The pride of the Bounty Hunter Pro Series is the Land Ranger Pro model, featuring 7 preset modes that will get you excited for a hunting exercise and should turn you into a pro not many days after your first experience.
Looking for an ideal all-around detector that will help you comfortably find coins, jewelry, and relics, the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro is an excellent option.
The above submission may blow some fuses should you be only familiar with this particular model’s first design. Still, in recent times, the manufacturer has redesigned this model and now offers a lot of performance, considering its price.
The Land Ranger Pro metal detector is ideal for shallow water hunting, coins, jewelry, and relics detecting. It is also usable for both newbies and experts as it’s easier to master with no high learning curve.
In this Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro review, we will cover the features that make this detector an expert-level device and also some of its limitations.
The information provided in this review is detailed enough (per research and personal study) to provide the reader all that’s required to make an informed decision about the product.
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Features and Benefits
Auto and Manual Ground Balance
Whether an expert or newbie of a detectorist, terrains with high mineralized composition produce lots of problems for metal detecting, terrains like a magnetic rock (with high oxide environments) or beach (with high salt content) can cause interferences in detection.
This feature’s essence is to help the user identify potential targets even at reduced noise interference or chatter.
The computerized ground balance automatically recalibrates the device to the current ground condition.
However, some terrains may pose more challenging mineral composition adjustment; hence, the user can use the manual option to adjust the ground balance setting to make up for the hunting area’s condition for more efficient detection.
Ground Grab is a feature that works with Ground Balance in that the former “grabs” (or measures) the ground phase of the hunting area and matches it with the ground balance to eliminate ground minerals. This interconnection of features is excellent for hunting, especially when you’re consistently hunting over changing environments.
Detection Modes
Under detection modes, you may find information that reveals that the Bounty Hunter Ranger Pro has 7 detection modes, and that’s not wrong per se. But based on a technicality, the device features three detection modes, which are: Artifacts (Relics/Disc A), Coins (Disc C), and Jewelry (Disc J). These detection modes are designed for specific types of items. There is also the All-Metal Mode that signals for all types of metals that can be detected.
Audio tone modes include three modes, which make up the 7 detection modes. The three audio tone modes are Disc 2 (1 tone and V.C.O), Disc 3 (2 tones and V.C.O), and Disc 4 (3 tones and V.C.O). V.C.O (which means Voltage Controlled Oscillator) changes its pitch and volume with weak and low, or stronger and louder audio.
With this feature, you can determine how deep a target is, the type of metal, and its conductivity. For determining what type of metal it is, though, precision may come with adjoining features such as pinpoint mode, discrimination mode, and Target ID.
All-Metal Mode makes use of the V.C.O tone. On the other hand, the disc modes make use of the audio alongside the Target ID indicator. That is, when a Target ID number is set, all items with an ID number that falls below the specific set number will be heard with a low tone, while items above the ID number will be heard with V.C.O audio. The settings in Disc 3 and 4 change with medium and high tones, respectively.
Target ID
This feature is a two-digit numerical system, which helps the user make decisions before stressing to dig.
What do I mean? Before the innovation of Target ID, detectorists have to rely only on audio signals, interpreting them to determine the size, depth, and type of metal of the object detected. With Target ID that runs a scale of 1-99, interpretation becomes more efficient as low conductivity metals will have a lower number, and high conductivity metals will have a higher number.
It is also worthy of mention that Target ID also helps in fast target response and recovery speed. That way, the user can detect several items within proximity.
What do I mean? For instance, when the Target ID value signals rapidly (or erratically, if you like), there’s a high probability that more than one item is next to the other. In such a scenario, the user can use notching to investigate further and decide if it is worth digging or not.
Enhanced V-Break
If you’re unfamiliar with V-Break, it’s an audio response feature. The user can use this feature to produce low tones when the device picks signals from targets with a specific Target ID (however, not more than 69). There goes the do; the don’t is the user can’t use the V-break for targets that already have their discriminations set specific operating modes.
How to work the V-Break feature?
First off, you set your Target ID settings for a specific number such that all targets with an ID at that number and below will be heard in a low tone.
For instance, if you set the V-Break to 40, all items with Target ID from 0-40 will produce a low tone, while all items above 40 up to 99 will remain unchanged.
Coin Depth Detection
Generally, the coin depth detection of the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro is rated at 10 inches. However, some users have claimed to find coins at much greater depth.
Some factors must be considered before depth detection can be established for a particular terrain; they include target depth, soil condition, discrimination settings, etc. These factors can be adjusted to improve the device’s depth detection performance.
11 Inches Search Coil
The search coil is an oval-shaped and solid DD coil. The uniqueness of this coil (which you will not find in all metal detectors) is that due to its band-spread-like radiation, it locates targets better.
Advanced Notch Discrimination
With the Land Ranger Pro detector, all guesswork is eliminated. The device comes with preset discrimination to make hunting fun for you.
This feature’s inclusion helps to discriminate between wanted targets and junks, such as iron, foil, or aluminum junks. If you’re looking for a specific object or perhaps, you have a better knowledge of what you don’t want, pressing the Notch button should help you fine-tune through the mount of junks to pick your desired targets.
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Design and Appearance
Place the metal detector on the ground, and you should see a metal detector with a classic design. It is light-weighted (which is considered a huge advantage) designed with a shaft with a control unit, a shaft, and a coil.
Even though the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro may be considered a basic-level metal detector, it is designed with expert-level features such as All-Metal mode, Computerized Ground Grab, and Enhanced V-Break – features that are not necessarily seen on basic-level detectors.
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Performance
The Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro metal detector, being a VLF single frequency machine, operates at 7.69 kHz, appropriate for detecting small jewelry, coins, and relics but is somewhere on the average for most types of metal detecting.
In scenarios where EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) energy seems to be posing difficulty in detecting, the user can use the machine’s 10 sensitivity settings to adjust the metal detector for maximum performance.
This Bounty Hunter metal detector model is designed with an 11-inch DD search coil, which is excellent for covering large hunting ground, and quite importantly, it is waterproof. Hence, treasures lost in shallow waters are not exclusive to your hunting. By the way, the Land Ranger Pro got in our list of the best Bounty Hunter metal detectors, ranked 4th. Click the link to know who got the 1st spot.
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Specification
- Operating Frequency: 7.69 kHz
- Operating Mode: All Metal and Discriminate
- Ground Balance: Manual or Auto Ground Balance
- Circuitry Type: VLF
- Pinpoint Mode: Yes
- Search Modes: 7
- Number of Tones: 4
- Adjustable Sensitivity: Yes
- Visual Identification: LCD Screen
- Water-Resistant
- Warranty: 5 Years
The Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro comes with the following components:
- Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Metal Detector
- S-Rod with Control Housing and Arm Rest
- Search Coil
- Lower Stem
- Bolt and Knurled Knob
- Owner’s Manual
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Limitations
Poor Design for Saltwater Use
Even though one of the Bounty Hunter Ranger Pro metal detector’s excellent features is its auto and manual ground balance, it may yet find it challenging to perform accurately in high iron oxide environments as it would in saltwater conditions like the beach.
While Pulse Induction metal and multi-frequency VLFs have championed this metal detecting area, it is practically impossible for single frequency VLF metal detectors to operate at the same functionality and quality in wet terrains.
In freshwater, the metal detector performs okay, however, in shallow water, with its waterproof search coil, but there has not been much success with saltwater hunting. For saltwater treasure hunting, you can check out our guide to choosing saltwater metal detectors.
An expert may be able to tweak the ground balancing feature well enough to detect jewelry, coins, and the likes in saltwater, but that’s yet a poor review for users generally.
You may try reducing the machine’s sensitivity to a very low level in the bid to reduce chatter; however, this may cause the detector to miss good target items.
Pinpoint Button
The Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro comes with a display interface that can be operated with touch. Over time, the button dedicated for pinpointing seems to lose functionality, or its circuitry seems more difficult to engage.
Nevertheless, the manufacturer has corrected this in the new and upgraded model of this device. According to the manufacturer, “Our engineers have developed and implemented a design modification to improve the durability and longevity of this button.”
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy to use
- DD Coil
- Lightweight
- Sensitivity adjustment
- Manual and Auto Ground Balance
- Adjustable length
- Waterproof
- LCD Screen for visualization
- Target ID
- 5 years warranty
Cons
- No headphones in factory kit
- Not specifically designed for saltwater use
- Poor for gold prospecting
- Low operating frequency
- Pinpoint button
Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro FAQs
1. Is the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro waterproof?
The machine is designed with an 11-inch waterproof search coil that allows the user some flexibility in water hunting, especially in freshwater terrain, although at a shallow depth.
2. Is the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro good for saltwater?
The Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro is designed with auto and manual ground balancing to allow users to navigate terrain with difficult mineral composition; however, you may still struggle to use it in saltwater conditions. The machine was not specifically designed for saltwater use.
3. Can the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro detect gold?
With a low operating frequency of 7.69 kHz, this device is not sensitive enough for detecting gold nuggets.
4. How deep can the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro detect?
Judging by how deep the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro can detect coin-sized objects, it is safe to generally define its detecting depth at 10 inches deep (25cm).
Conclusion
How tired are you of complicated metal detectors? Or metal detectors that require a high learning curve? The Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro is an easy-to-use detector with great features.
The metal detector was designed with features that solve problems most detectorists face on the hunting ground.
First off, the intertwined auto and manual ground balance with the computerized ground grab solves the problem of detecting in terrains with different (and difficult) mineral compositions.
Target ID helps you identify targets and decide if it’s worth the stress of digging and increases recovery speed and target response; thereby, eliminating time wastage.
In the case of searching for specific targets and you’re familiar with the Target ID number, the enhanced V-Break feature comes to play here.
With this feature, you won’t have to bother about digging for every signal you pick; you get to know which signal to overlook and which to pay attention to. This way, it makes the acquisition of specific items easier and quicker.
You can click below to check out the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro metal detector.
