Bounty Hunter Metal Detector Accessories

If you buy one thing, buy headphones. The speaker on any detector broadcasts every signal to everyone around you, competes with wind and traffic, and drains the battery faster than the coil does. More importantly, the faint, deep signals - the ones that turn out to be worth digging - are exactly the ones a speaker loses to background noise.

Detector headphones are not the same as music headphones. They emphasise the mid-range where target tones sit, and most connect with a 1/4-inch plug rather than the 3.5 mm one on a phone. Check which jack your model has before ordering; an adapter works, but it hangs off the control box and eventually snaps.

A different search coil changes how your detector behaves. A larger coil covers more ground per sweep and reaches deeper on big targets; a smaller one separates finds in trashy soil where a wide coil hears three signals as one.

The catch is that coils are not universal. Connectors and electronics differ across the lineup, so a coil that fits one model may not fit another even within the same brand. Confirm compatibility against your exact model before buying - this is the single most common accessory mistake. And give the stock coil a season first: most people who upgrade early discover the stock coil was never the limitation.

Detectors get damaged in car boots far more often than in fields. The shaft is the weak point - it takes a knock, develops play, and from then on the coil wobbles and your depth suffers. A carry bag is cheap insurance, and it stops you leaving the coil cover, digger and pinpointer at home.

Look for a bag long enough to take the shaft without full disassembly. Weather-resistant nylon is the standard material and handles a damp boot better than canvas.

A detector finds targets; it does not recover them. A sturdy trowel or hand digger and a finds pouch turn a slow, messy recovery into a quick one, and they keep you from ruining turf on public ground - the fastest way to lose permission to hunt a site.

These are not brand-specific: any solid digger works. Spend the money on steel that will not bend on the first stone rather than on a name.

Two categories tempt beginners and rarely earn their place. Coil covers are genuinely useful, but they cost little and are often bundled - do not order one separately before checking what came in the box. Pinpointers are excellent tools, but they are a second detector with their own price tag; buy one once you are digging regularly and losing time locating targets in the hole, not before.

Everything on this page is optional. The detector you already own will find things this weekend without any of it.