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Bounty Hunter Tracker IV Detector – Features, Performance and Review

With its affordable price, user friendly control panel and featherweight design, the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is a great introduction into the metal detecting hobby. If you’re considering purchasing this budget-friendly detector, read our in-depth review which takes a close look at the Tracker IV’s unique features and its performance in the field.0

As a brand, Bounty Hunter is well known for their range of beginner level detectors. They manufacture a wide range of entry-level metal detectors, however, the Tracker IV is often their most popular model.

The Tracker IV will set you back less than £120 (around $150), making it the perfect detector for first time buyers.

For a detector of this price range, the Tracker IV has a range of impressive features, such as a simple, user-friendly analogue display, sensitivity and discrimination adjustment, along with a motion all-metal mode and 2-tone audio.

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Let’s take a look at the Tracker IV’s list of features in depth.

Design and Ease of Use

Primarily a beginners detector, the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV has been designed to be straightforward and simple to use, even if you’ve never picked up a metal detector before, it is relatively easy to operate.

At the most basic level, the Tracker IV is a 6.7kHz VLF detector, with three search modes:

Discrimination
All-Metal
Tone

We will take a closer look at what these different types of search modes mean later on in our review.

The Tracker IV is a motion metal detector, and uses frequency oscillation to detect metal. In short, this means that the Tracker IV must be moving in order to detect metal underground, simply holding the Tracker IV over terrain will not trigger a signal.

You can learn a bit more about the different types of metal detectors, including frequency oscillation detectors in our dedicated guide.

There is a built-in speaker and ¼ inch headphone jack. You may want to consider purchasing headphones to go along with your Tracker IV. This is especially important if you are detecting in public locations, if you want to avoid upsetting the people around you.

Everything about the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is designed to be streamlined, clear, and easy to use. There are only two knobs and dual audio tones. If you are a beginner to metal detecting, you will find that the Tracker IV is quick to get used to, and you will soon find yourself understand the basics of metal detecting whilst using this machine.

The analogue display shows basic signal strength, which allows you to gain a good indication of your target’s relative depth below the surface and its size.

At just 1.68 kg, the Tracker IV is remarkably lightweight, making it suitable for children also. You won’t often find yourself getting tired during long hunting sessions, but if you do, Bounty Hunter have a Metal Detector Carrier Bag readily available to keep your Tracker IV safe and secure.

Such a basic model can be mistaken for a toy detector, but, do not be fooled by the Tracker’s simplicity. It won’t match the performance and customization of more expensive, professional models, however, for its price, the Tracker IV provides excellent value for money, and a consistent performance that can rival several other models within its price range.

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Settings

Basic Controls

The Tracker IV features three adjustable settings: sensitivity, search mode and discrimination. For more experienced detectors, this range may be rather limiting, however, for those who are just starting out, this simple range of adjustments makes the Tracker IV very easy to learn, which is ideal for its beginner target audience.

To start, we’ll be taking a closer look at sensitivity:

In the most basic terms, the higher the sensitivity, the deeper the metal detector will be able to detect a target buried in the terrain.

There is an issue with high sensitivity, however: as your detector becomes more sensitive, the more likely it is to be triggered by basic minerals within the terrain, which is not what you want when it comes to treasure hunting, so be sure to keep this in mind when scavenging.

A higher sensitivity can also make interference with electromagnetic waves coming from power lines or nearby household appliances more likely.

With these issues in mind, you may need to use a lower sensitivity rating in order to reduce your chance of false readings and excessive interference.

Adjusting the sensitivity on the Tracker IV is as simple as turning the dial on the control panel. Your goal is to have your sensitivity as high as possible, whilst rejecting false signals, in order to stand the best possible chance of finding that buried treasure.

The next adjustable setting is discrimination. This setting comes into play when the detector is in “full discriminate” and “tone” modes. Discrimination does not come into effect when the Tracker IV is set to “all metal” mode.

But what exactly does discrimination mean?

When metal detecting, you want to be sure that your detector is ignoring all unwanted targets. For example, if hunting for coins, you want your device to ignore alloys such as lead or iron.

It is important to keep in mind that you want to avoid accidentally discriminating objects and metal you may want to find. A high discrimination setting allows you to find highly conductive metals without the presence of iron, such as silver and copper, but it may ignore more valuable alloys such as brass, nickel and of course, gold.

More advanced machines than the Tracker IV feature discrimination using a graphical interface, this allows the metal detector to ignore certain types of metal you don’t want to detect, such as pull tabs and other trash.

The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV features a single knob for discrimination – the higher the set level of discrimination, the more the Tracker IV will ignore. Whilst this is rather simplistic for more experienced hobbyists, a single knob functions perfectly well for those just settling into metal detecting, and makes the Tracker IV easier to use.

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Search Modes

The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV features three individual search modes. These interchangeable modes can be activated using the switch that is located at the bottom right on the control panel.

But what does each mode do?

All-Metal: As the name suggests, all types of metal are detected during this mode, including aluminum, steel, brass, copper, iron, silver and gold. As you swing your Tracker IV across terrain a single high-pitched “beep” will be emitted if you go over metal. When using this mode, the Tracker IV will be able to reach the maximum depths, and is useful for finding items or relics that are made of iron.

Full Discriminate: When using this mode, the Tracker IV will reject almost all trash items, making it ideal for a more focused hunt. Similarly to All-Metal mode, Full Discriminate lets out a high-pitched beeping tone when passing over metal.

Tone: Unlike the previous two modes, tone mode features two-tone audio, which automatically rejects iron alloys, and any items containing iron. Depending on the type of metal detected, tone mode will emit a low or high audio signal. This mode also respects the discrimination setting.

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Waterproof Searchcoil

Probably one of the Tacker IV’s most attractive and impressive features for its price is that the device features an 8 inch (20 cm) waterproof concentric searchcoil. If you’d like to learn more about how exactly a concentric searchcoil works, as well as the other types of searchcoils, you can read our dedicated guide to searchcoils.

Whilst the searchcoil is waterproof, it is important to note that the control box is not waterproof. The searchcoil should be fine when submerged in shallow water (for example, small streams and puddles), but take care to ensure that the control box remains dry whilst you are hunting.

Other Features

As previously mentioned, the Tracker IV features a built-in speaker as well as a ¼ inch headphone jack. Headphones are not included with the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, so you may want to consider investing in a pair to aid your searches.
The Tracker IV requires 6AA alkaline batteries to operate. You can expect a run time of around 30 hours on a single set of batteries. AA batteries are easily accessible and relatively inexpensive – A pack of 48 AA batteries will set you back less than £12! Easy!
The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV includes a 5 year warranty.

Performance

The Bounty Hunter Tracker IV provides consistent performance that is excellent value for money. It does a decent job of detecting most types of metal, even when the target size is relatively small in size, across a good range of terrain types.

Despite its small frequency of 6.7kHz, the Tracker IV is surprisingly sensitive, and enjoyable to use. It’s ease of use makes it quick to learn and even quicker to master. Arguably the most challenging aspect of this device is learning to use the discrimination setting, but once you get the hang of adjusting it, it works very well.

Like all metal detectors, the maximum detectable depth will vary according to a number of factors, these can include:

Size of target
Sensitivity setting
Search mode
Terrain conditions

Consumers have favorably reported that their Tracker IV has been able to detect items more than 6 inches down. Quite impressive considering its price and target audience.Whilst this is a very user-friendly device, it is important to familiarize yourself with the user manual before first time use. You can access a PDF copy of the user manual here, should you ever misplace the one included with the box.

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Summary and Final Thoughts

With its simple, easy-to-use design, fantastic features and surprisingly high sensitivity, the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is a good choice for those after excellent value for money.

The budget friendly model is suitable for older children and teenagers who may lose interest in the hobby, and it’s lightweight stature makes it even more user-friendly.

Of course, a model at this price won’t include more sophisticated features more expensive models may include, such as pinpointing mode and pre-set ground balance, however, if you are a beginner, you will not notice that these features are missing.

I hope that this review of the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV has been informative and useful in helping you decide whether the Tracker IV is the right detector for you. Should you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!