Nuggets of News Blog 

First Texas Products, manufacturer of the Fisher, Bounty Hunter, and Teknetics brand metal detectors, is holding a video contest! Prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th places include new metal dectectors and more. Deadline is June 1, 2015, so take this opportunity to enter right away. To enter make a new and original video that falls into one of the following categories:

• Demonstration/Instructional
• Hunt/Life Style

For the Demo/Instructional category, make a new video using any First Texas Products machines and show how to set up your machine, adjust the settings and provide any great hints or tricks you've learned since you began using your detector.

For the hunting category, make a new video showing your hunt, finds, and the good times you have while out in the field with First Texas Products metal detectors.

Enter the contest by making your videos and posting them on the corresponding YouTube channel (see below for channels). For example, if you are making a Fisher Video, post your video on the Fisher YouTube channel. If you are making a Bounty Hunter video, post your video on the Bounty Hunter YouTube channel.
 

RULES:

• Entry or submission of video constitutes consent for First Texas Products to use your video in part or its entirety for any purpose without any further compensation.
• You can enter as many videos as you like.
• All content must be new and original.
• No videos posted after June 1, 2015 will be accepted.
• Profanity or anything deemed offensive by First Texas Employee panel will be disqualified.
• Winner decided by FTP Employee Panel
• Winners announced June 15th, 2015.

Please share this with everyone you know that owns any First Texas Products metal detectors. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

What is the best metal detector? This is probably the Number One question that everyone asks when buying their first detector. No one wants to waste their time and money so they want to know what's "best" right from the start. That's understandable, but unfortunately there is no one single answer. The easiest way to find the "best" detector for YOU is to evaluate YOUR detecting style, YOUR experience level, what items YOU hope to find, and the time that YOU will spend metal detecting. After taking all of these things into consideration, then you will be able to find a metal detector that fits your needs and your budget. To make the purchasing process easier, answer these questions:

How much do you know about metal detectors? Be honest because the answer also affects your budget. If you're just getting started and plan to go out just a few weekends a year, you may not want to shell out a lot of cash up front so a general all-purpose detector in the $200 range will suit your needs. If you have used a friend's detector a few times and are fairly serious about wanting to find gold and other buried treasures of your own, then buy a detector in the $700 range that is user-friendly. You will get a very good quality machine with plenty of bells and whistles, yet it won't require an advanced degree to actually use it. And you won't have to spend hours reading the owners' manual to understand it either. Before investing in a model that costs thousands of dollars, first be sure you love detecting and will use it often enough to justify the big price tag no matter what brand you decide on. Garrett and Fisher are two of the oldest manufacturers in the business.

Where do you plan to detect? Deserts, rivers, parks, and saltwater beaches all have very different ground conditions. If you prefer to be in deep water, you'll want a submersible detector. If you plan to hunt around the shoreline, then you don't have to worry about the entire detector being waterproof, just the coil. If you will be in city parks and other areas where overhead power lines are the norm, then a very low frequency (VLF) detector will be your best bet. If you plan to hunt mostly in heavily mineralized areas, consider a pulse induction (PI) machine for best results. Keep in mind that just changing the search coil on your metal detector can be the next best thing to buying a whole new machine without spending a lot of money! Most metal detectors come with a standard search coil that is good for general use – finding the broadest range of targets in the broadest range of environments. But search coils come in all shapes and sizes, and it's possible that merely changing the coil on your detector will lead you to a host of new targets.

What do you primarily hope to find? If you want to find gold, you'll need a detector especially made for that purpose. Gold detectors are not necessarily more expensive, but they are built with a higher sensitivity to detecting gold nuggets, and have better ground balancing and discrimination abilities. PI machines aren't so good for coin shooting in urban areas where you are likely to encounter iron trash, however, they are ideal for beaches or detecting in other highly mineralized soils, especially if you are looking for objects that are deeply buried. VLF detectors are more sensitive to finding the smallest bits of gold, but do not as easily cancel out ground mineralization.

Metal detecting is one of the easiest, most profitable, and fun ways to find gold and other metallic treasures such as coins, jewelry, and relics. It's so easy to have your metal detector ready to go in its carry bag with extra coils, a digger or scoop, headphones, and spare batteries. Just grab and go! There are many thousands of passionate detectorists around the world already enjoying the rewarding outdoor activity of metal detecting. If you want to join their ranks, please keep the following in mind:

Bounty Hunter detectors have always attracted new people to the hobby of treasure hunting. If you haven't had a lot of experience with detectors, perhaps giving it as a gift and aren't sure how much the recipient will use it, and don't have a large budget, choosing the Bounty Hunter brand makes sense and cents. Beginners get a great detector that is easy to use, yet you don't break the bank buying fancy features that you don't understand, don't need, and take longer to master.

The Tracker IV is definitely the most popular selling Bounty Hunter detector because of its great discrimination and ease of use.  This is a basic analog detector with an All Metal, full Discrimination and a Tone Discriminant mode that automatically rejects iron targets.  The Tracker IV automatic Ground Track feature allows operation in virtually all soil conditions, regardless of mineral content— and it's priced at less than $120!

If you're looking for more of a "pro" model with a few more features, yet still want a detector that is considered to be turn-on-and-go, check Bounty Hunter's newest Pro models: Lone Star Pro ($179.10), Quick Draw Pro ($269.10), and Land Ranger Pro ($404.10). None of these have a large learning curve.

The Lone Star Pro provides high-end features in a midrange detector.  it comes with an 8” waterproof concentric coil with LCD display and touch-pad operation. Features include adjustable sensitivity and discrimination, 9 target ID categories, a graphic target depth indicator and a multiple Notch system. The stem is fully adjustable and includes a locking collar. It operates on a single 9 volt battery.

The Quick Draw Pro has depth, speed and accuracy and is a true multipurpose detector.  This machine comes with a 10” waterproof elliptical concentric coil for added depth and sharp target response and an LCD display with touch-pad operation. It has adjustable Sensitivity, Volume, Discrimination and a Notch mode. It has 9 target ID categories, 0-99 Target ID numbers, a 3 segment active depth indicator, a pinpoint mode with depth in inches, 3-segment graphic target depth indicator and 3 tone audio ID.  The stem is fully adjustable and includes locking collars. It operates on a single 9 volt battery.

The Land Ranger Pro is Bounty Hunter's premier detector and comes with a legendary 11” DD search coil.  The LCD display has 43 Target ID icons (3 for Iron) with 0-99 numerical Target ID numbers, 5 Audio ID tones and an adjustable Back-light.  It has a 5 segment active depth indicator and a Pin Point Mode that displays depth inches. It has adjustable Sensitivity, Volume, Discrimination, Notch and V-Break variable tone breakpoint.  It has a one-button Ground Grab ground balance with manual override and 7 search modes.  These modes vary from pre-set operation for beginners to maximum control for the more experienced detectorist.  This is a metal detector that won’t outgrow your skill level!

All of these Bounty Hunter detectors are lightweight (ranging between 2.5 to 3 pounds) and are covered by the manufacturer's 5 year warranty. Bounty Hunter metal detectors are made in the USA by First Texas Products, a company that has over 30 years of experience and a list of features and patents that keep the competition playing catch-up. First Texas also manufacturers the higher-end Fisher and Teknetics brand of detectors. Whether you want to find old coins, jewelry, or relics, these multi-purpose machines will help you uncover what lies beneath the dirt!  These machines break down for easy storage. They can even fit into a suitcase so when you travel you can use it at parks or in the dry sandy areas on a beach. For beginners, Bounty Hunter offers the best quality and features for the price. So get set to dig deep... not into your pocket, but into the ground with a genuine Bounty Hunter metal detector that can eke out virtually any buried metal object!