Tesoro vs. Garrett AT Pro question

[Bquamb]

This all comes down to the user. I love my ATP, no issues with it, but I have a few friends that run Tess' and they love them, they are also the ones who have found gold (But I have only been detecting for 2 months so no expert here) - I say read read read... don't just go on user input... I challenge you to go to your local MD store and talk to them. Write down a list of what you want to accomplish and im sure if they actually know their stuff they will point you in the right direction. ALL MD's work theoretically... so, either option you choose will be good. Inform yourself as I did, I went with the ATP for these reasons.

Auto and manual GB
VDI display
3 tones
99 notches
Waterproof to 10Ft / 3m
lots of accessories and mods avail
Good following for those who like it
Garrett has awesome Warranties and go international
and I likes to look and feel of the machine at 6'5... That was my main concerns, not being long enough.

It's just fine for me =)

 

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[sugarcreek]

These are the two machines that haunt me.

I bought the Vaquero on some expert advice. Larry at Big Valley, who I asked to just hook me up with my FIRST machine, said Vaq. I have been at it for 6 weeks and 60 hours or so and I am really starting to learn. I tend to look for silver, and don't wish to dig everything, so context is important. I have to date found 21 silver coins, a silver ring, a 10k gold FILLED ring, a silver spoon and two jelly jars filled with clad coins, and a whole lot of other interesting things...

One day I will post my beginners finds. My point is I want the ATPRO, but I am happy to first learn to listen, and try to learn how to discern and hunt with the beep and dig Tes. Some day I will light upon the ATPRO but I do wonder if I will prefer it or not. I am another who wonders about these two...

sugarcreek

 

[pinenut]

These are the two machines that haunt me.

I bought the Vaquero on some expert advice. Larry at Big Valley, who I asked to just hook me up with my FIRST machine, said Vaq. I have been at it for 6 weeks and 60 hours or so and I am really starting to learn. I tend to look for silver, and don't wish to dig everything, so context is important. I have to date found 21 silver coins, a silver ring, a 10k gold FILLED ring, a silver spoon and two jelly jars filled with clad coins, and a whole lot of other interesting things...

One day I will post my beginners finds. My point is I want the ATPRO, but I am happy to first learn to listen, and try to learn how to discern and hunt with the beep and dig Tes. Some day I will light upon the ATPRO but I do wonder if I will prefer it or not. I am another who wonders about these two...

sugarcreek

sugarcreek, you're searching better places than I am, to have come up with all that silver in just six weeks! I think you're doing very well with that Vaquero... I've got only 1/3 that time with my Tejon, but still NO silver. Dug a small fortune in bottle caps, though.. ^_^

 

[Fletch88]

These are the two machines that haunt me.

I bought the Vaquero on some expert advice. Larry at Big Valley, who I asked to just hook me up with my FIRST machine, said Vaq. I have been at it for 6 weeks and 60 hours or so and I am really starting to learn. I tend to look for silver, and don't wish to dig everything, so context is important. I have to date found 21 silver coins, a silver ring, a 10k gold FILLED ring, a silver spoon and two jelly jars filled with clad coins, and a whole lot of other interesting things...

One day I will post my beginners finds. My point is I want the ATPRO, but I am happy to first learn to listen, and try to learn how to discern and hunt with the beep and dig Tes. Some day I will light upon the ATPRO but I do wonder if I will prefer it or not. I am another who wonders about these two...

sugarcreek

If it's deep silver you want try a Safari, Etrac or Explorer. You will dig less junk and high conductors will squeak out at you.

 

[sugarcreek]

I have found silver in 7 yards so far in my historic home town. Mostly 1920's homes.

One yard had 7 coins including a spill of 5 quarters and two dimes, 1946-1952, and two mercury dimes here and over there.
Two of the homes had two mercury dimes, and, I found a half dollar in the front yard of two other homes.

One was a 37 Walker in great shape, and one was a 1900 Barber in pretty good shape! Oh boy...

It is so exciting to dig a silver coin I tell you what. Should have started this long ago.

 

[kcm]

I'm getting close to making the plunge. Reviews tend to put Tesoro machines at considerably lower depth than most others in their price range. Can't help but wonder if the user for the review(s) is someone accustomed to using Tesoros.

Lots of people prefer the all-digital, high-tech and VDI's. We're low-tech people. Our "new" car is a 2004, and that's too new for me!

Another thing is, I learned years ago that my hearing was better (at least it was THEN!!) than the average person. When I went into the military, I could hear pitches as high up as their testing machine could go - something this person had never seen before. So maybe a lot of people who do not like Tesoro's just don't have the 'ear' for them. Then, the mind has to interpret the sound waves that the ears pick up. There, too, is another possibility. Some people may be able to "compute" the signals quickly and efficiently while others can't.

So far, the ONLY detector I've ever used has been a cheap (very overpriced at $99) unit my wife got from a mail order catalog. It was junk, it looked like junk, and it found nothing but junk....and a nut and washer I happened to drop one time. Went to use it one day and it just wouldn't work. So with this in mind, the lifetime warranty on Tesoro is also a plus.

I hope this thread never gets deleted in the future, as it is FULL of great info, advice, reviews, tips and opinions. My thanks to everyone, especially to sugarcreek for reviving the thread, as I had not seen it before.

 

[james199]

I come on here a few months ago and asked for some help before I bought my machine and I am soooo glad I did but with all the answers igot I still couldn't make up my mind until I went out and found some guys detecting so me not being shy I went up to them and asked questions but even that had flaws so here is my 2 cent.... Know where your going to hunt . By that I mean is it beach school yard park etc as each has its own challenges then pick a Tiger Shark as it can do it all .. now I know some say it doesn't do good on salt but I kick the snot out the AT pro guys all the time around here .. Tesoro Metal Detectors kick butt..

 

[dirtscratcher]

I come on here a few months ago and asked for some help before I bought my machine and I am soooo glad I did but with all the answers igot I still couldn't make up my mind until I went out and found some guys detecting so me not being shy I went up to them and asked questions but even that had flaws so here is my 2 cent.... Know where your going to hunt . By that I mean is it beach school yard park etc as each has its own challenges then pick a Tiger Shark as it can do it all .. now I know some say it doesn't do good on salt but I kick the snot out the AT pro guys all the time around here .. Tesoro Metal Detectors kick butt..

Kicking the snot out of an atpro isn't that hard to do. Lol

 

[DiggerinVA]

The Sovereign or the Excal will kick the snot out of that Tiger Shark at the beach, and the AT pro or Gold will kick the snot out of it when hunting cellar hole here in Virginia.......like said above: It's all about the location....and a little personal preference. It is a very hard thing to prove that this detector is "better" than that one.

 

[smokeythecat]

My Tesoro here beats the Garrett. Finally sold the Garrett. It depends on a lot of factors. I had a pulse induction machine that went down farther than I wanted to dig. sold it too. Find something you like and learn it well. If I was to buy something besides my Tejon, I'd probably get another AT Pro. Funny thing, I can only use 1 machine at a time. Now who invented that rule? Depth isn't everything. I've pulled civil war bullets out BETWEEN a nest of 5-8 nails. And if you swing the blasted coil 6" off the ground, game's over. Gotta use whichever machine you have with determination, skill and patience, lots of patience.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I'd be afraid to say which one i prefer at the moment between my Tejon and my AT Gold. Neither will be for sale anytime soon.....

 

[smokeythecat]

If I were to get a machine to get its feet wet, I'd get the AT gold. In my "regular" neighborhood, the main difference would be the operator, not the machine.

 

[iaddrummer]

would that book in anyway apply to an eldorado?

 

[kcm]

Hello iaddrummer. If the book you're referring to is "Mastering the Tesoro Tejon and Vaquero Metal Detectors", very much so. The book is "specifically" geared towards the Tejon and Vaquero machines, but ANYONE who uses ANY detector, regardless of brand or model, could learn more than enough from the book to easily offset the $10 download price.

If that is the book you're referring to, do you know where to find it? There was a post I made in another thread - talked about not only downloading in Kindle format, but also how to change it to .pdf format, which I am MUCH more comfortable with. ...Lemme see if I can find that thread....

Ok, found 2 threads that would help with this book:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...ejon-vaquero-metal-detectors-christian-t.html

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tesoro/413938-hot-book-tejon-vaquero-knocks-socks-off-atp-s.html

On the 2nd link, my post about converting to .pdf is on page 2. One strange (but nice, for me) thing was that once I converted to .pdf, the book went from being about 100 pages to being 279 pages. That works out ok for me, however, as I like the larger print.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Research before purchasing a new detector. Good hunting and good luck.

 

[NWMP]

I'd be afraid to say which one i prefer at the moment between my Tejon and my AT Gold. Neither will be for sale anytime soon.....

A few months back I bought that new 8x11 RSD coil for my Tejon. But I have consistently found the ATP in my hands so far this year, including the water. This year I have detected primarily in town were there is a lot more trash. And I like the added info from the ATPro because of a bad back. For me the Tejon can be used in a house yard, fields, and some specific relic sites. I still like it for its depth, sensitivity, and light weight. But the ATP is my "working mans machine". I find that I really feel better informed with multi tones, the screen etc. I can make quick decisions with the additional info. If my back wasn't shot, I would likely use the Tejon more...just how it works for me. I too respect both machines. There are some locations that I prefer the Tejon over the ATP, but it is usually the other way around for me most days. I am going north for a vacation with my wife in July. Both machines are going with me.

 

[Terry Soloman]

It seems some folks are confused when comparing machines. I like to use golf clubs as a metaphor. In a "which one is best" conversation, you would not compare a Driver to a Putter, or a Seven iron to a Sand Wedge. You would also not compare a Lobo Super Traq, to a Minelab GPZ 7000, yet both are great tools in the goldfield. Comparing a Tejon to an AT Pro, is like comparing a Lotus to a Dodge Ram - it just doesn't work. Most people can't really afford three or four different machines for specialized use, so they try and find the best "All Around" machine. That's cool, but if you are going to play 18-holes just using one club, I am probably going to have a better average score using my full set of clubs.

Brand and machine comparisons are fun, but 99.9-percent of them are entertainment, not educational.

 

[NWMP]

It has been a while, but I am going to take my Tejon out for clad on my next day off work. It should just explode on the iron cored clad up here. It will also be interesting to hear what the one and two dollar coins sound like with it again. They will likely hit hard also due to their size and normal park shallowness. That new RSD coil will give me more coverage, and the entire unit is light weight. I need a break from my ATP as the coil heavy balance (and age, lol ) is giving me a sore shoulder. The only down side is that the ATP id's the clad coppers quite accurately, so I normally avoid many of them. I will have to learn how they sound on the T. I look forward to this, it will be fun.

 

[Stoof2010]

I just got the book on my Kindle so I am digging deeper into understanding these Tesoro's! I will purchase a new detector soon and the book and the comments here should help me a great deal. Keep the comments coming!

So rock, did you end up getting a tesoro?

 

[A2coins]

Tesoro you dig everything my friend 25 years detecting you dig it all so you find things you might not have dug but at pro you save tons of junk digs when you learn it it speaks to you iron audio pin point the tone sounds are different for differenr targets notch discimination adjust sensitivity frequency adjutment also water proof best service dept anywhere if you need it my apinion