Bounty Hunter Forum

Has anyone seen this show?
I've beed approached in the parks the last few
days by curious people wanting to know about metal detecting.
They said they had seen this Metal Detecting show and
have given serious thought about getting into the hobby. They
seemed more interested in HOW MUCH MONEY THEY WERE
going to make. I get the impression this show might be misleading them.
This might explain why there are so many more people out with detectors now.
With the economy the way it is people will try anything.
Salida

I have been asked by many people over the time that I have been detecting questions like have you found any gold today, whats the best thing you have ever found? They enter the hobby treating it like some sort of gold rush, a chance to get rich quick and then are disappointed when they find a small amount of change, a few silver and gold items if they spend that much time even to learn their high end detector. Some people think if they spent $1000.00 to $5000.00 on a detector they are sure to find the gold. The more they spend the better. My 505 when i learned it found me a 14k gold ring in my 1st year. It could have been a fluke or beginners luck, but I had put in some time. I let people know right away when they ask me in a park about metal detecting that I got into it as a hobby not to get rich. I smile when I bring home a relic or a nice ring, but it happens rarely and you cannot expect it every time. The ones who treat it like a hobby smile when they bring home a pile of clad because they were able to get out and hunt. There will be closets full of machines and eBay full of new machines from fair weather detectorists. It is up to us who love the hobby to protect it and set those who are only getting into it to get rich, who tear up the ground from digging wrong because they lack experience and we can teach them possibly or who don't follow the code of ethics from turning people against the hobby from doing so. We can help out and should where we can. Set the record straight if possible through good deeds. HH

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Dirtdigger33

Eldorado Umax, Bandido II Umax, Tesoro Compadre
Pinpointers: Vibraprobe 580 (2 of them, because they work).

Owned previously: Silver Sabre Umax, BH Pioneer 505, Discovery 3300, Vibratector 730.

No, I did not.

I have seen it a couple times and it is my complete belief that these kind of shows are all PHONY.Like the one where you bid on storage facilities.One of the CAST, and yes these people are hired to play the game.,was complaining about them loading up some of the storage units with expensive items to keep the interest up.Well he got fired for doing that and now he is on another show called "mortgage Wars" or someting like that.There is a lot of them and they are mostly all corriographed.Another one is the most watched show on TV about the gold miners in Alaska and they complain about how they are not going to be able to feed their wives and kids and they won't be able to pay the mortgage.Well they are getting millions $$$ ffrom the producers and they also do a good job spicing it up.I live in Portland whitch is only a few miles from here and I can tell you this that I absolutly know for certain ,is that they all have plenty of $$$$$ and that they all drive new and very expensive trucks.
Fred

Diggers is one of the latest TV reality shows from the National Geographic Channel. It follows two metal detecting enthusiasts as they search for hidden coins, relics and other treasure on public and private property.

They show lots of technique in digging plugs and finding historical artifacts and giving them to the land owners etc. they have a weird digger vocabulary but other than that its a good show.

However.

American Digger - is a totally different show - Former pro wrestler Ric Savage works to convince homeowners to let him and his American Savage team find long lost treasure in their backyards.

These people dig and make a mess and dig for profit and make a living out of it supposedly, some of the stuff they sell for thousands i wouldn't give u 10 cents for but that's just me.

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"Keep Digging Its Down There Somewhere"

TENNESSEE - Bounter Hunter Tracker IV, Bounty Hunter Pioneer 101 , Famous Trails MD3005 ,Cen-Tech Pin Pointer MD

I have seen this show a few times, It is hard to watch. I find it a little hard to believe. Most people detecting are going to find pop tabs and pennys. Metal detection to me is a hobby, I just enjoy getting out and having fun with it. Who knows, i might find something really good, but I am not expecting to get rich, but an occasional gold ring or something is probaly the best most people will do, and what a pawn shop or gold oulet will pay you for it wont even pay for the machine. I myself just want to be left alone when I detect, it is just a time for me to get out, enjoy the outdoors and relax a little. I hate it when people come up and ask if i found anything good, even if i did i would not tell them. These days you might get clubbed over the head.

Amen Tom, I totally agree , although i do keep a cheap one for kids to use , in case i get a kid who is really interested , then ill let them borrow it and give some instructions etc. and then leave it up to mom and dad to buy him/her there own. i am so nice like that ,

and like you i never tell anyone what I really find, i usually just show stuff from the trash pocket and tell them at least I am getting rid of the junk for the next detectorist.

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"Keep Digging Its Down There Somewhere"

TENNESSEE - Bounter Hunter Tracker IV, Bounty Hunter Pioneer 101 , Famous Trails MD3005 ,Cen-Tech Pin Pointer MD

Yes, as mentioned above. American Diggers is a little more believable but still a bit phony. Though they do state rules/laws and they do use proper recovery techniques. I have considered making my own video and posting on youtube. But in my video i will show all the recoveries not just a few bad and then a ton of good (as they do in the show).

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2013 Coin Count
Minelab Explorer II (started Feb 1)(stopped using on 8 Mar)
Dollar= 0, Half=1, Quarter=27, Dime=58, Nickle=8, Penny=285/Total clad=$16.30
Wheatie=32 Silver= 1 Roosevelt (1961) Foreign=Canadian Penny
Favorite find=Civil War Uniform Button

Tesoro Golden uMax (started 8 Mar)
Dollar=0 Half=$.50
Quarter=$17.75
Dime=$16.00
Nickle=$2.20
Penny=$6.59
Total Clad$43.04
Wheatie=59 Silver=earing, ring, 1953 Quarter, 1964 dime, 1945 Merc, 1962 dime,1960 dime
Foreign= Malaysia One Cent,Korean 10 Won X2, Canadian penny1974
Favorite find= U.S. Large Cent (date worn off)

The reason i tell people that ask if i have found "Treasure" is to me what ever i find is my treasure, I get enjoyment of pulling stuff out of the ground and wondering how long it has been since it had human contact.

To me "treasure", like zero said, is anything I dig up that I find interesting. To most it is Gold, Silver, etc......of which I rarely, or never find. While these types of TV shows are entertaining I don't feel they show the "real" side of the hobby. While they may help to promote metal detecting in some way they may also help in making the "rest of us" look bad. Reality TV is anything but reality. Just my opinion and probably not stated as well as I would like. Good luck to all, and HH.

Jeff