Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro - Help needed

[oaktree]

HELP! Tried this in the Bounty Hunter community group but it's not very active so reposting here.

I am a new user of the Land Ranger Pro. I guess I'm going through the growing pains of a beginner but thought it would be nice to get some tips and tricks from the veterans. Before getting permissions to detect a person's yard I wanted to be able to get more proficient with the machine so I would not dig their entire yard, so I've been "practicing" in local parks, around my own house and around local schools. I'm really interested in finding older coins, so I am expecting to block out iron and likely have to sometimes look a little deeper for targets.

1. The signals seem very jumpy. When I'm scanning something it's not uncommon for it to ring up as 76 on one pass, then 35, then 62 then 17. Any advice on what to do in those cases? I've tried sweeping from a different angle and its often the same thing. Once I dig, it is just a single object so why all the different signals??

2. Very tough to determine depth. I've spent a few hours in a small local park with fairly nicely kept grass. Even with the pinpointer mode, what shows as a 3 inch depth often isn't found until i've cut the plug and then dug down several inches further. I don't want to dig a 8 inch deep plug unless I *know* I'm going to be digging an 8 inch plug. As a result, I've just been running on sensitivity = 2 so I am only finding near-surface items.

4. Identification. The last time I was in the small park experimenting, I decided to crank up the sensitivity and then only dig solid signals in the quarter and up range. I was excited to see a very solid 88-91 signal from multiple directions (even though PP showed it as 8 inches deep). I decided this one would be worth digging. Finally, after digging a 10+ inch deep hole I found the source to be a small metal sign that rang up differently out of the ground (I need to confirm what is is reading on an air test I can't remember -- but definitely NOT 88-91!)

I'd appreciate any recommendations on the best way to get up to speed with the LRP other than just dig every signal. I am using the stock 11" DD coil that came with it -- I have read a couple of old posts that suggest using an adapter with a 5" or 7" coil from Teknetics or NEL? Has anyone tried that and what would it do for me? Should I just reserve the Land Ranger Pro for large open areas (like an old homestead site) and get a different detector for the park searches?

 

[TheHunterGT]

1. Depending on the shape and conductivity of an object...it may jump around like that. Most foil bits and aluminum can slaw bits will jump around and give different signals each pass. Squares and triangles and non-round shapes will usually jump around the ID.

Keep in mind many deep coins can jump around as well. So if in doubt dig it out.

2. Depth readouts of all detectors are just a best guess for a coin sized object. So if it is a very large target like a can and at 6-7-8 inches...it may still show as 3-4 inches. Same with a surface small item. It may show as 3 inches but may really be 1-2 inches since it is so small.

3. Soil conditions can change the ID of an object below VS above. Very common. In an iron rich soil you may get some wild numbers on a coin at 4-5 inches.

LRP is great for parks and for relic sites. Passes the long nail test easily with the 11DD coil and separates fairly well also. Something many detectors 2-3X its price fail at. Has Vbreak and multiple tone options via the "modes". I would personally put 100 hours into it before I started with a 2nd detector.

LRP is one of the best values for the $$ in all of detecting. Learn it well and it will find the goods for you.

 

[oaktree]

Thank you so much TheHunterGT for the response! I was thinking maybe I'm the only one on here with a Land Ranger Pro!

Would you recommend trying a smaller coil for park hunting? I was actually really surprised that you said the LRP is great for trash-filled park hunting! I've tried All Metal mode, Coin mode, and mode 4. All of them pretty much go crazy the entire time unless I drop sensitivity down to 1 or 2.

My "fear" is that as I begin asking people for permission to hunt their yard, I would rather focus on coin signals and not dig 100 plugs in their yard while hitting every signal. That's why I've been practicing in parks and schools, to get a little more experienced before going to local private homes.

The other thing is, I accept that I have to put 100+ hours in on learning a metal detector since I am just starting out, regardless of model. Would I be better served in picking up a different detector and use my learning curve time on that? Would be interested in anyone's opinion..

 

[bowwinkles]

oaktree, just stay where you are at. The LRP is no slouch and I have logged many hours on mine and cannot complain. The features on the LRP in many ways are the same methods that you will see on units costing many more dollars.

 

[mikeybonez28]

HELP! Tried this in the Bounty Hunter community group but it's not very active so reposting here.

I am a new user of the Land Ranger Pro. I guess I'm going through the growing pains of a beginner but thought it would be nice to get some tips and tricks from the veterans. Before getting permissions to detect a person's yard I wanted to be able to get more proficient with the machine so I would not dig their entire yard, so I've been "practicing" in local parks, around my own house and around local schools. I'm really interested in finding older coins, so I am expecting to block out iron and likely have to sometimes look a little deeper for targets.

1. The signals seem very jumpy. When I'm scanning something it's not uncommon for it to ring up as 76 on one pass, then 35, then 62 then 17. Any advice on what to do in those cases? I've tried sweeping from a different angle and its often the same thing. Once I dig, it is just a single object so why all the different signals??

2. Very tough to determine depth. I've spent a few hours in a small local park with fairly nicely kept grass. Even with the pinpointer mode, what shows as a 3 inch depth often isn't found until i've cut the plug and then dug down several inches further. I don't want to dig a 8 inch deep plug unless I *know* I'm going to be digging an 8 inch plug. As a result, I've just been running on sensitivity = 2 so I am only finding near-surface items.

4. Identification. The last time I was in the small park experimenting, I decided to crank up the sensitivity and then only dig solid signals in the quarter and up range. I was excited to see a very solid 88-91 signal from multiple directions (even though PP showed it as 8 inches deep). I decided this one would be worth digging. Finally, after digging a 10+ inch deep hole I found the source to be a small metal sign that rang up differently out of the ground (I need to confirm what is is reading on an air test I can't remember -- but definitely NOT 88-91!)

I'd appreciate any recommendations on the best way to get up to speed with the LRP other than just dig every signal. I am using the stock 11" DD coil that came with it -- I have read a couple of old posts that suggest using an adapter with a 5" or 7" coil from Teknetics or NEL? Has anyone tried that and what would it do for me? Should I just reserve the Land Ranger Pro for large open areas (like an old homestead site) and get a different detector for the park searches?

I have the same machine & am going through everything you are. I'm not going to repeat what others have said but since we have the same issues, this is what I know

The depth is actually pretty good on this considering the price but you can wind up digging a hole halfway to China just for a bent nail or steel plate. A problem with deep targets is that the ID is usually off if it's out of the machine's effective range so don't rely too heavily on the number if it's deep. My yard is trashy as hell thanks to the previous owner but my sensitivity is around 6 or 7 so I can get the trash out & open up the ground to finding the better stuff that I hope is there

If you push & hold MODE it'll switch the unit (temporarily) to all metal mode & that can help you figure out if it's actually iron or a good target & don't set discrimination too high, gold shows up low on any machine & you might miss it

On a side note, check out youtube for the backlight & pinpoint mods, it will make a difference