First Texas to produce a new line of detectors patterned after this model.

Nov 19, 2005

39 Yes
4 No

Was this helpful to you? 

Best Detector we have had in years of searching.

Marilyn J. Singer in P.O. Box 697, Kingman, Az. 86402 -
My husband passed away March 23rd., 2005. He used the Discovery 3300Bounty Hunter with great success. When the Colorado River went down a bit we searched the shorelines with some wonderful "finds". I cannot continue to use the detector because of having cancer which left me disabled and on oxygen 24-7. I loaned our detector to a friend who trashed the box and lost the directions. So much for trusted friends. If anyone has a copy of the directions I will pay your price for them or a copy of them. My email is singer.marilyn@gmail.com. I pray for help from someone who knows that I cannot sell this machine without directions. I will gladly pay for your time and trouble. Sincerely,

Aug 18, 2005

17 Yes
6 No

Was this helpful to you? 

The best 'Discovery' I made is the one I bought!

John M .Gibson in Jackson, MS -
New to metal detecting, I wanted a mid-point detector that offered the normal video information in addition to multi-tone audio found on most metal detectors today. I hunted with a friend a time or two who let me use his Bounty Hunter Time Ranger and I was impressed, but a bit intimidated by all of the features. I wanted sort of a 'little brother' to the Land Ranger and Time Ranger, but with the manual ground-balance feature of the LandStar. My search included all of the major manufacturers and I finally found and settled on the RadioShack Discovery 3300 as the perfect solution.

The detector has 4 audio tones which delineates the lower 2 target categories that are lumped together by the main Bounty Hunter branded models. It also separates the Iron target category into 3 segments, yielding better separation on smaller gold items as well as iron targets, resulting in 11 target categories overall. The numeric VDI is stable and accurate as deep as the detector will detect. The unit incorporates automatic ground-balancing in the motion All-Metal/Disc modes and the manual ground-balance feature is great in mineralized soils when operating in the PinPoint mode.

The unit operates at 6.5 kHz and is very lightweight at a touch under 2.5 lbs with both 9V batteries installed when fitted with standard 8" coil. I purchased the 4" and 10" auxillary coils sold by Bounty Hunter which can be used on the detector and they work quite well. The control box and coils must be sent into the factory to have the coils calibrated to the machine.

The units sounds the 4 audio tones at start-up and goes into the default 'All-Metal' mode which is a motion-all-metal mode (like running in Discrimination mode with the discriminator set to accept all metals). Pressing the All-Metal/Disc touchpad toggles the unit between the default All-Metal mode and the motion Discriminate mode. Discriminate mode starts with the 3 lower-most iron categories rejected. Pressing the up and down Discriminate arrow-shaped touchpads adds or subtracts target categories to be discriminated. Pressing the PinPoint touchpad allows for deeper searching and excellent pinpointing. The PinPoint mode is actually a no-motion-all-metal mode and the video is turned off in this hunting mode. The detector is a single-tone, non-discriminator in the PinPoint mode, but is quite deep in its search capability.

The ZAP! feature works in the All-Metal/Disc motion modes and eliminates single targets when the touchpad is pressed. A Notch feature is also included that allows selective notching of the 7 lower-most target categories for customized hunting sitations.

I have found the detector to be able to detect dimes at 7" measured depth in my moderate Central Mississippi soil with the standard 8" coil and the default sensitivity setting. For a selling price of $299 it's a lot of detector for the money and performs better than I expected. I purchased the optional 3-Year extended warranty for $59 and a set of RadioShack full-muff headphones with individual volume controls for $20.

I really like this detector and have found some good things with it. I like hunting in the default All-Metal mode to see how much trash is at a site and can ZAP! out certain targets that are numerous at a given site. The numeric VDI helps to reconcile the TID categories and the audio to allow the detectorist to dig only the targets he's searching for. Target separation with the 4" coil is excellent and depth with the 10" coil (especially in the PinPoint) mode is ridiculous. It will detect some items that are deeper than you'll want to dig.

I once got a strong signal in the PinPoint mode (relic hunting) and outlined it. It appeared to be a round profile (potential cache!). I switched back to All-Metal and couldn't detect it at all, then swithched back to PinPoint and could lift the coil about 10 to 12 inches before I lost the signal. I found the top of the mason jar at 17" measured depth, but it was just the lid...no jar or money! The point is that this detector is an easy turn-on-and-go unit that is highly programmable for the veteran user and has adequated depth. It is affordably priced and offers unbeatable value for fully-featured detectors with VDI.

Kellyco now offers the Titan 3000XD, which is a twin to the Discovery 3300, but includes a 5-Year warranty and the upgraded upper stem assembly with the larger armcup and locking collar to stabilize the lower rod (I paid $20 for the upgrade when the unit was sent in for coil calibration).

I really like my Discovery 3300 and am having a blast hunting with it. Thanks to Bounty Hunter and RadioShack for teaming up together to get this little gem to the market! The only downside or change I would like to see incorporated is the ability to save your hunting setup when switching back and forth between the motion All-Metal/Disc modes and the PinPoint mode. The setup is fast and easy to do, but it would make hunting a bit more enjoyable. I would recommend the Discovery 3300 without reservation for beginners or veterans alike.

Dec 03, 2004

294 Yes
12 No

Was this helpful to you?