Best coil for nuggets with Vaquero

[atomicscott]

Hoping to get some advice on coil choice for my Vaquero. I was wondering if the 5.75 widescan, or the 10" X 5" elliptical would be the better choice for finding small (gold 1-2 grain & up) here in the CA desert. I was out in gold country with the 'V' for the first time with the the other day using the stock 9" X 8" coil & the heavy black sand in the washes was really a challenge. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott

 

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[Rebel73153]

Mine did really good with the 5.75 widescan. The DD does better in heavy mineralization.

 

[atomicscott]

Mine did really good with the 5.75 widescan. The DD does better in heavy mineralization.

Thanks rebel, between your comment and others i've read, I decided on the 5.75 widescan. Thanks again!

 

[nuggetshooter323]

Try experimenting with the 5.75" concentric, it's more sensitive than the widescan. If you can find ground that's not quiet so minerlized, you might be suprised. When I had my V, I found the 10" elliptical was a great performer, also the 5.75" concentric works great too. If I was going to use a V for prospecting I would definately use the 10" elliptical over the 5.75" widescan because the increased depth and the pointed ends of elliptical coil give you more sensitivity over a round coil. With widescan coils you need all the help you can get in that department.

 

[Ken~Digs]

Hi Folks - if i'm not mistaken , Tesoro refers to the 5x10 Elliptical (which works great) as a widescan coil as well. Ken

 

[chinchilla]

you are correct Ken, the 5x10 is a widescan or DD coil

 

[Terry Soloman]

I think you can forget about sub-gram gold with the Vaquero. I hope I'm wrong. I have yet to see ANY nuggets under 5-grams found with a Vaquero. We use the Lobo Super Traq at our gold prospecting school in Arizona. Best of luck to you though!

 

[Ken~Digs]

I think you can forget about sub-gram gold with the Vaquero. I hope I'm wrong. I have yet to see ANY nuggets under 5-grams found with a Vaquero. We use the Lobo Super Traq at our gold prospecting school in Arizona. Best of luck to you though!

Terry Soloman knows what He's Talking about . . . . Ken~Digs

 

[Ken~Digs]

Hi Terry ~ check out this Lobo setup I did from an RV scrubby Brush Shaft

 

[Terry Soloman]

Hi Terry ~ check out this Lobo setup I did from an RV scrubby Brush Shaft View attachment 649971

That is a SWEET straight shaft setup! Thanks for the kind words!

 

[Ken~Digs]

Thanks Terry & Your Welcome. I adapted everything over to 1/4" nylon Hardware. I dont care about altering it , I'll use it till it's irrepairable anyhoo. The Midd. section of Scrubby shaft was long enuf to do 1 piece & i wantes to leave my stock lower on Orig (stripped) so i went to Belda's but all Mark had was a whites so i adapted Nylon parts with Epoxy & clamping , etc. it all worked out really cool . Drilled Baby coil & 5x10" to 1/4" as well - Ken

 

[atomicscott]

I think you can forget about sub-gram gold with the Vaquero. I hope I'm wrong. I have yet to see ANY nuggets under 5-grams found with a Vaquero. We use the Lobo Super Traq at our gold prospecting school in Arizona. Best of luck to you though!

First off, I'm well aware of your rep Terry, and I know 'U Da Man'! Did you mean grams or grains? 5 gram nuggets are more like a ROCK to me! I think most detectors will find a nearly 1/4oz nugget! I think part of the reason you havent seen -5 grain nuggets found with the Vaquero, is because being a multi-purpose detector, the V is not most people's first choice for gold. I believe it's only been around about 3 years and it may take awhile for it to catch on as a gold machine. I havent found any nuggets with the Vaquero yet (mostly because I havent been to a known nugget area to even try!) But I HAVE found small lead shot that was approx 1 GRAIN or less, at approx 3", as well as bb's and pellets in fairly hot ground in a hardrock mining area. Am I correct to assume if I were to swing over GOLD the same size as the aforementioned items, that I would find said gold? This is what I have been led to believe. If this wrong, let me know, I need all the info I can get! I didn't plan or care to be able to find sub-grainers, but I am amazed that I have found such small lead. Steve H. is the reason I purchased the Vaquero for gold When I asked him, he said it should be fine with the small coil for 2-3 grain size gold. He has found nuggets with the Vaquero, although I am not sure of the size. Thanks

 

[badger]

The 10 inch elliptical is the best choice. There is a reason Tesoro put the 10 inch elliptical coil on their BEST gold detector. (the Lobo). Obviously it is the best gold coil. think about it? It ain't complicated.

 

[Terry Soloman]

First off, I'm well aware of your rep Terry, and I know 'U Da Man'! Did you mean grams or grains? 5 gram nuggets are more like a ROCK to me! I think most detectors will find a nearly 1/4oz nugget! I think part of the reason you havent seen -5 grain nuggets found with the Vaquero, is because being a multi-purpose detector, the V is not most people's first choice for gold. I believe it's only been around about 3 years and it may take awhile for it to catch on as a gold machine. I havent found any nuggets with the Vaquero yet (mostly because I havent been to a known nugget area to even try!) But I HAVE found small lead shot that was approx 1 GRAIN or less, at approx 3", as well as bb's and pellets in fairly hot ground in a hardrock mining area. Am I correct to assume if I were to swing over GOLD the same size as the aforementioned items, that I would find said gold? This is what I have been led to believe. If this wrong, let me know, I need all the info I can get! I didn't plan or care to be able to find sub-grainers, but I am amazed that I have found such small lead. Steve H. is the reason I purchased the Vaquero for gold When I asked him, he said it should be fine with the small coil for 2-3 grain size gold. He has found nuggets with the Vaquero, although I am not sure of the size. Thanks

If Steve says you can get sub-gram gold with the Vaquero, then it CAN be done, and I stand corrected. I have never seen a Vaquero in the goldfields however. I will say this, that same lead birdshot (1-grain) and BB's that you are getting at 3", will beep the Lobo ST at 7" in hot Central Arizona soil. The Vaq operates at 14kHz, while the Lobo pumps out 17.8kHz, which helps the circuitry push that eliptical double-D signal a bit deeper on the really small stuff.

I suppose it is like comparing the Cibola's discrimination abilities to that of the Lobo ST. The Lobo CAN discriminate out iron, but not AS WELL or surgically as the Cibola, which was designed as a coin and jewelry machine. Different tools for different jobs. You CAN remove a 1/2" nut with a pair of pliers, but a half-inch wrench works a lot better!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Thanks Terry & Your Welcome. I adapted everything over to 1/4" nylon Hardware. I dont care about altering it , I'll use it till it's irrepairable anyhoo. The Midd. section of Scrubby shaft was long enuf to do 1 piece & i wantes to leave my stock lower on Orig (stripped) so i went to Belda's but all Mark had was a whites so i adapted Nylon parts with Epoxy & clamping , etc. it all worked out really cool . Drilled Baby coil & 5x10" to 1/4" as well - Ken

Just a great mod Ken. I love the way you set it up. Check out the Lobo ST I traded to Sam Wagaman for his Cibola. He set it up like this..

 

[atomicscott]

If Steve says you can get sub-gram gold with the Vaquero, then it CAN be done, and I stand corrected. I have never seen a Vaquero in the goldfields however. I will say this, that same lead birdshot (1-grain) and BB's that you are getting at 3", will beep the Lobo ST at 7" in hot Central Arizona soil. The Vaq operates at 14kHz, while the Lobo pumps out 17.8kHz, which helps the circuitry push that eliptical double-D signal a bit deeper on the really small stuff.

I suppose it is like comparing the Cibola's discrimination abilities to that of the Lobo ST. The Lobo CAN discriminate out iron, but not AS WELL or surgically as the Cibola, which was designed as a coin and jewelry machine. Different tools for different jobs. You CAN remove a 1/2" nut with a pair of pliers, but a half-inch wrench works a lot better!

Point well taken, Terry! And a ratchet with socket even better (usually). My actual question to Steve was closer to: will the V be a good choice for small gold (2-5 grain size) in the soCal desert. I am really hoping to find gold above or closer to the 1 grain size rather than sub-grain stuff (my eyes are getting bad). I will say the ground balancing is touchy; I gotta really stay on top of it every few feet in hot ground. Also, the blacksand in desert washes was giving me fits with the stock coil. The 5.75 dd is definitely better, but I havent been back out to the low desert to see how much better it is in those particular washes. I would have definitely bought a Lobo ST if I was able to afford it at the time and my main purpose was nuggetshooting. I do some relic hunting (stock 9X8 concetric coil) and coinshooting as well, so I figured the Vaquero would fit the bill for me without a huge compromise since I will only be nuggetshooting occasionally. Just a side note I found an almost new Lobo ST for $475 before I decided on the Vaquero. I kept calling, the guy never called back. About 2 weeks after buying the V, the ad was still there and he lowered thew price to $450! Go figure!

 

[Ken~Digs]

Hi All and Thanks Terry and i Like Sam's setup pretty well too , Nice . I dont know that much about Cibola though. Also I Agree to what Badger said for Nat Gold~ "The 10 inch elliptical is the best choice. There is a reason Tesoro put the 10 inch elliptical coil on their BEST gold detector. (the Lobo). Obviously it is the best gold coil. think about it? It ain't complicated." is a True/Smart statement about the5x10 at on Lobo ST. My experience when Nugget Hunting with Lobo as Primary Detector on is the 5x10 is about Ideal. Rt now I use the Baby Elliptical as Companion & Pinpointer to Inf LS , the Baby is a pretty Zippy little Coil itself. I have found Small Birdshot & Pickers No Problem with the 5x10 Ell. as well. Going out to a relatively small Quartzy/Gold placer area tomorrow ~ I Love to prospect with my MD's. Always gotta be Hopefull & Positive even when U Dig All like I do . . . Ken

 

[atomicscott]

Hi All and Thanks Terry and i Like Sam's setup pretty well too , Nice . I dont know that much about Cibola though. Also I Agree to what Badger said for Nat Gold~ "The 10 inch elliptical is the best choice. There is a reason Tesoro put the 10 inch elliptical coil on their BEST gold detector. (the Lobo). Obviously it is the best gold coil. think about it? It ain't complicated." is a True/Smart statement about the5x10 at on Lobo ST. My experience when Nugget Hunting with Lobo as Primary Detector on is the 5x10 is about Ideal. Rt now I use the Baby Elliptical as Companion & Pinpointer to Inf LS , the Baby is a pretty Zippy little Coil itself. I have found Small Birdshot & Pickers No Problem with the 5x10 Ell. as well. Going out to a relatively small Quartzy/Gold placer area tomorrow ~ I Love to prospect with my MD's. Always gotta be Hopefull & Positive even when U Dig All like I do . . . Ken

I understand what you say, Have you actually tried the 5X10 AND 5.75 on the V, or just the lobo? I think it's hard to say for sure which is best unless you have tried both coils on the Vaquero. The Lobo is a (mainly) gold machine. Vaquero is multi-purpose and not as deep (on gold at least) so I thought it would be a good idea to have as much depth as possible since it is not as hot as the Lobo. I'm finding tiny stuff (1 grain shot, etc.) so it seems to be working great for me so far. Steve H. actually said the V will work fine for 2-5 grainers with the small coil. I know he is quite the authority so I trust what he has to say. He has found gold with the Vaq and recommends it for a budget priced nugget shooting machine.

 

[Ken~Digs]

scott ~ I try to get detectors to pay for themselves like any other Tool I buy. To me Pickers just dont cut it, so here's what I'd do if I had a Vaquero (that's just me) but check this out - Ken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jork1nVBKo0&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1AC7C6530184675A

 

[atomicscott]

scott ~ I try to get detectors to pay for themselves like any other Tool I buy. To me Pickers just dont cut it, so here's what I'd do if I had a Vaquero (that's just me) but check this out - Ken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jork1nVBKo0&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1AC7C6530184675A

Hey Ken, Thanks so much for the info! Seen alot of Vaquero vids, but not yet seen this one. I guess I need to pick up a 10x12 coil as well! Thanks again, Scott