Looking for advice on Tesoro detectors

[Ray in CA]

Hi folks,

I used to have a Bandido II uMax and loved it. But I wound up selling it and have always regretted that. Now I see that Tesoro has a number of different detectors and I'm trying to decide between the Vaquero and the Cibola.

Which of these two do you think is more similar in performance to the old Bandido II uMax? I'm looking mainly to detect for gold jewelry and silver coins/jewelry, no relic hunting.

I'm wondering if the Vaquero is what replaced the B2uMax on account of it having the 3 3/4 ground balance knob, but someone would have to confirm that for me.

Thanks ahead for any help.

Ray

 

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[Sandman]

Get ready for a pleasent experience. All of the Tesoro line up have surpassed the old Bandido II in performance. The Vaquero is better than the Cibola in that it has a manual ground balance and more sensitivity. The Cibola is more of a turn on an go entry level, but still very good.

 

[Ray in CA]

Thanks Sandman,

Yeah, the more I think about it the more the Vaquero is appealing to me.

How are the stock coils on Tesoros these days? I never did like the one on my B2uMax so I opted for the Widescan coil instead, which gave me much better performance, especially on the beaches of Malibu where I used to frequent quite often.

Ray

Get ready for a pleasent experience. All of the Tesoro line up have surpassed the old Bandido II in performance. The Vaquero is better than the Cibola in that it has a manual ground balance and more sensitivity. The Cibola is more of a turn on an go entry level, but still very good.

 

[Mentz]

Hi Ray, I just bought the Vaquero and also owned the Bandido II µMax.(Imiss it also) The Vaquero works OK in the dry sand on the Delaware beaches but is noisy in the wet. I've found that trying to remeve the coil cover to clean the black sand the cover will crack and shatter as its made with a brittle plastic unlike the older covers. havn't found the right combo between the sens and thresh in the supertuning while at the beach as trying that is also noisy. Still get about 6-8 inches in the dry sand on coins. I use the Minelab Elite for the wet sand and get 10-12 inches on coins, box in hipmount bag with strap around the neck. Lite weight of the Vaquero for the dry sand is the way to go.

 

[Ray in CA]

Thanks Mentz.

I don't plan on using the Vaquero much at the beach as I no longer live near it. However, for around town, old home sites or old desert sites, I'm thinking it should work very well for my needs.

Do you use the stock coil, or have you tried any of the other coils and seen any difference?

Ray

 

[Michigan Badger]

Like the sandman posted all the new Tesoros are great. Tesoro has always had a nack for making easy to use and understand detectors. No other brand gets as clear of a signal as the Tesoro models do.

I've used the Compadre, Original Silver Sabre, Silver Sabre II, Silver uMax, Deleon, and Tejon. They were all good and most got about the same depth if used with each machine's ideal coil.

Now here's where my own personal opinion comes in...ready? Of all of them I think the Silver uMax with 12x10 concentric coil is the deepest.

Of all the Tesoro models I still think the Silver uMax fitted with that awesome 12x10 inch coil is the best you can get out of the Tesoro land hunting machines. I found more and deeper stuff with it than I did with the Tejon (which is excellent).

My personal opinion is that all the Tesoros have basically the same depth if fitted with the proper coil for each machine. The Compadre gets the least depth because it is locked into that little stock coil. If they made it to accept the 12x10 coil it would do just as well as the Silver.

I sold my Silver uMax with 12x10 coil to a hunter in the UK and he just loves it. Pennies at 10 inches are not unknown to it.

If you buy any Tesoro, try to find one used unless money is no object with you. I bought my Silver uMax with 12x10 coil for $230 postpaid. After using it I sold my Tejon because it couldn't match it in buried coin tests. That Silver is one great little buzz box! All the older Sabre's and uMax machines would do the same if fitted with the 12x10 concentric coil.

But if you want to rise above Tesoro into the really deep world of detecting, get a Minelab GT. I now use it and depth is no longer even an issue. It's full automatic ground and sensitivity control is unsurpassed. Minelab makes most other brands seem primitive.

Hope you get what's best for you.

Badger

 

[JOE(USA)]

Michigan Badger,

I have never used the silver uMax with the 12 X 10" coil ! Taking your word on it,I'll give it a try. (Only a few more weeks of water hunting,then I hit the woods. Joe

 

[Ray in CA]

Hi MB,

Thanks for all that info. Definitely something to consider.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Silver uMax, but does it do well on gold jewelry and gold coins? At certain times of the year I am up in the sierra nevadas, and some of those old timers lost gold coins of varying sizes. I also like to detect playgrounds for gold jewelry. Silver coins are always on my hunt list, but I need something that is also hot on gold as was my B2umax.

What's your experience with the Silver where it concerns gold?

Ray

Like the sandman posted all the new Tesoros are great. Tesoro has always had a nack for making easy to use and understand detectors. No other brand gets as clear of a signal as the Tesoro models do.

I've used the Compadre, Original Silver Sabre, Silver Sabre II, Silver uMax, Deleon, and Tejon. They were all good and most got about the same depth if used with each machine's ideal coil.

Now here's where my own personal opinion comes in...ready? Of all of them I think the Silver uMax with 12x10 concentric coil is the deepest.

Of all the Tesoro models I still think the Silver uMax fitted with that awesome 12x10 inch coil is the best you can get out of the Tesoro land hunting machines. I found more and deeper stuff with it than I did with the Tejon (which is excellent).

My personal opinion is that all the Tesoros have basically the same depth if fitted with the proper coil for each machine. The Compadre gets the least depth because it is locked into that little stock coil. If they made it to accept the 12x10 coil it would do just as well as the Silver.

I sold my Silver uMax with 12x10 coil to a hunter in the UK and he just loves it. Pennies at 10 inches are not unknown to it.

If you buy any Tesoro, try to find one used unless money is no object with you. I bought my Silver uMax with 12x10 coil for $230 postpaid. After using it I sold my Tejon because it couldn't match it in buried coin tests. That Silver is one great little buzz box! All the older Sabre's and uMax machines would do the same if fitted with the 12x10 concentric coil.

But if you want to rise above Tesoro into the really deep world of detecting, get a Minelab GT. I now use it and depth is no longer even an issue. It's full automatic ground and sensitivity control is unsurpassed. Minelab makes most other brands seem primitive.

Hope you get what's best for you.

Badger

 

[Michigan Badger]

Ray the Silver loves gold and copper. But it also loves iron.

I didn't mind this because I like iron relics. I found my 1st cannonball with a Tesoro.

I should also mention it is possible my Silver uMax was extra hot but I personally doubt that.

The trick is to hunt slower and make smaller swings once you zero-in on a target.

The Silver uMax by itself is a good detector. It will find coins in heavy trash at 5-7 inches deep. But put that 12x10 on her and she's a whole new animal. Now you're looking at 8-10+ inches on coins.

I had a short communication with James at Tesoro and he didn't want to say this rig is deeper than the Tejon but he did add that they're thinking seriously about making a 12x10 concentric for the Tejon. I wonder why?

Right now all they have for the Tejon in 12x10 is the DD coil. The DD is one sweet coil but they're not nearly as deep as the concentric 12x10's. And too, the concentric is a heck of a lot better for working trashy areas.

Badger

 

[Ray in CA]

Thanks MB. The Silver uMax certainly is something to think about. Now you've gone and made me indecisive! lol

Ray

 

[Jason in TN]

Ray To confuse you a little more you may want to check out the Tesoro Tejon. I have one and love it.
The Double discrimination is very cool and it will go deep. Good for relic hunting for sure.

 

[Ray in CA]

Thanks Jason, but I've ruled out the Tejon. It's above my budget and I'm not really a relic hunter.

It's now a contest between the Vaquero and Silver uMax. Oh the dilemma!

Ray

 

[desertfox]

Ray, go with the Silver uMax, you won't be disappointed! The very first find my wife made with her's was a 18K gold ring with 27 diamonds in the sand at Pismo Beach about 7 1/2 years ago. Its still going strong...... HH and good luck

Desertfox

 

[JOE(USA)]

Ray in CA,

Go with the Silver uMax,you will not be disappointed. Joe

 

[Michigan Badger]

Thanks MB. The Silver uMax certainly is something to think about. Now you've gone and made me indecisive! lol

Ray

Ray, the Tejon, Vaquero, Silver, etc., are all great machines. You win with any (or all) of them.

Some go big time for a manual ground adjust but myself I'm not as big on that as some are. But, I could be wrong. It could be my soil here doesn't really need the ground adjust that much?

I found with my Tejon that the ground adjust spot on that knob was the same (or very close) no matter where I hunted. I found the same thing with my Nautilus IIb and the others. But again, maybe it's just our soil.

If I were you I'd check with locals who understand you soil conditions. But, if you get a good deal on a used Silver or some other factory preset ground balance machine you really can't lose. Tesoros have a great resale potential if you bought right in the first place. I'm a big believer in buying used if the detector is mint or near mint.

The only way we ever really know any detector is by actually using it for a decent amount of time.

I think the detector for you is the model you can get the best deal on in your price range. Like I say, all Tesoros are winners.

So if you buy Tesoro you're a winner no matter what.

Badger

 

[Michigan Badger]

Ray, I sent you a PM.

Badger

 

[Ray in CA]

Got you PM, thanks!

It's real tempting, but I think I will hold out for either the Vaquero or Silver uMax.

BTW, if your ground balance doesn't change much at all, it must be indicative that your soil is pretty consistent where you hunt and doesn't spike much in mineralization. Out here in California (at least where I go hunting) we've got a pretty wide array of mineralized soil, so unless one has an auto ground balancing machine he pretty much has to adjust a manual detector for the specific area.

Ray

 

[Michigan Badger]

Got you PM, thanks!

It's real tempting, but I think I will hold out for either the Vaquero or Silver uMax.

BTW, if your ground balance doesn't change much at all, it must be indicative that your soil is pretty consistent where you hunt and doesn't spike much in mineralization. Out here in California (at least where I go hunting) we've got a pretty wide array of mineralized soil, so unless one has an auto ground balancing machine he pretty much has to adjust a manual detector for the specific area.

Ray

Well that settles it for you Ray, you need the Vaquero because the Silver is factory preset.

 

[Ray in CA]

You may be right, MB, but I think I will still keep the Silver in mind despite the factor set ground balancing. I once bought a Compadre and even though it was factory set it did pretty well up in the Mother Lode area, and I even found my first silver quarter with it at an old school (which unfortunately they have since torn down).

So I agree, one can't really go wrong with any of the Tesoros. Not only are they simple to use, riduculously light in weight, but they are great detectors that will find one a lot of good stuff. I pretty much paid for my Bandido II uMax the first time I took it out to a park and found a thick white gold ring with seven diamonds in it!

I plan on making a decision this week, so I'll let you folks know what I decide.

Ray

 

[Ray in CA]

Okay folks, it didn't take me long to decide, but after reading SaginawIan's reviews on the Silver uMax I've decided to give this little detector a chance. Firstly because the price is just right (even though I can afford a bit more), and secondly it just seems like a great little detector, fun to use, and I probably won't have any major problems with it handling ground mineralization.

And, I think I want to mate it with the 12x10 concentric coil for maximum depth. I figure I can always resell it if I think the Vaquero might serve my needs a little better, but for now I'm gonna start with the Silver and after using it for a while write my own review.

Now all I have to do is go and find a good used one with the above coil. If I can't find that I'll just have to buy brand new. Wish me luck in my search!

And thanks to everyone for their assistance!

Ray