Deep Detector Tejon vs. F70

[rainyday101]

Have kind of narrowed it down to these two. I am a coin shooter with mild soil, mostly sandy. I am looking for a deeper detector in that price range. Research has narrowed it down to these two for depth demons in that price range. Anybody use both and what are your thoughts? Any opinions on these two detectors are welcome.

 

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[norbyx]

I had a tejon and sold it... Too hot for me. Also I like to know what is down there so I rather have a detector with a display of some kind. If it was my choice I would go with the F70.

 

[LuckyLarry]

In mild (low Fe) soil the Tejon is the deepest vlf I've ever seen or had my hands on, including the F70 by a small margin. It does however, have a problem with being over-driven (too much gain). When interference could be a problem, both machines will teach you a new language with all their noises. Turn the sensitivity down and both will behave somewhat better, but remember that when you get into minerals other than Fe or salts of some kind, the Fisher will put a smile on your face.. It does MUCH MUCH better on salt beaches than the Tejon. I traded my Tejon for a Browning 338 mag, and haven't missed it yet. The Tejon is a slight bit noisier than the F70, and the F70 is MUCH faster in recovery time!

Note: In my soil, I would chose the F70, no question about it..

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks Lucky Larry, I always enjoy reading your post. I do have mild soil and am not anywhere near the ocean beaches. For me an ocean beach is the Great Lakes. I have a keen interest in the F70 and have read all I can find about it. I have read enough I could probably pick one up and run it, even though I have never touched one. I also do like Tesoro though too. The only thing that worries me about the Tejon though is that when I turn up the Disc. to cherry pick for silver I will loose depth. I would have to use the dual disc circuit with one disc set real low and the second to hit on zincolns and above. With all the trash in the areas I hunt I think it could get a bit tedious constantly switching between disc. modes. With the F70 I could set the disc low and learn the Delta tones to make digging decisions. Does that sound reasonable?

I know the Tejon has great separation and recovery time, but if the F70 is faster, that would make it even better in trash. It would be used primarily for deep coins, and the coins do get quite deep in the sandy areas by me. When I feel the need to hunt for jewelry I have the Tiger Shark for water and that works really well. You might laugh at me, but on the land, my Silver uMax will find rings at a reasonable depth really well. How would the F70 do on rings if I wanted to use it for that also?

 

[LuckyLarry]

The F70 will of course have an edge on the Silv uMax for depth, and the F70 is a power house, not much different than the standard F75. But I can't comment on the Tiger Shark because I know very little about it. The fastest detectors I've ever seen for slicing in between trash are the old Compass Scanner series, but they are really tough to find, and usually VERY expensive. The last good one I saw on ebay went for $1100. Keith Wills still repairs them, I think, and he may have one for sale. He is the tech who added 3" to their depth on a penny, from 8" to 11". The GS Pro and the R&C are the deepest of all. F series Fishers are some of the fastest detectors currently made though. CZ's not so, but CZ's can be run in all metal with tone discrimination, and therefore bypass the current drain of its power. Save for PI's, the deepest all-purpose detectors I've ever used in really harsh soil or salt/black sand beaches are the CZ's, with the Minelab Sovs coming in a (very) close second place. The Tejon is fast at auto re-tune and recovery speed, but the F series Fishers are even faster. Not all Silver uMaxes are the same, some aren't exactly at their prescribed frequencies either. Some are deeper than others too. The Fishers don't seem to have that problem at all. When I get into the real bad dirt, the only ones I take with me are my CZ for salt beaches, my old Gold Scanner Pro for fine gold and cherry-picking, and my $69 American Hawks Explorer, it for finding old wheaties. They are cheap, but they work best at a constant 5.6-6.5 or so Mhz and are extremely stable in operation. If I owned a CZ70 (and I might soon), I would mostly use it on open ball fields or remote open meadows in the deep or out-of-the-way forest.. Just FYI concerning the old Compass Scanners:

and..

 

[Terry Soloman]

Thanks Lucky Larry, I always enjoy reading your post. I do have mild soil and am not anywhere near the ocean beaches. For me an ocean beach is the Great Lakes. I have a keen interest in the F70 and have read all I can find about it. I have read enough I could probably pick one up and run it, even though I have never touched one. I also do like Tesoro though too. The only thing that worries me about the Tejon though is that when I turn up the Disc. to cherry pick for silver I will loose depth. I would have to use the dual disc circuit with one disc set real low and the second to hit on zincolns and above. With all the trash in the areas I hunt I think it could get a bit tedious constantly switching between disc. modes. With the F70 I could set the disc low and learn the Delta tones to make digging decisions. Does that sound reasonable?

I know the Tejon has great separation and recovery time, but if the F70 is faster, that would make it even better in trash. It would be used primarily for deep coins, and the coins do get quite deep in the sandy areas by me. When I feel the need to hunt for jewelry I have the Tiger Shark for water and that works really well. You might laugh at me, but on the land, my Silver uMax will find rings at a reasonable depth really well. How would the F70 do on rings if I wanted to use it for that also?

Have you thought about the Tesoro Outlaw with the 12'x10" coil (comes with two more as well)? It is a much better choice for silver and rings. You don't lose that much depth when you up the discrimination with the Tejon, but it is ultra-sensitive to big deep iron (which makes it an excellent relic machine). It took me about 100-hours to get used to the Tejon, and find the settings that worked best for me when I moved up from the Vaquero.

 

[Bottlecapbill]

If you want deep silver, why use any discrimination at all? Get a machine with a VDI display, run it wide open and use the screen/sound/depth to discriminate. I'd go with the fisher. More tools in the box. In my experience, a lot of deep silver doesn't even come in the silver range, due to being on edge or near scrap metal.......if you disc you won't get those keepers. Just my opinion.

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks again Lucky Larry. Great info. Another detector I had considered was a Detector Pro Pirate Pro just for it's low freq. at 2.4KHz. That would be a great silver hunter, just don't know about it's depth abilities. Tempting though. Not enough info on them. I have read a few things where people were saying they are deep on silver, but deep is a relative term.

Terry, I have thought about the Outlaw but won't get much of a depth gain over the Silver. The Tejon does concern me about it's liking to deep metal. I know it is more of a relic machine and probably a great one at that.

Bottlecapbill, what you have mentioned is exactly why I am looking at the F70. Some of the people using delta tones are having great success once they get use to that many tones. It would be interesting to re-cover some of the trashy areas I have been through with the F70 and see how much more I could find. I would rely more on tone than VDI to make deep digging decisions.

I have also looked at the MX5, but it is still to new so the jury is still out on deep or average for it. I do know from what I have read that the F70 properly set up is deep for sure.

 

[norbyx]

The detector pro is a good detector but not too deep. It works great in wet sand and in salt water, main defect, not deep and very low resale value. I had the wader not the pirate pro that should be more or less the same.. Anyhow I ended up selling it and don't regret it much. Mx5 should be a great option. I wish I could try one and see how good it really is...

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks Norbyx. Scratch the detector pro. I agree the MX5 looks interesting. Right now I am leaning towards the F70.

 

[Bottlecapbill]

Thanks again Lucky Larry. Great info. Another detector I had considered was a Detector Pro Pirate Pro just for it's low freq. at 2.4KHz. That would be a great silver hunter, just don't know about it's depth abilities. Tempting though. Not enough info on them. I have read a few things where people were saying they are deep on silver, but deep is a relative term.

Terry, I have thought about the Outlaw but won't get much of a depth gain over the Silver. The Tejon does concern me about it's liking to deep metal. I know it is more of a relic machine and probably a great one at that.

Bottlecapbill, what you have mentioned is exactly why I am looking at the F70. Some of the people using delta tones are having great success once they get use to that many tones. It would be interesting to re-cover some of the trashy areas I have been through with the F70 and see how much more I could find. I would rely more on tone than VDI to make deep digging decisions.

I have also looked at the MX5, but it is still to new so the jury is still out on deep or average for it. I do know from what I have read that the F70 properly set up is deep for sure.

Tones are a helpful tool. I run an AT pro right now and the pro zero tones are the most useful tool in the bunch. That being said, the VDI can be very helpful as well. For example, if you're hunting in an area that's been filled with gravel containing a lot of minerals, you'll hear a ton of noise which is confusing but if you watch the VDI and where it's jumping you can lock in on keepers hidden in the noise. If you're in heavy junk and and hear a target jumping in different tone ranges, you can check the VDI to see if it's possibly two distinct targets close together or just normal trash. The most helpful feature of VDI is often the depth indicator. If you're in an area where most targets are 5+ inches down, then that's helpful discrimination information. You may want to pass on a two inch target. Sure you can estimate depth without the indicator but it's a lot faster with a screen. More speed means more holes dug which means more goodies.

As for the detectorpro I wouldn't bother. While low frequency will give you better depth, it only does so if transmitted with enough power. One thing which that machine doesn't seem to have. Not to mention my experience with VLF machines is they're also iron magnets, and there is a good chance you'll walk over any jewelry finds while silver hunting, which sucks. That may not be your desired target but it's always nice to find.

I've never owned an F-70 but I don't think you can go wrong with one. I know nothing about the MX5.

 

[crazy4coins]

I would love an F70, but I've heard their VDI is really jumpy. Comparatively, the Omega 8000 is supposed to have much more stable numbers.

 

[LuckyLarry]

I watched a video once that had an Omega, a Minelab Explorer II, and a (standard) Fisher F75 in a contest. There was only about a 1/2" difference in-ground detection depth comparing the Omega against the F75, and the Explorer II. The soil was neither harsh, nor was it the wussie stuff, sort of in the middle for Fe content.. Salts (Sodium, Na) is found in other place besides salt ocean beaches..

Iron is a metal. So is sodium.

If that video gave enough information, I wouldn't know, but the Omega is a real decent piece of work, real tight and quick too. For me, the F70 or F75 would be better though, because they would handle salts (not just beach salt) better than the Omega. So would the Gold Bug Pro.. Its 5" DD hits 10 inches in air on a clad dime when it's in my hands. I read some notes from Dave Johnson and he seemed to say that the GBP does better than the other single freq Fishers in salts (Na). Sodium (salt) comprises 1/6 of most soil's content, an important item to consider when buying a new detector. Here are photos of three different types of sodium (salts):

 

[Newfiehunter]

Rainyday

Without being biased towards either of the two detector that you have narrowed it down to, and by the advice of Lucky Larry who seems to know his Fishers and others the choice seems obvious. The machine would be the F70. It is important to make the right choice to what would suit you since you are dishing out the cash, but sometimes if you over analyze things too much your decision will be more confusing. Go with your gut instincts and pull the trigger. Good luck on your choice. Let us know what you decide! HHing.

 

[crazy4coins]

Rainyday

Without being biased towards either of the two detector that you have narrowed it down to, and by the advice of Lucky Larry who seems to know his Fishers and others the choice seems obvious. The machine would be the F70. It is important to make the right choice to what would suit you since you are dishing out the cash, but sometimes if you over analyze things too much your decision will be more confusing. Go with your gut instincts and pull the trigger. Good luck on your choice. Let us know what you decide! HHing.

Agreed, the tejon is more of a relic machine. Not to say that the F70 is not amazing at relic hunting, but it's more suited for coins and jewelry than the tejon.

 

[rainyday101]

After all I have read and all the great opinions, I am going to get the F70. This detector just seems to be loaded with potential, adjustment, just the right amount of features, and amazing depth. I will wait a while to order from one of our sponsors, more closer to spring. Can't wait for all the snow to melt and the dam frost to come out of the ground. Right now frost here is 5-6 feet deep! I will be in the water with Tiger Shark long before the ground thaws.

Can't wait to try my first Fisher. I still love my Tesoro's though!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Best of luck with it!

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks Terry, I hope you guys don't disown me!

 

[Jolly Roger Blue]

Been following this since last year and I'm in the same situation, I want deeper detection. What happened with your thoughts on the xterra 505? It seems easier to use that the F70 and both seem like you need a field manual out there. I'm all about simple. Sure I can probably learn both but how long will that take. I was also very impressed with the Golden u max being able to notch out pull tabs. Something I can't do very well with the silver. I'm leaning towards the F70, 505, or wait for the new Casador.

 

[Fletch88]

Been following this since last year and I'm in the same situation, I want deeper detection. What happened with your thoughts on the xterra 505? It seems easier to use that the F70 and both seem like you need a field manual out there. I'm all about simple. Sure I can probably learn both but how long will that take. I was also very impressed with the Golden u max being able to notch out pull tabs. Something I can't do very well with the silver. I'm leaning towards the F70, 505, or wait for the new Casador.

That notching out pulltabs looks great on YouTube in a nice clean park, but in real life situations, it will have you missing gold. Yes we all get tired of digging them but the fact is if the are bent, cut or older style tabs they can vary a lot. The golden isn't known for being a depth monster either. I've never had an F70 or 505 but hear great things on both machines. I'm more familiar with Minelabs language and it becomes very intuitive once you learn it.