40 of 47 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Peter Netzel

User Experience: 7+ years

Submitted on: Mar 20, 2008

User Rating:

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How My Bounty Hunter Land Star Shined!

The first machine I ever purchased to go metal detecting was a Bounty Hunter Land Star. I had been pondering the hobby of metal detecting for about 20 years. I finally made the leap and spent the low amount for this machine. Of course I needed to have the approval of my wife first. She was of the opinion that I would not stick to this hobby for very long. In fact her family and every one I knew laughed at me. But unbeknown to all parties I was to do very well with this machine.

I got that machine home, and hobbled right out the door after putting it together, which was a simple matter for even me. The instructions that came with it made it real easy to assemble. I slapped in a couple of batteries and made a few passes and dug my first couple of ate up zinc pennies.

This isn't too bad, then I had to rest, after all I just had a joint replacement the week before. Yep, like I said I hobbled out the door to go hunting treasure.

Over the next couple of weeks I hunted various locations such as grassy strips and parks and even slowed down like I was by the end of the hunting season I had found enough clad to almost pay for the machine. There were even a few silver coins and two Indian heads to boot! The adjustments I made when I turn the unit on were real simple.

The sensitivity knob turned the unit on and I would turn it about 1/2 of the way, unless the detector acted erratic, in that case I would back it off a bit until it was stable. The disc/notch knob I would only turn up slightly just in case I ran over a nickel or possibly a gold ring. I only hunted on Disc mode and that was all I ever needed. Could it have done more if I used the other modes such as auto notch or all metal?

I guess I'll never know, but I did make some good finds with the Land Star. I also made some interesting discoveries about detecting and where various items read up. The target indicator of any metal detector is only programmed to the most common of targets. But thru use I learned if my machine told me the target was in the nickel/scrap range I better check it out. Some of those ended up being Civil War buttons, sometimes they were tokens.

I also learned that with this unit if the target bounced between zinc penny and screw cap, I better dig it and in most cases it happened to be an Indian head cent. In a way I cheated by hunting demo sites where the top of the soil and most trash was removed for me. This resulted in a very high ratio of better stuff. By 18 months into the hobby I had dug my first and only gold coin. But that one was the exception rather than the rule. So for this short article/story I shall present an Indian head cent I found during a hunt that also paid for the purchase cost of this metal detector. The coin is in a little better shape than the photo shows, it has all the letters to Liberty.

The value is about the cost of the machine and continues to go up a bit each year. If one decides to purchase a unit such as this one from Kellyco, I feel they are making a sound decision for their first unit. Why I feel so is simple; the cost is reasonable, the amount of clad will in time equal the purchase price of the unit. Also other factors would be the high price of precious metals such as silver and gold today. To top all this off, the fun and adventure of a whole new world will open up to you. You just might make some friends in the hobby along the way!

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37 of 54 people found this review helpful:

Review by: David Horlacher

User Experience: 4-6 years

Submitted on: Mar 17, 2008

User Rating:

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The first time I ever picked up a metal detector was to find a set of keys I lost in deep grass. I borrowed a old Bounty Hunter Big Bud Pro off a neighbor. I turned it on and started sweeping the coil like I had seen a few people do before. Within 5 minutes I heard a beep and the display told me it was a Quarter.

I took out my shovel and started digging, it turned out to be a 1945 silver quarter, it looked new and was astonished that I dug up something that old. I started sweeping again and digging for about 3 hours. I dug a total of 18 silver coins that day. I was hooked and I never found my Keys. I decided that day that I wanted my own metal detector and only using a Bounty Hunter once in my life I decided to purchase a Bounty Hunter Land Star.

It had everything I was looking for. Target ID and a Depth Meter. 2 weeks later my new metal detector arrived. At first glance I thought I was in over my head, The dials and readout display looked complicated. I read the manual and everything seemed to fall in place. The manual explained everything I wanted to know and often gave tips and pictures on how to operate. Once finished reading the manual I was very comfortable on turning it on. I put in 2 9 volt batteries and the turned the switch. The detector came to life. I proceeded to run out the front door with the detector in hand.

After a quick and easy startup sequence like the manual instructed. I was swinging away.A few coins later I decided to go to the same area I lost my keys in a few weeks ago.

While detecting that area I was amazed at the accuracy of the display, The display was very easy to read and it told me what I was digging. 99% of the time it was correct. I spent a total of 4 hours that day detecting and another 8 silver coins and about $10.00 in change.
You could say I was hooked to the hobby. A hobby that pays for itself was my kind of hobby. Over the next 2 years I seen my silver coin collection grow and alot of extra money in my pocket.

I would recommend this detector to anyone interested in the hobby. To many times people buy a low end detector and give up so quick. The Bounty Hunter Land-Star is easy to use and very accurate. The discrimination of the detector was no brainer. and enjoyed the 4 modes of operation that anyone can use. The Land-Star is light and rugged for those all day detecting trips and while operating on 2-9 volt batteries it is in-expensive to operate. So if you are just starting out detecting! I highly recommend the Bounty Hunter Land-Star

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35 of 51 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Richard Doud

User Experience: 7+ years

Submitted on: Apr 10, 2008

User Rating:

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I like to search for everything, coins, jewelry, gold nuggets. It’s all good to me. The Bounty Hunter Land Star is easy to tune.

You just turn it on and set the ground balance and push the discriminate button and you’re ready to go. I don't know how but several times I have had a 1/2 dollar reading and there would be 2 quarters in the hole.

I think my deepest coin find with this detector was a 1902 barber dime at about 6 inches. What a surprise that was. It is my only barber coin. The ID meter is easy to read and quit accurate. I have found many gold and silver rings. On average, I get out at least once month and always get a good coin count. My last two outings to local schools and parks have netted over 38 coins each for two hour hunt time. I have been detecting for about thirty years and enjoy the Bounty Hunter Line very much. I would recommend this detector to beginners and pros as well. For the price, I think it is an exceptional machine.

My wife also uses this brand of detector and together we have found over five hundred dollars in a year’s time. I hate to admit it but she has out done me on numerous occasions. The detector is light weight and easy to swing for hours at a time.

I really like the push button features on the face of the detector. The three tone audio discrimination really helps to ID the target without looking at the meter.

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20 of 22 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Erik Schefler

User Experience: Newbie

Submitted on: Apr 6, 2008

User Rating:

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The Bounty Hunter Land Star is an intermediate detector that usually sells for about $350. The Land Star features 3 mode discrimination, ground trac, and no motion discrimination. The Land Star has two LCD bars that show that type of metal being detected and what denomination the coin is. Also on the control panel is depth chart that goes up to 10 inches.

I used this detector mainly for coinshooting and it worked pretty well. I found a decent amount of coins, some older silver coins and jewelry.

What I like about the Land Star is the Ground Trac feature. This allows the detector to discriminate the difference between the soil and a target. This comes in handy for soil that has a lot of minerals in it. I also like the no motion discrimination mode. You can use this to pinpoint a target without moving the coil.

What I dont really like about the Land Star is that sometimes you may get a hit as a quarter and then you will dig a piece of scrap metal. Also I found that the stock coil is a little small and may need upgrading.

Overall, this detector is great for getting into the hobby. It has some great features that many higher end models have for a much cheaper price! I give this detector 4 stars for its all around great features.

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16 of 18 people found this review helpful:

Review by: Robin Loev

User Experience: 7+ years

Submitted on: Mar 27, 2008

User Rating:

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A few years ago, I purchased a Bounty Hunter Land Star metal detector. A friend of mine (with many years of experience in metal detecting) recommended this model, because it works very well and is very light weight.

I like to search for coins, and I often times find jewelry in the process. This detector is very easy to use. You turn it on; turn the ground balance knob all the way clockwise. Press the all metal mode tab, then press the ground track tab. Then lower the coil to the ground and then lift it up, if the sound increases turn the ground balance knob counterclockwise until the sound is almost gone. You are now ready to search. It only takes about thirty seconds to set the machine up and you are ready to hunt. You can set the discrimination knob so you won't pick up any foil or nails. You just place a nickel under the coil and turn the disc/notch knob so you can just hear nickels and you are all set. Swing the coil left and right take a step or two as you swing. As soon as you hear a beep, look at the screen and check the target ID.

If there is an arrow pointing to twenty five cents, you can be sure you have a quarter under the coil. The machine also will indicate depth at the same time. I find this metal detector very easy to use, and very accurate. It also is good at pinpointing the target. The sound gets loudest as the center of the coil is directly over the target. I have found some very small gold rings down as far as five inches with this metal detector, while out searching for coins. I would highly recommend this metal detector to beginners as well as very experienced treasure hunters. Its greatest asset is it weighs hardly anything so your arm won't get tired as your hunting.

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