Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505
Price: $280
Avg. Score: 
4.42
Based on 38 reviews
4.42Based on 38 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.67
Avg. Ease of use:
5.00
Really !!!! 4 inches
October 07, 2015
So I was just reading the other reviews and this site and some of you are
saying the 505 is only 4 inches on a Quarter I beg to differ mona me !!!!
The 505 does 10-12 inches on a quarter with the sensitivity maxed out and
no disc and 7 inches on a copper penny and about 18-20 inches on 3 keys
held together I just did the test 5 minutes ago it is an air test not as
valid as a in ground test but still a lot deeper than 4 inches on a
quarter, you have to turn your machine on first to get a valid reading, and
I just used the stock 8 inch coil, it does not have a lot of features like
the really expensive detectors but if you want to find targets and deep
ones this guy will do it even in black sands, I have always been impressed
with the depth of the BH 505, all of the other manufacturers go on and on
about features, the Mount Fugi water cooled search coil, internet reception
with the optional cowboy hat antenna!!
Anyway this is a very deep inexpensive machine and works great, and as far as VDI or ID numbers the other machines don't do it any better after 6 inches even if you pay more than a $1000 for your detector, guys that whine about VDI numbers have no experience with detectors and all of my Machines even my Pulse Induction detector identify a deep rusty nail as a good target. A lot of the complaints I have read on this review site are just common gliches that all detectors do when using one, and that includes my Minelab detectors and when you hunt in coin mode all detectors are going to disc out a lot of good targets due to ground conditions and reduce your detection depth put your detector in all metal or turn off all discrimination, the BH 505 will go very deep esp in all metal mode but only in the ground it has no depth in an air test!!!! You have to learn your machine and understand how most metal detectors perform in the field !!!
Max Depth: 12 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Niel from
Vancouver ,WA
285
Easy to use - works!
September 30, 2014
I picked mine up used from a guy for $80. Found the instruction manual
online, popped in two 9 volt batteries and followed the instructions. Talk
about easy to use. I brought it down the beach for a half hour to practice
with this morning. Found a 1966 quarter and a 2012 dime. The dime was at
4". The quarter was at 6-8". I know zero about metal detecting and I found
stuff within 10 minutes. The coolest part is the detector tells you what it
is and how deep. This is a great machine. My fiancée now wants to treasure
hunt for her vacation. Lol. Talk about fun!
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
John from
SW florida
183
Bounty hunter 505
June 10, 2014
Several years ago when I retired I bought a cheap metal detector and never
did find much with it. I searched my front yard and determined that there
was nothing of worth in the ground.
Yesterday I received my bounty hunter 505, put it together and decided to test it in my front yard not expecting to find much. I searched for no more than a hour and found 2 quarters, one dime, 2 pennies, and what was left of charm bracelet. I am impressed with the ease of using this machine and how well it works. This is a great entry level detector for the money that will produce results of higher price machines. Thank you Bounty Hunter for getting me excited about metal detecting again.
Max Depth: 4 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Martin Buehler from
Yakima Washington
125
A new life for your BH 505
November 17, 2012
The bounty hunter 505 was the first metal detector I bought and my only
detector for a very long time. Recently I noticed that kellyco had a 11
inch elliptical double d coil for the 505. I have tested the 11 inch
double d both inland and river sands which are mineralized and magnetic.
I did read that the double d coils handle difficult soils better and I
would certainly agree. The new 11 inch double d coil works very well in difficult soils and turns my BH 505 into a world class detector good on most any ground. The 11 inch search scan saves your back and arms because of its over all search area. The 505 once again surprises me with superior performance. That 11 inch double d coil expands your BH 505 well beyond most other detectors. I use full sensitivity and 0 discrimination while watching the displays for target information and listening for the desirable tones. I did successfully read a small gold sample with this coil. Happy hunting.
Overall Rating
kb from
mid west USA
303
Salt Water Beaches
March 24, 2012
I have the Pioneer 505, and am having difficulty on salt water beaches.
Have found some coins on dry sandy beaches, but getting a lot of chatter on
the wet sand. Any suggestions ?
Overall Rating
Rich Tenore from
Pembroke, MA
7021
Great beginner detector
February 16, 2012
Not a bad detector for the price. I paid about $150. 00 at wal-mart.
I've been using this model for about 4 years now and every time I go out I find at least one coin. I'm not going to say I have found valuable coins or artifacts because I haven't. This was my first metal detector that I have ever bought and I was 39 at the time. It definitely finds metal. I am very pleased with it and do not regret buying it.
it's not too heavy, has decent depth and is pretty accurate. If you want a good beginners detector for a fair price then this is the one for you or your kids/grandkids. I live in South Carolina and we have hard red clay. I get a lot of mixed signals and dig a lot of trash but still for the price this detector does a great job of finding a few coins and keeping my hopes up of finding that civil war button or pre-1900's coin. If you have good soil you should be able to get better signals at a greater depth.
Since I have a few years of detecting under my belt I'm going to buy a minelab safari for my next detector and pass my 505 down to my 14 year old daughter.
As with any detector the keys to finding anything is learning your machine(no matter what brand) being patient and dig every signal no matter what. You never know, that one signal you don't dig could be that treasure you've been looking for.
Overall Rating
Mike G. from
Upstate South Carolina
355
New to the game
August 11, 2011
Just got this at a pawn shop and we hit the park in Hotsprings Ark, found
the video on you tube to be very helpful and its easy to use. Good machine.
Overall Rating
Terry from
Afton ,Oklahoma
2012
I'm impressed
May 06, 2011
I bought my first metal detector, a bounty hunter DE 280 Outlaw in 1980,
used it for more than 20 years then switched to a White's coin master. I
didn't care much for the coin master and ended up putting the metal
detecting hobby on hiatus in favor of sailing. Not long ago, the wife indicated she would like to give it a try. We ended up with a Pioneer 505. I'm still learning to use this thing but so far, I'm really impressed. The depth is incredible, at least it seems so. I dug a silver dollar-sized token out of the ground today at all of 11 inches - and that was using the auto-notch feature. I expected to lose depth since it's a type of discrimination, but at that deep, I'm more than satisfied.
The pinpoint feature takes most of the work out of trying to figure out exactly where to dig. I carry a trowel shaped digger, a long bladed screwdriver and a pin pointer. At first I was digging big plugs. By the second day I was down to using the screwdriver only for most objects.
And for you folks who don't like the hand-held pin pointer, I think you're insane. Yes, it's range is tiny, less than 1 inch but quickly learned that it saves pawing through loose dirt and often discover I need to dig just a bit more.
I didn't like the three-toned signal at first. I guess I was missing that little threshold hum from the early days, but am learning to like it just fine.
A few cons, the target id seems to lose it's validity with deeper objects. It still comes through as a "dig this" tone, but around 7-8 inches a real silver dollar starts sliding down the scale towards a penny.
Until you get it tune right, you'll be dealing with a lot of un-repeatable signals.
I'm sure there will be more, but for now, that's about it. Overall, I really like this detector.
Overall Rating
Michael Brown from
Kingsport, TN
628
Good All-Around Detector
December 06, 2010
My brother gave me his Pioneer 505 as I was really starting to get into the
hobby last spring and summer - but my detector was a very cheap model and
was only able to detect objects down about 3-4". Once I learned the
"language" of the BH 505 I suddenly began digging older, deeper coins and
relics immediately! Over a one month period I brought home: Morgan silver
dollar, Barber quarter, several Barber dimes, numerous silver Mercury head
and Roosevelt dimes, a few "V" nickels, three "Buffalo" nickels, over 60
older wheat cents - plus old metal toys, pocket watches, rings, earrings
and assorted silver and gold jewelry! This detector finds it all!The only thing I am hoping for is a rain cover for it so I can hunt on the wet days. Battery life is about 6-8 hours of constant hunting - not too shabby, but it can get expensive if you hunt as much as I do. Luckily I was able to invest some of my finds back into the battery purchase budget to keep going.
I would highly recommend this model for those just starting out or for intermediate hunters. Easy to learn and I do like that it has a constant volume so you don't miss any faint signals as happens on other models.
Overall Rating
Chris B. from
Saint Paul, MN
776
Excellent Treasure Hunter
November 07, 2010
I purchased the 505 per a Kellyco's rep suggestion for a vacation trip to
Hawaii in August 2010. I did not find gold in Hawaii because I went to hunt
only once and spent more time exploring around than detecting. Makes sense
when it's your first trip to Hawaii anyways. However, since August, I have
found a lot more things to date with this machine than with my BH
Tracker-IV, another good machine. I have found over $150 in clad coins, 5
silver coins, including a 1877 Liberty Seated dime worth $38, a dozen or
so wheat pennies, 4 silver rings, and one 10kt ring, among other
interesting things, like an old antique copper locket.This detector can go really deep on coins, but especially on large objects. Excellent coin retriever and really light. Yes, some erratic beeps on trashy areas, but it's a matter of getting to distinguish them. I know exactly when it found a coin and when it's just reacting to the ground. Very pleased with it.
Overall Rating
Roberto from
Chicago, IL
448