Bounty Hunter Fast Tracker
Price: $130
Avg. Score: 
3.75
Based on 12 reviews
3.75Based on 12 reviews
Avg. Durability:
5.00
Avg. Ease of use:
5.00
Reliable non-expensive detector
June 07, 2017
I have been metal detecting for 8 years now. I own many different makes and
models, from Tesoro to Minelab, and collect them. Must say this machine is
not bad at all, it's about getting to know the machine, and see how you can
get the best out of it. I have it rigged to a more popular coil--the 8 inch
size. I have dug relics over 10 inches to about a foot deep in a heavily
hunted park, no problem. The all metal mode is excellent for hunting in the
woods. As a "keep in the car machine", this one has not let me down.
Max Depth: 8 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Albert from
New Jersey
00
Ebay purchased - mixed feelings
August 16, 2012
Hi, I just bought a fast tracker and used it yesterday and today. While
it works good as far as detecting metals it has a little less than stellar
target identification. Discrimination will not eliminate zinc pennies but
instead give a gravely low tone (the same tone jewelry and nickels give on
low discrimination. ) On a lower setting say 11 o' clock the sound for
nickels pops and gives a high tone and a gravely broken low tone. This I
don't like. I also do not like the low tone as it sounds distorted. For all I know this detector fell in a lake in a past life so who knows. I found several coins mostly zinc pennies which sound a high tone but everything except nickels and gold seems to sound a high tone even aluminum cans and wads of foil. So you are kind of left to dig a lot.
My question is why in the world would I use this detector when I have a perfectly good Discovery 2000/Lone Star detector made by the same company that is vastly superior. I'll use it some more and try and get used to it and maybe keep it for a backup detector.
Overall Rating
Ken from
Sisters, Oregon
43
The good and the Bad
November 30, 2011
I have been metal detecting for over 35 years and this is my 5th detector.
It is not the best nor the worse one I have owned. First the good. I have had the Bounty Hunter fast tracker IV for about 2 months now and made almost $200.00 with it. About $30 in change and the rest from gold rings I found and sold. So it does work.
Now the bad.
This is a beginners detector no ifs ands or buts. The old silver coins are NOT going to be found with this detector. I did 3 different tests to see what was wrong and the problem is, even with a quarter, max depth is 5-6". Most older coins are going to be in your 6-9" range. You get what you pay for and I will keep this one, however going to splurge for something better for the deeper silver.
Overall Rating
Jack from
Florida
376
The Best Beer Can Locator ever made.
August 31, 2011
I purchased my fast tracker at Radio Shack. For a bit under $100. I found
a toy die cast car under some pebbles in an abandoned park. Not much else.
It doesn't seem to register coins unless they are right on the surface.
However, the impressive (and annoying) talent of this machine is to be able
to detect an old beer can up to 12" below ground! Man, it was frustrating
to dig a foot down with a little hand trowel to find a beer can. This
happened 3 times in an hour. Anything else it can only detect about an
inch below surface. I am convinced though, that I could find a beer can
from China with this contraption.
Overall Rating
Jeremiah from
MD
183
We found gold
July 05, 2010
Our first treasure was finding our Bounty Hunter Fast Tracker for 3 bucks
at a local Goodwill store. We found a few things right off the bat in our
yard - nails, pop-tabs etc. After playing with it a few times out we found
$2.25 cents in one hole in our yard all at different depths, from a couple
of inches to 8 or ten inches. We found a toy car a foot down, and a key
about 6 inches. Yesterday we found a 14K mens ring at a 30 + years
abandoned house several inches down. We love our Bounty Hunter!!
Overall Rating
Robyn from
Westport, IN
235
Great Little Relic Machine
September 12, 2009
I see a lot written about many different models of Bounty Hunter machines
out there but I haven't seen much about the one that I purchased. I bought
a Fast Tracker new a little over a month ago and have been putting it to
work on weekends as time allows. So far, I am impressed with this machine.
I am surprised that some national dealers market it as a "kids
detector"I bought it for relic hunting mostly. I know that it does not have notch disc. or a digital read out to tell you how deep your target is, but that is ok for me.
Here is what I found impressive. It has great depth and is good with target seperation. With the stock 7" coil, I found a horseshoe at approximately 9". I also found a U nail (fence staple) used for tacking up barbed wire at 4". What was neat about the U nail was that I got two solid signals when I swung the coil over it slowly. I got a hit for each side of the U nail.
I bought the optional 10" coil and was blown away with the depth! I recovered the top of an old Sinclair oil can at over 18"! I had a SOLID signal from the very beginning. Please note, I use this machine with maximum sensitivity and no discrimination. I have also found smaller items with the larger coil including a Civil War era round lead ball at around 5"
I was a bit worried that I was not getting any hits from coins with it, so I took it to a tot lot to test it out and found two pennies in the first two minutes (one copper and one zinc). I ended up with four pennies, one dime a quarter in under 30 minutes.
There are not a lot of bells and whistles on this machine but in my opinion, they are not needed for what I do. Do not be afraid of this machine just because it is inexpensive or is marketed as a kids machine.
I'm not trying to push one machine over another but I am trying to let people know one person's experiences with this machine.
Overall Rating
Doug from
The Ozarks
513
Very Good . Inexpensive,.......But Not Cheap
March 25, 2009
Found mine at the flea market. Like new, with headphones and batteries for
only $20.Works fantastic! I found some coins in my yard before going to work this morning.I should have called in sick and took it to the park.
I think the real treasure was finding this detector for only $20. What a steal! I can't wait until things dry up a bit(It's been raining here), so I can get out there again and find some more $$$$$$.
Overall Rating
Christopher from
NY
60
Dont waste your money
May 07, 2008
I am very disappointed with this detector. I buried a quarter under about
3" of sand and it wouldn't pick it up. The discrimination doesn't work
either. I took it back 2 hours after I bought it. Save your money because
the only thing you will find with this detector is the feeling of being
ripped off.
Overall Rating
Benny v from
Fernie B.C. Canada
1416
Great budget detector
August 07, 2007
Well, I don't have a bunch of experience with more expensive detectors, but
this little detector seems great value for money (purchased on Amazon for
$80). The first thing I did after putting in the batteries was head out
into my back yard with two dimes to see if I could detect them easily when
buried. Buried one around 4" deep, left the other on the surface in the
grass and found both easily. I also found another dime a few feet away.
Taking it to the beach I found its weak spot...black sand. Even with the sensitivity turned way down and discrimination turned up it still gave a lot of false bleeps and pops.
It worked well in sand a little way in from the beach black sand deposits though, at our campsite we found a bunch of rusty tent pegs, bolts, a couple of coins, an old rusty iron stake and a lot of melted aluminum.
The kids enjoyed using this detector and it seems fairly robust so we will be taking it on all our family outings.
Overall Rating
Rob O. from
Camas, WA
151
Not impressed
December 27, 2005
I've been MDing for nearly 40 years, and yesterday borrowed a Fast Tracker
so my son could have a machine to swing while I was hunting a beach. I
spent half an hour trying to get the machine useable. New batteries didn't
help. In dry sand near fresh water (no black sand), it generated little
more than pops, clicks, and false targets. Frustrated, he finally turned
it off and quit trying to use it. He shared mine the rest of the trip.
It could be this particular unit was defective, though it was less than three months old, and had seen little use. The other reviews are very positive on this machine, but after yesterday's experience, I wouldn't buy one.
Overall Rating
Allen McB from
Starkville, MS USA
1011