Just cannot decide...

Hihosilver

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Location
Eastern Ohio
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Mojave, Tesoro Outlaw, Tesoro Golden micromax (present machines), Past: once upon a time, long, long ago... a Bounty Hunter 840.
Coils: 5.75 concentric, 7” black concentric, 7" widescan,
Primary Interest:
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Well, I think I am going to spring for a new detector, to compliment my golden umax. It will need to be a Tesoro of course. But I just cannot decide between the Outlaw or the Vaquero. Once I think I have made up my mind, I read another forum post and my thoughts turn to the other detector. I could really use some help, if you gents would be willing.

I like the Outlaw because of what I have seen and read about its discriminator, and if I buy the three coil package, I have more coils for the golden, plus the 7" DD I already own will work on the Outlaw as well. Plus, I like how it has no motion all metal, and can disc out everything but a quarter, if you wanted to.

The Golden is a shallow machine (at least mine is), I can only get a dime at five inches, no deeper. I know some of you who still own and use this machine are getting better depth than this, but I am not. So you see, I don't want to buy another shallow machine. Some of you are reporting remarkable depths with the Outlaw, and some of you keep saying it's not a deep machine. So, will the Outlaw get a dime at 7 or even 8 inches? And how deep have you found quarters with it?

Having said all that, all of the recent posts and the nice video about the Vaqeuro's depth has me looking at this machine as well. Every body seems to be saying the Vaq is deep! But then I also read some posts that state it is not as stable in iron as the Outaw, and some have said that it does not disc out the small iron very well. Then, the other issue for me is that it uses the delta coils, and I already own epsilon coils.

Some insight from those who own and use both would be nice. Again, I don't need monster depth, but I want something with much more noticeable depth than my Golden umax.

:dontknow:
 

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I was not a fan of the Outlaw. Not as deep as my Vaquero and the retune button on the Outlaw was tempermental. I did not like the 12 x 10 coil. Heavy and I couldnt get good depth out of it. But being that you could use the coils on your other machine would make it a toss up for me
 

You might get lucky and the search coils from the Outlaw package will work on your Golden µMax. In most cases to get the Golden µMax to Id correctly and get maximum depth you'll need to have the search coil tuned to the Golden µMax. One other thing, once you learn how to properly use the Vaquero you'll find that identifying a large piece of flat iron is a snap to do. I get fooled every once in awhile when I get in a hurry.

tabman
 

The outlaw is a good machine, does very well 8n iron and has respectable depth. The one I had could easily hit a dime at 8 inches with disc set to just take out a square nail. I prefer my Bandido 2 micromax over it though. If you are looking to add another Tesoro than I would defiantly suggest the Vaquero it's probably the best machine they currently make and I have used them all.
 

The Outlaw. Its a man's machine! Who wants to ride around on some pony with a polo stick. Give me a black hat, mask, blood shot eyes and a 30/30. Plus the Vaq sounds like a dying duck!
Either one will serve you well in your search for the elusive treasure you seek. Again they are like Lay's potato chips
"you can't have just one" . image.gif
 

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Go with the Vaquero. Its deeper than the Golden and the Outlaw. Splurge for a high tone model if buying new and you like the audio on your Golden. Keep the Golden for park hunting and use the Vaquero for relics and sniffing out the really old coins. I have a Bandido II uMax and dont use the No-Motion a whole lot. The retune stuff is more trouble than it's worth in a lot of situations IMO. You can actually get a better feel for the size of the target by using the autotune All Metal since it's consistently retuned and gives you something constant to go by. If that makes sense... If you decide you really want an Outlaw later, get a Bandido II instead. It does everything the Outlaw does but uses basic toggle switches instead of the fidgity two-position button on the Outlaw.
 

I only had the Golden Umax and Outlaw for a short while, but I've always liked the Vaquero. I was real lucky with the Outlaw and I only had bought it to resell ($225 WITH 3 Coils!!). I put it down on the ground for the first time to test, did a swing and found a 1926 Mercury dime. It just didn't seem to be as deep or crisp a machine for me as the Vaquero, although I only had it for a short while. The Golden didn't seem to go very deep and I was always having problems with the notch discrimination, although I didn't use that one as long either.
 

I only had the Golden Umax and Outlaw for a short while, but I've always liked the Vaquero. I was real lucky with the Outlaw and I only had bought it to resell ($225 WITH 3 Coils!!). I put it down on the ground for the first time to test, did a swing and found a 1926 Mercury dime. It just didn't seem to be as deep or crisp a machine for me as the Vaquero, although I only had it for a short while. The Golden didn't seem to go very deep and I was always having problems with the notch discrimination, although I didn't use that one as long either.

Thanks. Again, I already own the golden, which is what makes the outlaw so attractive for the coils, especially the two I already own. I realize that putting any coil on the golden requires adjusting the GB pot, not a difficult task.

I am leaning toward the Outlaw because from what I have read, it has great stability, and may be the best discriminator out there. I just don't want to miss deeper dimes, some reported in this post that they were getting 8" dimes quite easily with the Outlaw... So I would like to know if that is what most of you Outlaw users were finding as well?
 

I always wanted the Outlaw for its Zero motion All Metal.
 

Before you jump on that new machine, buy the new 11" x 8" Widescan coil. It will open old ground up again. Then, once you get the Outlaw, you can put it on that machine and start kicking pudding and taking names! :skullflag:
 

Before you jump on that new machine, buy the new 11" x 8" Widescan coil. It will open old ground up again. Then, once you get the Outlaw, you can put it on that machine and start kicking pudding and taking names! :skullflag:

Hi Terry, enjoy reading your posts and respect your years of experience with the Tesoros... I talked to Rusty about the new coil for the Golden, he did not think it would help all that much as far as improving depth, which is why I am now considering a new machine. As I said, if the Outlaw can consistently see an 8" dime, I think that is where I will be. I was thinking about buying the Outlaw with just the 8" doughnut coil, and adding the new 11 x 8 to the order, that combo would only be a few $$$ more than the three coil package, and because I already own the 7 " DD, I would have a smaller coil for the Outlaw, if I needed it.
 

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Hi Terry, enjoy reading your posts and respect your years of experience with the Tesoros... I talked to Rusty about the new coil for the Golden, he did not think it would help all that much as far as improving depth, which is why I am now considering a new machine. As I said, if the Outlaw can consistently see an 8" dime, I think that is where I will be. I was thinking about buying the Outlaw with just the 8" doughnut coil, and adding the new 11 x 8 to the order, that combo would only be a few $$$ more than the three coil package, and because I already own the 7 " DD, I would have a smaller coil for the Outlaw, if I needed it.

... Or for almost the exact same amount of money, I could get the black Vaquero with high tone and the new 11x8 DD, and add the 8" concentric as well.

Choices, choices...
 

I would only consider the Outlaw if your going to set the disc to just knock out square nails and dig it all after that. The outlaw like my Bandido 2 and Compadres, silver etc lose quite a bit of depth as you turn up the disc. At full disc you may only get 6 to 7 inches max on a dime maybe less depending on how well GB and hot the machine is. The Vaquero loses very little depth if tuned right up to and past 10in if you have a hot machine with disc maxed.
 

I think you need to look at it as a Win Win desicion. If you get either one you will find the goodies. So then it becomes a matter of preference, do you like chocolate or strawberry, do you like Pina coladas or getting caught in the rain? Well then the Outlaw is for you. If you like duck hunting and duck patte then get the Vaq. Either way make sure you get that new coil.
Airtest with new coil on my Outlaw , again this is ONLY a test, results will vary in the field.

image.webp
 

I think you need to look at it as a Win Win desicion. If you get either one you will find the goodies. So then it becomes a matter of preference, do you like chocolate or strawberry, do you like Pina coladas or getting caught in the rain? Well then the Outlaw is for you. If you like duck hunting and duck patte then get the Vaq. Either way make sure you get that new coil.
Airtest with new coil on my Outlaw , again this is ONLY a test, results will vary in the field.

View attachment 1266038

Hobojo, I see you own both machines and it seems you like the outlaw a little better. Any other reason why, beside the duck sound. Cuz you can order the Vaq with a higher tone and avoid the duck, I gather.

This air test is impressive and I would be totally happy with this kind of performance in the ground, can any body tell me how the new coil does with the outlaw? I have asked this question for awhile now in other threads, cannot seem to get any "in the ground" results for the new 11 x 8 on the outlaw.
 

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I made up my mind, I will purchase a new Vaquero in April or May. Good hunting and good luck.
 

Hobojo, I see you own both machines and it seems you like the outlaw a little better. Any other reason why, beside the duck sound. Cuz you can order the Vaq with a higher tone and avoid the duck, I gather.

This air test is impressive and I would be totally happy with this kind of performance in the ground, can any body tell me how the new coil does with the outlaw? I have asked this question for awhile now in other threads, cannot seem to get any "in the ground" results for the new 11 x 8 on the outlaw.
Working on it, it is very hard to find areas that have deep targets. I live in an area that is about 30 to 40 years old. Any targets in the deeper range 8",9",10" would be targets that I've placed there and would not give an acurate reading. Im a firm believer that the longer a target is in the ground the better it will " ring up " when excited. Dry test are helpful but ONLY a test just like an "air-test". There has been too much EMI in my Hobojo castle to make a test bed worth it so I rely on actual conditions to give me my depth results. My best find, see honorable mention, came in at 7" to 8" inches and was loud and clear. Most of my coins 10 cents and 25 cents are dug in the 7" inch range. If the targets are larger then I can pick them up way beyond that. The Outlaw is deep enough for me and my condition any deeper than 9" would be a pain to dig and Im moving on to another target. As for the Retune, I have NOT had a single problem with it or the toggle switch since they have been covered ; going on now for almost 2 years of weekly use. My fat dirty thumb was causing my problems , getting dirt and filth into the switch from repeated use. Buying a cover for it was the trick and now its all good. I picked up mine off of Amazon from some guy in Russia. Also applying some heat shrink to the toggle will help keep it free from dirt. We Tesoro guys need to be aware of the dirt and crap getting stuffed into our switches. I know what mother Tesoro says but , DeOxit electrical clean really helps.
 

Well, I think I have made up my mind... It is going to be the Outlaw. Looking at the sites I will be searching and some of the features of the outlaw, and that it resembles the bandito umax, and that I already have 2 epsilon coils. I will buy the single coil package with 8" concentric coil. Hope to add the new 11 x 8 DD for searching the sports fields and maybe the 5 3/4 round concentric down the road. I read somewhere else that the 5 3/4 concentric does really well with this descrimination circuit, even better than the 7" DD. Just gotta find the funds now (and convince the wife... Which will be even harder).
 

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