Budget machines compared
Budget Detector Target ID Comparison: What Each Scale Actually Publishes
Quick answer
Most budget detectors use a 0 to 99 target ID scale, but only some manufacturers publish that range in their own specifications. A cheap machine's target ID is not wrong, it is less stable: it agrees with an expensive machine near the surface and degrades sooner as targets get deeper.
Comparing target ID scales across cheap machines is harder than it looks, because manufacturers are inconsistent about what they publish. Some state a range plainly in their own specifications. Some document it only in the manual. Some sell analog machines with no numeric ID at all and are quietly happy for buyers not to notice.
This page separates those three categories honestly, and then addresses the question that actually matters, which is not whether a budget machine's numbers are correct but how long they stay correct as a target gets deeper.
Top pick
Fisher F22
Fisher publishes a 0 to 99 numeric Target-ID and a 4-Tone Audio-ID system for the F22 in its own specification rather than burying it in the manual, which makes it the easiest budget machine to compare honestly.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
Which budget machines publish a target ID range?
The distinction below is between what the manufacturer states in its own published specification and what appears only in the manual. Both are legitimate sources. Only one is easy for a buyer to check before purchase.
Of the common sub $300 machines, Fisher, Garrett and Bounty Hunter state a numeric target ID range in their own published specifications, while several others document it only in the manual and two have no numeric ID at all.
| Machine | Price | Target ID as published | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher F22 | $229.00 | 0 to 99, stated by Fisher, with 4-tone audio ID | The easiest budget scale to verify before buying |
| Garrett ACE 300 | $269.99 | 0 to 99 numeric scale, stated by Garrett | Plus iron resolution and adjustable frequency |
| Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro | $173.00 | 99 points of resolution, stated by Bounty Hunter | Four-tone target ID on an 11 inch DD coil |
| Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro | $219.00 | Two-digit ID, specified in the manual | Adds V-Break and adjustable iron audio |
| Teknetics G2+ | $299.00 | 0 to 99, specified in the manual | At 19 kHz the low end of the scale is busier |
| Teknetics Delta 4000 | $189.00 | Numeric ID and depth readout, range not stated in the listing | Check the manual before relying on a chart |
| Quest Q40 | $326.03 | 0 to 99, specified in the manual | Smaller brand, fewer owner reports to compare against |
| Minelab Vanquish 340 | $258.99 | Range not stated in the published listing | Multi-IQ multi-frequency at the bottom of the range |
| Nokta Simplex Ultra | $299.00 | Range not stated in the published listing | Fully waterproof to 16 feet, carbon fibre shaft |
| Bounty Hunter Tracker IV | $120.76 | None. Analog, no display | Judged entirely by tone and knob position |
| Bounty Hunter Junior | $49.00 | None. Target strength meter only | A children’s machine, not a cheap adult one |
Published figures are taken from each manufacturer’s own product specifications. Where a range is described as specified in the manual, it appears in the documentation rather than the sales listing. Where no range is stated, this page does not invent one.
Is a cheap machine’s target ID actually wrong?
No, and this is the most important thing on the page. A budget detector and a flagship measure the same physical property in the same way, and on a shallow target in good soil they will broadly agree. Put a quarter two inches down in clean loam and a two hundred dollar machine and a two thousand dollar machine will both tell you it is a high conductor. Neither is lying.
The difference is stability, and it appears as targets get harder. Better machines have faster processing, better filtering and better handling of mineralised ground, so they hold a usable number further down and in worse soil. A cheap machine does not produce a wrong number at eight inches so much as it produces an unstable one: it jumps, it disagrees with itself between sweeps, and eventually it stops committing at all.
That is why depth and ID reliability are the same question. The honest way to describe the difference in price is not accuracy but the depth and the soil at which the number stops being worth reading, and the expected detection depth calculator is the practical way to estimate where that point sits for your own ground.
Where does a budget ID start degrading?
The pattern below holds across brands. It is about signal strength rather than about badges.
Target IDs on any machine are most reliable in the first few inches and degrade downward as depth increases, which is why deep mid-range signals on old sites are worth digging rather than dismissing.
| Condition | What the ID does | How much the price of the machine helps |
|---|---|---|
| Shallow target, clean soil | Stable and repeatable on any machine | Very little. Cheap machines are fine here |
| Mid depth, clean soil | Mostly stable, occasional jumps | Some. Better filtering shows up first here |
| Deep target, clean soil | Sags downward, jumps between sweeps | A great deal |
| Any depth, mineralised soil | Whole scale pulled downward | A great deal. Ground handling is what you pay for |
| Target beside iron | Blended or masked entirely | A great deal. Recovery speed is the differentiator |
| Target on edge | Reads low and narrow on every machine | Very little. Physics, not electronics |
| Corroded target | Reads lower than clean metal | Very little. The target itself has changed |
| Wet salt sand | Unstable on single-frequency machines | A great deal. Multi-frequency is the real fix |
General VLF detector behaviour, consistent across the machines in this comparison. The final column describes where additional spending genuinely changes the outcome rather than where marketing suggests it does.
What should you actually buy at this money?
If you want a published scale and a machine you will not outgrow in a season, the Fisher F22 is the straightforward answer: Fisher states the 0 to 99 Target-ID and the four-tone audio ID openly, the machine is weatherproof, it weighs around two pounds and it carries a nine inch coil. The Garrett ACE 300 is the equivalent from Garrett, with a published 0 to 99 scale, iron resolution and adjustable frequency.
If coverage matters more than refinement, the Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro puts an eleven inch waterproof DD coil and a published 99 point scale at a price that is hard to argue with. If you expect to get wet, the Nokta Simplex Ultra is fully waterproof to sixteen feet on a carbon fibre shaft, and the Minelab Vanquish 340 brings Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency into the range, which is the one specification that genuinely changes what a machine can do on wet salt sand.
What not to buy for an adult is a children's machine. The Bounty Hunter Junior is a genuinely good gift for a six to ten year old and a frustrating first detector for anyone else, and the analog Bounty Hunter Tracker IV is honest about what it is but gives you no number at all, as covered on the Tracker IV settings chart.
For the individual scales, see the F22 chart, the Land Ranger Pro chart and the Quest Q40 chart. A full first kit is listed under beginner setups, and the best lists cover the buying decision in more depth.
Sources
- Fisher F22 published specification, 0 to 99 numeric Target-ID and 4-Tone Audio-ID System
- Garrett ACE 300 published specification, 0 to 99 numeric digital target ID
- Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro published specification, 99 points of target ID resolution
- Teknetics G2+, Quest Q40 and Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro owner manuals, target ID sections
Frequently asked questions
Do all budget metal detectors use a 0 to 99 target ID scale?
Most modern ones with a screen do, but not all, and not all manufacturers publish it. Fisher, Garrett and Bounty Hunter state a numeric range in their own specifications for several machines. Others document it only in the manual. Analog machines such as the Bounty Hunter Tracker IV have no numeric target ID at all, and children’s machines often use a simple target strength meter instead.
Is an expensive detector’s target ID more accurate?
More stable rather than more accurate. On a shallow target in clean soil, a budget machine and a flagship will broadly agree, because they are measuring the same physical property the same way. The difference appears as conditions get harder: better processing and better ground handling let an expensive machine hold a usable number deeper and in more mineralised soil before it starts jumping.
Why does my cheap detector jump between numbers on deep targets?
Because the returned signal is weak, and a weak signal produces an unstable conductivity estimate. This is normal behaviour rather than a fault. The practical response is to trust repeatability over any single reading: sweep the target from two directions, and if it reports roughly the same band both times it is worth digging even when the exact number wanders by several points.
Should I buy a machine that does not publish its ID range?
It is not a reason to avoid one, only a reason to check the manual before relying on any chart you find. Several capable machines document the scale in their documentation rather than their sales listing. What should give you pause is a listing that implies a numeric target ID on a machine that turns out to be analog, which is why the distinction is worth confirming before you buy.
Does multi-frequency change the target ID at this price?
It changes stability, particularly on wet salt sand where single-frequency machines struggle badly. Simultaneous multi-frequency blends several frequencies and normalises the result, which holds target IDs together in conditions that would make a single-frequency machine false constantly. On dry inland ground the advantage is much smaller, so it is worth paying for only if you actually hunt beaches.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.