dkw I've owned the DeLeon and Tejon. I like to think I mastered both. I haven’t yet used the Vaquero mainly because the Tesoro company tells us it isn't as deep as the Tejon. You could email James Gifford at Tesoro or most anyone there will tell you this.
I've been at this hobby a long time but I'm still learning. I've even learned things from people just getting started.
One of the major things I've learned is that some (not all) of the very best finds are either right on the extreme edge of the detectors signal or deeper than many are able to go.
What I'm saying is, good stuff is a lot deeper than I used to think it was. I have recently proved this by buying and comparing different brands and models of detectors (fitted with various coils).
Back in the 60's we talked about old coins/rings running mostly 3-6 inches deep. Today we're discovering they can sometimes be found at 10-15+ inches deep (like at filled areas and beach sites).
What I'm saying is, depth is much more important than some of us old timers used to think it was. If your detector can't reach the stuff you sure can't dig it.
NOW, back to the machines you mentioned.
Of all the detectors you named the Tejon is the deeper. This is due mostly to the manual ground balance. However, I have found that the difference between preset GB and manual GB depth is usually not that great. This has been blown way out of proportion.
In most soils the difference in depth between the DeLeon, Vaquero, and Tejon, will be so slight you'll hardly notice it. I think Tesoro claims like about an inch max.
See, adjustable GB isn't a depth gas pedal. It's a squelch control to tune out the affects of ground minerlization which makes it a little easier to hear some very weak signals. Adjustable ground balance doesn’t make a detector go deeper---it gives a detector a little better hearing. See, it's the detectors receiver, not its transmitter that is affected. I'd dare say 95% of THers today don't understand this.
Okay, now here's another fact about Tesoro and many other brands. If you dig those tiny broken weak signals you'll usually dig lots of false signals. Anyone who has hunted for any time with a good VLF detector knows that you listen for those solid repeatable signals. Usually if it's worth digging the signal will be very obvious.
In 40 years of THing I've only had maybe a dozen times when I dug a very weak and partially broken signal that it turned out to be worth the dig. Usually they end up being tiny pieces of foil or aluminum caught in the sod.
Recently I put the Tejon with stock coil up against the Silver uMax with a 12x10 concentric coil. The Silver kicked the Tejon's butt. I used it in higher mineralized soils and it made no difference whatsoever.
I personally think (can't prove it) that all the Tesoro models would get the same depth if fitted with the proper coil for each machine. They're all single frequency machines. However, due to added features, I'd say the best package Tesoro has now for coins/jewelry/rings/relics is the Tejon. The best buy from Tesoro is definitely the Silver uMax. I think Tesoro knows this too.
Sorry about the long post.
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