Same old story, MD advice

[LLanos]

I have used a Fisher F2 for the last three years or so. I asked for recommendations here and you guys steered me to it. Has been a good detector to learn with. I feel it is time to upgrade. I am thinking the Tesoro Vaquero or the Garrett AT Pro. Pro's/con's? Would you go another way? I am looking for a detector for the long haul. Easy to use is always a plus. I will hunt hard for a month or so then put it down for several months. Thanks, Bob.

 

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[GA_Boy]

The Fisher F44 is more in line with what you are accustomed to. You would probably be happy with a Garrett ACE400. I don't know about the Tesoro but I don't think the small Frequency change is effective except maybe around other Tesoro's. The ATPro is very popular bur I have heard some criticism.
Marvin

 

[Murray8144]

I have used a Fisher F2 for the last three years or so. I asked for recommendations here and you guys steered me to it. Has been a good detector to learn with. I feel it is time to upgrade. I am thinking the Tesoro Vaquero or the Garrett AT Pro. Pro's/con's? Would you go another way? I am looking for a detector for the long haul. Easy to use is always a plus. I will hunt hard for a month or so then put it down for several months. Thanks, Bob.

I can tell you that I switched from the F2 to the AT Pro and my finds increased dramatically. However, my friend toasted did alot of detecting with the Vaquero and had great success. I would say it's a tossup. If toasted sees this post he may opine. The vaquero is a minimalists dream. Lifetime warranty and just some knobs...and rock solid. And I know from seeing toasted's finds that's it's plenty deep. The AT is sexier, and it has move variety of less expensive aftermarket coils. I have the 5x8 coil and the NEL Storm for my AT. It's my backup unit.

 

[CoilToTheSoil]

ATP has the versatility of being a shallow water hunter. For that reason alone [given both are capable detectors] I'd choose it. I have one as my backup unit. It will be seeing much more use once the weather warms up and I hit the water.

 

[digger460]

I've heard the Ace400 is a good machine, and have also heard that you can't adjust the ground balance? As a relative Newbie (6 months), and blindly look at reviews of metal detectors, I purchased the ATP. I am very happy with it.

You mentioned that you'll hit it hard for a month and then stop for a couple of month's. I've got about 80 hours with it, and am finally starting to really understand the picture in my mind of what's in the ground by the slight differences in the sounds from the ATP.

Everyone here has there favorite, but for now, I can't imagine why I would want a different machine, but that all comes with years of experience.

Whatever MD you get, the rule is "pay attention to what your machine is telling you".

All that said, "solid target, I dig it"

Good Luck with your decision, and HH to you!

 

[LLanos]

Thanks for the replies. No clear decision yet. I have never hunted with another person. I have never seen another detector in operation. That is what makes the advice here important.

 

[WhiteTornado]

I used a Tesoro Cibola for 3 years and just purchased an AT Pro last week. I found the Cibola to be deep, but also felt it had a huge learning curve, at least for me. I am still not all that comfortable using it, even with about 150 hours of use under my belt. It is especially maddening to use in trashy areas. Mostly for me it's been beneficial in areas where the targets are fewer and farther between, especially if relics are to be found. I'm talking farm fields or similar type areas. Never did find any old coins with it and only one piece of jewelry, a thin, modern sterling silver ring.

Another guy in my local club with about same skill level as me uses a Vaquero. He's had similar experiences, says he has rarely found old coins but can pull big iron and relics. I chose the AT Pro because about half of my local club (half is about 40-50 people) uses one and those machines have pulled plenty of old coins out of the ground around here.

Best wishes in whatever machine you choose. Happy hunting.

 

[LLanos]

Thank you WT. I appreciate the response.

 

[toasted]

I found a lot of old coins with my Vaquero. Found a lot more with my AT Pro. Finding lots with my XP Deus. Any machine over $300 is more than adequate at getting the job done. Learning your machine and chosing the right hunting sites are the keys

 

[Pgh_Tom]

Hey, went from an F2 to an AT pro recently. Started the hobby in December and just kind of went with it. The AT Pro is a solid solid machine and is very in-tune with how the F2 functions. Since the ATP has two types of modes (Pro mode and regular mode) the sounds make a huge difference when your searching. Regular mode function very similar to the F2, but pro mode is where the extra money is worth it. Once you get an upgrade, you'll realize that the F2 is a solid machine, but its tough to get the iffy signals.

 

[MikeyMinx]

I was in the same boat. Loved the F2 but wanted to move on up. I settled on the Teknetics T2 Classic. It's deep and fast, the learning curve was very easy and at $499... It's a great deal. But for sure you can't go wrong with the AT Pro if that's what you are leaning towards! Good Luck on whatever you decide/decided.

 

[Fletch88]

The Minelab Safari is a very good machine. I have owned the Etrac and CTX and the Safari will hang with either on deep silver and copper. I just bought one with 32 months warranty remaining for about 40% the cost of a new one. It really is a great machine.