F22: First impressions

toasted

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Jun 1, 2015
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Maryland
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By no means would I consider myself a seasoned detectorist but I have run quite a few machines. The look and feel of the F22 is better than the F2. Definitely feels more balanced while swinging. However it is no deeper than the F2 and will not hit on a 8" quarter that has been buried since winter. My Tesoro Vaquero will hit it with ease. It is very stable even at full sensitivity. The F2 was not. I will be selling my Tesoro Silver Umax and keeping the F22. My Vaquero will never be sold and I'm convinced it is the best detector under $499. I wouldn't bother with the F44 at $349. Get a Vaquero for less than $100 more. The F22 should be a great backup to it or use the F22 first than go back and get what it missed with the Vaquero. Can somebody tell me why you need a $1500 deus or etrac
 

masterjedi

Bronze Member
May 24, 2014
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Oregon
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Minelab's CTX 3030, E-Trac & EQ800, Fisher F75LTD SE & F44, Whites MXT All PRO, Whites TRX Pointer & Shovel, Predator Tools Raptor hand digger & Ranger shovel. Grey Ghost Ultimate headphones.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
By no means would I consider myself a seasoned detectorist but I have run quite a few machines. The look and feel of the F22 is better than the F2. Definitely feels more balanced while swinging. However it is no deeper than the F2 and will not hit on a 8" quarter that has been buried since winter. My Tesoro Vaquero will hit it with ease. It is very stable even at full sensitivity. The F2 was not. I will be selling my Tesoro Silver Umax and keeping the F22. My Vaquero will never be sold and I'm convinced it is the best detector under $499. I wouldn't bother with the F44 at $349. Get a Vaquero for less than $100 more. The F22 should be a great backup to it or use the F22 first than go back and get what it missed with the Vaquero. Can somebody tell me why you need a $1500 deus or etrac

Can somebody tell me why you need a $1500 deus or etrac ...

If you only knew... Gary from Oregon...
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
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Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
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All Treasure Hunting
By no means would I consider myself a seasoned detectorist but I have run quite a few machines. The look and feel of the F22 is better than the F2. Definitely feels more balanced while swinging. However it is no deeper than the F2 and will not hit on a 8" quarter that has been buried since winter. My Tesoro Vaquero will hit it with ease. It is very stable even at full sensitivity. The F2 was not. I will be selling my Tesoro Silver Umax and keeping the F22. My Vaquero will never be sold and I'm convinced it is the best detector under $499. I wouldn't bother with the F44 at $349. Get a Vaquero for less than $100 more. The F22 should be a great backup to it or use the F22 first than go back and get what it missed with the Vaquero. Can somebody tell me why you need a $1500 deus or etrac

We all have different taste and budgets. I bought a vaquero and was hugely dissapointed. Sure it is deep but if the F44 can tell say a rusty washer from a coin it's twice the detector as the vaquero. If you haven't put time on a top of line detector you won't know the answer to your question nor will anyone else who hasn't.
 

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toasted

Silver Member
Jun 1, 2015
3,437
14,081
Maryland
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Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 600 XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you don't dig it you'll never know what it is. I want depth not the ability to make a guess. Show me a video where a $1500 detector is pulling gold or silver out of a hole that is full of iron
 

atomicscott

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Aug 18, 2011
1,564
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Riverside CA
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Current: Nokta Makro Simplex+, Teknetics Patriot, Fisher Gold Bug (original), GP Pinpointer (Garrett Clone) Lesche. Owned: Omega 8000, Minelab X-Terra 505, Fisher F2, Tesoro Vaquero, & Compadre, Whit
Primary Interest:
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If you don't dig it you'll never know what it is. I want depth not the ability to make a guess. Show me a video where a $1500 detector is pulling gold or silver out of a hole that is full of iron

I also liked the depth of the Vaquero, I had mine for over a year. Found a lot of deep rusty junk, but I actually found more GOOD targets with my lowly F2 without breaking my back having to dig every piece of trash & having to 'thumb the disc'. I was constantly digging good signals (according to the disc) that turned out to be rusty iron. I would not trade my Omega 8000 for ANY Tesoro.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Jul 27, 2006
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
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If you don't dig it you'll never know what it is. I want depth not the ability to make a guess. Show me a video where a $1500 detector is pulling gold or silver out of a hole that is full of iron




I have found gold ring and iron screw in the same scoop with my excals?. Nulled one direction because of iron, detector gave me gold tone when I re-sweeped from a different 90° angle...
 

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Phantasman

Gold Member
Nov 24, 2006
15,811
23,884
NE Tennessee
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Nokta Simplex, Land Ranger Pro, Quick Draw Pro, Deteknix XPointer
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Can somebody tell me why you need a $1500 deus or etrac

Why would someone need a $500 Tesoro? I can pull an 8" quarter out of the ground with my $260 Land Ranger Pro.

Ground balance helps and AM is even deeper. It's not always about depth or even price. The V works best for you while not for others. I've posted all along how my LRP is 2-3" deeper than my F2.

Watch video's and you will see how the Deus and the etrac's superior circuitry can pull treasures that other detectors miss. Not just depth, but gold chains arranged where many detectors can't see them, masked rings missed because they were in can slaw, etc. The circuitry design requires better filters and processing circuitry, which is going to cost more. These are not beep and dig machines like Tesoro's. I wish I could afford one. Rather than exploiting the higher end detectors, my commenting and considerations are limited to the sub $600 units.
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you don't dig it you'll never know what it is. I want depth not the ability to make a guess. Show me a video where a $1500 detector is pulling gold or silver out of a hole that is full of iron

If you don't believe would a video change your mind? I don't believe in Bigfoot yet there are videos showing one. Since owning explorers and learning how to use them I've been digging on average 100 silver coins a year with them and probably more than my share of bufs and vs. Most guys around here will tell you the silver is gone but I know better its in the trashy places and my explorer thank god hasn't watched any videos showing how it shouldn't work around iron.
 

atomicscott

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Aug 18, 2011
1,564
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Riverside CA
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Current: Nokta Makro Simplex+, Teknetics Patriot, Fisher Gold Bug (original), GP Pinpointer (Garrett Clone) Lesche. Owned: Omega 8000, Minelab X-Terra 505, Fisher F2, Tesoro Vaquero, & Compadre, Whit
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That is the whole problem! Those videos are not necessarily representative of real life, everyday situations while hunting in YOUR ground at YOUR sites.
 

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toasted

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Jun 1, 2015
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If the land ranger pro will hit on a 8" quarter than I would definitely be impresses at a $260 price point. I'll dig the occasional deep iron if it means I can get to the old coins that usually reside at depth. Maybe when I get older and can't dig as well anymore than ill get a $1500 detector and no longer worry about digging junk. Right
 

atomicscott

Bronze Member
Aug 18, 2011
1,564
1,055
Riverside CA
Detector(s) used
Current: Nokta Makro Simplex+, Teknetics Patriot, Fisher Gold Bug (original), GP Pinpointer (Garrett Clone) Lesche. Owned: Omega 8000, Minelab X-Terra 505, Fisher F2, Tesoro Vaquero, & Compadre, Whit
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If the land ranger pro will hit on a 8" quarter than I would definitely be impresses at a $260 price point. I'll dig the occasional deep iron if it means I can get to the old coins that usually reside at depth. Maybe when I get older and can't dig as well anymore than ill get a $1500 detector and no longer worry about digging junk. Right

I would not be skeptical of the LRP. FTP has a way of shoving very impressive performance and features into affordable machines! The F2 impressed me so much I decided on another FTP machine to replace my Minelab & I haven't looked back. They are easy to learn & let you spend time finding things as opposed to spending time learning the nuances of a single tone.
 

masterjedi

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May 24, 2014
1,757
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Oregon
Detector(s) used
Minelab's CTX 3030, E-Trac & EQ800, Fisher F75LTD SE & F44, Whites MXT All PRO, Whites TRX Pointer & Shovel, Predator Tools Raptor hand digger & Ranger shovel. Grey Ghost Ultimate headphones.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you don't dig it you'll never know what it is. I want depth not the ability to make a guess. Show me a video where a $1500 detector is pulling gold or silver out of a hole that is full of iron

I can take my Fisher F75SE and put (3) rusty old nails right on top of the coin and can still hear the coin, not the nails... Just saying...
 

Phantasman

Gold Member
Nov 24, 2006
15,811
23,884
NE Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Nokta Simplex, Land Ranger Pro, Quick Draw Pro, Deteknix XPointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If the land ranger pro will hit on a 8" quarter than I would definitely be impresses at a $260 price point. I'll dig the occasional deep iron if it means I can get to the old coins that usually reside at depth. Maybe when I get older and can't dig as well anymore than ill get a $1500 detector and no longer worry about digging junk. Right

Not trying to up or down any detector. The LRP has it's drawbacks, like not locking onto some things in the nickel range as well as the F2. But even then, you learn what it is saying with continual use. It is extremely hot on 60 and above (silver range). I have noticed the same talk about the new F's from Fisher since they use the same process.

The best detector is the one that works best for you. And that changes from person to person. Some still think the Garrett 2500 is best. The trap is when you have to trade, buy and sell to try every detector to determine what's best. Even then, you wind up with an array of them because one is better at one thing while the other is better at another.

I haven't found anything new that I can afford that is better than my little array, including the new F's and the Whites TM. I stay in the sub $600 range. Besides, the XBox One is my next venture since they quit making 360 games. Just waiting for the Fallout 4 package to emerge.:laughing9:
 

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toasted

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Jun 1, 2015
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Minelab Equinox 600 XP Deus
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Metal Detecting
Got a chance to run the F22 side by side with the Vaquero on a hunt with my son tonight. It held its own with the Vaq and could hit on everything the Vaquero hit on. This included some deep wheat pennies and a flat button. The display numbers would not lock on these deep targets but as long as the number occasionally rose above 60 when scanning a target in different directions then I knew it was probably a good target. I was running in jewelry mode but also used custom mode with the iron audio to help me slow down in trashy areas. I was running at max sensitivity as the site has good soil and little emi. Not sure yet how F22 will act in high Emi. I know the Vaquero is not bothered by it much. Not ready to give up the Vaquero yet but the F22 is definitely a keeper and a nice alternative when I want to hunt with a display
 

atomicscott

Bronze Member
Aug 18, 2011
1,564
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Riverside CA
Detector(s) used
Current: Nokta Makro Simplex+, Teknetics Patriot, Fisher Gold Bug (original), GP Pinpointer (Garrett Clone) Lesche. Owned: Omega 8000, Minelab X-Terra 505, Fisher F2, Tesoro Vaquero, & Compadre, Whit
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Got a chance to run the F22 side by side with the Vaquero on a hunt with my son tonight. It held its own with the Vaq and could hit on everything the Vaquero hit on. This included some deep wheat pennies and a flat button. The display numbers would not lock on these deep targets but as long as the number occasionally rose above 60 when scanning a target in different directions then I knew it was probably a good target. I was running in jewelry mode but also used custom mode with the iron audio to help me slow down in trashy areas. I was running at max sensitivity as the site has good soil and little emi. Not sure yet how F22 will act in high Emi. I know the Vaquero is not bothered by it much. Not ready to give up the Vaquero yet but the F22 is definitely a keeper and a nice alternative when I want to hunt with a display

Sorry but I am not surprised one bit. I actually found many more coins with my F2 in my "hunted out" area's I had scoured with my Vaquero. Great performance for the money. I would pick the F2 always over my
Vaquero, just due to the fun factor & multi-tones.
 

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toasted

Silver Member
Jun 1, 2015
3,437
14,081
Maryland
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Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 600 XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Now I just need the F22 to find me some silver. The Vaquero sure has
 

Phantasman

Gold Member
Nov 24, 2006
15,811
23,884
NE Tennessee
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Nokta Simplex, Land Ranger Pro, Quick Draw Pro, Deteknix XPointer
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Now I just need the F22 to find me some silver. The Vaquero sure has

Shouldn't be a problem. How a detector works in the gold range where most trash resides is where I judge a detectors abilities.
 

DiggerinVA

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Sep 16, 2013
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GPX5000, AT Gold, AT Pro, Whites TDI, Bandido 2 umax, Tejon, Vaquero, Deus 2, ORX and Legend
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There are two reasons why coins or other good targets are missed....either they are being masked by iron or other junk; or they are to deep for most machines to ID correctly. Notice that i didnt say "hit"...but ID correctly! This is where the price of the etrac comes from. I had a F75 ltd, fishers "big dog"....and it would "hit" a silver dime at really great depths. But the numbers and even the tones would jump around at those depths. The Etrac is the king of deep coins. And as for the iron trash.....that is where the Deus will beat the pants off of the rest...again, which is why the price is what it is.
 

sycotoad

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Jul 7, 2014
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Given the fact that First Texas make so many models of metal detector and the fact that they appear to lack that made in the US feel about them, wouldnt you think it good business sense to move ALL their manufacturing to China now, instead of just getting their two biggest selling Bounty Hunters made there? - Just a thought
 

atomicscott

Bronze Member
Aug 18, 2011
1,564
1,055
Riverside CA
Detector(s) used
Current: Nokta Makro Simplex+, Teknetics Patriot, Fisher Gold Bug (original), GP Pinpointer (Garrett Clone) Lesche. Owned: Omega 8000, Minelab X-Terra 505, Fisher F2, Tesoro Vaquero, & Compadre, Whit
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Given the fact that First Texas make so many models of metal detector and the fact that they appear to lack that made in the US feel about them, wouldnt you think it good business sense to move ALL their manufacturing to China now, instead of just getting their two biggest selling Bounty Hunters made there? - Just a thought

That makes no sense. Since they "seem to be" chinese, just let all the FTP products be made in china? They sure work well. I will take a Fisher over the other guys with their teensy display and bulky control box, or the funky purple/gray dig & beep single tone that finds more trash than treasure.
 

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