Vaquero Black 11x8 vs Fisher F70 orTeknetics Patriot 11" and even the T2 Classic.

doggoneitdignit

Hero Member
Oct 2, 2016
747
374
Canada
Detector(s) used
Current: Vaquero,Compadre,T2,300i, ML 440V, and Simplex+
Past:Whites 4000 D Series 3, Radio Shack 3001 Micronta
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Vaquero Black 11x8 vs Fisher F70 orTeknetics Patriot 11" and even the T2 Classic.

I would like to see comparison or if someone owns more specifically a Black Vaquero 11x8 RSD coil and there thoughts on the results on seperation, depth, and recovery tests on the two similar devices Fisher F70 and Teknetics Patriot. And if anyone owned and has owned a black Vaquero 11x8 RSD coil vs the T2 Classic the results on this too.

Thinking of owning picking up a Fisher F70, Teknetics Patriot or T2 here, and willing to see the results before posting a Want Ad on this site. Hoping to pay 250 to 300 used here on either of the three. I have seen a T2 going for less then this even brand new in some rare cases. Hard to believe, so want to be sure, as I may not even need another detector...but have not seen a comparison yet on the two.

Thanks.
 

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doggoneitdignit

doggoneitdignit

Hero Member
Oct 2, 2016
747
374
Canada
Detector(s) used
Current: Vaquero,Compadre,T2,300i, ML 440V, and Simplex+
Past:Whites 4000 D Series 3, Radio Shack 3001 Micronta
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
No reply's that's fine I will just stay with my Vaquero don't need to see anything else here. I'm convinced it is would suit me just fine.:occasion14:
 

digger27

Bronze Member
May 18, 2011
1,506
3,225
I didn't have the black Vaq or that 11X8" coil but I did use the purple Vaq, high tone, with 3 coils a 5.75" concentric, the standard 8x9 concentric and the large factory DD.
For several hundreds of hours I used that thing here in the SE. in my mineralized difficult iron and trash infested dirt and then moved to much better dirt out west in Kansas where I also used it for many hours.
We had some good times together and I found a ton of clad here in the south and a lot of other great items but that was early on when I didn't mind digging much more trash than I do now.
In my dirt I never could get real deep in the bad stuff, nobody really can with any brands here because the deeper you go the more the signals get screwed up but there was still plenty to find at 5" or less.
After my move out west the soil was almost perfect, the trash and iron in most of my public sites was much more manageable and I still found a ton with the Vaq and could go deeper but I got into using an F2 with a screen and found I loved hunting with screen units also.
Never thought I really needed the screen but I found I also had an affinity for those types of tools also.
Eventually I just got real tired of digging mounds of trash and I did figure out ways of avoiding a lot of that with the Vaq and still find great things but I used that F2 more and more and I started to dig a lot less trash with the screen unit but found more and more coins and jewelry while doing that.
Eventually I got an F70 and my volume of great finds soared to heights I thought unimaginable in the past, got deeper than that F2 by far and found targets at levels that could match or beat anything I ever could find depth-wise with the Vaq in that good dirt even using the big DD coil...and still dug way less trash than I used to while doing it than before.
I did use the Fisher much more than my Tesoros so that was a factor but I did that because I could avoid digging more trash because of both the audio and the screen info I had available on that one and I tried to use both features to my advantage.
We moved back to this same horrible devil dirt and I used both the F70 and the Vaq plus a Compadre.
Despite having more experience using the Vaq in iron infested sites and general use out west back here it was not all that helpful.
I still dig a little too much trash, still got fooled by a little too much iron no matter what coils I used.
Using the F70, on the other hand, I worked and found ways to get deeper than I ever did before in this mess, recover way more targets at deeper levels than many of the friends I hunted with using other detectors or at least discovered a new language to more accurately ID deeper and very masked targets better than using any other tool I ever swung here.
I did this though using both the screen information and the audio clues and found repeating behavior that made me more successful again than I thought possible.

It always amazes me that those that use units with no screens think that we that do use screen units blindly believe everything we see on the screen and make 100% of our digging decisions using the information they provide.
I can assure you with me that is not the case at all since the audio on the F70 can be just as descriptive as it is on my Tesoro and then I add in behavioral clues that I see on the screen to that tonal information to get much more data to work with.
I believe no single piece of data, audio or visual, as a whole but put it all together to make a much more accurate guess on the targets I am swinging over or I believed I have proved that is a better way to do it here using that Fisher in my dirt and my sites with all the challenges I face which are way more than any average good dirt sites I have hunted.
My success rate here is beyond what I could have ever imagined...again, so in my case I have to go with the numbers and what works.

It was a decision I never thought I would be in the position to make but a few months ago I had the opportunity to trade my Vaq away for a new coil for my F70 and a Mojave and despite all the great and productive fun times I had using it I did that...I just wasn't having the fun I used to have using it in my current location, it wasn't keeping up with the ease and ability I found I had using the Fisher so away it went to a hunter that lived and hunted in much better dirt than I do.
It turns out that Mojave was a gamble but a good one for me.
In this location it is getting much deeper than my Compadre ever could, can match and even beat the depth I usually could reach even using the Vaq which was surprising and started finding great treasure for me the minute I started using it.
I still don't use it all the time and it still seems to have a few issues with all the extra iron I have to deal with here but compared to the Vaq it seems better suited for this environment overall, much better than the Vaq for some reason but I am still not exactly sure how that can be...all I know it just is.
Hunting with the Mojave here is just more fun, less frustrating and more productive than using either the Vaq or my Compadre so a gamble that paid off for me.

Still, here even that very able Mojave will never be my prime because the settings I have available to use on the Fisher and the abilities it has proven here to conquer the most difficult conditions still is the number one choice for me when it counts.
Again where I hunt it is not normal at all by a long shot so others that use these same tools in different, better dirt can have much different experiences and levels of success.

Using both the F70 and a Tesoro or two for fun once in awhile is the way I do this hobby and I know I would not be happy any other way but that F70 is my prime and I can't see what changing in the foreseeable future because again...ya gotta go with what works the best and is the most suited for the conditions we all hunt in which can vary.

The F70 has been known for a long time as the very definition of a "sleeper", it has abilities that are beyond comprehension of many that never held one or even those that have but never explored the possibilities it has to offer if you go the extra mile and try to understand it at deeper levels.
All the units on this platform do in my mind, the F70, F75, T2 and now the Patriot...and as you can tell I am very biased in my opinions but that bias does come from hundreds of hours experience in vastly different conditions and soil types, not just guessing.
For FTP to come out with that Patriot at that lower price point still blows my mind because I know what it can do in the right hands at the right sites using the right settings.
It is not even priced at mid level and yet it can perform on par with flagship units...I really believe that and many new Patriot owners are starting to believe that too.

As always to each their own, I would never presume to tell any other hunter what tools to use or how to enjoy this hobby because it can be such a different experience for every one of us.
Unlike myself many have used a Vaq or an F70 and just had a horrible frustrating time with them which is normal in this hobby and can be said about most of the tools available to us no matter what brand or model.
One man's ceiling is another man's floor...always.

All I can tell you is what I believe using my tools in the sites, conditions and different situations I have experienced in more than one state that I have hunted in.
I am going to continue to use both my Fisher and my Mojave and hope to enjoy this hobby the best I can and so far it just seems to be working more than well...for me.
 

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doggoneitdignit

doggoneitdignit

Hero Member
Oct 2, 2016
747
374
Canada
Detector(s) used
Current: Vaquero,Compadre,T2,300i, ML 440V, and Simplex+
Past:Whites 4000 D Series 3, Radio Shack 3001 Micronta
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
As always insightful and appreciated of you sharing your experiences of what works for you and your area Digger, always a pleasure reading what you have to say and glad to have spend the time sharing your great efforts in expresssing your honest and biased opinions on TN forum. Doesn't go unnoticed.

Thanks again

Cheers Matey!
 

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