nugget hunting with a vaquero

AUDuke

Sr. Member
Apr 20, 2008
318
7
Quartzsite AZ
Detector(s) used
TDI, GB, GM-4, Vaquero, F75, Cibola, Compadre, Stingray, ML Explorer
First, Who told you that you cant lower sensitivity in AM. I can on mine. The V. is a good nugget hunter with the proper coil, either the 5 x 10 or the 5.75.( I prefer the 5.75 ). The only negative is the ground bal. It is very "touchy" in hot ground. ( I put a 10 turn pot in mine) I have found many 1 grain size nuggets. I found a 5 DWT specimen last Sunday with my V. I also own a Whites GM4 which is a good nugget finder but the V. is much lighter and I can swing it all day.
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
AUDuke said:
First, Who told you that you cant lower sensitivity in AM. I can on mine. The V. is a good nugget hunter with the proper coil, either the 5 x 10 or the 5.75.( I prefer the 5.75 ). The only negative is the ground bal. It is very "touchy" in hot ground. ( I put a 10 turn pot in mine) I have found many 1 grain size nuggets. I found a 5 DWT specimen last Sunday with my V. I also own a Whites GM4 which is a good nugget finder but the V. is much lighter and I can swing it all day.
The Vaquero is capable of finding small nuggets under the right circumstances. Installing a different pot is not something many can do. As with all detectors with manual ground balance, you must keep at it in all ground as it can change in a couple steps. The gain is not high enough nor is the frequency to make a really good gold nugget unit. It is best to get a dedicated gold detector. for the best results. :thumbsup:

Good Luck,
Sandman
 

OP
OP
D

dirt hound

Tenderfoot
Feb 29, 2008
8
0
I also own a gmt and a diablo umax,I own the vaquero for coin shooting but was wondering how it handles bad ground so I could use it as an extra gold machine for friends.I know from the manual that you cant lower the sensitivity in all metal,you have to go to disc mode and it only lowers the amplifiers.I called tesoro and they told me that you cant lower the sensitivity in all metal.And I have tried in all metal to lower the sensitivity in all metal on small lead and there is no differance but in disc mode there is a big differance.The only thing I notice in all metal mode is that when you go to max boost the detector chirps then when you back off the sensitivity it stops chirping,I cant figure it out!
 

AUDuke

Sr. Member
Apr 20, 2008
318
7
Quartzsite AZ
Detector(s) used
TDI, GB, GM-4, Vaquero, F75, Cibola, Compadre, Stingray, ML Explorer
"The question was does any one nugget hunt with a vaquero and how does it handle hot ground.) I use the V with a 5.75 coil for nugget hunting, along with my TDI, Gold Master 4 and my Girl friends Gold Bug II. The freq of the V is 14 kz the Diablo is 20, the original Gold Bug 19 and the X terra Gold coil is 17 all in the same range. The V has plenty of gain for nugget hunting. I found 3 more today with it. Mr Sandman; What do you use for nugget hunting?
 

extractor

Silver Member
Sep 27, 2007
2,941
53
Sal Sagev Adaven
Detector(s) used
E-TRAC,,,, SOVEREIGN GT,,,, GP 3500,,,,
GB PRO.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
AUDuke said:
"The question was does any one nugget hunt with a vaquero and how does it handle hot ground.) I use the V with a 5.75 coil for nugget hunting, along with my TDI, Gold Master 4 and my Girl friends Gold Bug II. The freq of the V is 14 kz the Diablo is 20, the original Gold Bug 19 and the X terra Gold coil is 17 all in the same range. The V has plenty of gain for nugget hunting. I found 3 more today with it. Mr Sandman; What do you use for nugget hunting?

:icon_thumleft: :icon_thumleft: :icon_thumleft: Straight up, I have to agree with ya AUDuke!
 

Steve Herschbach

Hero Member
Apr 1, 2005
659
1,016
Nevada
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hi,

I've found a few nuggets with the Vaquero. Very capable unit and I really like the light weight design. I agree that the GB control is touchy but oh well, for the price I'll not complain. Bottom line is the Vaquero has plenty of bang for the buck and is a decent little nugget machine.

If the hot rocks get real bad go to disc mode and dial in just enough disc to get the rocks to pop or click. Nuggets will still beep. Sure, you lose a little but it really makes working the bad hot rocks less nerve wracking. Also, if you have 10 miles of ground to cover, do not forget the Cleansweep coil. Depth will be cut but you can really cover the ground. I used the Vaquero/Cleansweep combo to pick up a few nuggets at Ganes Creek.

Steve Herschbach
 

Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
:icon_sunny: The absolutely amazing cheaper machines put out today are really amazing--some are not. I've been a huge Tesoro fan/owner/seller for many years(over 25) and the lifetime warranity absolutely rocks :headbang: . I do not get prefered treatment from them and they just did a 95% rebuild with new coils /pots/covers/foam/tuning/shipping/FREE on a 25+ year old(first notch ever) antique Golden Sabre. John
 

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