Everyone share help and info and tips on the Tesoro Vaquero.

Machxin

Jr. Member
Apr 26, 2013
45
8
Missouri
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I thought I would create a thread that could help give everyone information on the Vaquero. I have only hunted with it twice, and I am learning quick but every bit helps. Hopefully this thread can be full of information on the Vaquero and experiences with it.

Some beeps I got were nice signals up until zinc penny, then when I disced up to silver or max it let out small crackle type beeps. Seems this was iron or aluminum can parts. Anyone else get this same tone?

I am learning to ground balance but it still haunts me that I might not be getting it perfect. I watched 53 Silvers and Terry's videos on ground balancing, any other tips?

Seems a bunch of beeps I get are very short and low, and even when threshold is at the 3:00 clock position it is still a very low and short tone. Anyone think these are just false readings or worth a dig?

My Vaquero as well as the Bounty hunter picks up any good sized iron with strong signals even at max disc, is this the normal way it works?

I found this on my last hunt (second with the Vaquero). Sadly it was damaged but it is from 1904 and I am quite sure it is gold plated bronze. Louisiana Purchase Exposition

IMG_2365.JPG IMG_2355.jpg
 

Dwight Frye

Full Member
Apr 3, 2013
177
33
CHARLOTTE NC
Detector(s) used
TESORO CIBOLA
I have the cibola . It's beeps seem very short duration . I don't know if this is normal or not . Most videos out there show you the finds but not the actual use of the machine . Lol
 

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
When you ground balance in allmetal with a slight hum and then switch to disc, by turn up thres is like adding gain which will make the vaq noisey
 

Last edited:
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Machxin

Jr. Member
Apr 26, 2013
45
8
Missouri
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
When you ground balance in allmetal with a slight hum and then switch to disc, by turn up thres is like adding gain which will make the vaq noisey

Thanks I will remember that for my next treasure hunt!
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,421
30,102
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Fresh battery (no more than 15-hours per battery).

Ground balance in All Metal initially.

Set your Threshold at the 1:00pm position.

Set your Sensitivity at Eight - Nine ( you can "Red line" it in some some soils without chatter, but not the majority of the time).

Initially set your Discrimination just below Nickel for gold. Good targets will bang out left to right, and front to back (moving the coil over a hit away from you, then back to you, and swinging left then right). If it only hits swinging left, but not right (a "one way" hit), or does not respond pushing forward or backward it is 95% rusted iron. A good target gives a very "clean" almost bell tone Zip-Zip, while aluminum pulltabs give a slight "dirty" Grrr-Grrr tone.

Once you get tired after a couple of hours digging pulltabs, move your Discrimination to 3/4 or the 3:00pm position. Ignore all broken signals as copper, clad and silver targets will be solid as you swing over them from all directions (north-south, east-west)

Re-check your ground balance every 10-15 minutes by simply depressing your "Red Pinpoint Button" and pumping the coil up and down to make sure the ground mineralization has not changed and re-balance as neccessary.

Headphones, use headphones!!!!
 

OP
OP
M

Machxin

Jr. Member
Apr 26, 2013
45
8
Missouri
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Fresh battery (no more than 15-hours per battery).

Ground balance in All Metal initially.

Set your Threshold at the 1:00pm position.

Set your Sensitivity at Eight - Nine ( you can "Red line" it in some some soils without chatter, but not the majority of the time).

Initially set your Discrimination just below Nickel for gold. Good targets will bang out left to right, and front to back (moving the coil over a hit away from you, then back to you, and swinging left then right). If it only hits swinging left, but not right (a "one way" hit), or does not respond pushing forward or backward it is 95% rusted iron. A good target gives a very "clean" almost bell tone Zip-Zip, while aluminum pulltabs give a slight "dirty" Grrr-Grrr tone.

Once you get tired after a couple of hours digging pulltabs, move your Discrimination to 3/4 or the 3:00pm position. Ignore all broken signals as copper, clad and silver targets will be solid as you swing over them from all directions (north-south, east-west)

Re-check your ground balance every 10-15 minutes by simply depressing your "Red Pinpoint Button" and pumping the coil up and down to make sure the ground mineralization has not changed and re-balance as neccessary.

Headphones, use headphones!!!!

As always Terry, awesome and helpful! This information is great, is going to really help me understand what my Vaquero is trying to tell me! I am saving this in wordpad right now, as the information so far is great! That one way hit happened to me a lot which is why I dug up like 10 pounds of iron on my last hunt. Using the pinpoint to check the ground balance is gonna be helpful, I had been switching to all metal and checking.
 

chinchilla

Full Member
Dec 18, 2009
182
24
Detector(s) used
Tesoro, White's
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
identify hotrocks by using the all-metal pinpoint
 

OP
OP
M

Machxin

Jr. Member
Apr 26, 2013
45
8
Missouri
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero, Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
identify hotrocks by using the all-metal pinpoint
Hotrocks are meteorites it says when I searched for them. How would one search for them? fields? I was metal detecting around an old, old, building and found a melted blob of a rock, did not seem to be done by torch or smelting and looked like a lump of silvery metal, now I might have to dig it out and post it, might of found something from space on my first hunt with the Vaquero!

This is great information for anyone owning a Vaquero or Tesoro metal detector! Hope people keep adding to it.
 

Fletch88

Silver Member
Mar 7, 2013
4,841
2,367
Valdosta, GA
Detector(s) used
Garrett ATPro- 8.5x11, 5x8, CORS Fotune 5.5x9.5
Tesoro Silver microMax- 8 donut, 8x11 RSD, 3x18 Cleansweep
Minelab Excalibur ll- 10" Tornado
Minelab CTX 3030
Minelab Xterra 305
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Got my first good day on the Vaquero. And yes Terry your right, after I dug 3 thousand pull tabs and 6-8 clads I learned 3oclock was good on discrimination.Otherwise I wouldn't have made it 10 feet from starting point.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

L

l2hunt

Guest
i hear ya fletch, we all run in to those pull tabs...also have fits with the "hot rocks and iron", can't even come close to getting rid of them with my m6, hopefully the vaqeuro will help with this problem!!
 

chinchilla

Full Member
Dec 18, 2009
182
24
Detector(s) used
Tesoro, White's
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hotrocks are meteorites it says when I searched for them. How would one search for them? fields? I was metal detecting around an old, old, building and found a melted blob of a rock, did not seem to be done by torch or smelting and looked like a lump of silvery metal, now I might have to dig it out and post it, might of found something from space on my first hunt with the Vaquero!

This is great information for anyone owning a Vaquero or Tesoro metal detector! Hope people keep adding to it.


I mostly hunt for relics, I can't talk much about meteorite hunting. In short terms, a hotrock is a mineral object which mineralization differs from the ground surrounding it
 

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